T430s owners'/would-be owners' thread.

Good stuff, thank you. I too will be doing a fresh clean install of Win7. From a first time ThinkPad user, I have no idea what all of the extras do, and want to keep fairly slim. I'll start with that list. Thanks much!

 

My T430s with an i5, the 4000 graphics, and an SSD should ship on Sunday, according to the website (why that would happen is beyond me).

The posts about the screen concern me a bit, but the one in my Envy 14 is no stunner (I have the basic 1366x768 display), so the 1600x900 in the T430s should be a step up, if anything.

I'll be sure to give you guys information about battery life, etc. with my configuration, as I know that's important. I probably generated the least battery-sucking configuration, as I opted to get the i5 over the i7, no discrete graphics, and a solid state drive. I also got the 3-cell UltraBay battery, so I'm curious to see how well that performs.

 

Mine arrived yesterday. Few observations:

It looks and feels tiny compared to T520, almost feminine.
Keyboard is good.
They fixed two-finger scrolling. Now it is smooth, finally.
It is pretty snappy (i5-3320, 4000 graphics, 500 gb disc, 4 gb ram)
Some cost-cutting measures are visible.
Screen - well, not that bad (HD+). If you look hard you may notice some "grain". If you check under very high magnification you can see that each pixel surface is slightly obscured at the two edges (My assumption is that internal transistors are requiring some space.) When compared to T520 HD+ screen under normal viewing distances it is not that different. I made macro comparison pictures and will publish them later.

 

Please elaborate.

 

Let me say first that I am quite happy with the machine. My observations are mostly knit-picking since I am sucker for those things.

• If you lift bottom left corner, the frame will bend a little. This is where the battery is and there is not much structural support but it could be stiffer.
• Power-on button light is not diffused as nicely compared to T520 so it is harder to see it. (You do not see the whole circle shining when looking from the angle but it appears as one bright spot closer to you)
• Fingerprint reader indication light looks cheap compared to T520 (which had one very tiny bright spot)
• Thinkpad sticker on the palm rest is very thin and it deformed slightly when I pressed it (It looks like there is some kind of hole beneath it and now I can see the edges through the sticker)
• When battery is removed you can observe some kind of black insulation sheet that covers components. That sheet is pretty crumpled and it looks untidy.
• It looks like speakers' covers mesh might deform a little if you put some pressure on them.
• Bottom edge of the screen assembly looks slightly curved. It is pretty noticeable when the screen is closed.
• Keyboard back-light could be more uniform in lower setting.
• I am not sure why the red nipple is recessed so deeply. It looks like it would be too easy to press surrounding buttons.
• 'B' button letter is pushed south because of the above so it looks slightly ugly.
• Hard drive (500 GB Hitachi) parks heads loudly when idle. It got me concerned but appears to be the "feature" of these drives.

And again, machine is good, especially compared to what you get from other companies for the same amount of money. Don't take the above aesthetic observations out of context.

 

Thanks for your thorough and rational observations. +rep

 

I rep'd you as well. I'm curious to see if my T430s will exhibit the same issues.

 

Just got mine about an hour ago. Typing on it right now. Some thoughts:

1. New keyboard is awesome. It's much less stiff than the old-school keyboard with the beveled keys. Response and travel are excellent.

2. If you order this thing without a webcam, be warned! There is no ThinkLight if you order without a webcam! Furthermore, I bought this without the backlit keyboard, so computing in the dark has become a slight problem for me.

3. Power button is much easier to press, compared with my T420.

4. Screen is as mediorce as ever - poor vertical viewing angles, mediorce contrast. It seems that horizontal viewing angles are improved this time around, so if people huddle around the screen, they will be able to see things on the screen more clearly. But it's usable enough, provided one takes the time to calibrate the screen.

5. Build quality is solid, mostly. The lid feels more solid than the lid on my T420 and there is absolutely no play on the hinges. My T420 had some play on the hinges, but on this T430s, the screen doesn't move, no matter how I flick it.

6. However, the build quality is a bit of a disappointment when it comes to the bottom of the unit, however. The battery's bottom does not sit flush with rest of the bottom of the laptop and feels softer compared with the rest of the bottom. Furthermore, the bottom as a whole feels a touch softer than the bottom of my T420, so it's a disappointment in that regard. But the lid and the hinges gets a thumbs up from me.

7. I've bought the 3-cell extended battery and placed it into the Ultrabay. There is some slight wobbling in the bay if I shake the laptop hard enough.

I'll post some more thoughts as I get some use out of this thing, but the T430s, to my dismay, does not feel any significantly lighter than my T420. It's a bit more compact, but for people who seek mobility from their laptops, I would recommend either the upcoming X1 Carbon or the X230. Who knows, maybe the build quality might be slightly better, too.

 

Thanks for your observations. The "wow" factor is not there yet.

+rep

 

It's a solid machine, and most normal users will be satisfied by it. But compared with my T420, some things are lacking, like:

1. Less solid bottom (probably because of engineering constraints more than anything else).

2. No SD card reader by default (I kept thinking that there was one included by default, but instead, I got an ExpressCard slot). Then again, I wasn't really reading the options when I was buying this thing, so my fault.

3. No ThinkLight unless you buy a webcam. And given how much I used the ThinkLight on my T420, I was disappointed.

Again, solid machine from my experiences with it so far, but not bulletproof. If you can stand carrying a bit more weight, I would recommend the T430. If you don't mind a smaller screen and lack of a palmrest, the X230 is a better choice. The T430s makes certain compromises I find unsettling, particularly, the quality of the unit's bottom.

And a final comment on build quality: The palmrest is very solid. Doesn't creak under pressure, unlike my T420.

 

My T420s' bluish screen was mediocre as well out of the box but then a simple Google search resulted in a appropriate ICC profile which made a whole world of difference for me (attached below).

So I'd recommend to all of you to spend a minute of two for a simple Google search unless you are ok with the 15% restocking fee that Lenovo charges.

 

Jeez guys it can't be that bad I hope!!
From all of these comments I am wondering why anyone would buy one of these machines. Mine arrives tomorrow and I am looking forward to it, the only big concern I have are the comments on the screen. That would be about the only thing that would be a deal-breaker for me.

I am still expecting a solidly built speedy machine. It better be, given the premium price I paid for my config (i7, 180 GB SSD, 8GB). I have an X61, the X Series Tablet and I am very happy with that including the screen.

P.S. What is an ICC profile, whats it going to do for me and where would I get one.

 

The screen isn't terrible, by any means. But I have used better.

I will say that this new display is far less grainy than the display on my T420.

 

It's a cross platform file type that has setting for calibrating your monitor. When using bootcamp on my mac I loaded a color profile from OS X (also a .icc file) into windows and my screen instantly lost its blueish tint and lack of contrast.

 

Quick question for anyone who knows:

What's the FRU/CRU/identification number for the 4-cell battery for the T430s?

 

Customise your ThinkPad T430s laptop | Lenovo New Zealand

Ultrabay is Battery 43 IIRC

 

Looks like FRU 45N1065 (Sony) or FRU 45N1067 (Simplo) for the 4 cell batteries. Check out the Service Parts PDF for your system.

 

I was scoping out Lenovo's special deals site for IBM employees. Apparently, they offer the discrete graphics option on all configurations being sold over there. No additional cost over the standard model being sold on the student site or on the regular site. As a gamer, I was disappointed not to hear about this sooner.

Oh well. Not that I will be spending much time gaming on the go anyhow...

 

Just got mine from the UPS man, looks pretty good

 

How do you feel about it? Good value for the money?

 

Have you considered getting one of these? It probably wouldn't stick out from the ExpressCard slot, based on the photos of it in the MacBook Pro.

 

Overall I think its well worth it. This is my first ThinkPad. Great build quality. Screen is not as bad as everyone says, but I'm not really the best at noticing these things. Much better than a lot of those consumer grade screens you see on cheap HP's and Acer's, Only issue I'm seeing right now is the wifi (Intel Advanced- 6205) is kind of slow...

 

Hrmm thats the card I chose, its on the way right now.. Can anybody else comment on this?

 

Okay just kidding, I had to install some updates, after the restart it seems fast as usual.

 

Just received mine today. i5, NVidia graphics, HD+ screen, 240 GB Crucial aftermarket SSD, only 4GB RAM (still waiting on my 16GB).

I'm still spending some time with it, but here are a few initial impressions:

• Keyboard seems pretty solid and usable, which helps allay my initial worries. I'm still relearning some of the key placements though. Top row of keys are small, tight, and several mm above the rest of the keys, which I'm not sure that I like.
• Screen is not great, but also not terrible. Fairly similar to my T410s, though better resolution. Viewing angles are passable, but certainly no IPS.
• Chasis seems solid. Palm rests are better than my T410s.
• Trackpad seems more responsive than my T410s, particularly for two-finger scrolling.
• Fan is a little louder than my T410s when the system is working hard, though still fairly quiet.

My main issue so fair is that the Nvidia Control Panel doesn't have an option for multiple monitors, so I'm only able to run 2 displays at a time through the Intel settings. I fear that the 5200m display adapter may not be able to output to an external monitor at all based on this driver readme. I hold a slim hope that a software update can correct this; if it wasn't provided by my work, I would strongly consider sending it back and demanding a refund.

A couple benchmarks:

• WEI: Processor: 7.2, Memory: 5.9 (expect improvement with 16GB), Graphics: 4.9, Gaming Graphics: 6.6 (6.3 on integrated), HDD: 7.9
• 3DMark Vantage (Nvidia Optimus 1st): P4385 (Graphics 3683, CPU: 10252)
• 3DMark Vantage (Nvidia Optimus 2nd): P4379 (Graphics 3667, CPU: 10483)
• 3DMark Vantage (Intel Integrated 1st): P3204 (Graphics 2610, CPU: 10100)
• 3DMark Vantage (Intel Integrated 2nd): P3137 (Graphics 2545, CPU: 10364)

Even with only 4GB of RAM, the integrated graphics put up a decent fight. Though the 5200m edged it out, it didn't score particularly well. With no support for additional displays, it's difficult to justify spending the extra money for Optimus graphics.

 

Crescent, are you using one of the new docking stations?

I really hope Lenovo didn't disable the NVIDIA GPU on Optimus configurations. I can't believe they would hose another model like they did the W520 last year.

 

s1148625 So we compare the i5 if you were still "s1148625" on the same benchmark, "3DMark Vantage" tested the gpu Intel 4000 from i7 and 16 gig of RAM would be wonderful

 

Thanks, i'll defo refer to that... I'll probably do a clean install after i purchase my msata

 

Thanks for the tip. I do some amateur photography, so getting something like this helps... instead of having to plug in the camera.

 

Can anybody confirm if the RapidCharge feature is available on the T430s?

I tried to check the charge after 31 minutes of charging time, and it was only 53% (up from 10%).
Thank you.

 

Ahh, I saw a UPS semi break down on the freeway the other day. Hopefully my t430s isn't on that truck.

 

I have the older Advanced Mini Dock Series 3, which works fine (though it doesn't support USB 3). I've also tried connecting two monitors directly to the VGA and display port on the laptop. It simply appears that the Intel chip controls all of the displays, and the Nvidia card is just used for 3D rendering.

Edit: Apparently my 90 watt adapter isn't enough to power the dock, multiple USB devices, and RapidCharge. A fully charged laptop is fine, but if the battery drops I get a "not enough power for USB generic hub" and my USB devices stop being powered.

 

Discussion on RFD about integrated thinklight - Member here has mentioned no webcam = no thinklight, however a member "BSG4" says that his T430S has no webcam, but it does have a thinklight.

[Comp] Lenovo: Thinkpad T430s 760.50 after coupon

Lenovo seems to be abit random when piecing these computers together..

Anybody else notice the random placement of the fingerprint reader on any PR photos from lenovo? Some it's near the trackpad, some near the thinkpad logo.

 

That's for Canadian consumers only.

There is a US version, but it requires employee login.

Also, before I forget: ThinkLight is included in models with no webcam! I discovered this today when I hit Fn + Spacebar.

 

So I just got the machine. I got an interesting result when I ran windows experience, someone here reported graphics performance of 6.4 with 16GB. I got 6.5 with 8 GB, so it seems like the extra RAM over 8GB is somewhat redundant.

I'm guessing I got the better score partially due to having the factory installed RAM and SSD.

Anyway initial impressions are good... I like the bright screen....reports of graininess and poor angles seem exaggerated to me. The boot time is 23 seconds, solid build, very clean lines, nice camera.

So far so good.

 

So the max number of external LCD panels you've tried is 2, correct?

 

Hi all.
Can somebody share his feeling abot lenovo rapid charge?
It is really working ? My T400 need around 3 hours to charge battery, so rapid charge technology is most important feature for me . Normally I am using my notebook like , 4 hours before lunch on battery, than 1 - 1,5 hour during lunch I have to recharge it, and then I need around 6 hours on battery. I know, that I am killing batteries, but thi is my work. After three years of using T400 , I already replaced 3 system batteries and two ultrabay batteries. System , how T400 is recharging battery i very strange for me. At least , it is very slow, and I can't choose , which batttery should be charged , and drain first ( system or ultrabay ) .
Before I had Compaq x1000 , and this works pretty well. It works 5 hours on battery an then it was able to recharge it in one hour to 95%.

 

Correct, in addition to the internal LCD.

 

I think that you need to have the special 'rapid charge battery'.

 

do they sell this special battery ?

 

It's a four cell, isn't it? Haven't see anyone selling it, despite the fact that it has an FRU code.

 

Hi. Would you share which 16GB kit you ordered? Does it matter to use 1.35V or 1.5V?
I'm considering:
for 1.35V: Newegg.ca - Mushkin Enhanced Essentials 16GB (2 x 8G) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Laptop Memory Model 997038
for 1.5V: Newegg.ca - ADATA Premier Series 16GB (2 x 8G) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Laptop Memory Model AD3S1600W8G11-2

Thanks.

 

4 cell ? it comes with a 6 cell why would they use less of a battery just so you can charge it up faster a 4cell will reach 80% faster than a 6 cell and they call that rapid charge ?

 

Really strange. I am not able to find any usefull information about 82+ battery. Only, that it is 4 cell. If it is 25% less capacity , then it is useless. In this pdf ( http://shopap.lenovo.com/au/en/pdf/ThinkPad_T430s_DS_ANZ.pdf ) , you can see , that there should be special battery 82+ , but in tabook http://www.lenovo.com/psref/pdf/tabook.pdf , there is nothing about it.

 

Well according to this post:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/lenovo-ibm/671315-t430s-rapid-charge-option.html#post8622381
you can order it in New Zealand and Australia, it is the 4 cell T82+ battery.

As it has less capacity it has less to charge and as the cell are less packed it should dissipate heat better, so should be able to charge at higher current.

 

Hey, I was also wondering, what ram they provided with the system? I was thinking of mixing and matching another piece of ram. Is it 1.35V or 1.5V?

 

So here is my comment on the screen. It's appears washed out unless you bend it way back to an unnatural angle.

It's most irritating, will consider overnight whether to return the machine.
-------------------
P.S. Just called them and arranged for a full Refund.

 

Good work. It's really an unacceptable display. I guess it depends on what you're doing and what you're used to. For me, I could not settle.

 

I am still waiting to see by myself to decide but all the comments since the launch have been so disappointing by all means and I cannot see any positive gestures towards this mediocre display. I like what someone said earlier in this thread that one should be proud to show off his machine. I will probably return mine too but I am waiting to see it as just a final confirmation that I cannot live with it. I will probably end up with T530 with FHD.

By the way, why no one did unboxing or review of the T530 till now?!

 

Yeah, vertical viewing angles are not great, but I found no problems if I'm looking at it at the right angle...