Fast, small and strong enough to be your only computer
Written: Jun 23 '09 (Updated Nov 16 '09)
Product Rating:
Ease of Use:
Quality of Tech Support:
Pros: Thin, light, powerful and about the best battery life in the industry
Cons: None whatsoever
The Bottom Line: Perhaps the best combination of price, performance and quality on the market today. Legendary ThinkPad look and feel with near gaming performance at a very reasonable price.
lawman67's Full Review: Lenovo ThinkPad T400 (276713U) PC Notebook
***Windows 7 Update at end of review*** Recently I published a review of Apple's MacBook Air, which I purchased just over two-weeks-ago. In that review I discussed that model's severely restricted feature set, its lack of connectivity and how I (or you) can overcome those limitations. The primary means by which most MacBook Air owners do that is in the fact that the MacBook Air is rarely, if ever, purchased to be someone's only computer, usually used in addition to a larger, more full-featured model, whether as primary or secondary.
So what does the MacBook Air have to do with the Lenovo ThinkPad T400 that I am now reviewing? In my case, quite a lot. You see, the ThinkPad T400 is what I consider a no compromise laptop, meaning it is powerful enough to replace a desktop, portable enough to actually take with you and comfortable enough to use all-day, every day. Tiny machines like the MacBook Air, the netbooks that are all the rage today and even smart phones have replaced laptops for many of the mobile tasks that people do, but there are times when a full-sized, powerful system are still wanted or needed, and for those times a machine like the T400 is idea.
I'm not going to discuss the compatibility and interoperability between Macs in general or the Air in particular with PCs in this review except to say that cross-platform computing and networking is not the challenge that it once was, and with a little bit of knowledge I have no issues whatsoever sharing files and even resources between a Mac and a PC. Likewise, just as the T400 easily makes up for the shortcomings of the MacBook Air, so too would it make up for the shortcomings of a netbook or a smartphone, and like any PC, is easily compatible with tiny computers and devices of all platforms. Of course it goes without saying that any machine powerful and capable enough to be a main computer is also powerful and capable enough to be an only computer, it just might not be small and light enough.
The ThinkPad T400 is what is known as a "thin-and-light" or "business portable", meaning it is a lot smaller and lighter than a typical consumer laptop. To be specific, the T400 is 1.2" thick and weighs as little as 4.9 lbs when equipped with the 3~4 hour 4 cell battery. In this mode it is about the smallest and lightest computer you can get that doesn't compromise screen size and features or like Lenovo's own 3 lb X301, come at an extremely high price.
The T400, quite simply, is a no-compromise laptop that offers about the best combination today of reasonable pricing, powerful though power-efficient mobile processors, large-enough screen, powerful dedicated graphics paired with power-efficient integrated graphics and all of the ergonomic delights that ThinkPads are famous for, all in a package that is small, thin and light enough for most casual travel. In fact, if it wasn't for the fact that much of my workday was spent going from courtroom to courtroom, suspending and resuming my laptop multiple times per day, I would likely use the T400 as my only computer. I don't because it is just a bit larger and heavier than I would like for that role, and Windows, even the release candidate of Windows 7, still cannot handle frequent sleep/wake cycles reliably or quickly like Mac OS X can.
I do use the T400 for gaming, writing, digital photography, video editing and just about everything that people use desktop computers for. I also own the large battery and the ultrabay battery and use the T400 for longer trips, where the MacBook Air's limitations would intrude on my work or entertainment.
So that is how I use the T400 and why I bought it, but how well does it work as a primary or only PC? Very well thank you. Mine has the switchable graphics, though if you don't play games or heavy graphics work, the integrated graphics are much better than even last year's. The dedicated graphics, on the other hand, are more than adequate for casual gaming or most engineering or artistic work, though the latest high-end games or large render jobs may be too much.
Specifically, the dedicated chip is ATI's HD 3470 with 256 MB of VRAM, which is to say a solid mid-grade card by today's standards and better than anything you are going to find in a budget PC, but well short of gaming or workstation class. I selected this particular laptop precisely because I do like to play games on my laptop, but I'm not willing to sacrifice size, weight or battery life to maximize framerates. With that in mind, the T400 is an excellent compromise, about equal to other high-end business thin-and-lights like the Dell Latitude, HP EliteBook and Apple MacBook Pro. I like the T400 over those others on account of its battery options and slightly smaller size and weight, as well as for the legendary ThinkPad keyboard, but you will get similar performance from the competition as well as be required to move up to a much larger and heavier machine to do much better.
How well does the T400 game? What does that mean to engineers and artists who don't play games? Well, the games I run are quite heavy on their resource requirements. Crysis, Fallout 3, Mass Effect, The Witcher, and many others, old and new. Crysis is probably the biggest resource hog of the lot and requires settings of low at full resolution or medium at 1024X768 to get smooth motion in playback. I don't know the exact framerates, but it is definitely playable, though not as pretty as it would be on a high-end gaming rig. Mass Effect and Fallout 3, on the other hand, run just fine at full resolution on medium settings and are smooth at high settings at lower resolution. In comparison, laptops with integrated graphics or even dedicated chips from two or three years ago won't run those games at all, let alone at playable speeds, nor will low-end desktops with integrated graphics.
Engineering and art applications use the same features as games, and so a machine powerful enough for games like Crysis should be powerful enough for just about any scientific or artistic requirements. If you need more powerful graphics you won't find it weighing less than 6 lbs.
So the T400 is adequate for gaming, what else makes it so special? Quite a bit actually. Fitted with a 9 cell main battery and a 3 cell ultrabay slim battery the ThinkPad T400 still weighs under 6 lbs, but runs for between 10 and 13 hours unplugged. Not many computers come close to that runtime without external power, especially while remaining lightweight and powerful. As a 14" widescreen laptop, the T400 is also well-suited to use in cramped environments such as airline tray tables or the backseat of a car. Furthermore, the T400 passed US military torture tests earlier this year, proving what ThinkPad owners have known for years about the durability and rugged build of ThinkPads in general and the T series in particular.
So the T400 is strong, small, light, fast and runs forever on its batteries. What about features? Here too the T400 excels. 3 USB ports is about average, but the T400 also has a FireWire port, a media card reader, DVDRW drive and most important of all, a docking port that with a single connection allows complete docking including DVI and VGA (simultaneously) video output. Hardware buttons for volume and muting are business friendly while the LED keyboard light and a physical switch to disable all radios reinforce the T400's excellent travel credentials. Add to that a nice matte surface display, something that is getting hard to find these days, and the most comfortable keyboard and mouse built into any laptop today and you have about the best general purpose business laptop on the market.
The T400 is also relatively future proof. It accepts up to 8 GB of RAM, perhaps more when higher density chips are introduced, and has a fast SATA hard drive controller. My T400 is equipped with a mid-grade 2.53 GHz Core2Duo processor with 6 MB of level 2 cache, 4 GB of RAM and a fast 500 GB 7200 RPM hard drive. It also has 2 GB of Intel Turbo Memory that may or may not help much with Windows Vista, but should speed things up nicely with Windows 7. Wifi A/B/G/N and Bluetooth are there, but so is a built-in Verizon WWAN adapter and even a GPS receiver. In short the T400 is fully equipped. Just as important as the number of features is that none of them intrude. There are no garish lights or blinking displays, no stripes, faux carbon-fiber or subwoofers. It is a machine designed and built for business, where good taste and solid design reign supreme.
The fact that the ultra-modern and feature packed T400 looks almost identical to the T20 of a decade ago is a testament to the merits of good design and the value of not fixing what isn't broken. I wouldn't have it any other way.
***Windows 7 Update***I've had this computer for a number of months now, the last two of which running the new Windows 7 operating system. To be specific, Windows 7 Ultimate 64-Bit. At first there was no support from Lenovo (prior to the official release of Windows 7), but last month Lenovo released its software update utility and full support for Windows 7 on the T400. First off, this computer was already fast and easy-to-use with Windows Vista, and were I not an absolute geek I would probably have just left well-enough alone and continued with Vista on this machine. Unlike most nerds, I never had any problem with Vista, at least not since the first service pack a few years ago. Vista on a modern PC like the T400 is fast, stable and just goes about its business quite well, thank you very much. Windows 7, despite all of the glowing reviews and the significant Vista-bashing on the web, is actually far more similar than different to Vista. All of the new technology that Microsoft introduced in Windows 7 is also in Vista, just not quite as polished. Go to "System Information" and you will see, in fact, that Windows 7 is actually "Windows 6.1" while Windows Vista is "Windows 6.0". This is nothing new. Users complained about issues with Windows 2000 (Windows 5.0) but raved about Windows XP (WIndows 5.1), and again, they were very nearly the same under the hood. Of course, most users don't use a PC under the hood, they use the interface, and that is where Microsoft made the most significant changes to change Vista into 7. Most of it is good, but nothing revolutionary except perhaps the OS X-like taskbar that many die-hard Windows fans complain about. Of course, interface issues are subject and will be covered when I eventually review Windows 7, the focus to this update is how Windows 7 works on the ThinkPad T400, and I am pleased to answer, very well. Windows 7 and the T400 are a perfect match. The leaner and faster code makes a powerful system like the T400 really come alive, provided you have a lot of RAM (I have 4 GB). The improved Aero interface is gorgeous and both the discreet and integrated graphics on the T400 are more than capable of instant response. What I like most about the combination of Windows 7 and the T400 is the improvements made to Bluetooth that finally make using my T400 as convenient with my bluetooth BlackBerry (tethered modem for internet) as my MacBook Air is running OS X. In Vista the computer and the phone paired just fine, but the internet connection just wouldn't tether, despite plenty of help from both Verizon and Lenovo tech support and even an escaation to Miscrosoft. Tethering worked great with a USB cable, but it just wouldn't dial over Bluetooth. With the T400 running Windows 7, connecting to the internet through my cell phone over bluetooth is just easy as using a cable with Vista. Easier in fact, as Microsoft pre-programmed most of the information you will need. For example, Windows 7 recognized my phone instantly, identified it as a Verizon BlackBerry and proceeding to download and configure the drivers for me and even enter my username (cell phone number) and Verizon's standard password and settings. It just worked, with no input on my part whatsoever beyond pairing the phone and telling Windows that I want to connect to the internet. Apple can learn a bit from this. Comparisons to Apple are often made by people who see the Windows 7 user interface, and they are valid. Windows fans will hate it, Mac users will secretly admire it (but pretend they hate it) and regular folks who just want to use their PC will quickly get up to speed and then not even notice it. Me, I find the Windows 7 Mac-like UI combined with the traditional ThinkPad ergonomic package to be close to the holy grail of portable computing. There are still things beyond the task bar that I prefer in OS X, other things I've long preferred in Windows, but Windows 7 really closes the gap enough to make me not really care which OS I am using. It is that good. Windows 7 on the T400 is also "That good", though I will stress that I did a clean install to a bare hard drive. I STRONGLY avoid "upgrade" installations of any OS, and honestly believe that the speed, elegance and stability of both my Macs and PCs is because of using a nice, clean operating system. If you don't have the know-how to back up your Vista ThinkPad, clean install 7 and restore your data and applications, then I would recommend you just stick with Vista. If you do have the know-how, or are buying a new ThinkPad, Windows 7 on the T400 are a very good match. You will get a slight speed boost, a cleaner interface and improved connectivity, while still using what is perhaps the most ergonomically correct laptop computer on the market today.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1000 Operating System: Windows Processor: Other Processor speed: over 1000 Screen Size: 14 inches RAM: More than 256 Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD Hard Drive (GB): Over 50
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