New T450s purchase vs. other options (help needed please)

[london1234]

Morning Everyone,

My old T400 has finally conked out - well it still works but I very much need an upgrade. Testimony to how good Thinkpads are.

My workload is basically:

-Quite intense MS Excel statistics (not really VBA scripts more just very big spreadsheets with lots of formulas and data)
-Adobe Photoshop/Illustrator for relatively simple graphics work
-Internet browsing
- a bit of mixed media (music/tv but not so much)

It's not uncommon that i'll have a lot of programs going at the same time and lots of chrome windows.

The main key thing that I want it to be able to accommodate is running DUAL SCREEN DELL U2415 1920 X 1200 resolutions (http://accessories.euro.dell.com/sna/pr ... sku=906524). I'd like to be able to do this without using a docking station if possible though if this is the only way that could be a workaround.

I want something strong and relatively sleek as i do travel quite a bit and battery life is important.

I'm looking at the T450s - how much ""better"" is this than the T440s? I'm also looking to get an i7 rather than i5 processor as it's likely i'll have this laptop for a few years and would like to get as higher spec as i can now.

Feedback would be much appreciated as I only have experience with the Tseries. I've seen the X1 Carbon but don't really have any experience of this line..

Thanks very much for any thoughts/comments.

Sam

[jayk]

If it's between the T450 and 440 series, the new touchpad (with the buttons) should be reason enough to go with the newer model. I use a T530 daily, but this week have had to use a T540 and it's been simply awful using the buttonless touchpad (click-and-drag, right-click... both awful).

[ZaZ]

I'm also looking to get an i7 rather than i5 processor as it's likely i'll have this laptop for a few years and would like to get as higher spec as i can now.

From a cost to benefit ratio, the i7 doesn't make much sense. Only those who run the CPU at or near capacity frequently will get any benefit from it. Even then it'll be small. In three year any CPU you get now will be old. That's the nature of the beast. If you are one of those people, bumping up to the T440p and the quad core is worth consideration.

Dell as a pretty good outlet in the UK. The E7440 might be worth a look. It'd be similar to the T440s, but I believe can be had in the UK Outlet pretty inexpensively. The stick isn't as good, but if you're a touch pad user, that won't matter much.

Most notebooks these days can do three screens given enough ports.