Good configuration? T400

Hi, guys! I'm thinking of buying a T400 with the following:

Intel Core 2 Duo processor P8600 (2.40GHz 1066MHz 3MBL2)1
Genuine Windows Vista Home Basic12
14.1 WXGA+ TFT w/ LED BL
Intel GMA X4500
1 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 (1 DIMM)
None
80GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm
CD-RW/DVD-ROM, Ultrabay Slim5
6 cell Li-Ion Battery60
1 Year Depot/Express Warranty7

That comes out to $1,049.95 which is about $1300 CDN after taxes. Are there slight upgrades I should make to get more bang for my buck? Or maybe I don't need X to be as fast, etc. I'm a student so the battery life and weight are the most important things to me. Would going with the non-LED screen decrease battery life by a lot (more than 30 mins)?

Thanks for all the help!

 

What school do you go to? Here at Ohio State we get a good discount on Lenovo systems. 34-36% off...and I don't have to pay for the vista license.

 

2 Gb Pc3-8500 Ddr3 (2 Dimm)

 

id recommend to keep your led screen; its a much better investment since it lasts much more than a ccfl

 

Long term you will probably want more memory to run Vista acceptably. You ordered home basic, and that is leaner than Premium/Business/Ultimate, but it still takes more than XP. However, if you can struggle with 1GB for now, you can probably get a 2GB module for $50 or less in a few months to bring your system to 3GB total.

Same goes for the hard drive. A bigger/faster one is good if you want to install lots of programs/media, but for basic productivity it is unnecessary. The most economical choice is either to get the 160GB/5400RPM from Lenovo, or stick with the base and buy a 250 or 320GB 7200RPM drive aftermarket.

I definitely recommend that you stay with the LED. It has the potential to be substantially brighter at the high end, and uses much less wattage to deliver the same brightness than the CCFL. Color/black level also tends to be better with LED displays.

If you need major battery life (>6 hours), I would recommend the 9 cell. However, it will add to the size/weight of the T400.

The Intel GMA4500 is perfectly fine for Windows, office applications, and video playback, but it is inadequate as a gaming processor (you can play Civ4, HL2, Sins of a Solar Empire, but nothing too fancy).

You didn't mention wi-fi, but unless you plan on streaming high definition video from a local server, the 802.11 b/g card is fine, and will save you ≈$20 compared to the 5100 and ≈$40 compared to the 5300 card.

I recommend sticking with the P series processor for battery life (25W versus 35W TDP), but you probably wouldn't notice much difference between the P8600 and the P8400 (only 140MHz, no difference in cache size/bus speed). If you are penny pinching, that is a good way to go. You will get a better performance value out of RAM and/or hard drive for most applications.

 

I'd also recommend getting more RAM. Especially if you are getting Vista. I happen to love Vista, but the MINIMUM it runs on is 1GB, so I'd get at least 2.

 

Thank you for all the replies!

I'm in Canada, I think that's the best discount since I tried a whole bunch of other codes that I found online and they didn't work =)

My university has Wi-Fi, I think the default one should be okay. Thank you for the RAM heads up! I changed it to this:

Intel Core 2 Duo processor P8600 (2.40GHz 1066MHz 3MBL2)
14.1 WXGA+ TFT w/ LED BL
Intel GMA X4500
2 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 (2 DIMM)
80GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm
CD-RW/DVD-ROM, Ultrabay Slim
Express Card & PC Card Slots
ThinkPad 11b/g III Wi-Fi wireless LAN Mini-PCIe
6 cell Li-Ion Battery
65W AC Adapter; NA, LA, (2pin)

It's $1,087.95 now.

The 6-cell will last a little more than 4 hours, right (connected to the internet the whole time)? Or maybe I should just get the 9-cell because or else I'll be lugging around the stuff to charge it anyway. Or I could get a 4-cell and just plan on carrying the extra cables?

jonlumpkin: I don't think I'll be able to add things onto the laptop after the fact. This will be my first and I don't want to mess it up and violate the warranty or something Would 3gb be radically different from 2gb (both 2 DIMM) if I'm just looking at the occasional youtube video between classes? I don't think I'll be gaming on this laptop.

This is so exciting! o_0

 

I hear the t400 gets 5+ hours of battery life on the 6 cell.

 

It's really up to you whether you want the extra weight of the bigger battery or not.

I'm a student as well, and I also work 2 jobs and travel a lot. Having the 9cell was important to me. I'm used to lugging around a big backpack anyway, so it doesn't matter much to me.

Did you price that out through the educational discount page that lenovo has? http://shoplenovo.i2.com/SEUILibrar...ty=usstudents&ConfigContext=StdAffinityPortal

That's where I went through.

 

You should be able to get 4+ hours out of the 6 cell if you use mid level brightness (should be bright enough) and with wi-fi on. However, you will get reduced battery life during video playback, this is especially true if you use DVDs as opposed to digital files on your hard drive. If you intend on carrying the laptop with you to class all the time I would recommend the 9 cell if you think you can handle the weight (I think it is about 6 ounces more than the 6 cell). Hunting for plugs is not fun, and the 9 cell should let you go from 9-5 without having to worry about finding a plug, or the hassle/weight of carrying the adapter. Also if you find yourself on planes or other places without power, you want the biggest battery you can find.

Adding memory to a Thinkpad is very easy, and it does NOT void the warranty. The new ram module will not be covered by Lenovo, but memory tends to carry very long (often lifetime) warranties from the manufacturer. All you need to do is remove 1 or 2 screws from the bottom (clearly labeled), pop off a plate, slide in the RAM module, replace the plate, and power your computer on. Vista is a greedy OS, and will use all the RAM you have as a cache (look up Superfetch). The more you can give it, the better. However, if you want 4GB+ you need to get the 64-bit version of Vista (32-bit only addresses 3.5GB). I would recommend you either get the 1GB module, and add a 2GB module in a few months (prices for DDR3 will fall), or you get 2GB in a SINGLE DIMM, so that you can add more in the future if you find out that you need it.

 

Suggest the following changes as many above also agree
- Buy it on cpp if you haven't done so. Search for keywords "Lenovo CPP" on google and you will find the code
- Reduce CPU to p8400. I am using P8600 and dont ever see CPU going above 50% in the past months
- I would say get the switchable graphics. I am pretty sure the integraded graphics will not be enough in 2~3 years given how many softwares will require 3D power
- Increase your ram. The best way is to buy another 2GB DDR3 ram online. That is if you feel comfortable adding ram. It is very easy and involves taking 4 screws off.
- Buy 3 year warranty. You just dont know what could happen to the laptop.
- Larger HDD will always help. I'd say 160GB is minimal.

 

Okay, I'm decreasing the processor to T8400 and increasing RAM. I'm not sure about the hard drive yet, I use barely 60GB on my desktop and that has everything in it.

I got these dimensions off the review: 13.2" x 9.4" x 1.47 with 9-cell battery. Can someone confirm this? I'm hoping I can fit it in my backpack's laptop sleeve.

Adding a camera is $0, did anyone opt not to add it? I wouldn't use it very much and it could be distracting, maybe.

What about the warranty and accidental damage protection? Is the 1-year depot one enough?

Thanks again =)

 

Adding a camera is free? It wasn't earlier this month when I ordered mine!

 

I'm also in Canada and a student. You can get a better price through Lenovo Canada's student site at http://www.lenovo.com/studentcomputers/ca. The EPP site is even cheaper if you either know an IBM employee or can find a code through google. Also, Lenovo Canada just put up the T400 with discrete graphics again and it is selling for less than the integrated-only base model, something I imagine will be remedied shortly.

Regarding specs, I was looking at a T400 today at my campus store with the 9-cell battery. Note that this is one hunk of battery in terms of size and weight and I'd only recommend it if you think you'll regularly need the extra time. I found the 6-cell far less conspicuous while still providing about 5 hours run time (based on user reviews). For more details about the different batteries: http://forum.lenovo.com/lnv/board/m...thread.id=13811&view=by_date_ascending&page=1

I agree with others' advice regarding the advantage of getting more RAM over a slight increase in processor speed. Aftermarket HDDs are cheap and prices are constantly falling, so you may be better off getting what you need now as a future upgrade, if/when needed, will be inexpensive. Intel's wireless cards include draft-n, a worthwile upgrade if you may have access to such a network as you'll likely experience fewer drops. Regarding the warranty, you can upgrade it anytime during the first year so no need to make a decision about it now.

 

corey17: Yup it's free, add $0.00.

paul27: I only see one T400 model on the website. Thanks for the warranty advice! I read that thread too, but didn't know for sure if it meant the measurements 13.2" x 9.4" x 1.47 included the 9-cell or if I was supposed to add 1.47" extra.

I'm thinking the 9-cell is lighter than carrying the cables around, as long as it doesn't fall off (I saw the wiggle graphic ).

 

Well, to be fair, it isn't that easy on the T series. It is still easy, but it involves removing four screws, taking off the palmrest and the memory sits under the touchpad (dont worry, it is part of the palm rest).

 

The 9 cell will add 1.47" depth to those dimensions.

I also see that the other models that were up last night have been removed. There were 'Enhanced' and 'Elite' configurations too. I guess they're having website problems again. They should be back up once the glitches are worked out. Apparently others caught on to this too: http://204.92.127.51/forums/showthread.php?p=7595768.