Need advice, can't decide which thinkpad to buy.

[dano]

Hello everyone!

I've red a lot of informations here in the past couple days, which were very usefull and i am thankful for that, but i am still unsure, what mashine i should get.

The situation:
I am more of a desktop pc guy, but the thing is, i am going to study abroad for atleast 6 month and i certainly don't want to pack my pc and the 22" diamondtron CRT screen (47kg ^^). So that is why i want to get a notebook. First, i thought i don't care at all, i will just buy the cheapest consumer celeron laptop, put an SSD in it and should be enough to acces the internet and read a couple pdfs. But then i saw one of my friends old IBM thinkpad subnotebook and i was just amazed by the quality of the materials on it. So i decided to look up a used lenovo thinkpad.

So, i am going to need a notebook to write and read texts, a lot of them, maybe a few times photoshop and virtual mashine applications, but that's really rare. Other then this, HD movies (720p). Even if these things doesnt requires a strong hardware, i like when my system is a breeze to run. I am using SSD (samsung 830) in my desktop pc, and i will definitely use one in the laptop aswell. I wont use it for games.

So, i thought, since i am going to use the notebook mostly my dorm room on the desk, i should propably get a 15", but i am fine with a 14", since i have to bring it sometime to the university for groupprojects. I was looking for these, and i found two candidates, for the very same price:

1.) ThinkPad T400 (6475-GU5): 14,1" TFT 1280x800, P8600, 4GB DDR3, 160gb sata2, Intel GMA X4500MHD, 6cell battery (2-3 hours)

This was made in 2008/12, so i suppose (not sure) this still has the crappy keyboard, not the T61 one. Almost bought it, then i ran into this one:

2.) Thinkpad T60p: 15" TFT SXGA+ 1400 X 1050 flexview, T7400, 2GB RAM, 100gb 7200rpm, ATI Mobility FireGL V5250 256MB, intel wifi, dvd-rw etc... 9cell battery (1hour max.). This one is in a perfect condition, looks like a new one on the pictures.


So here i am, looking for advice, which one to buy, or maybe other suggestions. The trouble for me is, that i would LOVE the t60p's screen. 4:3, just like my home CRT, and it is an IPS panel after all. I would really enjoy that, i am sure. But i am unsure about the performance and noise of that computer. No idea, how my SSD would performe with sata1 for example, or does it feel a bit rusty to use windows 7 on it, compared to my desktop pc.

The T400 got some nice specifications, that hardware would be sufficiant for me i guess, and i heard its a nice cool and silent notebook. The intel vga should be enough for HD movies and i guess it takes less to cool that aswell. But what about the quality of the whole product? How bad is that screen compared to the flexview? Does it have the famous thinkpad keyboard aswell?

The best propably would be the T400 with the screen and quality of that T60, but i know that impossible. So here i am, asking you guys to borrow me your wisdow for a bit.

Thanks in advance, and apologies for my language mistakes.

Dano

[mikemex]

It seems like you made your decision already. If a T60p serves you well, then just go for it.

But if I were you I would get the T400 instead. It has a 64 bit processor as standard and the chipset isn't limited to 3GB like the T60 is, plus it uses DDR3 instead of of DDR2. DDR3 is dirt cheap now so you can happily put 8GB in there.

It also has lots of antennas built in: three for WIFI (450 MBPS possible with the right card) and two for WWAN. Three MiniPCI-E slots which you can use to expand the solid storage capacity through SD to MiniPCI-E adapters.

Besides, the video card in the standard T400 is likely about the same as the V5250. And it offers automatic switching. Unless you use CAD I'd go for it simply because it's newer and produces less heat (and battery lasts longer). The T60p was a hot model if I remember correctly.

But since you're mostly a desktop guy, probably the last two points don't matter that much and the 15 inch UXGA IPS screen sounds far more appealing... I agree with you on this.

[dano]

Thank you for your input, Mikemex, i appriciate it.

I really didnt decided it yet, since the reasons you mentitioned aswell. The hardware in the T400 is quite a bit more usefull, while the T60's screen is just hard to give up. I think i will go for the T400. Anyone here changed from the T60 to a T400 somewhere in the past? If yes, what are the experiences? Also, i think i could buy a T61 aswell, any oppinions about that? If i go for a T60 or 61, what should i look for? If its a T60, flexview is a must, but i dont really know about the other components, which one was the best configuration for those?

[ajkula66]

If its a T60, flexview is a must, but i dont really know about the other components, which one was the best configuration for those?

Apart from an UXGA panel instead of SXGA+, the one that you were contemplating is pretty maxed out. I don't believe that anyone can actually notice a difference in performance between T7400 and T7600.

BTW, T7400 is a 64-bit CPU, but that 3GB RAM cap on these machines make running a 64-bit OS a less tempting proposal IMO. That being said, a 32-bit version of W7 runs like a champ on these machines with 3GB RAM and a SSD.

[pianowizard]

i too am a desktop guy but during the >6 months abroad, if you need mobility even just once, you would regret not having a laptop. On the other hand, if you are sure a desktop would be okay and if the city you're headed has many local computer stores, perhaps you can buy a desktop computer after getting there? Or, bring a laptop with you, and then buy an external monitor abroad.

I wish the T400 had 1440x900, in which case I would probably recommend it over the T60p, although the latter's 1400x1050 IPS would still be the better screen. My reservation about the T60p is that it might be just a tad slower than what you want.

[dano]

Thanks both of you! I am getting closer again to the T400. Shame about the screen, but maybe i could change it later? I dont think it would be too much work to replace it, and second hand i guess i could get a 1440*900 led panel. Is that right?

Also, can anyone enlighten me about the keyboard and palm rest defect on the first models of T400? When did lenovo change this? Will i have that on the one i am going to buy? (i have a product number if that helps, no serial) The guy who is selling these told me, that he is a hundred procent sure this is the more massive keyboard on it, but considerin the notebook was made in 2008 december, im not so sure. Maybe they changed the keyboard to a hungarian layout later, so might be true.

Any other thing i should look for, before purchasing a T400?

[ajkula66]

Thanks both of you! I am getting closer again to the T400. Shame about the screen, but maybe i could change it later? I dont think it would be too much work to replace it, and second hand i guess i could get a 1440*900 led panel. Is that right?

That's more work (CCFL to LED swap) than you'd want to take on with a less-than-spectacularly spec'd unit such as one that you're considering. Be forewarned that these LED panels are *very* low-quality ones...

Also, can anyone enlighten me about the keyboard and palm rest defect on the first models of T400? When did lenovo change this? Will i have that on the one i am going to buy? (i have a product number if that helps, no serial) The guy who is selling these told me, that he is a hundred procent sure this is the more massive keyboard on it, but considerin the notebook was made in 2008 december, im not so sure. Maybe they changed the keyboard to a hungarian layout later, so might be true.

Any other thing i should look for, before purchasing a T400?

The only way to find out is to remove the keyboard...palmrest was less of an issue here...

[pianowizard]

I should have asked earlier but forgot: what are the specs of your current desktop? Specifically, what CPU, how much RAM and what speed, SATA I vs. II vs. III, and the graphics card. You already told us about the SSD. You said you wanted the laptop to be pretty fast but how fast is "a breeze" is entirely subjective, so knowing your desktop's specs would help us calibrate your sense of speed.

[mikemex]

You can get the T400 with 1440x900 screen...

But I was thinking that 15" T60p vs T400 isn't an apples-to-apples comparison. You'd be happier with a T500. It has all the goodies from T400 plus a larger screen (up to 1650x1050) and a faster graphics card.

[dano]

Thanks again for the input. Well, i know i could get a T400 with the bigger screen, but i couldnt find any in my country. Never really used ebay, maybe i will give it a try now, though i have to get a hungarian keyboard then aswell.

My desktop pc is kinda old aswell, its a Core 2 duo E8400 on 3.6ghz, 4gb geil ultra ddr2(800mhz) 4-4-4-12, radeon HD5870, only sataII. I know the new cpu's are a lot better, but i didnt really see any point in upgrading it, except for the vga card.

You guys know anything about buying stuff from the US, and shipping it in the EU? I guess there are some extra taxes on these stuff, isnt? Maybe i could get better prices from there. I dont want to spend more then ~250$-300$. Maybe i could even get a T500 for that price.


update:

I've found a T500 for almost the same price (+40$) as the T400, Product ID:2241W8Q, same crappy screen, but it has 8gb RAM and a Kingston SSD NOW100 V+ 96GB. i guess this one should be better, right? Did T500 had those crappy keyboards aswell in the begining?

[pianowizard]

My desktop pc is kinda old aswell, its a Core 2 duo E8400 on 3.6ghz, 4gb geil ultra ddr2(800mhz) 4-4-4-12, radeon HD5870, only sataII. I know the new cpu's are a lot better, but i didnt really see any point in upgrading it, except for the vga card.

Some PassMark benchmark scores:

CPU:
Your desktop's E8400 = 2162
The T400's P8600 = 1566
The T60p's T7400 = 1361

GPU:
Your desktop's HD 5870 = 2515 (WOW!)
The T400's GMA X4500MHD = ?
The T60p's V5250 = 116

For RAM, the T400's 4GB DDR3 is faster than your desktop's 4GB DDR2 @ 800MHz, which is faster than the T60p's 2GB DDR2 @ 667MHz.

The T60p would definitely feel slower than your desktop. I think if you care more about performance, you should opt for the T400, but if the screen matters more to you, then get the T60p.