Thinkpads Forum

Have been browsing eBay only to find chumps who don't have the time, inclination or familiarity with their own merchandise to do buyers the courtesy of listing the number of cells in batteries, their cycle counts or watt hours, to say nothing of other grave oversights and assorted signs of sketchiness. I would, instead, prefer to purchase my DreamPad from one of you fine folks, who, on average, seem to know your sh*t a good bit more.

Still unable to decide between a T400, T400s and T500, so I'm listing my ideal specs for each:

T400s
[*]1440x900 WXGA+ LED backlight w/ or w/out Multitouch (LG, no Samsung)
[*]SP9600 (2.53GHz, 6MB L2, 1066MHz FSB, TDP 25W)
[*]4GB RAM (1x4GB) or 8GB RAM
[*]128 GB SSD
[*]DVD±RW Combo Drive
[*]OEM ThinkPad 6-Cell 59+ Battery (51J0497), new or lightly used with 90% original capacity or better

T400
[*]1440x900 WXGA+ LED backlight (LG, no Samsung)
[*]P9500 (2.53GHz, 6MB L2, 1066MHz FSB, TDP 25W)
[*]256MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD3470 Switchable Graphics
[*]4GB RAM (1x4GB) or 8GB RAM
[*]128 GB SSD
[*]DVD±RW Combo Drive
[*]OEM ThinkPad 6-Cell 33+ (41U3198) or 9-Cell 33++ (43R2499) Battery, new or lightly used with 90% original capacity or better
[*]Advanced Mini Dock (250410U)

T500
[*]ANY LG-manufactured LED backlit display with resolution of 1440x900 or greater
[*]P9500 (2.53GHz, 6MB L2, 1066MHz FSB, TDP 25W)
[*]256MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD3650 Switchable Graphics
[*]4GB RAM (1x4GB) or 8GB RAM
[*]128 GB SSD
[*]DVD±RW Combo Drive
[*]On-board DisplayPort or Advanced Mini Dock (250410U)

Non-essential goodies:
[*]Advanced Ultrabay Battery III (57Y4536) new or lightly used with 90% original capacity or better
[*]ThinkPad GOBI 3000 WWAN Card (0A36185)
[*]Webcam
[*]Fingerprint Reader
[*]T6x keyboard
[*]Case
[*]Wireless Mouse
[*]Pony

Of the three, I'm leaning toward the T500, so long as an LED backlit display is sourceable.

*NOTE*: This machine will be used with a 24" Dell Ultrasharp U2410 as a secondary display. If one or more of the above configurations will be unable to output reasonably good resolutions, whether via dock-based DVI or an on-board DisplayPort, please let me know so I can eliminate those candidates from the running. Alternately, if integrated video can hack it just as well as discrete GPUs, that too is valuable information.

Feel free to reply here or PM with any questions/offers/suggestions. Many thanks in advance.

-myxomop

AFAIK, LED-lit screens were not an option on T500, regardless of resolution.

If you're running just one external monitor, integrated graphics should more than suffice for basic stuff. However, if you're intent on serious CAD work, gaming etc. you'll need switchable graphics...

What are you looking to spend anyway?

ajkula66

trying to keep it under or around $500. 2ndary display is for photo editing and some video playback. my source for LED backlighting being available of T500 displays is here:

http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/T500

WXGA available with LED backlight in some regions

WXGA (1280x800) is less than yours (WXGA+) 1440x900 requirement...even if you were to find one...

Your best bet is likely T400, and you might get away with all the required specs for what you're willing to spend.

Good luck.

I have an almost new T420 if you're interested. It has I5 processor, webcam and quite a few nice options including 3year warranty until 3-17-2015. Original retail is over $2000, with web discount and coupon it's slightly over $1300. The unit is near mint and I'm looking to get $500-600 depending on the config.

I will be posting it in the forum as soon as I have the time, but would prefer to sell it with as little effort as possible.

TuuS,

Can you list or PM the specs?

I have several T500, T510 systems. I also have a T400s, T410s, T420s and a T420. If your upper limit is $500, anything but the T420 and T420s might be in range. If you're still interested, I'll look your specs over again and see what might fit.

Ahh .. You want a P9500 CPU. Hard to come by. I have a P9600 (ES model) up for auction in a batch of CPUs on eBay. Would that work for you? PM coming ..

Sincerely -- Bob

The t420 basic specs are....


T420
Intel core i5-2520M 2.5ghz
Genuine windows 7 Professional 64bit
14" (1366x768) LED Backlit
Intel HD graphics 3000 processor graphics with dynamic frequency
Ram your choice of 4 or 8gb
Camera 720p HD cam with microphone
Harddrive your choice
DVD multiburner