Lenovo T500 ThinkPad Review

Right now it is setup where you click the battery gauge once, bring up the submenu, and select the graphics option you want.

 

oh, ok.
So it's that easy - nice. Def. gonna buy the T500 later this year. I hope that LED screens will be available in the future for the T500 - that would be sweeeet!

 

So, is the W700 review coming out any time soon? I wonder how the keyboard on that machine is.

I wonder if the average user will even notice the minor keyboard flex on the new keyboard. Thinkpad owners would expect the best keyboard, but will they be able to tell that there is a different typing experience between the old and new keyboard if they are not told of the design change beforehand (i.e. are we making a big fuzz over a minor issue)?

 

Good review as always !

Do you think you will receive the SR300 thinkpad in a near futur and review it ?

 

My T500 arrived. Didn't try much yet, but the keyboard flex seems quite significant on the left side. Elsewhere I find it so far noticeable, but tolerable. Seems to me that the only tp I tried before - R50e - has way better keyb. Flexwise also my old acer tm4070 and asus f5r are better. I'm definitely getting the old-type tp keyb. And it is also a nice excuse to get a bt keyb/mouse combo.

 

I just can't get this one thing out of my mind.

.
That makes me wonder, if it can get a little too hot under heavy gaming.... that concerns me. What is considered "normal conditions"? Just browsing the web? Watching a movie? I don't know...

 

isn't the HD on the bottom right when you're looking at it from the top?

when I was in microcenter today, I tried out a T61, and I observed a significant amount of flex above the pc card/express card slot (bottom left). is this evident in the T500?

Also, as far as the TrackPoint, touchpad, and fingerprint reader are concerned, can those be disabled relatively easily or can u only do it in the BIOS? Does the Fn + F8 shortcut for the TrackPoint and touchpad on the T60's work on the T500 as well?

And lastly, what media cards does the 7 in 1 card slot reader support? SD? Memory Stick Pro Duo?

 

Assuming the temperatures measured for the Dell M1530 review where done while gaming, the temps between the m1530 and the T500 aren't that different

 

You noted that your screen does not have the grain issue. Past T series notebooks were shipped with two possible screens. The LG which did not have the grain and the SEC (Samsung) which did. I would imagine this notebook, like most notebooks, also has multiple possible parts. Can you please tell us which screen this one is? This is the program I use to tell: http://www.cpuid.com/pcwizard.php

 

Although I agree that generally LG screens are superior. On occasions there have been reports of good samsung screens. Just saying that not all samsung screens are evil...

 

Good review!!

Do you planing on installing linux and try if you can change from discrete to integrated graphic?
and I try to customize T400, the discrete graphic card is ATI Mobility Radeon 3640 with 256MB. Is there mistake?

 

Anything that did not include playing Portal or HL: Ep 2 for more than an hour. The combination of GPU and CPU thermal output really heat soaked the entire notebook. Under normal stuff it wasnt bad at all. With the IR gun after the thing had been on for the better part of 4 hours, the average temp was 86-88F top and bottom.

Web browsing, typing, listening to music, watching movies, etc are not processor intensive, nor GPU intensive.

 

Lenovo addressed this in their blog: They used the architectural changes in vista to get switchable graphics to work like it did. So it won't work in XP, and likely not in linux, unless someone manages to write a custom driver.

 

Oh, I also had a question: do you have a 30" WQUXGA screen (like the Dell 3008WFP) to try the Displayport with?

 

Is the section above the pc card/express card slot as flimsy and flexible as it is on the T61? The one i saw at microcenter wiggled quite a bit.

 

Nothing in the office with a displayport. That said, it wont support a resolution that high.

 

Thanks so much for the great review! Any chance of posting a few pix of text or web pages with the WSXGA+ and standard settings? I can't find a 15.4" laptop anywhere to see whether this resolution is a good idea for my eyes.

(And I've visited five different Office Depots from Seattle to San Diego in the last few weeks, and none of them have had a single ThinkPad!)

 

If you visit Bestbuy, they might have a G1S on display, that should have a WSXGA+ screen...or alternatively, you can ask in the ASUS forum for a few pics...

This si what WUXGA looks like in 15.4''...



Thats with largest icons and text in XP Pro...

 

Wait, because you don't have a device with displayport means it can't support the resolution ???

Oh, maybe a "Displayport to HDMI" cable will be good for testing the resolutions, me think.

 

what about the graphic card? Radeon 3640 or Radeon 3470?
can you confirm this Kevin and the 3DMark ?

 

The graphics card in the T500 is the 3650 and the one in the T400 is the 3470.

 

Correct

IBM spec sheet says this

digital monitor support via DisplayPort (supports single-link DVI-D via cable 45J7915);
Maximum external resolution: 2048x1536@75Hz

Dell 30" monitor is this: 2560x1600

 

That's strange, because HDMI is capable of displaying that resolution.
Can you by any chance try it with the cable I suggested above?

 

I feel compelled to add my 2 cents as well, hoping a Lenovo engineer is paying attention. I'd seriously looked forward to the new Thinkpads, because as the review suggests, good strides have been made from the T60 with respect to fan noise. Unfortunately, I'd taken the top-notch keyboard for granted, and had always assumed it would stay that way. I purchased a ThinkPad because I type approximately 80-100 pages a day for work. Luckily, my keyboard is an NMB, and it's fantastic. The notebook isn't perfect, but I'm going hold onto it for dear life until Lenovo's keyboards are no longer of questionable quality. Furthermore, I'd be willing to pay more to be guaranteed an NMB. It's that important to me, and I'd really like to have that option.

 

Hmm. That seems wrong. The GPU easily supports 2560x1600. As does displayport. It may be the single-link DVI adapter that's limited to that.

Well... There are no screens that take advantage of HDMI's greater single-link bandwith. The WQUXGA screens with HDMI ports are limited to WUXGA using HDMI.

 

While I would love to test the limits of the T500, the highest resolution monitor I have access to is my 1080p TV at home. I scanned the local store sites, and the one 30" monitor that comes up doesnt have dispalyport.

 

So, uhm, not sure if this has been verified: can one use a DisplayPort to HDMI converter cable, and get both video and sound output to a HDMI TV with the T500?

 

I'm also curious about this. Well ok, the original question of the poster was if the card supports WQUXGA, which is 3840 x 2400. A normal 30" screen has WQXGA = 2560 x 1600 or sth in that region.

I couldn't find the specs in regards to this for the ATI mobility 3650. My ages old Nvidia Geforce Go 5650 with 128 MB in my Dell Inspiron 8600 handles 1920 x 1200 (which is the native reolution for the notebook display).

Shouldn't this card (a) be able to handle WQXGA and (b) be able to output this resoloution to an external screen with Displayport. And (c) I'd really like to know how well WQXGA works, if it all. A T500 or W500 with a 30" screen will be my next investment. On my Inspiron 1920 x 1200 works ok, but scrolling web sites is not as smooth as lower res.

 

Soz, I meant WQXGA. I got my acronyms confused.

 

Theoretically, it should work.

 

Is the section above the pc card/express card slot as flimsy and flexible as it is on the T61? The one i saw at microcenter wiggled quite a bit.

 

Kevin, any chance you can tell us this?

 

Well, if the keyboard really turns out to be as bad as described in this review, then I'd say Lenovo is out of their mind.

 

Does anyone know if you can take the palm rest with the wider touchpad/trackpad from a T500/W500 and retrofit it on a T60/T61? I have a T61p and don't see that the T500/W500 are worth upgrading to at this time, however I would love the wider touchpad/trackpad. From the images it certainly looks like it can be done.

 

My educated guess would be yes, but the fingerprint scanner is the iffy part. It is not the same model, so that might show up as an invalid device or something.

 

I certainly feel what you're saying here. I guess some people just don't understand that you just can't change something that's become a trademark. I have a hard time imagining that someone in some boardroom suggested this change and convinced everyone else in the boardroom that it would be a good decision. Ah well. Unfortunately, I don't see them reverting to the old model keyboards anytime soon.

 

WOULD SOMEONE PLEASE ANSWER MY QUESTION! i'm about to leave for college and would like to order my laptop, but i would like to know this before purchasing:

Isn't the left palm rest above the pc card slot not the HD? That said, is the section above the pc card/express card (bottom left) slot as flimsy and flexible as it is on the T61? The one i saw at microcenter wiggled quite a bit.

THANK YOU,
and good review kevin

 

Interesting. When you did your review, did the connectors look the same? The images of the female end looked identical, but of course where not clear and pinout could be different. I would assume it is simply a USB device leveraging a proprietary connection to the planar. I would need to pop the rest off my T61p to check, but do you recall if you could in fact remove the scanner from the rest? If so, then I could simply swap the scanners from my T61p to the wide-pad edition

 

I like it for the most part.
Disappointed in the keyboard, but that sounds like an easy fix if it is noticable.
Wish it had HDMI over a display port because I won't be using this laptop by the time a Display Port becomes common.
I wish the USB placement was the same as the T61.

I'll get a new one if they offer a LED screen and maybe a P model with a better video card.

 

I guess not..

 

Even though I've never owned one, I'm a ThinkPad fan of long standing, and was glad to see the X-series and the T-series upheld by Lenovo. I started reading this review, encouraged by the build quality comments. I was happy to hear about the improvements to the touchpad (except the lack of red stripes as an option), the battery life, and the graphics. But WHAT IS THIS POPPY**** ABOUT THE KEYBOARD!?!?! What does Lenovo think it is doing? If they have any idea of what is good for them, they will give people the keyboards that have built the ThinkPad reputation to where it is today.

/rant

 

Aye caramba! Don't edit my righteous, indignant speech! Foul script that promoteth censorship and oppression!

 

I received my T500 on Tuesday, it's really similar to the T61. Mine also has holes (just like on Dell Latitude D630) in the keyboard. When I took the keyboard out and tried to flex it, it flexed a bit more compared to T61 keyborad because of the holes. But while mounted my T500 does not have any flex on the keyboard what so ever, not even on the right side. Maybe it's a newer revision than the one reviewed, I don't know.

I really like the new touchpad because it has been raised so there's no high edge on the sides anymore and the touchpad buttons work smoother than T42/T60/T61.

The keyboard, adapter, battery, hdd have the same connectors with T60 and 15" T61. Memory and DVD drive are not.

The display is LEN4053 but I'm not sure about the real model.

 

When you get a moment, could you take a look at the palm rest / touch pad between the two (T61 and T500) and see if they are interchangeable?

 

Compared to 15.4" T61p it's not changeable - the screwhole next to HDD is in different location.

 

This still has the rollcage in the lid right ?

 

Got a few questions:
Will world of warcraft at max settings with no big problem?
Will I be able to watch 1080P movies on my 42" plasma TV?
Is it able to watch xvid movies when using the bad graphic card on the computer?

 

since the T500 has both displayport and vga, would it be possible to hook up two monitors to this laptop, one for each output (no display on the laptop screen itself) and run an extended desktop?

 

Well that is a real kick in the nuts. I guess I wont make the palm rest purchase after all. Thanks for looking.

 

I just checked the site today and the dedicated graphics option T500 isn't available anymore. Is the screen on the T500 worth the extra performance gain on the machine vs a T61? I'd like to order one soon.

Also - if I don't plan on doing games, but want to do video editing, will the graphics card matter much? Could I get by with the integrated option?