Thinkpads Forum

Am about to purchase a T400. Will only be working mobile perhaps 10% of the time…and when not, will connect to an external monitor. I am fairly well set on configuration, T9400 processor, running XP, 3 GB of RAM, 250 GB 5400 rpm hard drive, but I was hoping to get opinions on WXGA w/ LED backlit vs WXGA w/ CCFL backlit vs WXGA + w/ CCFL backlit. Zero to marginal difference in cost. I realize that this is largely a subjective call, but with no personal point of reference, some experienced opinions would be very helpful. Thanks

WXGA+ (1440x900) is the only reasonable option for 14.1" display size unless you have serious problems with your eyes demanding very large pixels. Don't get confused by importance of CCFL versus LED backlight, it is marketing fluff only with zero influence on display quality (note: I don't consider a brighter display better, I need luminance below 40 cd for everyday use). The only real advantage of LED backlight is lower power consumption.

rlgm wrote:Am about to purchase a T400. Will only be working mobile perhaps 10% of the time…and when not, will connect to an external monitor. I am fairly well set on configuration, T9400 processor, running XP, 3 GB of RAM, 250 GB 5400 rpm hard drive, but I was hoping to get opinions on WXGA w/ LED backlit vs WXGA w/ CCFL backlit vs WXGA + w/ CCFL backlit. Zero to marginal difference in cost. I realize that this is largely a subjective call, but with no personal point of reference, some experienced opinions would be very helpful. Thanks

I fretted over this a lot before I made my decision Monday, so I understand the dilemma.

I wound up choosing the WXGA+ with CCFL, because, after days of reading everything I could find about it, I found no one who was less than happy with that screen, while several were unhappy with the WXGA with LED.

I also spent a few days with my current T41P set at 1400 x 1050, and it was much better than the first time I tried it, having spent some time adjusting the DPI. Another big consideration was that, while 1280 x 1024 has been fine, the T400's widescreen will allow for less depth, meaning a WXGA would max at 1280 x 800.

The Tabook also gives a higher NIT rating for WXGA+ than WXGA, even when both are CCFL.

So, there's my 2 cents, fwiw. : )

If it's docked most of the time, it probably don't matter. I don't find WXGA and WXGA+ do be all that different in the way XGA and SXGA+ are.

PS. I agree with Puppy about not needing things to be LED bright.... unless you want to work in very high light areas, I too think it's a little overrated. Another positive that I was wanting from LED was long life, but after reading for days, I came away unconvinced that it was going to live up to that press.

Bottom line: If you can find LED with WXGA+, I would go for it. But LED isn't worth losing the higher resolutions, IMO. (And I say this as someone who usually prefers sitting at a 3'-4' distance and browsing at 1024 x 768, and working at 1280 x 1024.)

It's just better to have the ability to fit more onto a screen when you need to, IMO. You can always up the DPI and font sizes if things look too small.

(I do wish I could up the DPI without a reboot, so I could go from low-res without the high DPI without restarting. Perhaps someone here can tell us how.)

FredGarvin wrote:If it's docked most of the time, it probably don't matter. I don't find WXGA and WXGA+ do be all that different in the way XGA and SXGA+ are.

That's a very good point, Fred.


You didn't mention it, rlgm, but I'd advise you to make sure to go up to the 5300 Wifi. It'll be more powerful, have the three antennas you'll want if you upgrade in the future, and the 5100s appear to be problematic for some.

How sure are you about your CPU and hard drive choices?

DeAnna...are you suggesting something different? The T9400 configuration is $80+ dollars more than the P8600, but also includes Bluetooth and camera. May use Bluetooth...if there...camera probably more a frill. Money well spent on the processor?....or better off with the 8600 and putting toward a faster hard drive? Again...I welcome all thoughts.

And thanks to all for the display opinions. Will go with the WXGA + CFL. Thanks again.

rlgm wrote:DeAnna...are you suggesting something different? The T9400 configuration is $80+ dollars more than the P8600, but also includes Bluetooth and camera. May use Bluetooth...if there...camera probably more a frill. Money well spent on the processor?....or better off with the 8600 and putting toward a faster hard drive? Again...I welcome all thoughts.

And thanks to all for the display opinions. Will go with the WXGA + CFL. Thanks again.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking... you might want to look into stepping down a little on the CPU and upping your hard drive to 7200 rpm, just to make sure your hard drive won't be a bottleneck. That's what they told me to do, and it made sense to me, as long as the step down was small.
ETA: Here's the thread, for reference:
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=45&t=77270


I'm not advising you to do that, but only to look into it. I don't know what you need to run, and our situations are a bit different; you're getting a bigger hard drive, and size alone speeds up performance...
Plus, I was only considering the P8x00s, so going from a 2.53 to a 2.40 CPU - the step down for you could be more noticeable. (I don't need the T9x00 CPU, or even want one, because they're hotter, and running long and cool is more important to me than running faster.)

It's all going to depend on what you need to do, so I'd post that and ask the pros here what they think. : )

Sometimes there are simply too many options. Will do a bit more research, but from what I've read...it sounds like the T400 is just a good machine...and probably can't go wrong either way. I do appreciate your thoughts. Thanks again.