Lenovo ThinkPad T400 First Look

[zachlutz]

Originally Posted by inzo134

If anyone can install any Linux OS in this laptop and able to run everything as it should, please let me know.

I read the T500 review, about the keyboard, how bad new keyboard compare to previous keyboard?

In the Lenovo website the laptop only can be customize to 3Gb RAM, is that the max?

Thanks, im waiting for the full review

Choose a 64-bit OS version to add more than 3GB RAM.

[phlebas]

Can we get some pcmark06 and 3dmark06 scores? I am really curious about what kind of scores the t400 can rack in.

[jim_0068]

So i'm looking to upgrade my old IBM T40 and there are two main things i absolutely luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuv about this laptop even to this day:

1) I never really ever hear the fan, freakn' fantastic
2) Keyboard always feels solid

Is the T400 a worthy upgrade over my T40 NOT INCLUDING THE HARDWARE changes

thank you

[Kevin O'Brien]

Originally Posted by phlebas

Can we get some pcmark06 and 3dmark06 scores? I am really curious about what kind of scores the t400 can rack in.

Our T400 configuration got 6589 in PCMark05 and 2575 in 3DMark06. PCMark Vantage was 4374.

[quasiconvex]

thanks, kevin, then what is the GPU in T400? 3640 or 3470?
It seems that the GPU is 3470, but I can not imagine that 3470 has so good performance

Besides, the T400 spes says:

WXGA+ (1440x900, 129dpi, 200+ nit)
WXGA+ W/LED backlight (1680x1050, 129dpi, 200+ nit)

Why both are WXGA+, but the LED has 1680x1050 resolution?

[xyz001]

Originally Posted by Kevin

Our T400 configuration got 6589 in PCMark05 and 2575 in 3DMark06. PCMark Vantage was 4374.

Thanks for that info! Much apprediated.

What resolution did you run the 3dmark06 in? I think that info is quite important since you cant compare the results otherwise.

[zeeyah]

Wait, wait. On this first-look, the graphics are..: ATI Mobility Radeon 3470 w/ 256MB (hybrid switching)

But, when I click on the lenovo site to customize, it gives me this: ATI Mobility Radeon 3640 with 256MB

Which one has the typo?

EDIT: Nevermind, read it on some other thread, its lenovo's typo. ****, I wanted the 36xx vid card on a T400.

[Kevin O'Brien]

Originally Posted by xyz001

Thanks for that info! Much apprediated.

What resolution did you run the 3dmark06 in? I think that info is quite important since you cant compare the results otherwise.

1280x800 for resolution

[Lew]

Originally Posted by quasiconvex

Besides, the T400 spes says:

Why both are WXGA+, but the LED has 1680x1050 resolution?

Because Lenovo is bad for typographical errors.

The LED is WXGA+, 1440x900. The 1680x1050 is clearly a typo; when you calculate the 129dpi it works out to ~15.4" on the diagonal - that's not going to fit in a 14.1 laptop (and still function... )

[RDD]

I am about to replace my current notebook computer, a 6-1/2 year old Toshiba Portege 4010. Because of all the great information in this thread and the T500 thread, I have narrowed my selection down to two Lenovo models, the T400 and T500. I'm leaning toward the T400 with the P9500 processor, but I have several questions. I've listed them with the most important ones first.

* BATTERY AND BATTERY LIFE:
o What is the weight of the T400 with a 320 GB
hard disk and a 9 cell battery?
o Ditto for T500.
o What is the weight of the T400 with a 320 GB
hard disk, a 9 cell battery and a Bay battery?
Ditto for 6 cell? Ditto for T500.
o How much battery life can I expect for each
configuration?
o What are the mAh ratings of the 6 cell, 9 cell, and
bay batteries?
o Is the bay battery the Lithium Polymer battery at
$159 in the accessories list?
* MEMORY:
o Can 4 GB of memory be used with one of the 32
bit Vista operating systems?
o I see only one 64 bit Vista option on the Lenovo
customize list, the Vista Business 64. Does Lenovo
offer other Vista 64 bit systems?
o The spec sheet says these computers can take up
to 8 GB memory but that option doesn't exist in
the customize list. Is it available?
* PROCESSOR:
o I see that the customize option for the T400
added the P9500 processor today. Does that
produce significantly extended battery life vs. the
T9400 processor? Is the option for a P9500
processor also available for the T500?
* DISPLAY:
o The spec sheet says that LED backlighting is
available for the T500 but I can't find it in the
customize list. Is it available now? If not, will it
be available soon?
* OPTICAL DEVICE:
o Does the CD-RW/DVD Rom Combo Drive write to
DVDs or is it read-only for DVDs?
o Is the DVD dual layer Recordable Drive a Combo
drive? Does it read/write to both CDs and DVDs
(both single and dual layer)?
o Will either drive read/write to a CD+RW and/or
DVD+RW?
o Does either drive have Lightscribe label writing
capability? If not is there an option for that?
* POWER CORD / ACCESSORIES:
o How does the AC/DC adapter differ from the
standard adapter? If I get the AC/DC, does it
replace the standard, or supplement it?
o What is the Dual Charging Cable? How does it
differ from the cables that come with the AC/DC
adapter?

I apologize to the list if these questions are off-topic, or if they already have been answered (I may have missed a previous answer). I haven't been in the market for a new computer for several years, and the current set of options is fairly new to me.