T430s owners'/would-be owners' thread.

I am interested in your impressions of the USB Cigarette Lighter and Ultrabay Cupholder options.

Concerned about power consumption with these running.

B.

 

Which of the display did you get ? HD (1366x768) or HD+ (1600x900)

 

Will the X1C screen come to the T430s or would the T430s be able to use the X1C display?

The display is basically the only think keeping me from getting a T430s.

 

There's some indication that the 1600x900 screen used on the X1 Carbon is "better."

(I don't know why, in this case, people are so eagerly anticipating a "better" screen while most of them have been arguing that ThinkPads are designed expressly for "business" users who only understand texts and lack the Californian artistic DNA to appreciate beauty.)

At the same time, there're faint signs of hope by the desperate that Lenovo will be compassionate enough to use that "better" panel in the T430s. In which case, I suspect Lenovo will designate the product as T430x and charge a premium.

 

@Kaso I would be willing to pay a premium (depending on exactly how much, though) for a better display. I'm not a business user and plan to use my notebook for watching videos and such.

Do you know if there are specifications out that would suggest that it is at least technically possible for the X1C display to go into the T430s?

 

Certain users will try to retrofit the X1C display panel into the T430s. Although the resolutions are the same at 1600x900, it is difficult, without explicit technical specifications, to ascertain that their physical dimensions (height, width, depth; beyond the viewable area itself) and electrical connectors are the same. Also, the mechanical lid designs of the two products (T430s and X1C) may not be internally identical, requiring the user to made minor custom modifications here and there.

In brief, it's all speculation at this point.

(I hate to bring this up in this forum, but you may want to investigate the new Dell XPS 14 and XPS 15 that will be released in a week or so.)

 

I am curious. We all know the display for T430s is probably not as good as the Macs, but how does it compare to bigbox store machines like the B-570 or the ACER AS4752. How about the original T60's 1280x800 screen?

 

it will cost less then an half of the price of a mac. with $1000 you can buy a way much better screen.

 

ThinkPads has the best build quality. Military spec, rugged and reliable. The only issue that seems to be popping up is the display :/

Do you guys think the engineers and designers noticed this supposed flaw in the display and just decided to ignore it?

 

Display and gpu.

But I really don't get it too.

let's see. removable battery, 2.5" hdd bay instead of a proprietary interface one that no one ever heard of, 2 ram slots instead of non upgradable soldered ram, screwed chassis and components instead of GLUE?! more I/O ports, an OS that works, trackpad with 2 mouse buttons instead of 1, much much cheaper, better sound system, much better customer support, same or better cpu's, upgradable cpu's, smartbay with several options, much better cooling system, much more reliable, semi-rugged, backlight keyboard, and so on.

 

Sigh, I probably shouldn't have said the first sentence. Let me rephrase that.

We all know that T430s's display is probably not as good as that on the T410s. But how does it compare to bigbox store machines like the B-570 or the ACER AS4752. How about the original T60's 1280x800 screen? I am trying to replace a T60 with a T430s and I am not particularly picky about my display. However, I would like to get a feeling on how bad it is before I pull the trigger.

 

IMHO, if it's anything like the T420s' HD+, which others are indicating that it is, then the 1280 panel that came with your T60 is better. This HD+ panel is really, really bad. I actually cancelled an order for the T430s the second I read on this board that it used the same panel as the T420s. I had a T420s which I returned back in December, because the display was so pitiful.

 

The panels are not great by any means, but depending on how discerning your taste is, they are not that bad. I've seen worse.

 

Well, have we reached the stage that we buy a brand newly launched machine with out hardly earned money to instead of saying the quality is very good but not excellent to saying 'not bad, I've seen worse'. Not sure how one can live with something like that unless they do not care about that money... I am not blaming you personally but I feel bad that those companies made us reach this stage!

 

Nobody has a gun to your head. Stop buying machines with mediocre screens. There are only three ThinkPad models with a good screen and you've already tried one.

 

You are right. I am just sharing my disappointment with the Windows PC industry because it is not only Lenovo because if I found the 'best' (if it ever exists) Windows PC for me elsewhere, I will definitely go for it. Apple raised the bar recently which adds to this disappointment and I was just trying to vent. I am one of those who add to the problem by buying products that are not satisfying to them.

 

Well, given that the T430s is a sub-$700 machine ($655CAD before tax), it lowers my expectations a lot. All I ask is for the display to be on-par with the generally crappy budget machines. Images like this ( http://i43.tinypic.com/357irsy.jpg) is a little bit too unacceptable though.

It does seem to be sad that it's not worth upgrading anything just because of a display issue.

I am seriously considering a T530 instead now, which is a shame since I like the T430s's overall compromises and it's also somewhat cheaper than a T530. Decisions, decisions, ....

 

Go for it. I decided to get the T530 myself though it is more expensive and a little bulkier than the T430 but much more bulkier than T430s but I cannot personally live with a picture like the one you shared. Though I use an external display most of the time at home and work but when I am using my laptop in a meeting or when traveling, I still love to have a quality display.

 

The 15.6" FHD screen is really nice. The 12.5" IPS is also considered quite good. And the 14" screen coming on the X1 Carbon appears to be better than mediocre.

I meant three screens, not three models.

If the 14" screen coming on the Carbon ends up being decent, then if I were running the show at Lenovo, I would offer it on the T430 and T430S for an incremental fee.

The screen on my current T420 doesn't suck, but the first T420 and T420S I tested did.

Vote with your dollars folks.

 

I guess that is wisely said. The question is why did not they make the X1C panel available for T430(s) especially that they should have it by now since the release date in less than 2 months. My guess is that they would keep it as one more unique thing for the X1C if it is really a nice one. I think Lenovo just like to keep things as they are. Also, X1C would not probably have more than i5 processor (I guess, I might be wrong) which will be targeted to certain customers with basic processing needs.

 

That is unacceptable. I'm hoping my screen does not look like that. I believe there is HOPE. From the video I've seen of the unboxing it does not look that bad.

 

I do not believe at all that you can evaluate display quality and viewing angels from videos. You have to see it for yourself and you may be just happy with it because you are desperate for this machine or simply you don't care about the viewing angels.

 

I got the 1600x900 screen.

I tried taking some photos today of the screens to illustrate the screen door effect / difference in quality of the T410s screen and T430s, but was impossible to get a good shot without the moire pattern showing up (thus distorting any comparative differences that might otherwise have shown up).

It's worth noting that I have good vision (especially in close range), so those without the sharpest near-field vision probably won't notice much, if any issue.

 

Without having any context to understand that photo, I wouldn't say that's an accurate depiction of what I'm seeing with the T430s screen. I'm not sure if that photo is of the W520's 1920x1080 screen, though comparing a high-resolution screen to a lower-resolution screen could be deceptive as a greater number of pixels could be making the W520's shot appear smoother.

The best way I can use to describe the "screen door" on the T430s is that a "texture" appears on the screen. I've heard some people say that in their experience with the T420/T420s, they noticed it at first but now never do; I could see that being the case. It's noticeable if you're not used to it (like in my situation), though it's not nearly as exaggerated as is shown in the image above.

 

Is the HD+ display on the T530 significantly better than the one on the T430s? Probably can't afford a FHD display at this point.

 

Judging from the Tx20-series it is significantly better, but still not what I would call good. Honestly, rather wait a month and save up those 200 Dollars for a really good display than being stuck with an average display for years.

 

$250 for T530 now!

 

THIS.

$200~250 upgrade to FHD is money well spent. ($250 over 52 weeks = only $4.80 a week. Have one less "designer" cup of coffee a week for a year.) Your eyes will appreciate your sacrifice.

 

I was so excited to receive my T430s, until I see this message on UPS tracking page:

"This shipment is warehoused until it is released by Clearing Agency."

Anybody else come across this for their T430s?
Thanks.

 

It's probably going through customs.

 

Anybody can compare the T430s/T420's display with the T400's?

 

Okay, I just got a UPS tracking number from Lenovo. I'm due to get this machine on Wednesday. I'll probably unbox it on Thursday and do a video.

 

It means that the system is waiting to clear customs. It should clear by the end of the day, and it won't change your UPS estimated delivery date.

 

Yes, they are suckier.

 

Depends which T400, the T430/T420 panels should be better than the T400 CCFL panels in terms of brightness. But if you have the T400 LG LED WXGA+ panel (that was a decent one) then I think you'll be dissapointed with the screen door effect and graininess from the anti-glare coating of the newer panels (particularly the AUO B140RW02 V1 panel which has been highlighted on the T420s review).

 

Now... and... Then.




Business as usual.
​

 

Nice comparison photo. Worth a 1,000 words.

Lotus 1-2-3 rocks. Or is that Symphony? Another failed upgrade.

 

Before posting on this forum, I didn't give a crap about screen quality. Now, suddenly, I do.

It's a placebo effect, I tell you.

 

The screen is totally fine for average user. Not nearly as bad as photo above lol.

 

Hey, so everything I've read here has made me second guess my purchasing of the T430s, especially the crap about the screen sucking hard. So is there any way that I could send back the T430s (it's shipped and it's supposed to arrive in the next few days)? If so, how would I go about doing this? If I did this, I'd probably spring for the W530, the RMBP, or the Vaio Z. Advice?

Also, I'm game for anyone convincing me to stick with the T430s. There are a ton of things I absolutely love about it, but the screen is scaring me. Thanks!

 

Yeah, 1-2-3 it was. How about this?

​

Absolute business. As Retina as it gets, man.

 

ROFL!!! Darn near made me spew my coffee on that one.

 

Hmm, how washed out does the black look on the T4_0 screens, is the contrast workable? j/k

 

For those of you would be purchasers, pay no attention to us. We're just nit picky IPS lovers and want HIGHER quality screens.

The screen on my T420 is fine for day to day use. It's built for the masses and the masses don't know any better or care.

If you are a photographer, you can connect up to four external high quality IPS screens with an Optimus based T-Series ThinkPad.

If you need a high quality high color gamut screen, then you'll either want the 15.6" FHD, or wait for more X1 Carbon reviews.

 

I had a grainy T420 screen. Besides the mediorce contrast, it didn't really bother me that much.

I think most people put too much stock in screen quality. Yes, nicer screens are always great, but it's not the most important element of a laptop. Build quality and keyboard are far more important.

 

Awesome, I had a 7/1 ship date (cos I ordered the SSD), now magically I have a Thursday delivery date. Gotta love them Chinese!

Forget the screen door, excited to get my hands on a nice new machine.

 

So is it safe to say that, other than the mediocre screen, it'll be a good purchase?

 

Yes. The new keyboard should have an absolutely great feeling.

 

You are spending a lot of cash on this thing, if you are not excited to show it off you are probably buying the wrong machine for you. This is a rock solid business machine with the longest history.

Enjoy it!

 

My T430s i7 should be at my doorstep around the 27th ... can't wait