Thinkpad T400/T500 available August 5th

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mrichichdrew · #61 Post by **mrichichdrew** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 12:52 pm

The demo we've seen is a 14.1", 1440x900, LED backlit screen. I assume 1680x1050 is a mistake.

ian12345 · #62 Post by **ian12345** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 1:15 pm

OK I if most of the time I am using my thinkpad (T60p) in a advanced mini dock with 2 external monitors does it matter if I have discrete or integrated? Currently I have a 24" and a 20 ". When I get new T400 I want to be able to get as big as possible external monitors.

SHoTTa35 · #63 Post by **SHoTTa35** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 1:39 pm

well do you want 2 30" LCDs or just one? Monitors that big need a dual-link DVI which basically uses up all the bandwdith. To get another 30" LCD you'd need the advanced dock with a PCI-E card inside supporting dual link also.

In You have space for 2, 30" LCDS though? :O

ian12345 · #64 Post by **ian12345** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 2:05 pm

SHoTTa35 wrote:well do you want 2 30" LCDs or just one? Monitors that big need a dual-link DVI which basically uses up all the bandwdith. To get another 30" LCD you'd need the advanced dock with a PCI-E card inside supporting dual link also.

In You have space for 2, 30" LCDS though? :O

I would love 2 30" screens but I don't want to hassle with a Advanced dock and PCI-E card at home and at work. So I want to be able to use the biggest monitors possible with the Advanced MIni Dock. Currently I have the 24" connected to the DVI and the 20" connected to the VGA. I wonder with the T400 if it will be different?

SHoTTa35 · #65 Post by **SHoTTa35** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 2:18 pm

well probably not. You can use 1 30" with the T60 now but not even with a desktop can you turn 2 30" with just 1 video card. EVen though some PCI-E cards have 2 DVI ports on them you can't run 2 dual link LCDs simulataneously. Not even with the latest nVidia cards can you do that and that's a $400 card. There just enough enough bandwidth to manage 2 LCDs at those resolutions at the sametime.

As i said though, even a T60 today can run a 30" LCD with the advanced MINI dock. NO extra card needed.

oghowie · #66 Post by **oghowie** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 6:43 pm

Will definitely be updating to the t400 LED from my t43. Hopefully the LED is better than anything the t6x had.

Also, love the fact you can still get XP Pro pre-installed instead of Vista.

awolfe63 · #67 Post by **awolfe63** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 11:55 am

SHoTTa35 wrote:well probably not. You can use 1 30" with the T60 now but not even with a desktop can you turn 2 30" with just 1 video card. EVen though some PCI-E cards have 2 DVI ports on them you can't run 2 dual link LCDs simulataneously. Not even with the latest nVidia cards can you do that and that's a $400 card. There just enough enough bandwidth to manage 2 LCDs at those resolutions at the sametime.

As i said though, even a T60 today can run a 30" LCD with the advanced MINI dock. NO extra card needed.

I count 11 different Nvidia cards that support 2 dual-link DVI ports.
http://www.nvidia.com/object/IO_11761.html

They start under $200.

ian12345 · #68 Post by **ian12345** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 12:00 pm

awolfe63 wrote:
SHoTTa35 wrote:well probably not. You can use 1 30" with the T60 now but not even with a desktop can you turn 2 30" with just 1 video card. EVen though some PCI-E cards have 2 DVI ports on them you can't run 2 dual link LCDs simulataneously. Not even with the latest nVidia cards can you do that and that's a $400 card. There just enough enough bandwidth to manage 2 LCDs at those resolutions at the sametime.

As i said though, even a T60 today can run a 30" LCD with the advanced MINI dock. NO extra card needed.
I count 11 different Nvidia cards that support 2 dual-link DVI ports.
http://www.nvidia.com/object/IO_11761.html

They start under $200.

When using an advanced dock with a seperate video card do you have to reboot everytime you dock and undock or can you just hibernate to dock and undock? Are the advanced docks with seperate video cards a hassle?

awolfe63 · #69 Post by **awolfe63** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 12:22 pm

When I tried it with my T42 (ATI internal graphics), I had to reboot if I used an Nvidia graphics card and not if I used an ATI card - but I'm not sure I ever got it quite figured out right. I assume the answer is OS specific as well.

ian12345 · #70 Post by **ian12345** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 12:24 pm

awolfe63 wrote:When I tried it with my T42 (ATI internal graphics), I had to reboot if I used an Nvidia graphics card and not if I used an ATI card - but I'm not sure I ever got it quite figured out right. I assume the answer is OS specific as well.

yea sounds like a hassle. I will stick with my mini dock. does anyone know the size of 2 external monitors I can use. 1 dvi and 1 vga.

awolfe63 · #71 Post by **awolfe63** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 12:47 pm

You can use 1920x1200 on each. The VGA one needs a good cable and works better with newer (T6x) thinkpads than older ones. Probably will be fine with T400/T500.

ian12345 · #72 Post by **ian12345** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 12:51 pm

awolfe63 wrote:You can use 1920x1200 on each. The VGA one needs a good cable and works better with newer (T6x) thinkpads than older ones. Probably will be fine with T400/T500.

What size monitor in inches works best with native 1920 x 1200 resolution? I really appreciate the help. I prefer Dell monitors if that makes any difference.

awolfe63 · #73 Post by **awolfe63** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 1:15 pm

24" or 27" from Dell. I use the 24".

laowai · #74 Post by **laowai** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 6:25 pm

mrichichdrew wrote:The demo we've seen is a 14.1", 1440x900, LED backlit screen. I assume 1680x1050 is a mistake.

Sadly, if it was not a mistake, I could *almost* justify going to widescreen. This is one of those confusing things going on, there was once a trend of higher and higher resolution, now it's reversing and no one seems to notice or care. It the industry is determined that "widescreen is the path to enlightenment", then at least give me the same vertical resolution so I'm not losing pixels.

computerpro3 · #75 Post by **computerpro3** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 2:49 pm

SHoTTa35 wrote:well probably not. You can use 1 30" with the T60 now but not even with a desktop can you turn 2 30" with just 1 video card. EVen though some PCI-E cards have 2 DVI ports on them you can't run 2 dual link LCDs simulataneously. Not even with the latest nVidia cards can you do that and that's a $400 card. There just enough enough bandwidth to manage 2 LCDs at those resolutions at the sametime.

As i said though, even a T60 today can run a 30" LCD with the advanced MINI dock. NO extra card needed.

This is incorrect. Even my $100 used ATI x1900xtx has my 2 30in monitors running at full 2560x1600 resolution.

dickeywang · #76 Post by **dickeywang** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 3:43 am

laowai wrote:
mrichichdrew wrote:The demo we've seen is a 14.1", 1440x900, LED backlit screen. I assume 1680x1050 is a mistake.
Sadly, if it was not a mistake, I could *almost* justify going to widescreen. This is one of those confusing things going on, there was once a trend of higher and higher resolution, now it's reversing and no one seems to notice or care. It the industry is determined that "widescreen is the path to enlightenment", then at least give me the same vertical resolution so I'm not losing pixels.

I understand how you feel, and I am no fan of the wide screen either. Technically though, it is more difficult to provide the same vertical resolution on a 14.1" wide screen than to do so on a 14.1" 4:3 screen. The wide screen format is smaller in area as well as in height, so unless the manufacturer put into a higher dpi, which is likely to cost more and usually manufacturers would like to avoid, you will see a lower vertical resolution on the wide screen.
It's all about the cost.

RsChris · #77 Post by **RsChris** » Fri Jul 25, 2008 2:02 pm

Hello, are there any news about the release of the T400/T500. on the Webside of lenovo are special offers to the 28th july...

What are the differences between the Graphic chips in the T400 and T500?

Thinkpad T400/T500 available August 5th

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