Confusing specifications in the UK

[bogorman]

Please excuse me for posting this, a similar post to one of mine in a separate thread. I realised on further consideration that the thread concerned was rather old so less likely to be viewed.

There seem to be very few options when purchasing a T400 or T500 in the UK.

On the Lenovo site, if I go to :

http://www5.pc.ibm.com/uk/products.nsf/ ... d+T+Series

it lists the T400 and the T500. The main differences seem to be:


T400 - 14.1" 1440x900WXGA+ TFT ATI Mobility Radeon 3470 Power optimized 250GB (Serial ATA) Disk

T500 - 15.4" 1680x1050WSXGA+ TFT ATI Mobility Radeon 3650
160GB(Serial ATA) Disk

I have emailed the UK Lenovo Shop re the drives and raised the question of their speeds - on other sites they are shown as 5400rpm models for both the T500 and the T400 (in the USA, I think they are available in 7200rpm versions). Their reply:

"It is possible that Lenovo fit some models with the faster spin speed, however I can confirm that the models we currently have available have 5400rpm drives. These drives normally run cooler than the 7200rpm versions."

Could anyone tell me:

How important is the cool running? Does it make the machine more stable? Is the slower speed likely to affect performance much?

I assume that the Lenovo "Shop" are the Lenovo agents in the UK, so dealers would only be able to supply the same machines.

Also, they do not refer to any backlight on the screens - have emailed Lenovo about this.

If anyone would care to comment, I would be grateful.












search their Notebook pages and filter by processor speed to 2GHz to 3GHz, ten are listed including one T400 (part number NM321UK) and two T500's. (pn's NJ252UK and NL34EUK) and these might suit my requirements. However, they do not seem to sell T400s or T500s with the faster 7200 drives. Have emailed Lenovo about this and they replied:

"It is possible that Lenovo fit some models with the faster spin speed, however I can confirm that the models we currently have available have 5400rpm drives. These drives normally run cooler than the 7200rpm versions."

As the Lenovo uk site is, I assume, the site of the UK agents, can I also assume that these models are the only ones available here, or is it worth searching other dealer's sites? Is there a risk, if one obtains a machine from another dealer, of it having a different guarantee/it being secondhand sold as new, etc?

Also, if the 7200 drives run hotter, does this make the computers less stable?

Would appreciate anyone's help on this.

[aaa]

Drive heat is a comfort issue, they usually do not get hot enough to get damaged/affect stability. I've never had a drive heat issue with the older Thinkpads I've had, even with 7200 drives. On the other hand, certain older Dells would get an uncomfortably hot palmrest due to the 5400(!) drive being under it.

So unless the newer Thinkpads have regressed designwise, drive heat should not be a concern.

[bogorman]

thanks for your help. Can you also say whether lower drive speed is likely to affect performance and how much difference does the backlight make?

[bogorman]

I now see that there is a more detailed spec on the uk lenovo site and it would appear that the screens ARE backlit:

T400:
Screen type description: WXGA+ TFT
Viewable image size (diagonal): 14.1inches
Screen illumination: CCFL Backlight
Max colors or grey shades: 16777216
Max resolution: 1440x900

T500:
Screen type description: WSXGA+ TFT
Viewable image size (diagonal): 15.4inches
Screen illumination: CCFL Backlight
Max colors or grey shades: 16777216
Max resolution: 1680x1050

Another question: I note the difference in resolution. Bearing in mind that the T500 has a larger (widescreen) screen, how much difference does the increased resolution have on the quality of the screen appearance?

[wswartzendruber]

Drive heat is a comfort issue, they usually do not get hot enough to get damaged/affect stability. I've never had a drive heat issue with the older Thinkpads I've had, even with 7200 drives. On the other hand, certain older Dells would get an uncomfortably hot palmrest due to the 5400(!) drive being under it.

So unless the newer Thinkpads have regressed designwise, drive heat should not be a concern.

I've got a 320 GB, 7200 RPM drive and I don't ever feel heat, even when it constantly runs.

[bogorman]

Hi,
Yes, I think it's just, for some unknown reason, that the faster drives are not available in the UK, so it would appear one has to accept the slower drives here.
Can you comment on the difference in screen quality between the widescreen and non-widescreen screens, bearing in mind that the former is WSXGA+ and the latter WXGA+ ?