T430 Advice

Hi,

I am studying languages at university, and I also work as freelance, part-time translator, so I spend a lot of my time with documents, presentations, publications, often with two open! So I am looking for a new laptop with a high resolution. I currently use an old Thinkpad L series which has served me very well, but now is time to upgrade!

I like the T430 and it is a good deal at the moment, I can spec it well and get the 1600x900 (great for my work!) for a good price. However, for the future, there is a possibility I will be doing light graphics - for example, Photoshop, Indesign, Illustrator. Now, I always get told to buy a Mac (I am not sure why when these are available for Windows, I am also on a tight budget! And I think the Lenovo Thinkpad T series offers a great computer for a reasonable price. I can't really afford to buy a MacBook Pro 15!

Would it be sensible to upgrade the graphics too? I don't do video editing at all! But for the tasks above - can these work well on the Intel graphics?

Thanks for your advice!

 

I know PS at least should have some limited support for GPU acceleration, but I don't know what kind of GPUs are supported. In general the Intel GPU should be more than enough, though.

 

The HD+ 1600x900 should be good for your work. The i5-3210 CPU should provide ample power.

The HD 4000 integrated graphics should be more than enough for your "light graphics" work in the future. Please note that I do "medium graphics/video/audio" work with Adobe applications on the previous-generation HD 3000 without any problems, always smooth and easy.

It is less expensive to order one 4GB RAM stick as part of your Lenovo configuration, then buy a second 4GB (204-pin DDR3 1600MHz, about $17) stick yourself, to bring the total to 8GB.

 

Great choice! I have one with the 9 cell and battery is amazing. It's whole day + more of battery runtime.

The tasks you listed should run ok on the Intel IGP.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

Just a quick update! I ordered it today! I can't wait to get it!

Thanks for all your help.

 

If you still could, I'd suggest you rethink the purchase. The T430 has a sub-par screen which probably won't cut it for graphic works.

 

"Doing light graphics" is only a future projection. The main work now (study and part-time job) involves text.

 

I have this computer, and the screen isn't as bad as people make it out to be. It's good enough for the "light graphics" work that the user plans on doing, and heavy graphics work could always be done using an external monitor. People working on hardcore graphics projects generally would be using multiple monitors at a desk.

@linguanico, you'll be happy with this computer. I got one a few months ago, and it's been great. I hope you ordered the Nvidia graphics card update; this will allow you to run 4(!) monitors at once, including the one built in, while using the docking station. You could do some light graphical work while translating a paper, and have a movie playing, with another monitor left over for facebook!

This computer is also very durable. It is easy to upgrade RAM and the hard drive yourself. The battery life is insanely long (at least 10 hours normal use,) with the 9 cell option, and can be even longer with an additional 3 cell in the ultra-bay. You can also hot swap hard drives in the ultra-bay, which makes backing up files a breeze.

My friend, you will not be disappointed with your purchase.

 

Lenovo UK unfortunately were just too incompetant to sell one.

And as I need a computer, I simply went elsewhere and bought another brand. I am glad I did, I got the same specs, with Nivida graphics, for a lower price. I am glad Lenovo were unable to process my order!

 

^^^ Their loss, not yours. Good luck with your new notebook!

 

Absolutely! I gave them 5 chances to process the order but they just could not do it. I blame the third party, a quick google brings up a lot of stories of bad customer service. But the competitor, matched the price, then offered upgrades, and processed it right away.

Direct always seems the best way I think...