Looking at a T400/500

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dysnomian · #1 Post by **dysnomian** » Sat May 16, 2009 12:50 pm

Need to purchase a laptop for med school. Not going to be doing any gaming on it.

Torn between R & T. Despite not being interested in gaming I'd still feel better with a discrete graphics card. Is it worth it? That really ends up being the only difference between the R & T series for me.

I've been watching the ecoupons for lenovo for about a month or so. Do coupons ever come out that are more than 15%? I need to order this thing pretty soon but I'd be so mad to see a 20% off coupon the day after.

Oh and CCFL Vs. LED. Is LED worth it?

Does the 6 cell battery stick out of the laptop or is it flush with the contour like the 4 cell?

Thanks!

ssd_thinkpad · #2 Post by **ssd_thinkpad** » Sat May 16, 2009 4:25 pm

T400 and T500 use different batteries. The T500 6 cell does not stand out. The T400 6 cell stands out.

If you want a quiet and cool notebook, remember that when you use a docking station, the discrete graphics needs to be activated for dvi output.

There are lots of discussions in this forum which displays are the best. Coming from an led x301, I'd take a ccfl display as with this technology, my eyes do not notice any flickering. Most people prefer the led displays. I suggest you see them in person.

dysnomian · #3 Post by **dysnomian** » Sat May 16, 2009 4:42 pm

ssd_thinkpad wrote:If you want a quiet and cool notebook, remember that when you use a docking station, the discrete graphics needs to be activated for dvi output.

Ok what if I don't have a discrete graphics card? Is DVI output available?

ssd_thinkpad · #4 Post by **ssd_thinkpad** » Sun May 17, 2009 4:23 am

If you buy a T400 / T500 without a dedicated graphic card, the integrated intel card will give you dvi output on the docking station. This is the one big advantage of models without switchable graphics.

The term "switchable" is not true when it comes to dvi output on the docking station.

For office, internet and dvds the integrated graphic card is more than enough.

dysnomian · #5 Post by **dysnomian** » Mon May 18, 2009 8:38 am

Thanks a lot. I ordered a T500 with integrated graphics

ssd_thinkpad · #6 Post by **ssd_thinkpad** » Mon May 18, 2009 9:38 am

Great choice!

You can tell in this forum once your notebook arrives about it.

jtp51 · #7 Post by **jtp51** » Tue May 19, 2009 9:32 pm

Just received my ThinkPad T400 directly from Lenovo. I'm replacing a R50p and I couldn't be happier.

Very bright CCFL.

Let us know about the T500. I'd be interested to know if the screen is off center as with the T400 to make room for the Ultra Connect wireless hardware or whatever it is?

--Todd

LambertJohn · #8 Post by **LambertJohn** » Mon May 25, 2009 5:59 pm

I also bought a T400 with CCFL 1440x900 screen (because the LED version wasn't available.) It's bright, colorful, and full of pop. It really surprised me when I fired it up for the first time. I originally had a T400 with an LED 1280x800 screen. Bad choice on my part. It was grainy and not as bright as I would have expected from an LED screen. So I sent it back. I'm very happy with my T400 now. Long live CCFL! At least until my next computer purchase.

zenit · #9 Post by **zenit** » Tue May 26, 2009 11:14 am

LambertJohn wrote:I also bought a T400 with CCFL 1440x900 screen (because the LED version wasn't available.) It's bright, colorful, and full of pop. It really surprised me when I fired it up for the first time. I originally had a T400 with an LED 1280x800 screen. Bad choice on my part. It was grainy and not as bright as I would have expected from an LED screen. So I sent it back. I'm very happy with my T400 now. Long live CCFL! At least until my next computer purchase.

Who is the manufacturer of the CCFL you received? Is the contrast any better than the LED panel?

dysnomian · #10 Post by **dysnomian** » Wed May 27, 2009 4:28 pm

So I just got my T500, and so far it rocks. Feels real solid.

One disconcerning thing however is the memory useage. I tried shutting down as many background programs as possible, as well as getting rid of the vista windows and just running on the plain windows classic theme. I'm still using 40% of system resources while the computer is idling, and I haven't even installed anything!

Anyone know anything about this, or how I can optimize the resources?

jtp51 · #11 Post by **jtp51** » Wed May 27, 2009 10:22 pm

I have a T400 that I just received last week.

Looking at my Windows Task Manager -> Resource Monitor, I just found that some of the ThinkVantage software/services running, but nothing you described.

dysnomian · #12 Post by **dysnomian** » Thu May 28, 2009 9:31 am

Do you have a dedicated graphics card? Could this just be due to the fact that I have integrated graphics?

Managed to get it down to 35% at idling by shutting down a few useless services. If its the graphics then I can live with it, but if its all these stupid services running then thats just gonna piss me off. CPU useage itself is at ~0%, its just the memory.

jtp51 · #13 Post by **jtp51** » Thu May 28, 2009 9:36 am

I only have the integrated graphics card, more than enough for me. For me, I don't mind the ThinkVantage software/services running.

dysnomian · #14 Post by **dysnomian** » Thu May 28, 2009 10:49 am

jtp51 wrote:I only have the integrated graphics card, more than enough for me. For me, I don't mind the ThinkVantage software/services running.

Whats the %age memory useage for you at idle?

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