Thinkpads Forum

It is time for me to upgrade my T60, and I am contemplating between T410 and T410s. My heart is on T410s because it is thinner and more portable. However, my main concern with it is the hard drive size. I currently have 500GB hard drive, and it is almost 70% full. So, the 250GB (max) drive on T410s won't do. I can probably use an Ultra Bay HD, but it will be a hassle to toggle between a HD and a DVD drive.

So, the choice is between the size of the laptop itself (T410s) and the size of HD (T410). Thus, I would like to ask your advice on "how much portable (and smaller) T410s is when compared to T410." I read the specs, but the differences on the spec sheets are not that much (T410 is 21.1mm thick/3.91lb and T400 is 27.6mm (up to 31.9mm) thick/5lb). However, in reality, this difference may be bigger than it is on the paper. Unfortunately, I don't know anyone who owns T410s (I assume T410 is about the same size as T400 or T61). Thus, I am wondering if someone who has seen both could give me some advice. By the way, the price is not a concern because my company will pay for it.

Thank you in advance.

In laptop terms, 1 lb and half an inch in thickness is huge. You can get a T410s and an external USB hard drive and still be under the weight of a T410. For instance, most of the Seagate FreeAgent drives weigh less than half a pound and are about 1/2 inch tick.

As is usually the case with questions like this, it really does depend on your _personal_ preferences. I have both of the ThinkPad models you are considering. If we take ten paces back and look at the big picture, a question I pose is: does a measly one pound in weight really matter that much? Does an extra 15mm to 20mm in thickness matter that much? I carry a laptop everywhere (to work, to off site meetings, to campuses, etc). And I've done this for many years, carrying a 15" then 15.4", and now 15.6" T510. For me it's just not a big deal. Thus obviously, I prefer the large display. Conversely I have the gamut of small ThinkPads all the way down to light weight X60s and even lighter S10 netbook. So granted I have lots of choices. To your questions. Do you _really_ need 500GB of data on board each and everyday? Why not off load to an external drive, keeping only the day to day files on your ThinkPad? I find both the T410 and S model excellent machines. In the mindset of thin & light the S model gets my vote Hands Down! Stylish, solid, fast & cool it's an outstanding model.

Well, the T410s does not have the telephone line (v.92) connection, for me this was the deal breaker...
(honestly, there's enough space in there to add it in)

I've used my T42s more than a few times to send faxes out only, and even used my telephone dial-up to access my emails when there is no broadband (or when the broadband was down--it happened twice in my 5.5 yrs of T42s use).

Take a look at the USB ports on the T410s, there in the back. The T410 has the USB ports on the side where they belong.