Should I try this T400..?

[Norway Pad]

Hello all

This is the first time that I have moved into the Thinkpad world beyond the T60 era (Except the T510 I have at work). Since my T60s are docked most of the time, I am looking for a laptop to drag around the house, maybe bring along when I travel or maybe just use to watch a movie in bed. So I ended up wanting to try the 14" form factor, in the shape of a T400. A company that I have used before, that specializes in ex-company laptops, has some of them for sale now. The specs for one of them is:

LENOVO THINKPAD T400 TYPE 6474-CTO
P8400(2.26GHz), 3GB RAM, 160GB 5400rpm HD, 14.1in 1440x900 LCD, Intel X4500HD, CDRW/DVDRW, Intel 802.11agn wireless, Bluetooth, Modem, 1Gb Ethernet, UltraNav, Secure chip, Fingerprint reader, 6c Li-Ion, WinVista Business 32

So the questions are:

• - I assume the RAM can be taken up to 8Gb in a 2x4Gb config?

• - Which CPU would be the best compromise of price, performance and temperature here? Maybe the one that's already there?

• - Are there any known issues with the T4/500 line? Ref. T4x loose GPU and T61 Nividia issues.

• - And last but not least: How does the Intel integrated graphics perform? What can this one do / not do compared to my T60's X1400 and X1300 ATI
  graphics? I need at least a graphics performance that allows me to watch anything that I am today watching on my T43 or T60. Nothing more, nothing less. That is probably my biggest concern.

Edit: I also assume that these run Win7 or Win8 with no driver issues?

If anyone has any other useful views, I am also happy to hear. This will also be my first meeting with the widescreen form factor for private use, a meeting I have put off for the longest time..

[Cigarguy]

T400 is more than capable playing back 1080p content. It's hard to compare GPU performance in laptops as it is dependent on a lot other factors such as CPU, chipset, HDD or SSD and speed, etc. Having said that I do have a T40 AMD 7500, T60 with Intel x1400, T601 Frankenpad NV140, T61 with NV140 and X3100, T400 integrated and a bunch more. Anything you can do or watch on a T43/T60p you can do on a T400/T500 platform. Only reason I love my T40/T60 more is the 4:3 screen format and Flexview screen.

This I do know about the T400, even with integrated graphics, is as every much as capable as any previous generation TP but is easier to upgrade because the chipset is a little more modern, takes DDR3 vs DDR2, have native SATA II support, takes Montevina class CPUs which contains CPUs that can outperform a T9300 at a lot less price. The T8400 is pretty good for what you are doing. I would not upgrade this. 2x4 GB of RAM yes and then a SSD.

I have both a T400 and T500, AFAIK there's nothing like the issues that the T4x and T61 Nvidia series suffers.

As for "Should I try this T400...?", that depends on the price. Having used both a T400 and X61 Tablet (with X60 Flexview sxga+ screen), I much prefer the X61. It's smaller, have longer battery life and that wonderful Flexview screen. My office is my truck (one man construction company) so the smaller size, lighter weight and longer battery life is nice. But again this is personal preference.

[ZaZ]

Given the usage, I don't think the CPU matters much. Any modern CPU will do, but the best path to better performance is likely a SSD as the boot drive. You can put a bigger hard drive in the modular caddy if you want more space. Who burns discs any more.

[thatgothbehindyou]

Who burns discs any more.

I do, thank you very much.

[kangaskhan]

I currently use a Thinkpad T400 with the same CPU, cool. (I acquired it refurbished for $350 last September 2012)

I believe yes, I saw elsewhere on this forum just a few minutes ago about putting 8 GB into a T400 if I'm not mistaken.

I'm not sure as I never really looked into replacement/upgraded CPUs for my T400, but I do know that one is more than capable for normal usage. So I can't really comment on that. (WEI: 5.8 in Windows 8 )

I don't think there are any really outstanding T400 issues, I do know some could hang at the BIOS screen if some USB pins are bent, but again I'm not sure, nor have I experienced it. Maybe snooping around a bit could uncover something, but nothing on the scale of HP's dv2000 series cooling issues.

the integrated graphics are decent/so-so as far as integrated graphics go, I only get occasional video playback stuttering when in powersave mode (typically 480-720p), but what did you expect. It should easily handle video in a typical power management profile. (WEI: 4.1 desktop graphics, 3.4 gaming graphics in Windows 8 )

In terms of 3D gaming, while it probably won't help you much, it probably will help someone else, I can play Starcraft II, League of Legends solidly on low graphics last time i checked, Halo 2 runs OK on high, lower settings are more consistent. and older games like Halo PC, Half-Life run just fine. Minecraft is playable (not buttery by a long shot) at short render distance, and at normal with the optifine mod.
cutting edge games? Eh, maybe, probably not going to be pretty. Planetside 2? don't even think about it.

I recommend that you stay on Windows 7, as Windows 8 driver support can be a bit flaky, Lenovo supports the T410, but not the T400. (You'll need a 3rd-party patched driver for graphics drivers, which has a soft-block preventing installation on 8 otherwise, although it'll work normally for the most part without. Note that Power Manager and the others may not work properly, so stay at 7 if you can.) I use 8 normally, and it's alright, nothing catastrophically broken, or really nothing not working, just minor bumps here and there. (particularly with battery stretch in my case)

[MikeCL]

Given the usage, I don't think the CPU matters much. Any modern CPU will do, but the best path to better performance is likely a SSD as the boot drive. You can put a bigger hard drive in the modular caddy if you want more space. Who burns discs any more.

Plus you can use a USB cd writer if you want.. This is the way I plan on doing it, putting a 750GB in the ultrabay and external writer.

[ajkula66]

Two suggestions from me:

a) Make sure to see the laptop that you're buying and test it out in person. Some of the WXGA+ panels used on T400 were quite dim, and most certainly haven't improved with the time passing...

b) Be prepared to swap the keyboard if you get one of the "Swiss-cheese-design" pieces, since they're rather uncomfortable to type on, having a lot of flex just about everywhere.

Apart from the aforementioned caveats, T400 is a decent product that one can hardly fault at today's bargain basement prices...

[Norway Pad]

Thanks for the good answers guys, this is just what I was looking for.

Gaming is simply a non-subject for me, so as long as I can watch a movie full screen (Netflix, DVD, etc), I am fine with the graphics performance. Good to hear that the Intel handles this. I am a little disappointed that it doesn't support Win8 without the use of patched drivers, but as long as it works it should be ok. It won't be a main machine with the need for lots of storage space, so I suspect I will buy a rather small and cheap SSD for it. The 5400 drive needs to go no matter what.

I will contact them and hear if I can stop by and look at it first in person. So who knows; maybe I become a T400 owner.