T430 Upgradability

Hi,

--Update : after reading about poor screens on the T430 I am considering the T530 with FHD screen.

Below is my potential T530 laptop I wish to order, but was wondering if someone could clarify the upgradability of the various parts.

I have deliberately gone cheap on the parts I believe I can upgrade my self after. These are

CPU - I assume I can upgrade this myself to an i7 if desired?
Memory - I can upgrade this to 16GB or 32GB if 16GB dims become practical?
Hard Drive - I can install an SSD myself?
Graphics card - ?


Thanks for any replies.

Mark


ThinkPad T530 - 3 Year Depot
Processor: 3rd Generation Intel Core i3-3110M Processor (3MB Cache, 2.40GHz) Edit
Operating system: Windows 8 64 Edit
Operating system language: Windows 8 64 MUI EMEA WE (EN FR DE IT NL) Edit
Display type: 15.6" FHD (1920 x 1080) LED Backlit Anti-Glare Display, Mobile Broadband Ready Edit
System graphics: Intel HD Graphics 4000 Edit
Total memory: 4 GB DDR3 - 1600MHz (1 DIMM) Edit
Keyboard: ThinkPad Precision Backlit Win8 Keyboard UK English Edit
Camera: 720p HD Camera Edit
Hard drive: 320 GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm Edit
Optical device: DVD Recordable Edit
System expansion slots: Express Card Slot & 4 in 1 Card Reader Edit
Battery: 6 cell Li-Ion Battery - 70+ Edit
Power cord: Country Pack United Kingdom with Line cord & 90W AC adapter Edit
Bluetooth: Bluetooth 4.0 Edit
Integrated WiFi wireless LAN adapters: Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205 (2x2 AGN) Edit
Integrated mobile broadband: Integrated Mobile Broadband - Upgradable Edit
Language pack: Language Pack Win8 WE (FR/GE/IT/DU/EN)

 

Everything except the GPU should be easily upgrade-able as you mentioned. When it comes to the GPU... heh, not so likely.
I can't find a single pic of the T530 mobo, but I know that the higher-end version comes with a Quadro NVS 5400M card. The card is listed as using MXM, although that is NOT a guarantee, and if it does it probably uses MXM 3.0A (not B).
There's a big possibility that lenovo may use different mobos for the 2 different versions of thinkpad (with or without MXM slot).

Basically get the T530 if you're not expecting GPU upgrades.

 

Ok thanks, I don't mind too much about the GPU as I am not a gamer. Will be used mainly for development.

 

Do keep in mind upgrading your CPU will put your warranty at risk if you care.

 

Yes you can upgrade to i7 processors on the T530 - right up to Quad Cores but do make sure you have the correct power brick otherwise the system may throttle due to lack of power.

You should be able to upgrade to 16GB RAM with ease, I have the T420 using 16GB RAM with no problems.

You can but I think the current generation T Series require 7mm drives to fit in the main drive bay so do bear that in mind that when choosing a SSD. Alternatively you can purchase the 12.7mm Ultrabay Caddy which fits a standard 9.5mm drive.

They're usually soldered on the motherboard so you won't be able to change this easily. But should you fancy a bit more power then there's always the eGPU option via the expresscard slot.

 

Too bad that markmm didn't spend the extra $20 to get a 500GB HDD; he ordered his new T530 with the standard 320GB HDD and it is likely a 7mm drive (one platter).

I ordered my T530 (supposed to ship yesterday but still not shipped, I wonder if they'll now wait till after Xmas?) with the 500GB HDD and am hoping that it is 9.5mm thick. There were still bigger HDD (but IMO too expensive for what you get) which for certain would be 9.5mm thick.

Anyway I have no use for a 320GB HDD in the future, and figured that the extra $20 for the 500GB HDD would 1) get me a working boot HDD that I can use for a week and then set aside for now and 2) a HDD that I'll actually have some use for in a year when my warranty/accidental runs out and 3) if this 500GB HDD is 9.5mm then I get a "free" main bay adapter to go with my new 512GB M4 SSD which is a 9.5mm thick SSD.

For markmm if he plans to use a 2.5" SSD in the main bay, he'll likely want to get a Samsung SSD which are all 7mm thick (830 or 840, forget the 840 Pro as IMO it's very new and still selling at a premium). FWIW you can also get a 7mm thick M4 SSD, but it's best to get those direct from Crucial and not from places like Amazon.

edit: I see that markmm is only at the point of possibly ordering a T530 (he revised the OP), so my comments are not a hijack.

 

How interesting.

So that off loads the GPU (and it's heat) to an external add on which is in turn used with an external screen?

Would you kindly provide at least one link of what to buy?

Thanks very much in advance.

BTW I just noticed the thread title (i.e. T430) and am sorry for the hijack of the thread. Hoping my above question (to Hearst) applies to both T430 and T530.

 

None of Lenovo's Thinkpad laptops use MXM, so the GPU is in fact not replaceable whatsoever (aside from buying a motherboard with one).

 

ThinkPad W70x series used MXM type GPU.

 

I ordered it last night, and also from Crucial 16GB ram and a Crucial 7mm 128GB SSD, which the Crucial website said was compatible, wondering if I need to remove my 320Gb hard drive? Also how many SSD drives could I fit (I would ne willing to ditch both spinning rust and DVD drive)

Below is the final spec I ordered. I went for the i3 knowing that CPU is fast enough for my needs, and maybe in 6 months I will upgrade to a i7 quad if prices have dropped a little.

Thanks for all the replies..


- 3rd Generation Intel Core i3-3110M Processor (3MB Cache, 2.40GHz)
- Windows 8 64
- Windows 8 64 MUI EMEA WE (EN FR DE IT NL)
- 15.6" FHD (1920 x 1080) LED Backlit Anti-Glare Display, Mobile Broadband Ready
- Intel HD Graphics 4000
- 4 GB DDR3 - 1600MHz (1 DIMM)
- ThinkPad Precision Backlit Win8 Keyboard UK English
- 720p HD Camera
- 320 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
- DVD Recordable
- Express Card Slot & 4 in 1 Card Reader
- 6 cell Li-Ion Battery - 70+
- Country Pack United Kingdom with Line cord & 90W AC adapter
- Bluetooth 4.0
- Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205 (2x2 AGN)
- Integrated Mobile Broadband - Upgradable
- Language Pack Win8 WE (FR/GE/IT/DU/EN)

 

You need to remove the 320GB stock HDD from the main bay if you want to put a SSD there.

How many SSDs could you fit? Three. One mSATA SSD in the mSATA/WWAN slot. One 2.5" SSD in the main bay. One 2.5" SSD in the UltraBay, using an UltraBay caddy adapter.