Lenovo u430 touch

Would a 1600x900 screen save a lot more battery than 1080p? If so then I'll probably choose a configuration with 900p once it's available. What do you think the difference in battery life would be just due to the screen alone?

 

Thanks for more pictures. Can you tell if anything is user upgradeable? Can you take a picture of the back lit keyboard at normal angle, I suppose that an uneven back lit keyboard shouldn't be a big problem but it really depends on how uneven it is.

Yeah the i5 would fit my needs right now but I want this laptop to last several years. My toshiba runs at 2.3ghz and it crashes even when I use chrome and ms word at the same time. Granted it is an AMD dual core processor, I would rather spend more and have one that would work for a while. Plus I think Lenovo has other i5s that are better than the i5 4200u that Best Buy offers. I would also prefer discrete graphics assuming it has optimus technology with it. Intel HD 4400 is 1.3x better than Intel HD 4000, whereas Nvidia GT 730M is 4.8x better than intel HD 4000 So in this case, discrete GPU outperforms the integrated one by quite a lot.

Is there a reason to go for 1080p especially on a 14inch screen? Now that you mentioned it, I will stick with 1600 x 900 not only to save money but also for better battery decline.

EDIT- Just checked the Acer s7 and its very expensive at $1500.

 

Battery is held by 5 screws and is replaceable ( I photographed the underside if you take a look at my pictures)
Memory (1 bank) is replaceable.
SSD is held by 4 screws, is just a normal Sata III connection so replaceable.

So the notebook is serviceable for normal things like RAM, storage, WLAN card.

Photo of the backlit keyboard from viewing angle will follow tonight

 

Thanks for all the photos. How's the WiFi performance?

 

Maniac, just realized you have the touch version with the NVDA discrete! Reasurres me a little cause I thought your battery life figs were without the touch screen.

I assume touch works great just like all other touch screens, but how's the discrete graphics? Have you used them? And have you tried this "optimus" technology I've heard about?

 

You don't "try" optimus...it's an automatic graphics switching capability

 

On another note, I'm fairly fed up with Lenovo. Just spoke to a rep. First week of September for this to be avaialble now in the US...I can't wait that long. Extremely disappointed in there poor information of release dates and the fact they couldn't put together an ideal launch time. I was tol July 23 and August 13 in the past. Guess I have to settle for another machine, what a let down.

 

Wow really? Looks like I have to look elsewhere as well. School starts last week of august. Edit: Just called; customer service says it will "launch" on the 27th. Disappointed. Edit: another said mid-september

Completely let down.

 

Maniac, if you don't mind me asking, what specific ram do you have in your u430? best buy just called me while I was waiting for my my ram to be upgraded and they said the ram is limited to 4? pretty disappointed. they said that none of the 8gb sticks of ram would work on the u430.

 

WiFi is good in my experience. Just have issues with bluetooth at the moment. To test if it's my Microsoft 5000 mouse I ordered a Gigabyte bluetooth mouse. Hopefully that works better.
Did a quick speedtest.net check: 35Mbit down, 6Mbit up ping of 20ms. Our connection at home is 60Mbit down and 6Mbit up. The speeds I see are in line with other devices I had before.

I just ran 3DMark ( http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/1062735):
The notebook fan is audible during the test but nothing more. This is the first notebook I have which doesn't go gung ho blazing like a wind turbine. Amazing!

I have 1 * 8GB (DDR3-1600) of RAM in my system. So best buy is talking.... &*^%&

 

@maniac

How much did your u430 cost?

 

from my earlier post

 

I thought the U430 had a M.2 SSD? why does this picture show a 2.5" SSD?

 

Ouch. Nevermind that's out of my budget, and if it were id go for something else :/

 

It's going to be cheaper in the United States, Maniac is in The Netherlands. Note that the base config is $899 as well.

 

The price of €997 includes 21% tax.
Without tax it comes in at: €787,63 (~ $1050) if my calculator works fine.

Sorry didn't have the time today to run more battery tests.

 

Would have went for a Y510P/Sager NP7330 for that price but it's a nice laptop, high end ultrabook.

How does it stack up against the Carbon?

 

I have seen the Sager. At our local Clevo dealer it's called the Firefly. Why I didn't want it:
- I don't want Full HD on a 13,3" -> to small
- I don't want a blazing i7 + nVidia 765m in such a tiny package. Bring on the earplugs!
- 120W powerbrick, oh no not again.

I wanted a quiet notebook with good battery runtime that's why I choose the U430 touch:
- Haswell CPU, powerfull enough for EDC but not a battery drainer
- Touchscreen
- Good resolution
- Looks nice

 

Hey,

So I am looking for a detailed specs of this laptop, but from the pics you sent it seems like it has Intel's 7260 card, right? It also seems to me that it is not the WiFi ac compatible on, and it is not even dual band. Am i correct?

TBH, Intel creates a lot of confusion naming all 3 cards 7260, while in fact they are entirely different.

 

Yep it's the 7260 Wireless-N (7260HMW BN).
Should be this one I guess:
Intel® Wireless-N 7260 Plus Bluetooth*
EDIT: no dual-band

 

There are 3 different ones: Intel® Wireless 7200 Series

You can check if drivers have options related to 5GHz band, if it is not a problem of course. However "7260HMW BN" means single band only, I'm afraid...

 

Those laptops are not at all in the same class. Two gaming laptops don't really compare well to an ultrabook.

 

It comes with either a HDD + M.2 SSD or a 2.5" SSD.

 

Maniac Thanks for the photo updates on photobucket.

The backlit keyboard is decent, besides the space bar it seems to be lit all around. It does make me wonder if this was by design or maybe this was just an early model.



I was actually down to the y410p and the u430 but

-u430 can possibly have 3x longer battery life
-Lighter for portability
-Touchscreen with Windows 8
-GT 730m is still a strong gpu on its own and GT 750m would have been overkill for me
-Tapered design with color options is better
-Possible FHD screen

So I am definetely holding off for the u430 touch. I wouldn't even mind waiting a few months and snagging a good one for the same price if not lower than the one of y410p ($899)

 

I did you a favor, pros and cons of each:

u430:
- Better battery life thanks to ULV CPU
- Possible 1080p screen
- More color options
- Optional Touchscreen
- Slimmer, and ~1 pound lighter

y410p:
- Cheaper (899$ vs 1149$)
- Better GPU + Dual GPU support
- Full-size Quad-core CPU
- Better Speakers
- DVD/Bluray/HDD Caddy for Raid 0
- User-replaceable battery and components

All of this is assuming both have the same build quality (very likely) and with both you are dealing with Lenovo's customer support, etc.

In the end, it's a matter of Budget Gaming Laptop VS High End Consumer Ultrabook

 

I already knew the pros and cons of each. To me the only advantage that the y410p has is the better performance in gaming.However I am not a hard core gamer at all and having windows 8 without a touch screen is a step back for me.

y410p is a fine laptop on its own and more if the ultrabay gpu is released but for everyone besides gamers, the u430 has the upperhand since it offers mainstream features that most people would enjoy (battery life, colors, portability) rather than niche features (two GPUs, user accessible components)

 

What would you do?

I purchased a u310 touch at a good price of $549 (during tax free weekend). Then noted that Best Buy offers the u430 for $699 (+ ~$50 tax). Either would meet my wife's basic light use needs. A sale on the 430 would clinch it, but for now the question is whether the additional $200 is worth it. The return window closes in a few days.

From our perspective, the primary advantages of the 310:
-price
-possibly its hybrid hard drive (with 24GB SS, Best Buy does not mention hybrid capabilities)

The 430 advantages:
-latest CPU
-battery life
-display
-latest WiFi
-ability to eventually add graphic card (got burned by outdated integrated graphics that can't run Google Earth properly)

The length of the list seem to point to the u430 Touch, but are real life differences that noticeable, worth it in your view?

 

All of the U430s have some sort of solid state drive. The model in Best Buy has a 16GB solid state cache (I'm not sure if it is a hybrid drive, or a HDD + M.2 SSD). I think the decision really comes down to the usage. Would your wife like the larger screen? And is battery life important to her? Even if you don't wait for a model with a dedicated GPU, the new Haswell graphics should be a decent step up from the HD 4000, especially in terms of compatibility.

 

Maniac, how load is the fan, is it on all the time or only when needed?

 

During light work like internetting and office stuff, most of the time the fan is off. When it's comes on the sound is a high pitched whisper. Even during the 3DMark test I did the fan isn't very loud and the U430 does not become hot. It's a cool little machine

 

Hey guys not sure if you saw this yet but it looks like Lenovo finally put up the u430 touch page up on their cite.

IdeaPad U430 Touch | 14" Multitouch Ultrabook | Lenovo (EG)

 

The best buy version does offer a hybrid drive. It is a 16gb ssd and I read somewhere that windows is on the hdd so the ssd should be useable.

The latest GPU would offer a longer battery, not necessarily much more faster. Latest wifi shouldn't be a concern for home users, no one has that fast of a service at home and needs it anyways. also the best buy version is most likely stuck with an integrated intel HD 4600.

If better graphics, better battery, slightly better resolution and screen size is worth $200, then go for it. Keep in mind it is still only 4gb ram.

Maniac, how have you been dealing with 3usb ports? Is it enough and what do you use the usb 3.0 for besides data transfer?

Lenovo has had that for a while on international websites.
I have always checked the Slovakia and Spain one and they have had it for maybe 2-3 weeks or even a month.

The U.S Lenovo site still does not show the u430 touch yet.
http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/ideapad/u-series/

 

You guys think this will drop in August? Possibly before the 20th?

 

I bought this computer in the Netherlands last week. I needed a laptop with a qwerty keyboard in a hurry (not possible where I live, in France, where azerty is the only game n town) and this looked good in the store. So far I'm a little disappointed. I'm going to concentrate on the negative aspects. This is obviously a fairly high-spec product (same config as Maniac) and I am not a power user. I'll just comment on the user experience for a casual buyer like myself. I am coming from a 4-year old Vaio running Windows 7 and my first steps have been hampered by unfamiliarity with Windows 8, which is clearly not the finished article.

Firstly, the screen is a bit underwhelming. It's bright and quite useable in the sunny room where I'm typing this, but the colours look washed out compared to the Sony. Black text in particular looks greyish. I am used to the screens on my Sony and on my Nexus 7 which have far richer colours. Maybe this is just a more neutral presentation and my eyes will adapt. If anyone can suggest how to adjust this, I'd be grateful. The touch aspect is fine however. It's extremely accurate and responsive and I'm happy with it, even though I'm not sure how much I'll use it. You need to keep a microfibre cloth handy as the screen smears very easily.

The touchpad is rubbish. The plastic surface has a slightly tacky texture which makes it virtually impossible to pinch and zoom accurately. My fingertips move very jerkily on the pad which means the zoom twangs out suddenly and it takes several attempts to achieve the desired size. This means I am already getting into the habit of lunging for the touch screen. I normally use the one-finger side slider on my Sony to scroll through pages. Here, you need to use two fingers. They have to be placed at the perpendicular for it to work (think chopsticks), which means you have to angle your wrist at a peculiar angle and thus move your entire arm rather than just your finger. I can see this posing a problem long-term and will probably just page up and down instead which is irritating. Perhaps this can be adjusted. Half the time the scroll doesn't even work and you have to adjust the position of .your fingers by swivelling your wrist and arm to get it moving. Scrolling is also quite jerky for the reason described above. The touch pad also rattles to the touch. There are no separate buttons for left and right click and these are very poorly implemented. The cursor often skids across the screen away from the target by the time the click has time to take effect.

I listen to music all day while working and am very annoyed to discover that the headphones jack on the U430 produces a very pronounced hiss, similar to the white noise you hear through noise-cancelling headphones. The hiss is inaudible when the music is loud, but it's obviously in the background as it's very tiring to listen over extended periods. This means using an external USB. Like the touchpad, the audio out is not fit for purpose. Again, I'm not an expert and if anyone thinks this is a driver issue, please let me know.

The keyboard takes some getting used to. key travel is very short, no doubt due to the slim body of the computer, and for a poor typist like myself it's quite a challenge. One major fault is that Lenovo has placed the home key just to the right of the backspace key, making life even more difficult for those of us with sausage fingers. I keep finding myself back at the beginning of the sentence I've just typed. The backlit keyboard however is an excellent feature.

Build quality is very good. All the panels fit together tightly and the U430 has a very solid and expensive feel. I've read that using a laptop on your lap is bad for your health (men especially) and this is unlikely to be a habit with this one as the underside is very smooth. It slides all over the place and could easily glide off your trousers on to the floor when reaching for a cup of tea. Shame they didn't use the same material for the touchpad.

Not much else to report. So far the fan has only come on once (on my lap) and in a normal room the Lenovo is inaudible and stays cool to the touch. Battery life is around 6.5 hours with full screen brightness.

I think a lot of my irritation with the U430 is tied up with Windows 8 which makes me feel like I have three left hands. I'm not saying this is a bad computer, just that it's not ideal for my needs (bad typist, enthusiastic user of headphones and touchpad slider) and I wish I'd had more time to test alternatives in the shop. I chose this over the following laptops:
-Samsung Series 7 and 9 (I was not initially looking for a touch model and generally prefer matte screens but these were so dark compared to my old laptop I rejected them. Lovely build though)
-Lenovo Yoga 13 (better keyboard but not backlit and a gorgeous but smaller screen)
-Sony SV1313 (i3 chip, horribly glossy screen)
-Asus S400CA (felt a bit cheap)
-HP Envy 4 Touch (cheap and nasty feel, very poor audio)


On the plus side, I just checked my warranty and I'm covered for on site collection, parts and labour for 38 months and I'm also going to need to learn to touch type, so i might even become more productive.

 

Thanks for your input/review. Jeez based on that I don't even think I want this anymore haha!

 

It's ok, I don't use USB all the time. To bad that also my new Gigbyte m7700b mouse drops it's connection. Bluetooth and I aren't a good combo. I'm going back to a Logitech 2.4Ghz RF mouse, never had issues with it.

@ludovicien
Thanks for your review.
You find the touchpad tacky? Mine is very smooth. I agree on the screen. It does the job but it's not outstanding.

 

Thanks a lot Ludo, I went to Best Buy today and checked out the u430 touch. I COMPLETELY AGREE with what you said about the screen. It is not only washed out but it is blurry even at 1600 x 900, it could have been the blackground but the washing out part is true. I was hopign that this laptop would have a decent display but this one at 1600 x 900 has a bad display. 2/10 in my books. The build quality like you said was sturdy, feels compact and well built. Did not play around with touchpad or keyboard so I have no opinion on that. Even with an i5 chip, everything was quick, booting was fast and touchscreen was responsive, I inputted incorrectly many times but the times where I put my finger on where it was, the touchscreen worked.

Overall the most disappointing thing was the screen. It feels worse than the 1366 x768 screen I am currently on. For comparison I looked at the Sony Vaio(1600 x 900) and Asus ultrabook(1920 x 1080) and they both had better screens. Asus had the best screen by far. However I was in a Best Buy store, not in my home setting and I was standing up while viewing the screen. I am hoping that the non Best Buy ones are better, at least have a freaking decent display in it, Lenovo.

Ultimately it is the screen that is a big turn-off right here. I will wait for official reviews to come in on the FHD screens before fully rejecting this laptop. I think the 1920 x 1080 screens will be better(hopefully).

I'm holding out for a miracle with the 1920 x 1080 screen, if the screen issues are solved, this machine is well worth it to buy.

I have used logitech devices for a long time and their connections are outstanding, you can't go wrong by going back to a logitech mouse.

I am surprised you didn't include more information in your review of how bad the screen is. Is the screen better indoors/at home?

 

I meant that the pinch zoom is a bit sudden and as the fingers drag on the touchpad they stick a little and the sizing is hard to control. Maybe my fingers are a bit sticky from those stroopwaffels I brought back with me.

I used the calibration setting to adjust the display and it is quite a bit better. I nudged the gamma up a notch and the blue down a notch and the colours are warmer. Not perfect, but it's an improvement and I'll play around a little more when I've had the chance to view some more videos.

 

Interesting. If indeed, the screen is user fixable then that's a relief then. Keep us updated on how it goes. By the way, did you experience blurriness or grainy images the first time you were looking at the screen?

 

What I'd love to know is why they release the product in some countries but not others. If they have a product ready to go to market in European countries, how much further behind can it possibly be here in the States? Is it just our damn government slowing things up?

When asking customer reps multiple times, within the span of an evening, I also have gotten the run around...the "dates" ranged from Mid August to Mid September.

 

Who knows, the screen is not touch screen also covered with one piece of glass or plastic, or is there a frame like a normal computer? Sorry for bad English

 

Did you mean August?

 

In case some of you hadn't noticed, the U330/430 manuals and other documents have been posted:

Search Results

though top top link still points to 310/410.

 

I don't think any amount of tweaking can make this screen as vibrant as an IPS screen but when i was looking at the Yoga 13 I found the screen very striking but a bit lurid, like Apple screens. This looks great in the shop and makes the screen stand out, but can be tiring in long-term use, especially for viewing photographs. Just personal taste. No blurring or graininess on first impressions. I was just struck by how bright it was. I watched an MT2S movie last night in 1440/1080, Happy-Go-Lucky, not exactly a blockbuster, and it looked perfectly cinematic. The screen angle is crucial however so you have to tilt it depending on your position and you'd have to sit pretty close to share it with someone else. A good laptop for making friends.

 

The Dutch often get tech products first as Rotterdam is the largest port in the world after the Chinese ones that export the things. Germany often follows as it is Europe's largest consumer market and is just next door. It's quite an impressive experience to sit by the river in the Netherlands and watch these enormous container ships ply their trade between Germany and Rotterdam. In the UK, and in France where I am, you have to wait your turn with everyone else.No release date here yet. Having said that, my computer appears to have been finished in Bratislava, Slovakia on July 24th.

 

Can anyone here recommend a similar laptop to this one that is on the market right now? I am 100% for this one but if it doesn't come around by school I need to find a new one.

 

Bought a Logitech M525 to give my Lenovo a bit of company

Well maybe I percieve it differently. Colours are not samsung like in your face but if you set the screen at the correct angle it isn't to bad in my opinion. Yes my old notebook was better, for that I had to pay more (upgrade screen) and that wasn't touch. Every feature costs.
I didn't use the notebook outside yet. Busy with a new job and studying besides that, so life is keeping me ocupied. Hopefully it will settle a bit in the upcoming weeks so I have some more spare time.
For every one considering the Lenovo, take a look in a store if you can!

 

Current U430 owners, please give us some pictures/video of the machine!

 

Lenovo U430 Touch Slideshow by maniac2003 | Photobucket - Photos
IdeaPad U430p & U330p - Revolúcia v rade U (Lenovo Blog CZ) - YouTube - Video Review

 

Where did you get the i7-4500 version? I have seen only the i5 till now in Germany.