Thinkpads Forum

Hello,

need your commands...
i have a T400 on order (should be here in 1 week hopefully (LED)) and ordered a R400 for my wife yesterday...(LED WXGA+,3GB RAM,3G,160GB,Vista Business,....2 Ghz Proc (enough )

now i'm trying to figure out the real differences:
1. The R400 is al little bit thicker and a litte bit heavier......but are there also other differences?
2. Tabook says both have the rollcage and are made of the same materials...true?

What about the motherboard - also the same (without the Ati swichable...)?
Can i use the R400 battery in the T400 and vice versa?

i know it uses another ultrabay system (height)...

Got a pretty good deal on that R400 so i am thinking if the T400 is worth it. Got a good deal on the T400 too.....but, just thinking ......

The gap between the R & T series has narrowed to the point of hardly any difference. And what little there is, in my opinion, are actually benefits. While you don't see the R series in my signature below it's due to the limitation in length, as I have several R's. What I really like about that series is the no worry, no wear plastic used for the case. It does not show the wear like the rubberized finish of the T series. It's also very strong. And don't get me wrong, I'm extremely careful with my ThinkPads. They all have proper cases etc, yet the corners of the T series soft finish eventually wear off. Also fingerprints are much harder to clean off. Whereas the R series plastic has a very nice looking finish that is easy to care for. Moving on to the technical differences the Tabook is your best bet because as most of us know, there are so many configurations. Functionally they are identical in my experience. Same great keyboard. Same great build quality. Same great ergonomics. It's a ThinkPad....what more can I say.
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Cheers...

Also, I believe the R series are slightly thicker. They do not use the ultrabay slim optical drives, they use thicker ones which accounts for the height difference.

Both the T and the R typically use very similar (if not the same) motherboards, keyboards, etc. The only difference is size and available options. As of now, the R series on the US site is only available with integrated intel x4500 gpu.

The R series prior to the r400/500 always had discrete graphics as an option, not sure if lenovo will make this an option at a later time.

Hope this Helps!

thanks for your replies.... i'll tell my experiences with the R compared to my T after i got it

i had a R50p for 1 week (5 years ago) and then did choose a T41p, because of the build-quality and the size. we'll see how the "new" R-Series competes.... the T41p was and is an incredible machine....

My R60 is more solid at this point in its life than either my T41 or T42.

Beginning with the T61 series, the 14" widescreen R and T series are almost indistinguishable from each other in size, appearance and weight. The R is only 1/8" thicker and a couple of ounces more. The cover finish is identical, the rubberized paint found on all T-series machines.

The 15" widescreen R and T series have much bigger differences. The R is noticeably thicker (approx. 1/2"), weighs more and has the plastic cover finish vs. the rubberized cover finish.

The 14" R is a great value, with little trade off, as compared to the 14" T series, for similarly spec'd machines. The 15" R is a tougher call - it is huge. (All have excellent roll cages around the mobo's and LCD's.)

NOTE: Prior to the T61 series, all R series models were approx. 1/2" thicker than their T series counterparts and they had plastic covers (vs. rubberized).

would wrote:Hello,

need your commands...
i have a T400 on order (should be here in 1 week hopefully (LED)) and ordered a R400 for my wife yesterday...(LED WXGA+,3GB RAM,3G,160GB,Vista Business,....2 Ghz Proc (enough )

now i'm trying to figure out the real differences:
1. The R400 is al little bit thicker and a litte bit heavier......but are there also other differences?
2. Tabook says both have the rollcage and are made of the same materials...true?

What about the motherboard - also the same (without the Ati swichable...)?
Can i use the R400 battery in the T400 and vice versa?

i know it uses another ultrabay system (height)...

Got a pretty good deal on that R400 so i am thinking if the T400 is worth it. Got a good deal on the T400 too.....but, just thinking ......

2. Tabook says both have the rollcage and are made of the same materials...true? - The internals are very close.

What about the motherboard - also the same (without the Ati swichable...)? - Very similar, if not identical - based on a complete tear down of an R400 with Intel graphics and a T400 with ATi switchable.

Can i use the R400 battery in the T400 and vice versa? - Yes, they use the same battery.

ok, got the R400 today.
First impressions: Pretty good keyboard - better than the T400. Same FRU (42T4075) and MFG (42T4043) on both by the way...
Very solid and no sound from the 90W PowerAdapter - different FRUs for the adapters here

Your R400 probably benefits from the April 2009 structure enhancement while your T400 most likely does not.

My T400 was made in September 2008 and lacks the enhancement. Lenovo sent me a T61 keyboard that went right in and improved things somewhat.

Key action was always excellent, but the T61 board has a bit less flex.

but the funny thing is that they are both produced April 2009....

Actually my T400 had a DOA one day after i got it - so i`ll get a new one and maybe (hopefully) the keyboard on the new one is better

Howdy,

X61s driver here and currently helping a brother out with picking a ThinkPad and was a bit unsure about R400 or T400 and some config options.

Initially recommended R400; he doesn't need portability but a DeskTop replacement and will be downgrading to XP for sure. This thread has swayed it to the R400 even more.

It's interesting how the R & T series have converged more with each generation..

Two questions though. On the config page, I've been unable to find info about these option differences:

1) Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD w/ 1394
vs
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD - Non-AMT (more $)

2) ThinkPad b/g/n
vs
Intel WiFi Link 5100 (AGN) with My WiFi Technology (more $)

Definitely need 1394. Why is non-ATM more $ than 1394?
Is the Intel 5100 worth the upgrade? It will be used with an old school, more than adequate, 54Mbs wireless router. Does the Thinkpad brand card have any reliability issues or otherwise?

Much appreciated in advance..

p.s. Tried looking for guidance in the R400/R500 area, but it doesn't seem to be nearly as active..

hi,

i got my new and exchanged T400 yesterday.

The good thing: I now have the LG LED Screen - nice! I had the Samsung in the defect one....

better than before: The keyboard is better now - but the keyboard on the R400 feels much more solid! Don't get me wrong; the T400 keyboard isn't bad either - but the R400 is rock solid!

The machine was build on 13th May 2009

It does appear that there's a pretty substantial difference in battery life between the two, isn't there, with the T400 having a big advantage?

Integrated graphics models should be about the same, depending more on which battery 4, 6 or 9 cell) than which model.

I highly recommend the R400. I'm using one right now, and it's not perfect, but pretty close to it.

I do have a few minor issues with it:

-The little rubber pads on the top of the lid which keep it seperated from the base when the lid is closed are not thick enough, and as a result, the lid has a tiny bit of vertical movement while it is locked down.
-The volume/thinkvantage/power button panel flexes a bit more than I'd like
-The plastics surrounding the keyboard on the right side (above the optical drive) flex a little as well

Incredibly minor details to a stunning laptop.

I have to agree, but state that such descriptions apply to the T400 as well as the R400. My T400 is an early model (though recently purchased) that does not have the improved keyboard bracing. Even so, it is far better than the old T2x machines I remember, and about equal to my old T42p.

I have since replaced the keyboard with a T61 keyboard and that addition makes this THE MOST RIGID keyboard platform of any ThinkPad I've ever owned.

Plastics aren't at T2x levels, but are equal to T4x levels, in my opinion.

Performance is incredible, even with the integrated graphics.

Very impressive machine.

By the way, I'm currently at a conference and have been useing my T400 for notetaking and research with the screen at 2 bars, wifi off, USB connected to my BlackBerry as a tethered modem (and powering/charging the BlackBerry). I still have 48% of my dual battery power remaining (9 cell and ultrabay). With the screen dimmed fully and battery stretch enabledit would run even longer. Wow!