T430 build quality

Hi,

I recently bought a Thinkpad T430 with one of the main reasons being the build quality of it. I must say, I'm quite disappointed, and that for two main reasons:

- The display bezel: The surface on the top cover isn't flat. I guess that could have something to do with the the reinforced caging, but it shoudn't.

- Flex: on the left side, just below the speaker there's a lot of flex. Every time I put my hand on it, it makes some noise.

Does anyone experiences the same problems?

 

I wonder where you got that idea from.

Hold the edge of the lid (with one hand or two hands), with the thumb on the bezel. Press down with your thumb while moving from the camera toward the corner. You should hear at least one "snap" sound.

Flexing and creaking. Not new. Has been like this for many generations. Try to undo the screws at the bottom and gently snap the palmrest into place properly. (Certain users just disassemble/reassemble the whole thing.)

More than one person.

 

A lot of flex or a creaking sound?

If it's the latter, well... yeah. That's been the case on all the ThinkPads I've owned since my 600X. Welcome to the fun world of manufacturing tolerances.

Try what Kaso suggested. If it really bothers you and that doesn't fix it, I'd recommend using a piece of paper or some double-sided tape.

I'm not sure what you're talking about re: the display cover. Do mean the top part where the ThinkPad logo is? Or do you mean the bezel around the screen? If it's the bezel, yeah, Kaso's instructions are spot on -- one of the tabs probably isn't seated correctly. They just snap into place so that's a 2-second fix. If it's something else, perhaps you can describe it in a bit more detail?

As an aside, I tend to think of "build quality" as the quality of the product assembly specifically w/ regards to how it functions. "Fit and finish" is the term I've heard used to describe things like how closely the parts fit together, the presence of molding artifacts, etc. I wouldn't recommend ThinkPads for their fit and finish, that's for sure. (Actually, I probably wouldn't recommend any mass-produced laptop for fit and finish. There are a few desktops that I'd recommend for that, but they're all hand-assembled and the price reflects that...)

Also, you might want to mention this to Mark at Lenovo. QC problems don't tend to get fixed if nobody ever reports a problem in the first place...

 

It's indeed a creaking sound. When I place my left wrist onto the machine, just below the speaker grill it 'creaks'. Which is quite annoying once you're focused on it.

It's the top part. When I'm comparing it to my (much cheaper) L520 that our company has given me, it's not flat and there are some bumps on it on the same height as the Thinkpad logo somewhere in the middle.

I'm indeed talking about the 'fit and finish'. It doesn't seems logical to me that a 1400 EUR machine (yes, they're quite expensive in my country) is less well finished compared to a much cheaper non-business IdeaPad.

 

Yeah, there's not really much one can do about that other than what I mentioned above. I tend to shim my palmrests with a bit of an index card or a business card.

Meh. 1400 EUR is *way* more expensive than the T430 is in the US, but even then I wouldn't expect perfection. The last ThinkPad I'd have expected perfection from was the 600X, and there's a reason why: the top-end configs could easily cost a couple times that.

And I'm afraid I still don't quite get what you mean regarding the lid. :/

 

I think he meant the outside surface of the lid (the side with rubberized paint) is not perfectly flat when you line up your eye with the surface, mine is pretty flat. Regarding creaking sound I haven't experienced any, I suspect in your case it may be caused by the HDD caddy under your left palm rest, I don't have that problem because mine is empty.