T430s owners'/would-be owners' thread.

I probably would have recommended ordering the T430s with Windows 7. I don't think the Lenovo software and drivers for Windows 8 are nearly as mature as the drivers and software for Windows 7.

I bought the $15 Windows 8 upgrade (for installation later), but the T430s we have will likely remain a Windows 7 machine for another 4-6 months, at least.

I am running Windows 8 on several other machines. On those machines I have added Start8 from stardock.com. Start8 makes Windows 8 more like Windows 7. Something I prefer right now.

 

Silly consumer. Don't you realize that corporate buyers will stop buying these current offerings at these current prices if Lenovo offers you an upgrade option?

 

I've often wondered about that. In my company, the IT folks pick some configurations they think will work for certain roles. It isn't like you even get to select extra options. Therefore it seems like Lenovo is doing the corporate buyers and IT departments a favor by limiting the options.

 

Yes, thats right. But I don´t want some of the consumer features (Glossy screens, bad keyboards etc.), so I get a Business notebook

Phones and Tablets are something completely different, they need IPS, becuae they are used in sometimes akward positions, were viewing angels are very important. A TN screen on a Tablet is much more worse for the use than a TN screen on a notebook.

Thats what you think. But corporates will never choose an IPS screen over a TN screen for a normal guy who just uses Office if IPS cost significant more.

Options are expensive for a PC OEM. You need to find an manufacturer, you have to be sure that there is enough market for this option etc. . It is cheaper to make some things standard and to not provide an option.

 

It's not clear how many consumers are willing to pay extra $100 for better screens. Hopefully someone can start a poll.

 

Interesting - can you cite any specific instances of Windows 8 running slower/clunkier with the T430s? What you say makes sense, I hope it won't substantially slow down the UI, I doubt it will, especially for Office applications.

 

An upgrade option doesn't put a gun to their head and force them to do it. That's why they call it an option. To paraphrase Yogi Berra, if the corporate buyers don't want to buy upgraded screens, nobody's going to stop them.

Lenovo seems to have found reliable manufacturers for X220 and Yoga screens. They've already decided there's a market for upgraded screens because they offer one on this very model, yet somehow even test marketing an actual good quality screen option is a mortal risk to their business?

 

No, I can't because we aren't yet running it on the T430s. I bought the upgrade, downloaded and burned the .ISO, and have that sitting in the file cabinet for later use. I tried Windows 8 briefly on the T430s right when we got it, but I put Windows 7 back on it for my wife. Now that I've used Start8 for a little over a week, I could move her to Windows 8 easily, but I still want to give the Lenovo apps and software more time to gel.

I don't recall any glaring issues on the T430s other than the fact I was a little perturbed Lenovo didn't port Power Manager over. I think Lenovo also dropped the ball by not clearly telling customers the migration path from Windows 7 Lenovo apps to Windows 8 apps. There has been a lot of confusion over that.

I can tell you Windows 8 runs better on the other machines I have. It is absolutely better on the Samsung Series 9 machine I am typing on, and it's the OS of choice on my 15" Retina MacBook Pro as well (in a VM). It handles networking better, I like the improved shell UI, and file system performance improvements. By shell UI I mean file copy/move dialog boxes, ribbons, task manager, etc.

You should have no problems getting used to Windows. Are you going to run Office 2010 or 2013? Both run fine on Windows 8. The T430s we have is nearly identical to yours but has 16GB RAM and a Samsung Series 830 256GB SSD. It is blistering fast.

 

Panaman,
I can't assuage your fears, because I too was concerned about having windows 8. So, I had to cancel my order for 430s with win8 and place a new order with win 7. My reason was completely different from yours. I use a lot of free software like avast antivirus etc. I was not sure how ready these software developers were for Win8. also, Looking at the history of windows OS versions, every other release is a flop. XP is good, Vista was bad, Win 7 is good...Win8 is ?... And I hated that tile layout . Reading in the web, many suggested 3rd party apps for getting the classic windows start menu. Why would one should use a 3rd party software to modify the look and feel of the OS. Should it not be an option in the OS itself? That was the deal breaker for me. MS has released one OS for tablets, phones and then decided to use it on desktop as well. the tile layout is no good IMHO for business usage. May be good for the school kids who track others in real time in facebook etc. ****rant****

So, long story short, I downgraded to win7. I'm curious how long Microsoft will support Win7 though?

 

Thors,

Thanks for this. I think I should be good then. My main use will be Office. Haven't decided if I'll use 2013. Obviously I'll be doing some web browsing too. What is your main use for the 430s? Last thing - is the screen truly as garbage as I've been reading? It sounds appalling. Hopefully I've set my expectations VERY low and will be pleasantly surprised.

I figure that since I'm going back to Windows, might as well deal with Win 8. Reviews I read online actually say it's not bad at all. As long as key applications are stable I'm ok with it.

 

For the X220/X230, they just took and take the IPS screen that is used in X220/X230 Tablet. This is a smart move for Lenovo, because they can buy more of these LG screens, and in the result, they get cheaper for Lenovo. So, there was no need to find an extra manufacturer.

For the Yoga: This is a Notebook/Tablet Hybrid Model, where IPS is very important.

 

My wife is using the T430s. She uses it mainly for email, web browsing, web site edits with Dreamweaver, light Excel, and some business apps she needs for Accounts Payable and other small business bookeeping chores. It replaced an aging T400.

The screen on our T430s is just fine but I think it's the top screen of the three you might get. It is the Samsung LCD screen. The color and brightness is fine. Contrast isn't that great and it is even more pronounced from the side or other odd screen angles. Looking at ours straight on is just fine.

 

Excellent. Good to hear! Comparing the specs of a $1,200 "pimped" Lenovo (i7 etc) to a basic $1,699 non-retina MBP is a no brainer. Add to that the clunkiness of Excel for mac, the static nature of hardware evolution...

I'm excited to try out the T430s. Now am debating whether to put in a Samsung SSD 512GB (seems the 256 is being discontinued?) and use the optical drive bay for my second HDD... Not sure yet. If a flash drive malfunctions however, the loss is catastrophic and unrecoverable. Which makes me squeamish. Might wait 6-12 months and get a TB of SSD for half the current price.

 

Any drive can "malfunction," be it HDD or SSD. One can argue that big money can be spent to possibly recover some of the contents on a bad HDD, whereas the loss from a bad SSD is "catastrophic and unrecoverable." A discipline of regular backups is a much better consideration.

BTW, whatever you get for the screen on the T430s is unknown. Hope you won't get an AUO.

 

Yea I hope I don't either. Needless to say it's preposterous that screen quality is randomly determined. Shocking quite frankly. Still, I'll take that over a higher priced ultrathin notebook with flimsy hardware, or a mortgage priced Macbook Pro with 18month old hardware.

 

For what it's worth, [edit: three] out of four T430s I've recently come across all had the Samsung screen. It seems that screen is Lenovo's choice when available, so perhaps they only switch to the others when there is a shortage.


The Samsung screen is totally adequate for work and business purposes, but don't expect accurate color rendition or contrast. That said, it can be easily tweaked and made more accurate: http://forum.notebookreview.com/lenovo/685419-t430s-monitor-profile-info.html

 

Sigh. I can't relate that statement with a T430s. Dragging Cupertino in doesn't change anything.

Business-worthy source?

 

All were Lenovo CTO. Build dates were spaced fairly evenly over about 6 months.

 

Personal anecdote. Precise statistics unknown.

My source says that LG > Samsung > AUO. From that perspective, the alleged "majority" is average of the average.

 

Of course - that's why I said "for what it's worth." Also just remembered the most recent one is an LG.

I am curious to see what the actual breakdown is... I think I'll start a poll.

 

Whatever.

If you're so adamant about Lenovo's "business/corporate/executive" mandate regarding ThinkPads, will a poll among the "random consumers" change anything? Does it matter?

 

Sure it does - one has nothing to do with the other. Who Lenovo is targeting is completely separate from what model panel they put into a system, unless you're saying consumers receive laptops from Lenovo with a different set of screens than business users (even though you can't select which panel you receive in any way), which I find highly unlikely.

 

Nrbelex,

More of a rudimentary question - are you happy with your T430s? What do you use it for?

 

All,

how to I find the make of the LCD screen on my T430s?

Thanks,
Jay

 

I configured a T430s for $895 before tax (totaling to $1011). Just wondering if this is a good deal. Specs below:

Intel Core i7-3520M Processor (4M Cache, up to 3.60 GHz)
Windows 8 64
14.0" HD+ (1600 x 900) LED Backlit Anti-Glare Display, Mobile Broadband Ready
NVIDIA Optimus Graphics (NVS 5200M, 1GB), Intel® Core™ i7-3520M Processor (4M Cache, up to 3.60 GHz)
4 GB DDR3 - 1600MHz (1 DIMM)
UltraNav multi-touch touchpad & TrackPoint with Fingerprint Reader
320GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer, Ultrabay Slim w/ SW Royalty for Windows 8
6 Cell Lithium Battery T81+
Bluetooth 4.0 with Antenna
Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205 AGN
Mobile Broadband upgradable
1 Year Depot/Express Warranty

 

I am happy with it. See my review in my sig. I had the BSOD/faulty motherboard issue mentioned earlier in this thread, and that was a huge pain which took a while to resolve (with a new system).

I use it for office-type stuff - word processing, presentations, etc. - heavy Web browsing, and heavy image processing (Photoshop). With it hooked up to a wide gamut panel, it's great. Plus it's far more portable than comparable systems.

See here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/lenovo/702148-t430s-t420s-panel-do-you-have.html

 

Looks legit... I ordered this one yesterday (with a wireless mouse) for $1,300 and a few bucks:

Processor: Intel Core i7-3520M Processor (4M Cache, up to 3.60 GHz)
Operating System: Windows 8 64
Operating System Language: Windows 8 64 English
Display Type: 14.0" HD+ (1600 x 900) LED Backlit Anti-Glare Display, Mobile Broadband Ready
System Graphics: NVIDIA Optimus Graphics (NVS 5200M, 1GB), Intel® Core™ i7-3520M Processor (4M Cache, up to 3.60 GHz)
Total Memory: 8 GB DDR3 - 1600MHz (2 DIMM)
Keyboard: Keyboard (Backlit) US English
Pointing Device: UltraNav multi-touch touchpad & TrackPoint with Fingerprint Reader
Camera: 720p HD Camera Mic
Hard Drive: 500GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
Micro Hard Drive (mSATA): 16GB mSATA Solid State Cache Drive

Having some slight second thoughts about the 500GB drive and thinking I should've gone with the 320 and then put a 512GB SSD in that big ol' girl. But oh well. What are you going to be using it for? What other devices were you looking at?

 

Looks like a bargain!! Pull the trigger, pull the trigger!!!! I just configured in Lenovo site and I got a price before tax as $1075. Not sure how you got that price, but get is ASAP!!!

 

Here's the config and price I paid for the T430s we have. Keep in mind the price at the bottom is the price delivered to my door:

2352CTO ThinkPad T430s - 1 Year Topseller Express Depot Warranty $1,044.00

Processor Intel Core i5-3320M Processor (3M Cache, up to 3.30 GHz)

Operating system Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bit)

Operating system language Windows 7 Home Premium 64 - English

Display type 14.0" HD+ (1600 x 900) LED Backlit Anti-Glare Display, Mobile Broadband Ready

System graphics NVIDIA NVS 5200M Graphics with Optimus Technology (1GB DDR3 Memory), Intel Core i5-3320M Processor

Total memory 4 GB DDR3 - 1600MHz (1 DIMM)

Keyboard Keyboard Backlit - US English

Pointing device UltraNav multi-touch touchpad & TrackPoint with Fingerprint Reader

Camera 720p HD Camera Mic

Hard drive 320GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm

Ultrabay DVD Recordable

System expansion slots Express Card Slot & 4 in 1 Card Reader & Smart Card Reader

Battery 6 Cell Lithium Battery T81+

Power cord 90W AC Adapter - US (2pin)

Bluetooth Bluetooth 4.0 with Antenna

Integrated WiFi wireless LAN adapters Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 AGN

Integrated mobile broadband Mobile Broadband upgradable

Language pack Publication - US English


45K5972 3YR Depot $79.20


Shipping & Handling: $0.00
Tax: $71.13

[EXCLUSIVE]: -$261.00
Total: $933.33
Payment method: Credit card

 

It seems that Lenovo have just updated the Parts/FRU-List PDFs for T430s/T430/T530: Lenovo Support - Parts Database Lookup (US)

In the old version, the FRU numbers for the HD+ LCD screens for T430 and T430s were:
93P5685 (Samsung)
93P5693 (AUO)
04W3331 (LG)

In the new version from December 26/27, the FRUs are:
93P5685 (Samsung)
93P5693 (AUO)
04W3331 (LG)
04W3921 [AUO, "Primary" (?), not used in T430, but in T430s/L430/S430]
04W3922 [Samsung, "Secondary" (?), not used in T430, but in T430s/L430/S430]

For T420 and T420s, the HD+ screens FRUs were:
93P5693 (AUO)
93P5689 (seems to be the LG screen)
93P5685 (Samsung, T420s only according to the HMM)

Has someone a T430s with one of these new screens? Are they different from the former screens?

 

>>>> I got AUO panel. HWiNFO spit out Monitor Name is B140RW02 V1 and I found elsewhere in the forum that the make is AUO.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/lenovo/668971-t430-owners-thread-13.html

Thanks Nrbelex!

Mine with exact same spec but 8GB ram and 500GB HDD came to about $900 delivered to my door. That's why I feel that OP got a great deal for 895 Including tax with i7 processor (alone costs $245 more from i5-3210).

 

Are you guys not expected to pay any kind of tax?
The price of $895 is before tax. Here in canada, we will have to pay a few dollars for ECO-fee (electronics) plus the 13% Harmony Sales Tax which will equate to roughly $1011 or so.

 

I paid ~6% tax.

13% "Harmony" tax? you are not visiting this side of the border anytime or no one is visiting you from this side?

Your government makes as much money on a computer as Lenovo probably!

 

Is there any internal clock that can show me how many hours the laptop has been running from the day I purchased?
Edit:
I found a program called CrystalDiskInfo.
http://crystalmark.info/software/CrystalDiskInfo/index-e.html. This program provides the # of hours the hard disk is on.

Thanks,
Jay

 

So....
I decided to replace my T500 and have chosen the X230 instead of the T430s. I was concerned about the quality and brightness of the T430s' screen. I wanted an i7 for the thunderbolt port but after doing more research, egpu via TB is not quite ready.
2306CTO ThinkPad X230 - 1 Year Depot Warranty
Intel Core i5-3320M Processor (3M Cache, up to 3.30 GHz)
Windows 8 64
12.5" Premium HD (1366x768) LED Backlit Display, Mobile Broadband Ready, 2x2 Antenna
Intel HD 4000 Graphics in Intel Core i5-3320M Processor
4 GB DDR3 - 1600MHz (1 DIMM)
Keyboard (Backlit) US English
Fingerprint Reader
UltrNav with FingerPrint Reader
720p HD Camera
320GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
6 Cell ThinkPad Battery X44+
65W AC Adapter - US (2pin)
Bluetooth 4.0 with Antenna
Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205 AGN
Mobile Broadband upgradable
Language Pack Win8 US English
Shipping & Handling: $0.00
Tax: $96.82
[BOXINGDAY]: -$319.20
Total: $841.62

 

Mine should fit the category... It is set to arrive in about a week, I'll post what I find when I get it!

 

Hi, this is my first post here as I purchased the Lenovo T430s on Dec. 28th with the following specs:

ThinkPad T430s - 1 Year Topseller Express Depot Warranty
Processor : Intel Core i5-3210M Processor (3M Cache, up to 3.10 GHz)
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bit)
Operating System Language: Windows 7 Home Premium 64 - English
Display Type: 14.0" HD+ (1600 x 900) LED Backlit Anti-Glare Display, Mobile Broadband Ready
System Graphics: NVIDIA N13M-NS Optimus Graphics 1GB, Intel Core i5-3210M Processor (3M Cache, 2.50 GHz)
Total Memory: 4 GB DDR3 - 1600MHz (1 DIMM)
Keyboard: Keyboard Backlit - US English
Pointing Device: UltraNav multi-touch touchpad & TrackPoint with Fingerprint Reader
Camera: 720p HD Camera Mic
Hard Drive: 320GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
Ultrabay: DVD Recordable
System Expansion Slots: Express Card Slot
Battery: 6 Cell Lithium Battery T81+
Power Cord: 90W AC Adapter - US (2pin)
Bluetooth: Bluetooth 4.0 with Antenna
Integrated WiFi Wireless LAN Adapters: Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 AGN
Integrated Mobile Broadband: Mobile Broadband upgradable

However, when I was looking from the catalog, I swear the in the Ultrabay it said DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer, Ultrabay Slim w/ SW Royalty for Windows 8, not simply DVD Recordable.

Is there any difference to it? Was I supposed to get an HDD/SSD ultrabay slim media bay but instead I will get the regular optical drive where you can only put CD/DVD in? It is important for me to know since I plan to put an extra SSD in for extra performance and other fun DIY upgrades.

 

if you look at the options, when you order a system with Win7, the web page just specifies that it is "DVD recordable". FWIW, Mine too did not specify that it is ultrabay, but I talked to the customer rep and he assured me that mine is ultrabay. I can pop the DVD drive out and I think I can put in an extra SSD or an additional battery.

 

Thank you for the reply. I guess I can also talk to the customer rep like you did. It is not a huge deal if it doesn't come with the ultrabay since I can easily get one myself.

One more question. I read through the forums and correct me if I am wrong; the primary bay will only fit 7mm drive while the ultrabay will fit either 9.5mm or 7mm? Does that mean the stock 320GB HDD will be 7mm too?

I am asking this because I would really like to buy an Intel brand for SSD for its good firmware and software support and the 7mm version they sell (SSDSC2BW240A301, for example, for 240GB Intel 520 series) does not sell either on Newegg or Amazon but only through other small 3rd party websites for relatively expensive price. If it's o.k. to buy the 9.5mm version of the SSD and put it in the ultrabay and use that to boot, that'd be cool since I can buy it from Amazon or Newegg for better price and probably better return/exchange policy.

And sorry, I don't want to unscrew the 9.5mm version of the Intel SSD, detach the spacer, and use tape to hold the remaining pieces together. I know that is an option to make it into 7mm, but clearly I am not manly enough to do aftermarket-tweaks like that.

 

The ThinkPad UltraBay is, er, a bay, duh, a hollow place to plug something in. Most ThinkPad models have such a bay. The optical drive is a removable device that plugs into the UltraBay. So, your configuration will have an UltraBay and an optical drive that is plugged into the UltraBay at manfacturing time.

What you want to get -- if I read what you wrote correctly -- is an UltraBay HDD/SSD caddy adapter. (Make sure you buy one for T420s/T430s specifically.) Such an adapter allows you to physically place a HDD/SSD in it and plug the whole thing into the UltraBay to replace the stock optical drive.

The UltraBay caddy adapter never comes with any ThinkPad -- if that's what you were assuming.

Yes and yes.

Yes, that is always possible. The UltraBay supports SATA 6Gbit/s ("SATA III"). You can change the boot order accordingly.

 

Oh, so the stock ThinkPad Ultrabay is not the same thing as UltraBay HDD/SSD caddy adapter..

Does that mean the stock ThinkPad Ultrabay is only good for putting CD/DVD without anything extra?

If you take a moment to look at this link ( Hard Drives - Notebooks | Lenovo | (US)), they actually stopped selling the HDD/SSD caddy adapter for T430s (that 12.7mm isn't the right one, the part number that will fit in the T430s is actually 43N3412) and this left me with the impression that they started putting the HDD/SSD caddy adapter as standard when I initially read DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer, Ultrabay Slim w/ SW Royalty for Windows 8 instead of DVD Recordable

But if you are sure that

which is indeed what I was assuming, then there is nothing more to discuss. There are plenty of alternative ways to get the caddy adapter like from Nimitz or NewmodeUS.

If putting a 9.5mm-height SSD was a viable option in the T430s caddy adapter this whole time, then I simply find it amusing for those who tried to force their SSD into the primary hard drive or manually remove the spacer and whatnots when all you need to do is put it in the caddy adapter and reconfigure the boot order

 

The UltraBay is only a hole with a connector.

For the T430s, it can contain one of the following: (1) optical drive, (2) bay battery, (3) caddy adapter

(There might be a fourth thing: a plastic filler, called UltraBay Blank Travel Cover.)

Your basic understanding of UltraBay is shaky, leading to assumptions and confusions.

Of course!

Your doubt started with your wrong understanding of the term "UltraBay." You assumed "UltraBay" means "UltraBay HDD/SSD caddy adapter." As I said, UltraBay is just a bay, a hole, a container. An UltraBay by itself is only space, offering no useful function, until something (one of the above 3 things) is plugged into it.

Lenovo has never shipped, nor offered as configuration option, an UltraBay HDD/SSD caddy adapter with any ThinkPad.

Buy one yourself, either from Lenovo (expensive) or after-market vendors (less expensive).

Well, those users might need a bay battery or an optical drive. (But I do find force-fitting a drive a desperate act.)

 

Thank you for the reply.

 

Doesn't Lenovo ship one on the ThinkPad W520 and W530 configured with the RAID option?

 

Well, true, but I was replying primarily in the context of the T430s.

(Even so, in such a case, the workstation is not shipped with an empty UltraBay HDD/SSD caddy adapter, but an additional drive that sits in a caddy adapter that is, in turn, plugged into the UltraBay. Get it? )

In any event, the main point I was trying (hard) to clarify is UpMagic's confusion between UltraBay, optical drive and UltraBay HDD/SSD caddy adapter.

 

Hi guys,

For those of you who have ordered from Lenovo in the past, were you able to see your "order status" adequately? I've been getting an error code 404 ever since I ordered. Called them (horrific) and they seem to say it's all good, and that the unit has gone to manufacturing. Got a subsequent email also saying so. Weird thing is my bank account which initially had a pending charge, no longer has it.

Anyone with similar experience?

 

I've been having a problem with checking the order status as well. The error message I get is "Our apologies, there was an error in the system. Please try again.If the error persists, please contact Lenovo." As for the pending charge disappearing, that is normal, according to my experience. It will reappear soon. The pending charge will be officially charged to your account on or around the day you receive the laptop.

 

Happened to me for a couple of days in late November and early December when I used to check my order status. Quit checking 5 times a day! (I did that. I was so excited to get the new one)

 

Hehe, indeed. Thanks a lot. Good to know! Customer service is pretty shabby. I'm letting all this slide with the expectation that the T430s I'm getting will be worth all the stress and soso screen!

 

Hi,

I recently ordered a thinkpad t430s for $719.25 + tax. I believe this was the most cheapest deal I found for a t430s. I also get 8% cashback as well, so about 60 bucks in savings with the help of cashback from Redflagdeals.

ThinkPad T430s - 1 Year Topseller Express Depot Warranty Edit
Processor: Intel Core i5-3210M Processor (3M Cache, up to 3.10 GHz) Edit
Operating System: Windows 8 64 Edit
Operating System Language: Windows 8 64 English Edit
Display Type: 14.0" HD+ (1600 x 900) LED Backlit Anti-Glare Display, Mobile Broadband Ready Edit
System Graphics: NVIDIA N13M-NS Optimus Graphics 1GB, Intel Core i5-3210M Processor (3M Cache, 2.50 GHz) Edit
Total Memory: 4 GB DDR3 - 1600MHz (1 DIMM) Edit
Keyboard: Keyboard (Backlit) US English Edit
Pointing Device: UltraNav multi-touch touchpad & TrackPoint with Fingerprint Reader Edit
Camera: 720p HD Camera Mic Edit
Hard Drive: 320GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm Edit
Ultrabay: DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer, Ultrabay Slim w/ SW Royalty for Windows 8 Edit
System Expansion Slots: Express Card Slot & 4 in 1 Card Reader Edit
Battery: 6 Cell Lithium Battery T81+ Edit
Power Cord: 90W AC Adapter - US (2pin) Edit
Bluetooth: Bluetooth 4.0 with Antenna Edit
Integrated WiFi Wireless LAN Adapters: Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205 AGN Edit
Integrated Mobile Broadband: Mobile Broadband upgradable Edit
Language Pack: Language Pack Win8 US English Edit

That is the rig I ordered. I have about $50 giftcards which ill be using to upgrade the ram to 8gb and as far as hard drives goes I am satisfied with the 320gb and will wait when ssd's drop in prices.

I want to know if this was a good deal. My total was $813 , plus I get $60 back.

Should I have waited or was this good?

Will this last me for about 5 years on minimal usage?