T430s owners'/would-be owners' thread.

If anybody is looking for 16GB of PC1600 1.35v ram for cheap Cruical is having a good sale right now:

Crucial 16GB kit (8GBx2), 1.35V, 204-pin SODIMM, DDR3 PC3-12800 Laptop Memory Module - $75.99 FS - Slickdeals.net

 

How does your setting looks under Power Manager? I have it set to Balanced under System Performance and can't get more than 3:30min at full battery charge and brightness 10. In the Effects of Settings snapshot I have 5/7 for Performance, 4/7 for System Temp, 5/7 for Fan Sound Leve, and 5/7 for Power usage. Having 2nd HDD in caddy probably contributes to extra drain, but I wouldn't expect that much.

Uh, and forgot to mention. Did you install and run SSD Magician optimization program from Samsung? It comes with 830, and does help a bit.

 

I did not install Power Manager nor the related driver. I read about the trouble it may cause in cluding polling dhe NVS5200, although perhaps nur in GUI mode. I prefer to without aditional stuff that is supposed to be handled by the OS. The system is cleaner and potentially more stable.

The power plan is still the default for plugged and unplugged. This week I will have the chance to make a real test.

3:30 sounds ok, depending on the things you do. Flash for instance drains energy. I always have a flash blocker plugin. The additional HD takes probably around 1W idle and 3W busy, average 2W perhaps. The battery has a capacity of 81Wh. Let's say my laptop uses 20W, then it can run 4h (= 81Wh/20W). With 22W it can run 3.7h.

Here are some power benchmarks of 2,5" drives: Benchmark Results: Power And Efficiency : Three 7200 RPM Notebook Hard Drives For 2011

I was surprised that the power consumption is similar to SSDs. I had it expected to be higher, perhaps around 5-7W, with all the heat they produce.

The SSD Magician I will probably install.

 

Is this one comparable to the Corsair Vengeance or doesn't it actually matter? I care more about quality rather than price.

 

That is interesting to me and nice that you tried to work without the ThinkPad power manager. Could you observe any difference with and without it? Can you comment on thermal management (heat and fan noise)?

 

Yeah t410s with t430s was a bad example. I just want to know if it's possible. For my daily uses, the TN screen is fine. Was just wondering if it was possible to upgrade the t430s screen for a newer t4x0s screen in the future, supposing they stay the same size.

It is always a plus to know you can upgrade these sort of things in what you have invested for better longevity of the product.

Thanks!

 

It's very silent. The fan is off most of the time. I tried to challenge a bit by rebuilding a whole Visual Studio project with 273 cpp files (about 3 MB of code). That took about 6 minutes and the fan starts spinning, but barely noticeably. I think it's still the slowest fan speed. The air is warm, but not hot. (I just noticed that Visual Studio is using 3 of 4 CPU threads. Good!)

My Latitude E6410 starts the fan earlier and louder even with just some flash stuff on web pages. The T430s so far could handle that without fan. The E6410 has a 1st generation Core I5, wich I think is less energy efficient than the Ivy Bridge I5 in the T430s. It also has an SSD (Crucial M4).

 

Well I bought a T430s with 3520m i7 processor and Nvidia graphics. I got it yesterday and so far it is fine except that there is no thunderbolt port. Thinkpad support themselves seem to have no idea which models should include thunderbolt. The guy I was talking to last night suggested that maybe because I opted for the Nvidia graphics that thunderbolt was not an option. Can anyone confirm this? I am really not sure to do about this as the site for ordering has so few details. Between Rapid Charge as an option which you can't actually get, the slice battery that is advertised as an accessory for the t430s in some documentation even though it is not compatible, and this elusive thunderbolt port, it seems like there is a lot of misinformation or hard to find information about configuring the machine you want.

This was my first Thinkpad purchase, and while the machine is fine except for one dead pixel right in the middle of my screen, I can't say that I am too impressed with Lenovo as a company.

 

The Mini-DP port is the Thunderbolt port. Did you check that?

 

I also have the same setup, I7 with Nvidia Graphics.
I don't see any kind of switch in the bios (that I just updated to the latest) to select between Thunderbolt and Mini Displayport under the I/O Port Access options as listed in the manual. I just ordered a Blackmagic Ultrastudio Express that I expect to work with it. If it isn't a Thunderbolt/Displayport combo, I am going to have big issues.

 

I have the same problem with the Arrow Down key. It's damn loud. The keyboard frame dis a bit loose. When I hold the lower right corner with one finger, the problem goes.

But a repair not even be a solution, because this seems to be a construction fault.

 

Yes, I did check for it. Granted I have not tried plugging in a thunderbolt hard drive or similar, but the icon on the port is definitely Displayport (D++) instead of the thunderbolt lightning icon which I have seen in youtube model reviews.

Also there is no switch for it in the I/O options in BIOS. The one thing that the tech I talked to was sure about was that if the thunderbolt was on my computer, the switch would be in the BIOS to enable/disable it.

If someone who has confirmed they do have thunderbolt could comment on the BIOS and also whether they have Nvidia graphics or just integrated, that would be helpful.

 

I wanted to make a few comments about the t430s.

The only feature that is great is the keyboard and the plain jane case. By far the easiest and best keyboard I've used on any laptop. The only complaint is that the function key and the command key are flip flopped, and the adjustment will take some time to get use to.

For the battery, i'm having the same problem as others have posted about, which is the battery charge capacity is higher (45.9) than the design capacity (43.29). Also, when the battery drains the amount of power remaining in hours and minutes jumps around all over the place. It's not consistent, one minute I have 7 hours and the next I have 2.

The display is really bad. I have the AUO B140RW02 V1 1600x900 HD display, which i found through HWINFO. The display had a 3d/optical illusion effect that really affects my eyes. The whites have a blue grey tone. I have adjusted using lagon.nl website, which definitely helped but this 3d effect is giving me a headache. The worst was to find out through HWINFO that my panel was manufactured on week 1 of 2010. ...2010. Also, where I see the a color fade into a darker color, I'm seeing bars and lines where the fade occurs. My eyes are hurting right now writing this. I can stare at the screen for 15-20 minutes at most without having to take a break. I was hoping I would get the samsung as others had said the display is okay, but this screen is really a deal breaker. If you like gambling and want to take a chance with display roulette than pick up a 430s, but if you get eye strain and headaches look for a laptop with a better display.

The trackpad is not very responsive or accurate. My trackpad from my 4 year old laptop performs better.

I called support and all they did was update the driver, which didn't solve any of the issues I was having. The solution was to send it into the depot. Why did they send this system out in the first place.

I wanted this system to be my next system for the next 3 years, but it's barely lasting 3 days. Hopefully many of you will have better luck than I did.

 

You can swap the Ctrl + Fn in the bios.

Disappointed to hear about the screen quality

 

Eh. It's not really that bad.

Yeah, it has a weird gritty texture to it (different from the "screen door effect", as it's not aligned in a grid pattern). But as far as contrast and brightness go it's pretty average. Not great, but far from causing serious eyestrain after 15 minutes of use. (Although it's obviously possible that the parent poster has more sensitive eyes than myself and others.)

And what's the problem with the panel being two years old? It's not like they spoil and smell bad if you keep them too long...

 

I agree. Colors and contrast are quite ok for a laptop panel. Check this test picture:



Only the black 1 is missing on mine. I have an old MVA panel monitor that is not better. Of course, viewing angles are still a problem, but not better on other notebook screens.

 

Do you know if there is a way to uninstall the power manager drivers not the software. Lenovo states that it should be available among the list of programs to easily uninstall but this is not true. Only the power manager software is available but not the drivers. If someone knows how to uninstall the driver, it will be great. I would like to try the thermal management without it and the software.

 

Were you talking about these two?

​

 

Kaso, it seems like I have to check my eyesight. I found it. Thanks.

 

Wonder if you adjust the brightness for the display? My E420 was set to 50% in the brightness when it came and I thought the screen is defective.

 

Does any one know how bad the power drain is for having a low end discrete gpu(NVIDIA NVS 5200M)?

Does this power consumption change if the gpu is "switchable" so that I could turn it off?(does the power for the GPU actually drop to 0 or is it still drawing idle current)

I am about to pulll the trigger for the Thinkpad T430s and this was my last question.

I get laptop for the same price with or without the graphics. I am more interested in battery life than high end performance since I have a desktop too.

Thanks guys!!!!

 

I was talking to support today again about lack of thunderbolt. The last guy told me to call back later when they might have access to a machine to check the BIOS. Well apparently after I hung up last time he marked my case as resolved and that he had confirmed that I did have thunderbolt.

Well the guy today looked around for a while and claimed that he couldn't find any lenovo documentation of a model that had thunderbolt. He suggested that any machine that had it might be a Chinese model, and sometimes the Chinese market gets models not available here. I pointed him to the Robert Yale youtube unboxing video where thunderbolt is clearly present but he did not seem interesting in investigating further. He did also say that if it were there, there should be an option to enable through the BIOS.

I find Lenovo support's knowledge about their own products appalling. After further research I did find this technical pdf: http://www.lenovo.com/psref/pdf/tabook.pdf
On page 69 it states in reference to the T430s 2352 model: Mini DisplayPort (Mini DP / Thunderbolt™ combo port on i7 integrated model, switch via BIOS)

I cannot understand the reasoning in including thunderbolt only on the machines without Nvidia graphics, but it seems that this may be the case, although no one at lenovo can tell you that.
If you order the t430s with an i7 chip and integrated graphics, you might be lucky enough to get it, but if you order the i7 with Nvidia graphics and you expect to have thunderbolt, you will probably be disappointed. I guess it is my own fault for ordering without any hard confirmation, but then again, it seems very difficult to find confirmation from lenovo.

I do have to admit that the t430s feels like a very high quality machine. I have no issues with build quality. I installed a samsung 830 SSD and 16 GB of ram, and it is very fast. The biggest complaint I have read about is the screen but I find these complaints somewhat exaggerated. I installed Nrbelex's color profile immediately, and it works fine for my needs. Anyway I am glad now that I didn't buy an extended warranty, as I have some doubts about lenovo support competence

 

Thanks very much for confirming this. If I decide to buy a T430s ever, that is the config I will get most likely. I wish they did TB with the i5 proc, too.

 

That's why I went with the i7 as well...

 

I can't think of a scenario for myself where TB would be necessary. Plus, I have yet to plug in anything into my T430s' Mini-DisplayPort.

 

I actually found TB to be a big bonus when I had to move my virtual machines back and forth between my T430s and my 2011 Macbook Air. Now that my 2012 Macbook Air also has USB 3.0, the relevance of that has subsided a little, at least on paper. In reality I have so many issues with VMWare Workstation 9.0 dealing with USB 3.0 that I ended up being force to switch off USB 3.0 in the BIOS and started using TB again to move around virtual machines

 

Let's be honest, if need were purely the focus of this forum this would be a ghost town. With that said, I look at it as one less reason to want to upgrade later. I may never use it either, but I am comforted by the fact that if I did want to at some point it's there waiting...

 

The only reason I went for the T430s is because I need Thunderbolt for live video capture. I ordered the I7 with Discrete Nvidia graphics so I am beat, trying to initiate a return now. Can somebody confirm the exact config that has a tried and true tested Thunderbolt port from Lenovo US. Is it simply just I7 with Integrated HD 4000 graphics? I also need expresscard, but I assume that isn't an issue.

It is very frustrating not being able to get any info from Lenovo on this, it's like they are keeping this a secret even though they should be advertising the hell out of it.

 

Darn!!! I thought it was the i7 option that triggered the TB inclusion. I ordered a 2352-CTO with i7 and NVidia, and I didn't realize that the video card had a bearing on TB at the time. If I get a Samsung or LG LCD, I'll opt to get by without TB... If not...

 

Trust me, their lack of competence is only to your advantage. True, often they will not be able to troubleshoot the problem or even know the differences between different configs, but what they are really good at is replacing parts where they think might be a problem or where you "steer" them toward a possible problem (if you talk with enough confidence ). You get a pre-paid UPS box overnight, and will have your laptop back within 5 business days. That 3yr or 4yr warranty will come very handy if you need to replace keyboard or wifi card or motherboard or even display. Comes especially handy when you call them a week before your warranty expires and they suggest that a reason why you have intermittent wifi problem because you mobo is overheating, you "agree" with them and as a result they replace your wifi, mobo, fan, and also LCD screen because old display is not compatible with new mobo lol!!! Then you will feel very smart spending that $180 on extended warranty 3yr ago Btw, you also have time to extend your initial 1yr warranty before it expires!

 

@thinkrob I don't think an argument of comparing a display to perishable food is the way to go. Judging by your name, you like thinkpads and I understand your support and loyalty, but I would prefer not getting a panel that's over 2 years old. Doesn't technology change every 1.5 to 2 years...Moore's law (i believe...). Would you like a 2010 model car for the same price as a 2012, even if they were identical? You'll lose 20-30% in value just for the year?

I think the preference is in the eye of the beholder, and this monitor is pretty bad. As of late, I've been noticing the gritty texture more and more as that is where the blueish tint is coming from. It's patchy with blue and white everywhere, which is causing the optical illusion effect. I wouldn't be able to stare at the display all day long. I have adjusted the contrast, color, brightness, hue, etc, with no avail. Appreciate your suggestions, but it's not working for me. I really do want to like the system, but the display has to be satisfactory for what I need to accomplish and it's not allowing me to.

Although my experience with lenovo is limited, I have to agree that having customer/technical service reps that are a bit naive can be a blessing in disguise if used properly, but I can see the other side of it as well. It all depends on the situation.

 

I was hoping Thunderbolt would catch on and video docks would happen, or daisy chaining devices would become common. Especially for a machine like the Carbon with no docking connecter.

 

Hey guys, just ordered a T430s from the outlet store and found out upon reading online forums that the battery life sucks. Mine has a 6-cell battery. How long is this battery lasting for people using it with Wifi on and 75% brightness (no discrete graphics)? If it's 3 hrs, I might just send the laptop back. Also, since the ultrabay battery only has 3 cells, does it improve battery life only by 50%? Lastly, can one remove the DVD drive and add a plastic cover to reduce the overall laptop weight? Where can I get such a cover? Thanks!

 

I would like to put this into perspective. A T430s machine cannot be compared with its larger siblings (T430). Since the T420/T430 are bulkier there also is room for higher capacity batteries. In fact, our T420s / T430s machines would do exactly as good on battery if we would have the same battery capacities.

The T430s is a slim version. The 6-cell battery size and capacity are built to fit the thinner frame. This is a design trade-off. If you require a slim but powerful machine, then you accept slimmer batteries and therefore a shorter autonomy. If autonomy is your primary driver, then the 430s most likely should not be your first choice.

A small comparison:
T430s 6+3=9 cell 75wh
T430 9 cell = 84wh (12% more)

If you really want maximum autonomy in the T430s you should buy the additional 3-cell battery that fits into the ultra bay. It's that or accept the reduced autonomy and make sure you get yourself the fantastic ultraslim travel adapter with changeable powertips. In that case you can also take out the DVD drive and fit the empty travel bezel.

I must say that I have never had any issues with battery life on the T430s. I travel a lot and in many cases the 6-cell is just enough, in most cases the 6+3 cell combo is more than enough ...

So ...
If you need autonomy *and* small form factor, take the X230
If you need screen real estate *and* small form factor, take the T430s
If you need screen real estate *and* autonomy, take the T430
If you need screen real estate *and* autonomy *and* small form factor, take an Asus Zenbook, Samsung Series 9 or Macbook Air

 

Hi all.

I was woundering about what to do when i swap the hdd in the t430s to an ssd, do i need all the programs that is with it? Like the whole swtools folder or?

And yust put the win7 from the lenovo recovery partition on a DVD.

 

You will need the hardware drivers at a minimum. There are two basic options to install.
You can use a windows DVD (or download an image and burn it to DVD ( http://msft.digitalrivercontent.net/win/X17-59465.iso). This will give you a clean install on the SSD, and afterwards you will need to download drivers and any programs you want to keep from the lenovo support site, or plug in your old hard drive and take them off of that.

Alternatively, you can create recovery disks from the lenovo software, and use these to restore windows on your new SSD. This is likely less work, but if there are programs you don't want on your system, you will need to delete them afterwards.

 

Yeah, googled some and found out can do a image. Most likely will do that but also burn a recovery dvd yust in case.

Then install the samsung 830 256.

As you say, programs i dont use can yust uinstall. Thanks for the help man much appriciated.

 

Hi all...

as I mentioned elsewhere, I am going to buy a T430 and this is the configuration that I am looking at:

ThinkPad T430 - 3 Year Depot Warranty - TopSeller
Processor: Intel Core i5-3320M Processor (3M Cache, up to 3.30 GHz)
Operating system: Windows 7 Professional 64
Operating system language: Windows 7 Professional 64 English
Windows XP Mode: Microsoft Windows 7 XP Mode - English
Display type: 14.0 HD+ (1600 x 900) LED Backlit Anti-Glare Display, Mobile Broadband Ready
System graphics: Intel HD Graphics 4000
Total memory: 4 GB DDR3 - 1600MHz (1 DIMM)
Keyboard: ThinkPad Precision Backlit Keyboard UK English
Camera: 720p HD Camera
Hard drive: 320 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
Ultrabay: 500 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm with Bay Adapter
System expansion slots: Express Card Slot & 4 in 1 Card Reader
Battery: 9 cell Li-Ion Battery - 70++
Power cord: Country Pack United Kingdom with Line cord & 65W AC adapter
Bluetooth: Bluetooth 4.0
Integrated WiFi wireless LAN adapters: ThinkPad b/g/n
Integrated mobile broadband: Integrated Mobile Broadband - Upgradable
Language pack: Language Pack WE (FR/GE/IT/IT/DU/EN)

Accessories and options:
3YR Onsite Next Business Day
Mini Dock Plus Series 3 with USB 3.0 - 90W (UK/Ireland)

Cost is coming to £1,335.13

What do you folks think?

My use: (1) A lot of Office work (including very large manuscripts); (2) A lot of Internet work (usually on wifi); (3) Watching movies (with an external monitor); (4) Will need to be somewhat mobile; (5) Some low-grade simulation programs' (6) reading a lot of e-books etc.

 

That machine will be fine, though I should warn you about the e-book requirement. The 14" thinkpad screens aren't very good so I would recommend using a dedicated reading device instead. Or a machine with a better screen if that requirement is critical.

 

Thanks. Yes, I will have a dedicated tablet (not really an e-reader) - probably an Android-based one like the Asus Transformer or something similar.

 

I upgraded mine to the Intel Ultimmate Wi-Fi. I don't know if it really makes a difference, but in case it does, it's worth the money. When being connected to public hotspots each meter of distance can make the difference between ok and annoying. The Ultimate gives me about 50m to a simple Fritz!box, which has only one antenna. With a stronger box I should probably reach even farther.

 

For all you folks who already own the T430, I have been reading about the fan...is this a problem (1) in terms of noise levels and (2) in terms of heat dissipation. I recall a thread on the Lenovo forums about this but can't seem to find it.

 

Here you go: T420s Fan noise Issue - Lenovo Community

Enjoy it! It's actually a problem with all T series and probably others. In that thread people wrote about different types of machine and the thread has reached 116 pages now with no action from the wonderful company that manufactured these machines!

This one is also specific for the T430: http://208.74.204.134/t5/T400-T500-and-newer-T-series/T430-Fan-speed/td-p/796515

 

Thanks. Somewhat disconcerting.

 

Mine is really ok. The fan is off when the computer is idle and barely noticeable when it's busy. I didn't measure temperatures, but the lower side is only a little more than hand warm. My Latitude E6410 is louder, but not loud too.

 

Thanks. That's reassuring. Till now I have been lucky with my ThinkPad purchases. Would not like to spoil the record now if you know what I mean.

 

Both of my Edge 420 and X220 are quiet enough in normal usage that my super sensitive wife never complain about them. But once I installed an old copy of winzip and the X220 suddenly become noisy and I had to remove it.

 

Does anybody here know if it makes sense to buy the docking station with 170W instead of 90W? The laptop itself might use something around 40 Watt at maximum, which leaves around 50 Watt for USB devices, but the dock itself will also use some energy.

There is also the question about efficiency. Usually efficiency of power supplies goes down when it is used only at the lower end of it's capacity, let's say at less than 20% or 30% of it's max power. And I don't know if these external power supplys have anything like active PFC.

 

If nothing else, it will charge faster. I think its worth it. You never know how much power you might be drawing in the future, and you don't want to run in to a bottleneck later. What's the price difference?