T430s owners'/would-be owners' thread.

I bought this one it works with t420s so it should work with t430s

2nd HDD hard drive Caddy For LENOVO Thinkpad T400s T410si T T410i T420s T420si | eBay

 

Got my T430s today, here are my impressions so far.

Specs: i7 CPU, 6/3 batteries, upgraded SSD, upgraded 12GB RAM, Ultimate LAN, HD+ display.

I'm upgrading from a (stolen) T400. Before that I had a T60. My VERY first impression was that it was even thinner and lighter than I expected. A good 1/4" thinner than the T400 and very light. It instantly put to rest any doubts I had that I made the right choice. Good solid build as has previously been the case.

I haven't done lots of typing yet, but I'm initially satisfied with the keyboard change. The keys still have great feedback and it's not any harder to type on. It will probably take me a couple days to fully adjust, but then it will be like normal. The top row (F-keys) seems to be a tad higher, maybe 1mm, than the other rows. I'd prefer it weren't, but, although noticeable, it's not a big deal.

After first boot I opened "My Computer" and clicked on the recovery drive. It prompted me to make recovery discs and I did so (planning to swap the HDD out). It was painless, but took 4 DVDs for all restore data/programs/windows. I then added a stick of RAM and swapped out the HDD for an Intel 520 series 240GB SSD (this required removing the top "pad" on the drive and substituting smaller screws to fit the 7.5mm height requirement). Both switches were very easy, and both RAM slots are easily accessible. I'm now loading the factory data onto the SSD with the discs I made.

I've yet to check the battery life, but will report back when I've been able to put it through its paces.

The optical drive takes a bit more force than my T400 to close. Not a big deal.

I've noticed the unlatching mechanism (the slider) for the display is on the body of the laptop, not the screen like the T400 I had previously. I think I actually prefer this, as there's no moving parts on the screen itself.

The touchpad is...a touchpad. I don't know what to say about it. I couldn't care less about the quality since I'm a trackpoint user. They could take it off completely for all I care. It's textured, and the one on my T400 was not. The Ultranav buttons are fine, but seem to have less travel than the T400, particularly the middle button. I'm sure I'll get used to it. Not necessarily good or bad, just different.

The screen is not as bad as people are saying. Coming from previous Thinkpads, it seems equal - which is to say, not great, but just fine - especially for business use. I wouldn't use this as your main monitor of you're a pro photographer, but anything else should be fine. Who sits sideways from the monitor anyway? There might be a slight "screen door" effect on the monitor, but it seems to be stronger at an angle, and one of those things you only notice if you look really close and are paying attention. As a bonus, this is a higher resolution screen (the HD+ at 1600x900) than my previous T400 at 1440x768?

Keyboard backlight is pretty snazzy, but we'll see how much I use it. It looks pretty, at the very least.

So far I think I'll be very satisfied. Happy to answer any questions I'm able to.

 

Let us know if that is the case. Also as headsup, make sure to put HDD in this caddy not SSD, the interface at DVD bay is 1.5 Gbps while at HDD bay is 6 Gbps (used hwinfo32 to check)

 

Actually maybe it's better to test. My Ultrabay caddy indeed caps regular SATA disks to 1.5Gbps but SATA3 disks run at full speed 6Gbps. The RST driver utility confirms.

 

What do you need an ultrabay for? I'm curious. I guess I don't know that much about them.

 

true, just checked my old HP laptop's config on which I had put HDD at DVD bay and hwinfo reported interface at 3 Gbps, so its reporting the speed of the controller at device (it also reported 6 Gbps for chronos ssd i have in there while i know its mobo is max 3 Gbps), not on motherboard. so whoever has HDD bay for caddy can test

 

to install extra HDD in place of the DVD drive. so 2 storage devices (2 HDDs or 1 SSD+1HDD or 2 SSDs lol)

 

ah that's a nice touch. you going to RAID them or anything?

and how does that affect the weight from your experiences?

 

no RAID for me, i do 1 SSD + 1 HDD, speed boost of SSD for OS and programs, and HDD covers all storage needs. however SSD prices have been going down a lot lately but extra storage is always welcome.

weightwise i would assume the caddy weighs 100 grams at most (its mostly plastic so most probably less), SSD weigh 80-120 grams. so adding 200 grams which is insignificant.
power consumption of SSDs are quite low too so not much impact on battery.

 

Thanks for the feedback; I've just ordered mine on sunday, i7 / 8GB RAM / 320GB HDD / 1600x900 / Ultimate Wi-Fi / 6 cells / No discrete GPU, keyboard backlight or fingerprint reader.

I'm especially curious about the fan noise on idle: coming from an X31 that is completely silent on idle, I'm a bit worried that the T430s might be audibly noisy with an i7, even on idle. Do you have any feedback regarding that?

Also, is it possible to disable the trackpad? I'm also a trackpoint user and I'm worried that the trackpad might get in the way.

 

The trackpad is a concern to me, as well. Not because I'm going to use the trackpoint, but because I'm worried it's nowhere near the type of trackpad I've been using on my Macbook Pro since 2008.

Anyone have any thoughts on this? I hear it's textured but how rough is it?

 

disabling the trackpad wouldnt be difficult since its synaptics. lots of hacks exist for it.
regarding texture, its a pleasure to use it (coming from HP metallic trackpad), no finger slips, no roughness

 

I'm assuming the normal list of 2-finger scroll, 3-finger something, etc. exists on the T430s?

 

2 finger scroll is there, 3 finger don't know never tried.

 

Some people find the default scrolling gestures on the ThinkPad touchpad to be cumbersome, however they have noted improvements once they installed the Two Finger Scroll application.

 

Thanks for the link.

I would hate to have my purchase direction influenced by something as minor as touchpad gestures, but going from my old Macbook to my workplace-provided Elitebook 6930p is infuriating. I don't want to spend ~$1000 of my own money only to hate the touchpad afterward. Two-finger scrolling is pretty crucial to my Internet surfing.

 

Two fingers scrolling is mostly fine. The trackpad is small, but that impacts pinch zoom more than two fingers scrolling. It's not as good as Mac, but not too bad.

Three fingers swipe works in both Firefox and Chrome (back and forward in history). However, it's cumbersome and can takes a couple of tries. It also does not have the animation Safari has and takes a reload instead of just moving to the page.

If I were you, I wouldn't get the T430s. It's just not built around the trackpad, unlike the MBA.

 

I love TrackPoint and barely use the trackpad, but I can say that the pad material itself is easy to use, has two finger gestures (zoom in out, scroll), and has sufficient software controls for adjustment. See the attached picture to get an idea of the feel/ texture.

But once you use TrackPoint a bit, you're likely to never look back...

Note that the middle button of the three TrackPoint buttons (the one with the dots above the trackpad) is for scrolling (or it's behavior can be changed) and is great for browsing the web.

 

Yes, you can fully disable the trackpad straight from the BIOS.

When idle, I didn't notice the fan noise at all in a fairly quiet room. It may have even been off (I couldn't tell). However, there is an option in the Thinkpad Power Manager to enable "Lenovo Turbo Boost+" (says it "maximizes fan speed for the best processor performance"), and the only thing that seems to do is permanently turn the fan onto full speed. I definitely notice it when that's enabled, but I don't really see the point unless you're gaming, etc. The fan should adjust itself as needed anyway.

About to head out soon for my first day of mobile computing, so I'll give more feedback later.

 

Out of curiosity, has anyone ever compared the T430/T430s to the L430? They are both 14" machines but the L430 appears to be somewhat lower end. I don't know exactly what that means though.

Any quick thoughts?

 

Got my t430s to day and i have to say wow!

Bought the i5 version standard. Will upgrade to ssd and more ram shortly.

Now where to start..

First that i noticed was the weight, The weight is yust perfect not heavy at all , the thinkness i like if the body was any thinner than this i would not like it at all to type on most likely, what i feel at this point. It is a blast to type on. I have not felt so good keyboard to type on to this date. Also this thinkpad will suit me very good to travel with to and from university.

The trackpad and the point i think personaly is good to move on and feels good and responsive.
One finger and two fingers for scroll works very good. The trackpoint i have to get used to but that's with everything else new stuff so it's good.

The t430s feels sturdy and that it could take some beating, really nice.
I think it's somewhat fast to boot up to win7 (27s) and performance feels good, though not tryed heavy programs yet. It boost faster than my i7 920 build SB, still the build got better performance, though it's a few years old.

Pritty sure with an SSD soon installed it will be even faster and little more RAM.

About the screen i think it is good, see the screen sideways is ok, ofc little blurier than strait forward but i'm not going to see the screen sideways anyway so for me it does not matter. I dont have any issus with it and like it. Also the thing it is matte i like, not to fan of glossy displays. I have to get used to this size though since i'm used to my 22" widescreen, but it's ok since movies will go on the 42" lcd.

I'm so really, really pleased with this purchased so far and glad i went with this one. I have not tested fully out the battery but i post a comment on that very soon.

 

UPS just dropped off my ultrabay battery. I wish it wasn't as heavy as it is because I felt that the laptop's weight with the DVD drive was perfect, but it's definitely worth the trade off for the extended battery life.

 

True, the bay battery is heavier than the optical drive, but a good trade off. It should be noted that the naming of the battery "cells" is a bit ridiculous and inaccurate. To clarify:

T430 9-cell = 94 Whr
T430s 6-cell = 43.2 Whr
T430s 3-cell bay = 32 Whr

T430s 6-cell + 3-cell = 75.2 Whr

T430 9-cell is 25% more capacity than T430s 6-cell + 3-cell

T430s 6-cell + 3-cell is 74% more capacity than just the 6-cell. But based on the "cell" term, you'd think it would only be 50%. In other words, the 6-cell is under powered (seems it should be around 60 Whr, not 40).

Therefore, adding the 3-cell bay battery to the 6-cell standard battery in the T430s can come close to doubling your battery life.

I've had about 1.5hrs on battery with wifi (6+3 cell) and I'm currently at 77%.

 

Unfortunetly my ssd is 9m so I have to put it on the caddy

 

The Ultrabay *does* support 6Gbps SATA3, it's just that not all older SATA drives support more that 1.5Gbps in the Ultrabay. I have a Samsung PM830 in the drive compartment and (on a regulary basis when doing drive migrations) various SSDs in the Ultrabay. I have seen and measured them all doing 6Gbps, no worries there.

 

Thanks, that's a relief.

Let us know how your day of mobile computing went, especially with regards to screen readability in direct sunlight!

 

Didn't test it in direct sunlight, but I could tomorrow possibly. It's hardly ever I'd use it outdoors. The screen definitely gets far brighter than I need for indoors, I know that much. But I'm one to keep my monitors fairly dim. Probably around 9/15 brightness is most comfortable for me indoors at night in a lit room.

I'm fairly pleased with the battery time. I don't have hard numbers, but it will get through a normal day for me no problem. Right now it's idling (web browser is just sitting open) with an estimate of 8-9 hours remaining, at 85%. Realistically I'd say about 6-7 hours of normal use is what I could expect.

Wifi reception is noticeably better with the Ultimate LAN than what my T400 had.

One other small nitpicky thing is the status lights. With the screen open there are only indicators for wifi and HDD. The wifi light never blinks, just stays on, which is a bit annoying. From the back side of the monitor you can see battery and sleep indicator lights. I'd prefer these were all on the front also like on my T400. There is also no Bluetooth indicator light.

My Windows 7 Pro experience index numbers are (scale of 1.0 to 7.9):
7.2 CPU (i7)
7.2 RAM (12GB - 8/4GB)
6.5 Graphics (Intel 4000)
6.5 Gaming graphics (Intel 4000)
7.9 Primary hard disk (Intel SSD 520 Series 240GB)
(6.5 base score)

 

Did anybody try upgrading wifi card after receiving this machine? I have intel 2200 and thinking of upgrading to intel 6300 but do i have to buy part off lenovo? they used to whitelist their cards in BIOS i know, not sure if that changed now

I opened the chassis and there is one extra antenna wire, covered to isolate it, for 3x3 connections

EDIT: Or intel 6235 seems to be better choice, it has all (but still 300 Mbps as compared to 450 Mbps of 6300) goodies compared to 6300 plus bluetooth 4.0

 

I did and it works fine.

 

What exactly is this "ultimate LAN"? Does it produce similar wifi speeds but with better reception (distance from router)?

 

That would be the Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 AGN option. It has a 3x3 antenna, which should improve signal gain and, depending on the configuration of the network, may allow for more spatial streams and higher throughput.

 

I was wondering that as well. Is it worth spending some money to upgrade my wi-fi card from the stock one that comes with the laptop? I already have bluetooth and all of that


EDIT: Posted this at the same time as Nrbelex explained it

 

Alternatively, it's a $38.62 purchase from Amazon where it has glowing reviews.

Edit: Forgot that Lenovo whitelists Wi-Fi cards, so upgrading to the Amazon card might not work since it's not Lenovo OEM. Nonetheless, the reviews are relevant.

 

Sounds like something worth the upgrade then. Thanks!

 

I'm not sure if I've posted this already but does anyone know where one can see a T430s hands-on in person before purchase? I live in Washington DC.

I really can't think of any tech store that would carry any ThinkPad.

Am I SOL?

 

Yeah, you are SOL. I never see any major retailers putting out business notebooks on display. Just buy it, it's a fine machine.

 

It depends how one defines "business."

 

Well, I have seen the occasional Dell Vostro at Staples, but at Best Buy, glossy HP Pavilions and the like rule the show floor.

 

I am using an old ultra bay from my T400s on my T430s and it work fine with SATA3 drive. I don't think that there is any active electronic piece inside. If it mechanically fits it should work.

 

Yes, better antennae. And I have noticed a difference. It was a worthwhile upgrade for me since 1) I'm on wifi all the time and 2) I'm often fighting a low connection due to the amount of distance/walls between the computer and router.

 

If you have a college near you, the school store/ book store might have some on display. You could try calling and asking.

 

Looks like the price of the T430s has dropped on the Barnes and Noble website.

Damn it, if I ordered now, I could have saved $85!

 

That's the price of enjoying the T430s for 3 weeks. Imagine the agony of waiting and guessing...

 

that is so stupid. is there some workaround?

 

Mine was OEM. All Lenovo + OEM Intel WiFi Link Ultimate 6300 will work.

 

You can buy Lenovo-whitelisted Intel WiFi cards off eBay for less than $20.

 

that's no workaround. I want to be able to install whatever mini pci-e card I want.

 

There is a workaround: modified BIOS. Tradeoff: they will void your warranty, and I doubt any have been made/ released for the newest batch of ThinkPads yet.

 

I don't know if you can call it a workaround, but on the X31 if you install the mini-PCI card after the BIOS whitelist check and scan hardware changes in Windows device manager, it'll work perfectly fine until the next reboot.

It's obviously very impractical, but it works.

Another way is to modify CMOS settings (instead of flashing the complete BIOS); it will lasts until the CMOS battery dies (that took almost a decade for me) and since it's a volatile change it won't void the warranty, but I don't know if that's still possible in newer ThinkPads (look up "no 1802" on Google for more info).

 

do you know if its FRU 60y3193 or 60y3233. official parts list of t430s states intel 6300 FRU is 60y3233

parts list[PDF]