T410 Owners, Lend Me Your Ears...

Hi folks,

I'm coming rather close to pulling the trigger on a T410. The Quadro NVS is enough for light gaming, the i5 is going to be around for awhile, and the weight ain't too bad.

I was wondering if some owners could clarify some things for me though:

1) Does the T410 have switchable graphics?
A main reason I selected the T410 is because it's a nice medium between performance and longevity. The board here is very confusing as to whether or not the T410 has switchable graphics, and the performance difference is relevant to my interests.

2) What is the battery life of a T410?
The NBR.com review states the 9-cell life to be around 7-ish hours. However, all other reviews have it around the 3.5-4.5 hour mark. Which one is correct? How long does you battery last when doing light tasks (surfing the web, writing documents)?

3) What is the thing you like least about your laptop?
Each and every laptop has its flaws. What do you think is the biggest flaw about the T410?

4) Is the laptop comfortable in your lap?
I intend on using it for watching television and doing work, and want to know if it gets too hot or is uncomfortable to use while sitting in a chair.

Thanks for any and all replies!

 

1) No

2) My i7 with Integrated GPU + 9cell gets around 4-5 hours under general use (i.e. working within a Virtual Machine or playing video etc.) I suspect that with light use you could get 6-7 hours from it, but I don't really use my laptop for just web browsing.

3)

- Ordering/customer support system is worst part of Lenovo. They seriously need to get real on this or they'll be out of business before long. E.g. the initial delivery time is a random number which is then randomly updated until you call and complain. They need better systems in place to allocate parts/meet their initial delivery expectations/promises. Outsourcing also means customer service is not at the required quality level.

- Keyboard is a little heavy weighted and has fast-typing issues (letters get swapped if you type really really fast). Lenovo say a BIOS update is coming in < 3 weeks.

- Palm rest creaks on the left side - they need more support under the plastic

- Touchpad buttons are a little cheap and creaky too

The general performance/quality/features override these technical issues for me.

4) Mine does not get hot and is comfortable on my lap. Not sure if discrete graphics gets warmer. Probably a little.


Generally I'm pleased with the unit itself and would recommend it.

 

1) I have heard it does not, although no real life experience from myself.

2) I have an integrated gpu and 6 cell battery. My one time I really did test the battery I got about 3 hours 45 minutes from just web browsing, typing documents, making a powerpoint, and chatting. That was from down to 10%, so if you push it, it can probably make it to 4 hours.

3) As mentioned above, sometimes letters get switched when I'm typing fast and not focusing. It never usually happened with my old laptop. I'm getting more used to the keyboard and it's not happening very often anymore.

The middle bottom part of the screen flexes in and out just a bit when pushed. Nothing too important, and I may have read it was intentional. The speakers are quieter than my previous Toshiba, but that laptop had crazy loud and good speakers for a mainstream notebook.

4) It only gets hot when I'm forcing it to play Bioshock or something (which it can do decently well with low settings. As long as I get to play..) Otherwise, I can use it on my lap comfortably.

My first thinkpad and I'm enjoying it. I plan to use it till it dies (Which will be a long time hopefully.)

 

1.- No, there is not. I have heard it is a chipset issue, although I'm not certain.

2.- With integrated graphics, I see no reason why the T410's battery life would be worse than that of the T400. I can get up to around 7-7.5 hours on my T500's 9-cell battery on web browsing and word processing on integrated graphics mode, so I would expect something similar on the T410.

 

Download the Lenovo T410 Hardware maintenance manual, it mention switchable graphic, not sure if this is the case in real life.

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/pageRedirect.do/.../MIGR-74470.html

 

From http://lenovoblogs.com/insidethebox/?p=406:

 

Does the T410 not even have the ability to switch to Intel IGP via the BIOS? I don't mind if it doesn't have "on-the-fly" switching between discrete and integrated, but it would be nice to at least be able to switch between them with a reboot ...

Or is it "all-discrete, all-the-time"?

EDIT: Just read that blog post above. Balls.

 

as far as i can see, there is no such thing in my bios

 

Well ... I may then end up just going for the Intel model. I'll save some money, and I'll save a lot of battery life ... I really only wanted discrete to play UT2004 (which should probably run decently well with Intel anyway) and drive Compiz a little more smoothly.

 

I play ut204 quite well on my z61t with intel intergrated, I would suspect and hope the UT2004 would play well on the much newer T410