Lenovo Thinkpad T410 Owner's Lounge

u cant switch between onboard and discrete graphics card. only the t410s allows it as far as i know. and taking a look at the review at laptopmag, u gonna prefer the 9cell with discrete graphics. 6cell as additional battery, but probably not as primary and only battery.

 

Is that so? Seems kind of silly on Lenovo's part.. I'm sure most users, like me, won't even need the discrete graphics card when they're on the go.

The dimensions of the t410 were pushing it for me as it was, but that 9-cell battery hanging out the back is just a liiittle too much for me.

Too bad--it seems like such a great computer, for a great price with the deals that are on right now. Maybe I'll just have to convince myself that I don't need discrete graphics

 

I too am disappointed that the Tx10 generation does not seem to support graphics switching. It was the feature that originally drove me to the Thinkpad T-series.

Well, unless you're gaming or doing 3D modeling work, you probably don't

 

>> The dimensions of the t410 were pushing it for me as it was, but that 9-cell battery hanging out the back is just a liiittle too much for me.

Maybe go for the T410s ('s' - intentional...)?

Does the T410s actually exist?

(Reminds me of my university's mainframe ,way-back-when. In the documentation there was a games section, which included a 100-page detailed manual about a Star Trek game. After some searching and asking around I found that the Star Trek game didn't exist and never did...)

- avi

 

Yes: http://photos.ecetera.si/keyword/t410s#759340035_7w8rC

Definitely not renderings. It's just not available yet.

 

Quick question (particularly for those of you who have the discrete graphics model): does the screen still flicker when unplugging the laptop from AC power? This drove me nuts with my X301 (and later T400s), since it "kicks" windows that are hanging off the screen back onto the screen (often, when I'm taking notes, I leave OneNote partially off the screen to make room). Additionally, Skype video simply froze when unplugging the AC because of the black screen "reset". I would be very happy if the power management drivers for Windows 7 were fixed on the new generation notebooks so that the screen didn't flicker any more because of a simply power state change.

 

so just to confirm that the T410 does not do "on the fly" switching of graphics, but the T400 does?

 

yes, that is the case right now
whether lenovo will be able to add switchable functionality to the t410 in the future - we don't know
but, with the comments they made during CES and what we know now, it doesn't look likely

 

What were these "comments"?

I am still hopeful since it says switchable graphics in the description for the t410. I know there are conflicting sources but I am hoping for the best

 

damn that sucks!

the T400 did offer it correct?

also the battery life seems so poor compared to the T400.

What is drawing me to the T410 is the new graphics card, and wanting to play Bad Company 2, etc, but after looking at the reviews on the 3470 in comparison to my current 8400gs there isn't much difference?!

ARGH!

 

Well, I finally decided to go for it and order a T410.

1 2516CT CONFIGURED SYSTEM
02/09/10 $999.54 $999.54
45M4819 SBB I.C.I7P.POP3 2.XXGHZ,XMBL2
45M3091 VBB GENUWIN7PROFES.32
45M4936 SBB GNWN7P32 US ENGLISH
45M4799 ** SBB 14.1WXGA+TFTW/LEDBACKLIGHT
45M4788 SBB IN.GR.M.A.5700MHD-AMT,TPM
42X6309 VBB 4GBPC3-8500 1067MHZ2DIMM
45M4839 SBB KEYBOARDUS ENGLISH
45M4801 SBB ULNAV(T.POINT+TOUCHPAD)
45M4834 SBB CAMERA SUBCARD
45M4823 SBB 250GB HARDDISKDRIVE5400RPM
45M4820 SBB DVDREC8XMAXD.L.U.SLIMS.ATA
45M4815 SBB 6CELLLI-ION BATTERY
41W1787 SBB CPK NORTH AMERICA
45M4803 SBB IN.CENT.ADVANCED-N 6200
45M4874 SBB LANG.PACK US ENGLISH
1 CAFEE08 RECYCLE FEE FOR PRODUCT WITH 4 TO 14 INCH DISPLAY

For less than a $1000 I think it would be pretty difficult to match that configuration with comparable quality. For me the most video-intense thing I do will be watching a dvd or (hopefully) gpu-accelerated flash. So integrated was clearly a better choice, to save battery life and cost.

I chose the i7, simply to completely destroy any potential thoughts of "I wonder if this would be going faster if I had gotten that..."

Does anyone know if the 4GB memory option is dual channel? I doubt it will really affect performance, I am just curious.

Thanks everyone for supplying information, pictures, etc. I might update on my experience with installing linux (archlinux, at least) on the T410 if anyone here cares about that. It might be interesting to see how the linux kernel deals with the newer hardware (i.e. how horrible my experience will be at first). But Intel typically has quite good support with Linux, so it shouldn't be too bad.

Ryan

 

I'd get 7 Pro 64 bit. You got a really nice machine there.

 

Hi,

Thanks for the reply. I didn't bother with it as I don't plan on using windows for anything outside of flashing the BIOS. Additionally, I know 64 bit is much more common now, but 32 bit drivers are typically more mature (I think? Maybe not for newer hardware?) Anyway, it won't really matter much as I ill be shrinking the win7 partition down and installing Linux on the rest of the drive.

Thanks,
Ryan

 

We all should start dealing with a far more accurate notebook performance measurement - performance per watt. People buy notebooks first and foremost because they are mobile, not because they can play their latest games on them. Even though when they can, it is obviously a plus.

The verdict is i7 is a worse CPU for a notebook than either i5, i3 or Core 2.

Also if anyone wants to compare whether their new mobile computer is more energy efficient than X, here are some more or less accurate benchmarks. Use battery control panel or Thinkpad power management applet to see how much watt your computer consumes, in real-time.

My T43 with Linux: ~16 watt idling, ~23 watt surfing
T400 on average: ~8-10watt idling, ~15-20 watt surfing

Basically if your battery is 100Wh, it will provide 100 hours of juice if your computer draws 1 watt at all times on average. Divide 100 by whatever you see your battery provide, and you will get an approximation of work hours.

F.e. on average my T43 consumes 23 watt. Full LCD brightness, Wi-Fi on, hard disk spinning, no USB devices, adaptive CPU clocking, Bluetooth disabled. My old battery is now worn off and recharges only to about 22Wh. According to the above logic, it should give me on average 1 hour of usage. Which it also does.

 

you might as well get 64 bit as it doesn't cost anything extra
the whole "32 bit drivers are more mature" thing is from years ago
that's not the case anymore

 

Absolutely agreed!
I understand when Corporates continue using 32bit OS, but whoever is flexible (especially with 4GB RAM) should chose a 64Bit OS.

 

Other than one contentious review, has anyone else good solid facts on i5/i7 power usage. That is the i7-620m, not i7-720qm.

On Intel ark, both i5-540m and i7-620m are rated as 35W parts...

Do we now have any 410 or 510 owners who can state their system wattage?

 

Not sure if posted before, but here is a brief review with video of T410:
T410 Review

 

As far as I know, the product key for Win7 will work with 32-bit and 64-bit versions and since Lenovo doesn't bother to ship install discs anyway it's not a big deal to choose 32-bit instead of 64-bit when purchasing the system as you'd need to download and burn an ISO to do a clean install.

Even less of an issue if you're going to be using a Linux OS instead anyway.

 

AFAIK this only applies to the Retail-Keys.
Since this is an OEM-Version it doesn't necessary mean you can use the 32Bit- and the 64Bit-Version with this key.

 

no install cds? sucks. i also heard about some driver on the harddisk. can some1 tell me whether can i format the harddisk for a clean install. or do i need to make a backup of some files?

 

Hello,
Can anyone with a T410 i5-520 tell me if their order included a part number "45M4817" please! If so, what was the description next to it?
I have a T410 waiting for me at home but I won't be able to check it for 2 weeks and need to know now if I got the right processor... (I fear Lenovo may have messed up my order - but hopefully not)

 

The review indicates that T410 uses 90W power adaptor. I am under the impression that all T410 comes with 65W power adaptor. Strange.

 

Hi everyone,

Thanks for your concern regarding 64bit vs 32bit. If for some reason I actually plan on using windows at all, I will be install the server equivalent of windows 7 anyway. As a student I can legally obtain a free copy from Microsoft (by the way this is through https://www.dreamspark.com/Products/ProductList.aspx for anyone who is a student and hasn't heard of it) or from my school's CS department. Although I'd be much happier with windows server 2003.

Additionally, should there be the desire to want to run any of the programs I have in windows through wine ( http://www.winehq.org/) it turns out that the 64 bit wine is not particularly stable yet (if you could call the 32 bit wine stable. It's stable enough for everything I've ever tried). This also had an impact on my choice of 32 bit. I actually have some windows binaries of math programs sitting on my linux partition that I run through wine (specifically http://magma.maths.usyd.edu.au/magma/).

I understand that 32 bit will not recognize all 4GB of ram, but I just wanted to make it clear that there are still reasons to run 32 bit. And yes, I know you can run 32 bit programs in 64 bit. But if everything you're running is 32 bit, what's the point even?

The only thing even bothering me is that windows 7 needs a fairly large partition. I have on this laptop a copy of 64 bit linux, with a subsystem of 32 bit linux to use with chroot (basically another complete linux system, because I NEEDED to use 32 bit programs for some compiling certain programs) and several large math binaries all on a 11GB partition with GB's to spare.

 

Integated graphics -> 65W adapter
Discrete graphics -> 90W adapter

 

Gah. I think I goofed ordering the 32-bit version instead of 64. Is it a simple matter to change that if I call lenovo? Or will I have to cancel and resubmit the order?

 

I'd call them - they seem very good in their sales call center to me (far, far better than Dell, at least)

 

you might have to cancel and resubmit, at least you have to in canada, unfortunately.

 

That wouldn't be too too bad. I don't see an option to cancel on their website though (I am in Canada). I'll give them a call tonight.

 

in the techgearguy review, he said that the rubbery textured lid is gone. or maybe i misunderstood what he meant..

anyways, what is it like now for the t410? just a matte feeling and no rubbery paint?

i have a t410 coming in 1-2 weeks. so excited! first thinkpad =)

 

wish this really were a review
looks like another "read from the spec sheet" kinda deal
where's the benchmarks? where's the quantifiable numbers?
why can't lenovo send one to someone who can do a REAL review?

 

I have a question for anyone who has the t410 with integrated. I watch HD videos and do some light video editing (Nothing heavy just small stuff). I was wondering how well the new intel graphics work and the battery life.

 

There is a T410 Review at:
http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops/lenovo-thinkpad-t410.aspx?page=1

3DMark06


Display

Battery Life


Microsoft says it's looking into laptop battery issues with Windows 7
http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/02/microsoft-says-its-looking-into-laptop-battery-issues-with-wind/

 

Hopefully the 4:56 battery with discrete is just Windows 7 sucking some of the power.

 

Micro phone input is missing as per techgearguy review - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVaSMMHOBYI. I use my headset micro phone for chatting. Am I going to miss it in T410 ? :-(

The below video reports keyboard flex in T510, does any one notice it?. It's disappointing me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKs1YqEWXD0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NHn1hcgUnU

 

Missing audio/mic input? Can this be possible for a business laptop for conferencing?

 

The T410 uses a combination audio & mic jack.

 

excellent...thanks. after having my shipment postponed 1 week, it'll hopefully be leaving on the 8th and here 3 days later (or so they say).

 

Thanks.. there a lot of discussion going about keyboard flex, hopefully, that issue happened only for an item. -http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=455826

 

Just to follow-up. I did in fact have to cancel the entire order. It was a simple process--I got a confirmation e-mail within an hour of getting off the phone.. no 48 hour lag like some people have mentioned.

Also, the sales agent said my order would be sped up if I used their rep. ID. Something about the order going to his queue and that he'd make sure it was taken care of.

He may just be trying to fill a quota, which is fine.. all the same to me. But I'm curious now--anyone know about this? Do you actually get your order processed faster if you include a sales rep's ID?

 

Been waiting a long time for the T series update. I'll post an unboxing and subjective opinion video unless someone beats me to it. 2-3 weeks till it ships. Haven't owned a thinkpad since my trusty old A21m. The keyboard on that thing was legendary and the hardware was damn near unbreakable until the motherboard failed.

 

Can someone respond if the T410's screen flickers when it's unplugged? It would be very helpful.

 

Could you maybe run some recent games like mw2, masseffect 2 and let us know how they run on that discrete?

Thanks.

 

2 things:

To answer your question: NO, it does not flicker

But something interesting happened.
I was below the 10% battery power.
When I plugged my T410 in, the LED backlight turned off. The LCD still showed the thread here, but without the backlight.
Weird.

Can anyone confirm this?
Let the battery drain until the PowerManager/ Win7 complains you have 10% juice left. Let it lower to 9% and the plug the PowerBrick in. In case the screen gets dark, let s know

 

New Review:
http://www.notebookcheck.com/Test-Lenovo-Thinkpad-T410-2522-3FG-Notebook.25119.0.html

 

http://translate.google.ca/translat...otebook.25119.0.html&sl=de&tl=en&hl=&ie=UTF-8

 

Thanks for responding. I'm glad about that.

 

I just received my T410 2 days ago, and upgraded it with a bigger HD. I must say I'm very impressed. The screen is way better than on my T400's and the speed especially in Lightroom is way faster than the T400's.
One disappointment is the battery life, I have the I7-620 processor and a 6-cell battery, and I only get at little under 3 hours with a very conservative power scheme.

 

I also received a new T410 this day, now i have one question.

Is there no one with a notable flexing on the left side of the palm-rest??

 

Now that you mention is, yes there is some. I can press on the black chassis and make it connect to something under it, and it's making a little click when I do so, but haven't noticed it before you mentioned it, so thanks a lot