T430 Owner's Thread

I use a CoolerMaster NotePal D-LITE and I'm pretty happy with it, its 140mm fan is super quite. What's your temperature?

 

Wanted to chime in on load temps and cooling solutions. I have the I7 chip, NVS5400m, swapped the HDD with Samsung 830, moved HDD to ultrabay.

I first noticed the heat issue when playing SWTOR, the left palmrest and exhaust would get uncomfortably warm. Loaded up TPFanControl and saw that I was hitting between 85C-98C under full load.

To try and combat this, I purchased a CoolerMaster U2 (two movable fans) which netted a decent drop, roughly 5C. Then I removed the stock thermal paste and applied Arctic Alumina. Both solutions combined, I'm getting 70C-85C under load with the occasional spike to 95C.

When I opened up the laptop, I noticed that the airflow design is pretty inefficient. Ideally, the fan should be pulling air through the case, but the design only pulls air into the exhaust area. Most of the ventilation slots on the bottom of the case are blocked by black plastic or the motherboard itself... there is no convection effect happening!

Of course I know this is a business laptop, which was designed with that in mind (Ie. continuous use of the gfx card in conjunction with turbo boost is not considered a common task). Still, a super heated palmrest should have raised a flag during the QA phase. For now, the palmrest is still uncomfortable, but at least a little more manageable. Overall, this laptop has met my expectations... but there is always room for improvement.

I'm open to any suggestions for further reducing temperatures or somehow directing heat away from the HDD bay. I'm tempted to machine new vents into the bottom of the case and remove the black plastic to improve airflow...

[EDIT] As a reference, my idle temp (w/CM U2 + TIM) is 55C (ambient temp 23C). I'm reading reviews where they say load temps max out at 95F... 35C under load. Does the I7 run that much hotter?

[EDIT 2] My primary concern is not the idle/load temp, as they are within spec (although higher than I'd like), but rather combating the effect those temps have on the left palmrest.

[EDIT 3]

With no HDD, he is still having issues with the palmrest. Seems like there should be someway to redirect the heat leaking into the left palm rest from the CPU/GPU.

 

I don't know if that's an Option, but would you mind trying to game with the HD4000? The reason why the NVIDIA gets so hot is becuase it's still 40nm, not 28.

 

The cooling setup is pretty standard but the GPU is too close to the palm rest, it'd be so much better if it's located somewhere near the top of the keyboard. The best way to keep it cool is still to leave both HDD and Ultrabay cover off, but it's not practical since the stupid USB3.0 port design. I'm thinking about drilling holes on the HDD cover.

HD4000 is very good for an integrated GPU, but in games it's pretty far behind the NVS5400M, which itself is not a gaming card.

 

This thread is slowing down :\. Just ordered the Mushkin Enhanced Atlas Series 240GB MSATA (SSD) to replace my 60GB version. Newegg finally got them back in stock and on sale. Next up is the 3612qm and a blu-ray drive.

On another note, anyone interested in a Mushkin 60GB Atlas MSATA or a Lenovo 4GB Hynix PC3-12800 DIMM (never used)? Just let me know.

 

This thread is slowing down because people are posting a million different new threads asking questions that should have been asked in model specific owners' threads like this.

 

Liked..........

 

That sounds interesting. Mind giving us a report on how it went once you're done?

 

ohhh I may be interested
shoot me a PM. I don't really come onto NBR often but I'll be sure to be notified via email if you send me a PM

 

Hello all, I recently got my Thinkpad T430 and am loving it. It's a sweet machine which does pretty much all I need. I'm looking to upgrade a bit though and had a few questions. I asked around earlier about the possibility of expanding the RAM and adding a mSATA SSD and that is on track. I'm planning on getting the crucial 128gb and a 4gb stick, which the crucial memory tester says is compatible with the T430. My question is: Is it better to go with a 1.5 V or 1.35 V stick?

My next question relates to upgrading the HDD. I'm quickly running out of space on the stock 500gb HDD and was wondering whether it would be possible to upgrade to a 1tb HDD. Has anyone tried this? Are there any suggestions for an internal, reliable, 1tb HDD? Am not unduly concerned about speed, so even 5400rpm is fine (primarily going to use it for playing music, some old/less demanding games and document storage). Also, Does going over 1tb (say 2tb) cause issues? Are those models less stable than the 1tb ones?

Apologies for the lengthy post and thanks to all!

 

1.5V.

I have this 1TB HDD in the UltraBay. For the primary bay, the replacement drive's height may not match the stock drive's height, hence the stock "rubber guides." This is not a huge problem, but is something you must be aware of.

Mechanically, eletrically and operationally, there should not be any concerns in using a 1TB drive. (Good luck finding a 2.5" 2TB HDD for laptops.)

 

Why should I go with 1.5V as opposed to 1.35V? I ordered my 16GB kit from Crucial and if memory serves it was 1.35.

 

No problem at all, if it makes you happy.

 

Better performance without a loss of battery life makes me happy. I was just wondering if there was something I wasn't aware of at play as I would advised the other way, can't remember why though...

 

The screen. Dim it down to bare minimum if you really want to conserve battery. (But I personally don't do that, hence I don't think a tiny bit of voltage reduction amount to any meaningful "performance" enhancement.)

 

Therein lies the reason for the question... Is there really a performance advantage to the higher voltage RAM in a T430?

No thanks on the display dimming, my eyesight is going get me soon enough especially since I'll hit 41 y/o in a few days. Though I typically work indoors and rarely go above 9 -12 which I'm sure helps a little.

 

Heh heh, the big "four oh" hit me quite a while back. Anyway, sometimes I offer a trivial answer because I don't see any practical reason for microscopic optimizations. (Certain users worry about quad-core this and 7200rpm that while they ignore the 1366x768 resolution and the 1x1 generic WiFi card.)

 

LOL! Understood!

 

Hmm. Interesting. Though I recall the T430 offering configurations of 1600x900 and the Intel Centrino Advanced/Ultimate? So maybe that's why they may have been asking about rpm that?

 

That's precisely Kaso's point, in real life usage factors such as a higher resolution screen and a good wifi adapter will improve users experience significantly more than a quad core processor.

 

Heh heh, I got that, hence the smiley. But having got the wifi adapter and the higher resolution screen, I was hoping someone would be able to answer the question on the HDD and voltage.

Guess not?

 

The SSD speed makes arguments between 5400rpm and 7200rpm moot. On the other hand, if you use the HDD for storage, go for size and don't make a fuss about rpm.

Voltage? Sigh. The beautiful bright screen and the nice backlit keyboard make microscopic concerns about RAM voltage ridiculous. More RAM is a better consideration.

Do you think Andreessen created Netscape and Zuckerberg created Facebook with the very fastest computers? Do you think a tiny reduction in RAM voltage will enhance your creativity? The slowest component is between the keyboard and the chair.

 

Heh. Thanks for the info. I think my lack of clarity in the original question really got you going

I was primarily interested in the compatibility aspect, i.e. does the voltage cause compatibility issues with the T430. Am not unduly concerned about performance (have my desktop for the more demanding stuff). Similarly, I was more worried about the 1tb HDD because of compatibility. As I said in my original post, am not bothered about speed. Just concerned to see whether the 1tb is a good 'fit' (doesn't cause the machine to explode ). You answered that in the previous post. So will check out the Scorpio Blue.

Again, sorry that my poorly worded request got you so worked up. Am sympathetic to your point of view (especially when it comes to laptops like the T430. They're here to do a particular job well. Allowing you to gush about .000456 improvements in some benchmark, is not that job ).

 

I have the Crucial 1.35V ram and it works beautifully. Hopefully that will answer your question.

 

Thanks, 1.35V it is than!

 

I did mention that that's what I have too... I have 16GB in my W510 and I have 16GB for my T430s.

 

OhShuks!!! How I wish I had come across this forum before I ordered my machine.. After reading all 78 pages, I realized I made a blunder. Now I regret .. Darn, and the machine is on its way sometime today.

My system:
Intel Core i5-3210M
320GB HDD 7200rpm
4 GB PC3-12800 DDR3 (1 DIMM)
ThinkPad 1x1 b/g/n
T430 720p HD Camera Mic
T430 14.0HD Anti-Glare, WWAN
16GB Micro SSD SATA3
T430 NVIDIA Optimus with 1GB

My first time buying a lenovo (coming from last 15 years of Compaq & HP)
.

 

I saw that, but got caught up in another discussion . Apologies for not mentioning it earlier.

 

I assume when you say it's on its way today means it's already shipped? If it's not shipped you still got a shot to cancel it.

 

NP, I bought crucial memory from CDW since Crucial was out of stock. They may have stock now, but if not...

 

You have to try...

 

That Realtek card is good enough.

If you're not sensitive to screen resolution and quality (obviously, you're not), 14" 1366x768 won't hurt you.

This is a waste of money, but it won't spoil anything.

You didn't mark this as a "regret," but I question it. What the heck do you need NVIDIA/Optimus for? Discrete graphics card to drive so-so images on a low-res screen?

Verdict: Depending what you need the T430 for, your configuration should be okay. My friends who work for a large accounting consultancy are assigned the same thing, minus NVIDIA and mSATA cache. They make money every day.

 

I really hope it is.

Well, it already is hurting me. I just wasn't paying attention when I ordered.
The reading the text on the T430 base screen is difficult (not very clear). Already hurting my eyes. I got used to my HP for the last 5 years, and the text was very clear to read... This really sucks.
I wish there was a way to just get a new screen for cheap. lol

I fully agree.

I need to do a lot of excel and word and simulink GUI programming (graphics intensive - hence the NVIDIA card).

You have given a lot of good advice on this board so thanks for that (unfortunately a bit too late for me though).

So far I like the machine. My only complaints are:

Screen is not reader friendly at all

Function key and CTRL key should be swapped, since I use a lot of the CTRL key and I constantly keep hitting the Func key

Very weird key placements for Home, End, Pg Up and Pg Dwn. As a heavy excel user, I use a lot of Home and End; and I find it very frustrating to constantly be searching for them.

Also, I find it very strange that 56% of the RAM (4GB) is already being used and I have not yet installed anything on the machine. Suggests to me that there must be a lot of bloatware running.

 

question guys; best deal for a SSD?
I'm looking for either a mSATA 64GB or something in my CD bay~
looking for something >$100.

Need one for my T430 and my brother's X230~ best deal around?

 

<<The reading the text on the T430 base screen is difficult (not very clear). Already hurting my eyes. I got used to my HP for the last 5 years, and the text was very clear to read... This really sucks.
I wish there was a way to just get a new screen for cheap. lol

Get an external monitor if you don't have one already. An 24" IPS monitor can be found at around $200.

 

You could always return it and exchange it for the same machine but with the 1600x900 screen. I don't think they'll charge a restocking fee for doing that inside the 21 day return window.

 

That's a good advise, call back Thinkpad support and complain that the screen is causing eye strains and demand a change of configuration.

 

@OhShuks

If I were you I'd really get a T430 without NVIDIA. Those things get extremely hot under heavy load. If you don't do any Graphics-intensive Tasks, you'll be just as good off picking the Intel only Model.

 

Yeah.

Alas, most users "think" they do graphics-intensive tasks.



The HD 4000 can lick all those graphics on coffee breaks.

 

Thinking about getting a T430 and wondering if I should get the NVIDIA but worrying about the heat. Is it possible to disable the NVIDIA?

 

Yes. But see above: why do you need the NVIDIA?

 

As advised, I called in, and good news: I have shipped back the laptop and should get full refund.

Thanks everyone.

advice to others: DO NOT BUY THE BASE T430 SCREEN. You would think you have lost eyesight- that's how bad the base screen is. I don't know Lenovo would wake up and put an IPS panel in a business machine. I took a look at some other makes with the same resolution, and their screens were much much better.

For all its worth, I disabled the HD4000 to force the T430 to run on Nvidia, and the readability actually improved a bit, but not as much to my liking.

The simulink work I do is a lot more complicated than as shown

Simulink actually crashes out my current i7 HP with discrete nvidia. To quote from their website

"Most MATLAB graphics are rendered on the CPU, not the GPU, so you can use any recent graphics card with MATLAB. The performance improvement on a high-end graphics card is relatively modest when compared to an entry-level graphics card. However, MATLAB is increasingly using the GPU’s rendering capabilities, so choosing a high-end graphics card is a good way to prepare your system for expected performance boosts in future versions of MATLAB.

Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) for computation

To speed up computation, Parallel Computing Toolbox leverages NVIDIA GPUs that support CUDA 1.3 or later. See the full list of supported GPUs. MATLAB does not support computation acceleration using AMD/ATI GPUs at this time."

Now I need to decide what to get next; gamble again with another Lenovo, or go back to HP.

 

It depends on whether you want to graphics intense tasks such as 3D modeling or moderate gaming. I guess if you have to ask then you probably don't need it, yeah you can completely disable the NVS but when it runs boy it was HOT!

I'm inclined to think that your original screen might be actually defective, although it's recommended to get the HD+ the standard screen is okay except the resolution. I have compared a standard screen T430 with a HP Probook and the T430 appears to be better.

 

I have no need for a dedicated GPU for now but certainly want to be "future proof". Did anyone actually disable their NVS and how easy it is? Thanks for the reply.

 

I disable NVS when I know I'll be using battery for a while, such as before flying. Just go into BIOS during booting and disable it from there, it's like three or four steps, super easy.

 

Good to know. Thanks.

 

For those that installed windows 8 did you dual boot or write over windows 7?

Do you like it?

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2

 

I installed Win 8 on a separate partition since you can't go back to Win 7 after the trial is over and I'd like to keep my Win 7 install intact. IMO Win 8 is only useful with a touch interface, I still prefer Win 7 for a traditional laptop such as the T430.

 

Second that! I do not think I will ever go for Windows 8 as my personal opinion is that it is only useful for the touch machines and also it is not faster as they claim (or very little unobserved difference). Also, is not much stable yet and finally, it is a little confusing which no major difference that I can see that would make me replace Win 7 with it.

 

I am actually using Windows 8 full time on my T430s and have been very satisfied with it. The live tile system and the people's hub are just pleasant to use. The resume time is way faster. It is annoying that I have to drop back to desktop all the time, but I certainly don't miss the start button. Granted, I moved directly from Windows XP and have owned a Windows phone for a while, so the learning curve might have been easier for me.