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Sometimes you can customize a ThinkPad so that a T series has the same CPU and RAM as, say, an L series. I guess you can have the same storage and graphics too, but that's not my concern. The question is how are the two customized laptops different in terms of computational power? I think it should have something to do with their motherboards, but I don't know to find those specifications. Is there any information on what makes the designs of these models different?

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They normally do not change motherboards when you upgrade memory or cpus's, it would be the same board. Boards may be slightly different if you upgrade graphics because the graphics are part of the motherboard. – Moab Mar 26 '11 at 22:44
I didn't mean upgrading. You can customize when buying from Lenovo. – Mahdiyar Mar 26 '11 at 23:38
That is what I meant, upgrading during purchase. – Moab Mar 27 '11 at 1:58
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T-Series is better than the L-Series. The T-Series motherboard uses the QM57 chipset and the L-Series motherboard uses the HM55. In reality this difference is minor if any in terms of performance. The QM57 has more business oriented features and can handle more devices (PCIe, Sata, etc) and the HM55 is really the base version of the chipset line. The real performance difference is the T-Series can be configured with a better CPU in the i7 and the L-Series can only be configured with an i3/i5. If you put the same CPU in both they would perform similarly assuming the graphics and harddrive are also the same.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/mobile-core-i5-arrandale,2522-4.html

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Thanks. So I guess a T will still be a bit more expensive than an L, even if customized to have the same spec's, just because the T can be upgraded to what an L cannot. Right? – Mahdiyar Mar 26 '11 at 23:42
By the way, where can I find which model has which chipset? – Mahdiyar Mar 26 '11 at 23:46
Yes in general the T should be more expensive. – John Le Mar 29 '11 at 9:37
I just googled for a review of the L series. anandtech.com/show/3664/… – John Le Mar 29 '11 at 9:38
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