Lenovo ThinkPad T400s Review

@Kevin,
Not considering resolution difference, how would you compare the T400 high nit and T400s screens regarding colors, contrasts and black levels and thanks.

Gary

 

The T400 high brightness looked excellent. At normal brightness levels black levels werent too washed out, but if you ramped it up you would start turning dark grey.

 

Thanks Kevin. What do you think the brightest setting the high nit could be run at that would not begin to overly distort the black levels and thanks. This is very helpful for me.

Gary

 

I would have to check again, but I think I remember it washing out at 70-80%. 40% on it matched regular LCD's at 70%.

 

Kevin,
Thanks. I am running at 80% now but may go a little lower. My eyesight is not good but I want to run it less bright unless needed and still have fairly good colors.

Gary

 

Besides pure business use I would also like to cut HD AVCHD (H.264) videos.
My T60 is definitely much too slow and yes, I know that I should get a desktop machine to do that.
Nevertheless, my question is: is the AVCHD decoding done on the CPU (and it may not be that bad with the T400s) or does a discrete graphics GPU (as available in the T400) help with this, too?

How many "PCMarks" are needed for 1920x1090 decoding without GPU?

Thanks for your insight.

UPDATE:
it seems like the Intel GMA 4500MHD which is in the T400s (according to Lenovo sales page) could do the job.
however Kevin's review states that it uses the Intel X4500M, which would not be powerful enough? So what is really in there?

 

The T400s (like the T400, x200, x301, et. al.) has the x4500 MHD integrated GPU. This is perfectly capable of decoding h264 video up to profile 4.1 as long as your software supports it. I can play back 720P video with <15% CPU usage on my x200 Tablet. 1080P tends to work as well, but I rarely play that type of content (pointless on a 1280x800 display).

The big question will come down to your software. I have had the most luck for playback using Media Player Classic Home Cinema x86 ( latest release). If the file is properly supported you will use the H.264 bitstream decoder, ClearVideo (tm) instead of software. However, I don't know whether your software supports this (if it doesn't I doubt a better GPU would be of any help).

There is no one answer on how many PCMarks you need for 1080P. It is entirely dependent on the codec you use, profile/level for that codec, various options in that codec (some are very CPU intensive), and above all the bitrate of the particular file. The 2.53GHz C2D in the T400s is probably adequate, but video editing is one of those things where a high the number of fast cores can really help.

 

WOW, you really unsoldered the bridge? I was wondering if any normal user can do that for a while. Can you post a picture about this project later? I might do the same thing on my X41t too.

 

Does the T400s support power over eSATA port?

 

Kevin, what can you tell me about the new headhone/mic port? Will a 3.5mm headphone jack work with the new port?

 

Kevin - Another question. Does the T400s displayport support audio?

 

I dont have a DP to HDMI adapter around, but even so the playback device area doesnt list any "digital" audio source. Notebook with HDMI-out always have this, while none of the DP notebooks I have seen show this. Maybe one day some software will support it but as of right now I think we are out of luck.

 

No audio yet eh? Probably in the newer release of the DP

 

Kevin - Thanks.

Also wanted to find out if the T400s support power over eSATA port?

 

Well technically speaking it has an eSata+USB combo port, which MSI is calling power over eSata.

 

Now if everything great about this notebook was put into the next t500 release I would definitely consider buying it (current laptop just kicked it...poor thing)

 

Lenovo seems to be using two alternative panels on this computer as well. I just got one today and mine has a LT141DEQ8B00. LTN is Samsung's designation. What manufacturer is LT?

Also a question to Kevin: did the one you review have noticible high pitched CPU whine?

 

I think someone else might have to judge that since I have insanely sensitive hearing. Yes I could hear it on the T400s, but no it is not a big deal. When my T60 starts doing it, it is much louder and noticeable.

 

I am super sensitive to high frequency and it was driving me totally crazy. Disabling CPU power throttling options in BIOS completely got rid of the whine. Now the computer is dead silent, I love it.

 

Got my new T400s last week. Sweet machine...
But when I go to Display Settings/Advance Settings I see a " Mobile Intel(R) GMA 4500M"
Does the T400s really have the 4500M HD in it? How could I find out?
Thanks

 

There is no difference btw the two. You can check your chipset to see if you have GM45 in CPU-Z to confirm that you have the right GPU though.

 

I'm pretty sure there is a difference - the 4500M is not capable of HD video decoding, while the 4500MHD is. That said, I believe the T400s has the GMA 4500MHD.

 

From what I have read, all notebooks have 4500MHD since it is used in all mobile chipsets (GL40, GS45, GM45, and GM47). Only in certain desktop chipsets, is there no HD support. The desktop GPUs are different, they are X4500 and X4500HD (though the X4500HD and the 4500MHD are essentially the same).

 

hi,

does the thinklight near the camera is annoying when is on and you use the webcam ?

are hte capture good ?

 

I have actually never checked that. I dont think it should harm anything though. I will look at it in the morning and get back to you. The only notebook in recent memory that had issues with the webcam was a Gateway model that had an LED indicator to show the webcam was on, that bled through and put a huge blue blotch on the side of the image being taken.

 

Great question there.

Ive always wondered, how does the ThinkLight perform? Is it blinding at any point?

I remember reading some review a long time ago, where the ThinkLight was a major disadvantage, because when the LCD was tilted back the Light point at one and became blinding...is this solved?

 

Well if the LCD is laying flat it might blind you

Compared to the T400, the T400s has a redesigned and non-blinding layout.

Regarding the webcam and the ThinkLight, tested it in both light and dark conditions, and you never even see the light in the video. Doesn't even reflect slightly off your face. Aimed to basically just fire at the keyboard.

 

So this time it does work. And when compared to a backlit KB, which would you say works better? I know they are completely different stuff.

 

It would be nice to have weight and physical dimensions in SI units (kg, cm) instead of prehistoric ones for your readers across the pond

 

seconded! Metric system is more worldwide and much more useful.

 

Sure! I specially loved this one:

 

mine just arrived today (1-month delay to get the SSD, arrgh).

beautiful machine. great screen and I love the keyboard. touchpad too. can't wait to see how it moves once I load vista-64 on it this coming week.

a 14" hi-res screen for under 4 pounds. my mactard friends are jealous.

 

Hi,



I am interested in the amazind T400s and I want to buy it through lenovo with SSD.

In the lenovo website there is an option for a 64GB or 128GB SSD's - Which brand is the 64GB and the 128GB?.

In the T400s movie review here: http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/...s/ThinkPad_notebooks/T400s&ipromoID=hpc00491&



it is mentioned that there is an option for the latest Intel's SSD, but in the website there is no option for an 80/160GB SSD option.



When will it be available to buy the T400s with an Intel SSD and what will be the price?



Thanks,



Or

 

Just buy it yourself. It will be a lot cheaper.

 

An SSD bought aftermarket comes out to be cheaper and better on the long run, since you get to keep your old HDD as a backup...

 

I can't wait to get mine. Not sure if I want to explore the SSD option, though.

 

well, I don't have a t400s without an SSD, but my guess is it makes a pretty big difference with speed. plus, I've had two spining drives fail on me in the last few years. it's a $250 premium on this model I think (though not sure). p

 

Do you know if Lenovo may offer a telephone port with the T400s in the near future? That port is important for me..

 

I wouldn't count on it. The best you can do is use the USB adapter.

 

Telephone port? As in 56k modem?

 

Yes, a 56K modem....faxing is still in business!!

 

Do you know if there are any 56K (fax) modem adapters via Expresscard 34 instead of usb?

 

I though 56k were obsolete...

 

I'm only aware of the USB adapter, which can be found here:
http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/...-category-id=16C0B4B4B8354498ABBC24A4E44010CB

 

Hi people!

I'm looking for a new laptop and i've narrowed it down to the T400 or T400s. I would appreciate some advice on what to buy.

I would prefer the T400s because of the obvious benefits in portability.

The regular T400 does have its advantages:
- I prefer a 1280x800 screen, but its not a big deal. However, the high-nit screen seems better.
- I don't care for a DisplayPort or eSATA, but I do care for Firewire (I can always use an ExpressCard firewire though)

My main concern is build quality and durability. The T400 looks very sturdy, but the battery wiggles a lot and could break if dropped on some angles, so the T400s might be a little more durable.

However, there is one big concern on the T400s. It seems that on lenovo forums there are a lot of complaints about the "cpu whine". I am really sensitive to this white noise so this can be a trouble for me. The reviewer didn't find any problems with it, but there are really a lot of people complaining for this to be ignored.

Unfortunately, I can't really test the T400s before ordering (on Europe they are extremely expensive, i'll be ordering from the US through Ebay). I can try the T400 before buying, and I've had an R400 for a couple of days (which is pretty much the same) and I was satisfied with it - except for the battery wiggle.

So what is your advice?

 

I've had my t400s for about a month now. I love it in every way except that high-pitched whine you mention. I didn't notice it for the first couple of weeks, but now it's there off and on and can be annoying. Maybe it wouldn't bother me as much if I had a regular HD spinning in the background, but with the SSD my machine is otherwise silent.

No battery wiggle on the T400s btw. Quite solid. And easy to get 7 hours with the ultrabay battery installed. Keyboard is fabulous, as is the touchpad with scrolling & pinching gestures. Screen is quite bright as well. All in all a fabulous machine unless you are looking for a teensy footprint.

 

I have the high-pitched whine on my T400s as well. It was also present on my Z61p, but only when it was powered by battery. It's definitely related to the CPU-frequency scaling.

 

I wonder how the reviewer got 5 hrs 48 minutes (on Vista) I am getting not more than 3 hours on my T400s with XP for using outlook and internet browsing...

any of you have a similar experience? I am not happy with 3 hours of battery life...as my expectation was 5 hours based on the review...

 

Which of the T400 would you suggest? The T400s or the regular T400?

 

vishalba, what settings do you use? (screen brightness, power save, etc)
also what kind of hd do you have because the reviewer was using the samsung ssd which is probable the most efficient drive in terms of power usage.