Thinkpads Forum

I'm looking to get a new Thinkpad this spring. I just checked into the T400 and T500 setups, and I've got a problem:

They both cost about the same now, and both have the LED backlight now... Hmmmmmm.

I know the main diff between the two is the screen size and the video card. My main uses for this are Powerpoint, web surfing, and Real Time Strategy games, like Command & Conquer or World in Conflict. Would also use it to watch movies on airplanes.

Can the T400 play RTS games nicely? Can you watch a movie onan airplane with the T500? How do each compare to the other as far as fel and build quality?

Thanks for any advice!

The T400 works better on a plne though the T500 is doable. The T500's LED screen is WXGA while the T400 is WXGA+, giving the T500 less screen real estate, though it will be easier to read.

I was torn over the same thing, and I ended up buying the T400 for a few reasons. 1) It is a heck of a lot more portable - it's only 5.2 lbs even with the 9-cell battery. 2) The LED-backlit screen is much higher quality. I believe the WXGA LED screens used by the T500 have some problems with color bleed, and 1280x800 is awfully low res for a 15.4" screen. 3) the battery life on the T400 is way better. With a 9-cell battery, you can get over 8 hours of battery life on the T400, whereas the T500 gets about 5.

The only disadvantage is that the video card is a fair amount slower. The Radeon 3470 isn't the fastest card by any stretch, but it can still decently play games as long as you put the settings reasonably low. I'm playing Fallout 3, and it runs pretty smooth at 960x600, medium quality, HDR on and 2xAA.

Also, a lot of people, including myself, have gotten really crappy keyboards with the new laptops. If you get one, make sure to complain and they will send you an old T61 keyboard.

jdbuckeye2009 wrote:I was torn over the same thing, and I ended up buying the T400 for a few reasons. 1) It is a heck of a lot more portable - it's only 5.2 lbs even with the 9-cell battery.

No way. More like 5.7.

Ya know it's funny, low resolution bigs creens can actually be a PLUS for some people. Like my Dad and my Mother in Law. My dad has a pair of high end 24" rotating screens, and he runs them at something close to 1300x960. On his T42, his screen is set on 800x600. My MIL has a 19", and I finally got her to run 1280x768... instead of 1024.

Old people like big icons!

I really wish the T400 had a HD output option.

How much does the T500 with a 9 cell weigh?

xxPaulCPxx wrote:How much does the T500 with a 9 cell weigh?

A whole freaking lot.

According to the Tabook - starting at 6.2lbs/2.8kg.

GAAAA! That's a deal killer for me.

A long time ago, I read an article pegging the the heaviest weight for a laptop to be portable without being burdonsom was about 5lbs. That's the difference in automaticly tucking it under your arm to automaticly leaving it behind!

The main problem with the T500 for me is the LOW rez LED panel. What are they thinking? Why get a T500 when you can get an WXGA+ on a 14 inch and get more screen real estate..

Id prefer normal res LED on the T400 and XGA+ LED on the T500 but it is the opposite =/

xxPaulCPxx wrote:A long time ago, I read an article pegging the the heaviest weight for a laptop to be portable without being burdonsom was about 5lbs. That's the difference in automaticly tucking it under your arm to automaticly leaving it behind!

You know, these numbers... they are highly personal, and mostly arbitrary. I bet that this article said 5lbs, just because it is a nice round number. Whenever you mesaure in lbs that is. I am sure that if the writer of the article was using the metric system, he would say something like 2.5kg (5.5lbs), or 2kg (4.4lbs), depending on personal preferences. What is considered truly portable varies between individuals and it is impossible to reach a consensus here.

I agree with you, the exact number will vary. For that matter, the exact temprature where you can start wearing shorts in the spring is 65 degrees F, while in the fall it's 70. At least that's how I roll

But the 5lb rule is why I'm talking you you here - that's where the T series normally lives.

I got into the T series because of the quality and features... and becaue they weigh in at about 5lbs!


I pointed this out to my IT manager who wanted to save a few work dollars on his work laptop. I pointed out that the price difference betwen the R and the T is made up for all the times he has to go looking for where he left his laptop. While we were having that conversation, my T40 was tucked under my arm... he was on his way to go get his "luggable" R!

To be honest, I haven't weighed the T400 with the 9-cell battery. I was under the impression that the T400 started at 4.7 lbs with the 4-cell battery, but I'm not positive about that. I do know that I carry my T400 with the 9-cell battery all over the place at school and it is not even remotely cumbersome. It is lighter than comparable 14" notebooks like the HP Elitebook and Dell Latitude. If you want any lighter, you pretty much have to go with a 13.3" ultraportable like a Macbook, Dell XPS M1330, or Lenovo X300.

The T500 starts at 6.2lbs, which would be a dealbreaker for me. If it is at all comparable to the Dell Inspiron 1520 that my dad uses, then there is absolutely no way that I would want to carry it around all day.

It does kind of piss me off that Lenovo decided against an HDMI port on the T400. I'm guessing the 3470 video card doesn't have HDCP decryption or something.

jdbuckeye2009 wrote:It does kind of piss me off that Lenovo decided against an HDMI port on the T400. I'm guessing the 3470 video card doesn't have HDCP decryption or something.

It has everything. Lenovo simply decided against the HDMI port. In fact, the high-end Thinkpads are supposed to have DisplayPort, not HDMI, and the T500 does have it. One the T400 they didn't have the space to put the HDMI, and all the USB ports, and have an extra vent, so they opted for the extra vent to keep the heat down. At least according to a blog I read on LenovoBlogs.

Personally I'd sacrifice a PCCard slot for an HDMI/Display port