T440s Owner´s Thread

Is there a clean install guide for windows 8.1? I lost some of the software (dolby drivers), and I get a lot of funky audiodg (Audio service) memory leaks now. I was hoping to just straight reinstall fresh everything.

 

Have people considered or tried the HP 840 G1? I assume its keyboard will not be as good as the T440s' keyboard, but otherwise specs seem as good or better, especially as it is available with dedicated graphics in the US while maintaining docking capability. I'm kind of teetering, as I do love Lenovo keyboards but otherwise HP's offering just seems superior. I'm just wondering if HP's keyboard is really that terrible compared with Lenovo.

 

Hi,

As my country does not bring in the T440s in FHD display, is it possible that i buy the HD+ and there after purchase the AUO FHD screen and replace it? Will it work?

 

I'm experiencing some squealing/squeaking noise under the right side of my laptop. Does anyone else have this issue?

Edit: I'm also considering upgrading to an onsite warranty, since I don't want to send my laptop away for over a week. Is this advisable? If so, should I get the 2yr onsite ($99) or the 1yr+accidental damage ($79)? Anyone have comments on onsite service? I assume that I get to keep my laptop in 100% of cases, and that the techs will bring the replacement parts, right?

 

Well a lot of people are complaining about the fan noise, and the fan is located near the upper right of the laptop. Many others are complaining about the speaker noise, and the speakers are located at both the lower right and lower left of the laptop. Maybe if you put your ear closer to these locations you can narrow it down?

 

OK I just read a few pages of this thread because I have been considering purchasing the new Carbon X1 or T440s or waiting on Samsung's New ATIV 9 or lastly going with Dell's M3800 - yes I know totally different machines. Here is what I will say and what I have observed. First, if Im not mistaken people are saying that the T440s screen is made by LG? Thats a huge NO NO for me. I owned both a Dell XPS 12 and new Inspiron 7000 15 inch...returned both...why? Screen made by LG had ghosting issues and I have vowed to never again by any laptop with an LG screen. There are 10s of 1000s of complaints on the Apple MacBooks because of the LG screen and a class action lawsuit because of it. My Dell exhibited ghosting (or image retention) after 7 days. My Inspiron 15 after 6 months - but sooner or later the screen will likely give u problems.

Second, for those who dont know - if you listen to IBM's earnings conference call and read their annual report and research notes on IBM u will know that ALL major manufacturers are suffering shortages out of China that will not be rectified until the end of March. My order from Dell for an M3800 was made in early December (first week) after delay and delay the date was moved to February 27 for delivery but after looking at the earnings report and research on IBM I realized that this game will continue to be played until the end of March. In fact, if you go to Dell's website and order a "pre-configured" M3800 the date for delivery says its a couple of weeks but if u go to the cart u will see the delivery date (estimated) is late March - and I am sure this will carry over until early April when the parts will have arrived. This "parts shortage" is affecting Dell, IBM, and Lenovo at least and maybe more - likely Samsung too but the ATIV 9 wont be available until after April anyways. It is also known that the exact lines with shortage of parts is for the T line and the X line. There was a discussion about it on Bloomberg with an analyst who mentioned it. My overall conclusion is first - if the T440S is an LG made display - I personally will not touch it and will scratch it off my list. Second, if you are buying a laptop now and have problems with your original machine and ask for replacements you might have to wait a while - there is a shortage and its not gonna be solved until the end of the first quarter. The reason for this apparently was that major manufacturers in their planning and resources have cut down on PCs and Laptop manufacturing and focussed on Tablets instead but the drop in PC demand was not as much as the industry had expected so their resource allocation to production of PC based machines was less than what they now need. So if u order a laptop I wouldnt be surprised if you get a few delays before you actually receive it but again, by the end of March this should be resolved so you might want to wait until then before buying anything. Just my personal opinion and sharing what I saw and heard and have read.

 

^ Interestingly enough, the estimated shipping time has gone down to 9 business days again.. though as we've seen so far its highly unreliable.

 

Hello, I'm having difficulty establishing how much this laptop would weigh given the configuration I am interested in: Non-touch FHD screen, SSD, 3-cell front battery, 6-cell rear battery.
Can anyone provide some guidance (basically point me to information on the weights of the components)? Thanks.

 

No, I doubt it's either of those. If you look at the keyboard, it's on the right side, or the left side if you flip the laptop over. The fan is on the opposite side and I've been having no problems with it.

The sound is more accurately described as some sort of buzzing or hissing, and I've heard that this issue has affected older Thinkpads. The sound does seem to vary when I change my power plan. I'll probably just get a warranty and have my MOBO and screen replaced.

 

I believe that is around 4 lbs. I will have to try to find where that info was...

 

Non-touch with 3+3 cell = 3.6 pounds
Non-touch with 3+6 cell = 3.9 pounds <<< Yours
Touch with 3+3 cell = 3.9 pounds
Touch with 3+6 cell = 4.2 pounds

I spent a lot of time checking out the PSREF.

 

Oops, I was looking at the T440s service training video and not thinking it was a rear view of the components, so everything is flipped. My screen is being replaced so I don't have the physical laptop to look at.

 

After spending about 24 hours with my T440s. I'd say that I am very pleased with it except for having the LG display. Here are my thoughts:

• Battery life seems to be good. I was ablt to get 5-6 hours on regular use.
• I love the keyboard.
• It takes about 18-24 seconds to boot.
• The trackpad is just okay. I use a mouse anyway, so I don't care for it.
• The overall build quality compared to my Y510p is awesome.
• It's very snappy.
• It is very quiet. I don't hear any fan noises at all.

I really don't want to return it because of the display. I have a 3-year pick-up and return warranty and I am thinking about upgrading it to on-site in order to replace the display.

 

The fan is on the left side of the laptop and between the middle and top. It is probably the speakers. I have the same issue sometimes. I would here a hissing sound and it is very loud. It is very random and I hope Lenovo release a driver to fix the issue in the future.

 

phamhlam, where exactly is your sound coming from? It was on the right side for me, but it has mysteriously disappeared almost completely.

 

See here:

T440s speaker noise - Lenovo Community

 

Thank you
I forgot Lenovo makes detailed product reference sheets public.

 

Had my T440s for a couple of months and my trackpad/trackpoint has started to malfunction. Every 2-5mins, the trackpad AND trackpoint will either stop working, become jerky or move randomly all over the place randomly clicking. This will continue for 10-20s then it returns to normal.

Have tried updating drivers and a complete fresh re-image, and still see the issue. So looks like a hardware fault :/

 

I decided to give the t440s a weekend tryout and even with the LG screen I’m going to keep it.

For perspective, 2 things: I have historically had Dell products -- I am coming from a Latitude e4300, and before that an XPS m1210 (wayback machine: before that an Inspiron 700m which was my first laptop). Also, this is a work laptop so I would still keep my e4300 for light duty and backup purposes.

I had originally ordered a Dell Latitude 12 (7000 Series) when the Haswell processers first dropped and was less than impressed with the offering. No Smartcard reader, the build quality was so-so and the screen didn’t seem like much of an upgrade over the LED WXGA screen (1280x800) of the e4300.

Fast forward to the t440s – it feels like it is light years ahead. Battery life is incredible at 12-13 hours, meaning I can leave the power cable at home or work and save space in my backpack. The LG screen, however flawed, still looks tremendous side by side with the 13.3” e4300. Colors look more vibrant, the viewing angles are much better and the added 0.7” of space is nicely apportioned across the notebook – it feels like the entire laptop is 16:9 as opposed to the 4:3 feel of the Dell.

I’m still getting used to the trackpad nuances (no left click button?) and Windows 8, but I see where this type of OS interface isn’t going anywhere so ya may as well get used to it.

A couple of notes:
- To get the most of this machine you definitely need an SSD and at least 8gb of ram (optimally 12GB+). I ordered the standard 500/4GB and it feels a bit slow-ish, but those are easy upgrades.
- On that same note, many people have mentioned the AUO panel can be bought and installed for $100 should the LG screen get worse or otherwise become tired. Hate to drop $100 but at least the option is available.
- The 6-cell is definitely worth the small lift and extra weight
- The keyboard is great although it is a bit annoying to have to turn on the backlight manually each time
- Speakers and dolby software are definitely above average. I'd even go so far to say a discerning ear would pick up low-end stereo imaging

So in retrospect, considering the machine I was coming from and wanting to dodge the managerial scowl that would come with returning another new laptop, I am content with this ‘flawed’ LG screen surrounded by a terrific piece of hardware.

 

I received my T440s at the end of December and I really struggled to like the LG screen but it just didnt happen. Every other aspect of the laptop is fabulous, but I would be looking at the screen every second of using the laptop and was the biggest deciding factor. It goes back to Lenovo this evening. I have ordered the X240 with the IPS FHD touch screen...lets hope that one does not let me down.

 

The X240 is so pricey compared to the T440s.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

 

Not really. I have shown below the 2 different configs I ordered and their prices.

T440s: Core i5 4300u/500GB HDD/4GB RAM/Intel 7260 BGN/FHD non-touch screen ($1106)
X240: Core i5 4200u/500GB HDD/4GB RAM/Intel 7260 ACBGN/FHD touch screen ($1138)

 

For identical configs (FHD Touch, i5-4300U, 500gb hd, no m2 ssd, 4gb ram, 3+6cell battery, 7260AC), the X240 is around $80 more expensive in Canada and is limited to 8gb ram vs the 12gb for t440s. The price difference is not huge, but ram was my reason for going with the T440s.

In your configs, I believe if you make them equal (i.e. FHD touch and 7260AC in T440s and 4300U in the X240), you'll probably end up with the same $80 difference as I did. Again, its a small difference and I wouldn't call it pricey

 

Btw, since you went with the X240, were you able to look into which panel they're using for it? If its the same one as the ThinkPad Yoga, it might have severe ghosting issues as mentioned by several people in the owner's thread.

 

Wish I can do that but I scored my T440S (description in my signature) for $1256. I'm going to keep it and upgrade the warranty to get the screen swapped.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

 

My ship date is 11/Feb so we will have to wait and see which panel I get and whether there is any ghosting issues in it. I have heard the same thing as you regarding the Thinkpad Yoga panel being used in the X240.

 

Because I planned to upgrade from the start, I ordered the cheaper mechanical drive, did not order the cache drive, and only 4 MB of ram. It has an i5 processor. Mine is even more annoyingly slow because I don't have the cache, so I am praying that the SSD and the additional 8 MB of ram are a drastic improvement.

 

Anyone have (or had) the T440s and the new X1 carbon Haswell.....which one did you prefer as I have a choice, but need to choose soon. Thanks! (all comments appreciated).

 

I would like to know this too!

 

I have a t440s scheduled to be delivered this week, I'd never go with the new X1C though due to its keyboard layout and upgrade limitations. That's all on you, whether you prefer a lighter laptop with a bananas keyboard or a bigger one with possible screen issues (unlikely to happen if you get the touch one).

Choose wisely!

 

T440s has more ports, more RAM, more upgrade options, more battery, and a decent keyboard layout.

The new X1 is lighter, thinner, and has a better screen.

 

Based on what measure? This is a subjective issue. The 14" 1920x1080 FHD IPS screen on my T440s is pretty sweet.

 

I think he means better as in better resolution

 

Just spoke to IBM in Sweden who handles warranty/technical support for Lenovo here.
Told him about my problems with my unit, and he said he could replace my screen. I asked him about the AUO screen and he said that he couldn't choose which one they get. He told me he had it in stock and would call me tomorrow.
Not very hopeful that I will get the AUO screen.

Very bad impression with the IBM support, very reluctant to help and mostly informed me of various policies and that he worked at IBM and not at Lenovo.

 

Thanks to everybody who contributes to this forum.

I have found it invaluable in making considered choices.

In the time I have spent waiting for my T440s to arrive I started writing a blog detailing everything I have learned and experienced.

I plan to take it all the way to installing linux and getting things to work nicely.

Hope it might be useful for those who are following a similar path.

The perfect commuter developer linux laptop

 

I ordered mine on 1/16. It will be delivered tomorrow - it's on the plane from Charlotte now, according to UPS.
i5, 8M, 500G HDD, FHD non-touch, AC WIFI
I don't plan to crack it open for a couple years if it's good. I'll probably pop in an SSD when I can get a 500G cheap.
As long as the screen is a big improvement on the garbage I've had on my previous Thinkpads, I'll be satisfied.
We'll see about that and the touchpad.
Thanks to all of you for your info and tips. Anything in particular I should know about upgrading to 8.1?

 

Oh yes, just for context: I've owned a couple of R models back in the prehistoric days ending in an r31 I still have, then a Z61m, T410 and now this. Use it primarily for writing and updating website, blog, etc.

 

That's weird. I ordered mine on 1/17, and it says it'll only be shipping on 2/10. What is this madness

 

I ordered on 21/1 and my original estimate was 26/2. Since then it has come down to 11/2. So, don't believe Lenovo's estimates.. just wait patiently until you actually get the thing.

 

Chinese New Year - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia might be having impact.

 

Higher resolution isn't always better. At least not in my opinion. I would like to see the screens side-by-side.

 

What I meant was that why someone who bought it on 16th Jan already has his being delivered tomorrow, and someone who bought it on 21 Jan is getting his on the 11th Feb, while I'm getting mine on 10th Feb despite me ordering just a day after the guy who's getting it tomorrow..

 

2560x1440 is a tricky resolution to use effectively on a 13" Windows laptop.

-If you display at native resolution without scaling, everything is tiny to the point of being unusable for most people.
-You can change the resolution, but then the screen ends up blurry and looks worse than a lower resolution screen.
-If you use 4X scaling, you get a sharp picture, but only get an effective work area of 1280x720, which is worse than what the TN screens offer. I think most ThinkPad buyers probably care about the size of the workspace.
-You can have Windows scale by a non-integer factor, but that usually also looks blurry, and apps often don't display correctly.

The 1920x1080 resolution on a 14" screen is a lot better in my view, because you can run the thing at native resolution with 1X scaling and it is usable, even if text is a bit on the small side.

 

Certainly I'm guessing but I wonder if parts and destination don't have an impact. They may do 'runs' of certain specs together - all i5's with US spec today, i7's going to Europe tomorrow. Or next week. I have no idea but it would make sense in terms of planning. I know my first ship date was Feb 19 - it came down all of a sudden, two days before it said 'Shipped.' And 'Shipped' from what I can tell only meant 'we've generated a UPS label and started making it' because it was several days before the 'shipped' machine actually appeared at UPS. So patience is probably good advice, though it's easier said than done, obviously.

 

I assume that screen you're talking about is actually 13.3" as I don't remember seeing screens with exactly 13" diagonal. That puts it's actual DPI at 220.

Not if you set the DPI in your system correctly. Granted, if you're using Windows (a safe bet) some applications may have hard-coded interface dimensions and will exhibit clipping issues, but that's what DPI virtualization option is there for. And no, for "dpi-aware" applications "scaling" is not the same thing as setting your DPI higher. In case of scaling the whole of application (including it's fonts) is still rendered to lower resolution and then stretched over higher one, in case of high resolution with proper DPI settings application is immediately rendered to higher resolution, with all fonts properly sized and still sharp and all interface elements properly resized to fit everything else.

Actually, that's the case only for comparatively low-resolution screens, we're talking DPI < ~150. Already for a 1920x1080 15.6" screen switching to, say, 1280x720 resolution is nowhere near as blurry as switching to the same resolution on a 1366x768 screen of the same size.

First, 4X scaling is too much for 220 dpi, 2.3X would suffice. Second, you can still set your fonts smaller in system and applications. I usually work with fonts set to 6 typographical points, that is what I see on the screen would correspond to 6-point font on a printed paper. Luckily (or, rather, thanks to medical achievements and me having money), my vision is good enough to easily read that font even at the longest distance that I can still reach my laptop's keyboard at, and it's rendered so small and still legible exactly because of high DPI of my screen.

I'm yet to confirm it, but my understanding is that the higher the dpi the less blurry things become even for "non-integer factor". But then again, first, not all applications under Windows are being scaled and look blurry, only those that are non-dpi-aware; those that are dpi-aware are being rendered directly to higher resolution and look absolutely fabulous. Second, if you disable "XP-style UI scaling" (in other words, enable dpi virtualization) the only applications that don't display correctly are some of the older full-screen applications like games, and for those situation is easily remedied by going to the compatibility tab of the properties dialog of their shortcut and checking "disable ui scaling" or something along those lines option.

Whatever man. There is a reason for a font size options nearly everywhere.

 

has anyone noticed that the Intel 7260 BT BGN is no longer available?

 

So I just got my t440s with UPS, have been playing with it for an hour or so, here are my thoughts so far:

Model: i7, 500gb hd, 4gb ram, intel dual band, fhd screen, non-touch

Screen
Wasn't lucky, got the LG. Main concerns: somewhat big light bleeding on top right, viewing angles are really bad (for instance I'm looking at the screen then I raise my head and everything becomes darker) - doesn't look like an IPS, spotlight effect like pointed by many others. Will see what I can do to get this switched to the AUO one.
Also, text seems too small to me, just a matter of getting used though.

Keyboard
Really good, still getting used to its spacing though (was using an old vaio before). I keep hitting the fn key thinking it is ctrl.
One thing I'm not sure I like much but I guess is common in Thinkpads, the keys easily get fingerprints all over.

Clickpad
Seems decent, not noisy. The scroll when using two fingers isn't that smooth (could be settings, came with windows 8.0 btw). The nipple seems nice too, haven't used it much yet.

All other hardware
Speakers are nice, much better than many laptops I've used.
Not noisy, could hear the fan once during setup but still low, acceptable.
I have another 8gb of ram but am waiting my ssd and decide what to do to the screen before opening it up. 4gb is not enough.
Build quality is amazing, great tiny robust laptop.

I gotta say I'm disappointed with the screen but that was expected. I'll contact Lenovo tomorrow, may have the weekend to play with it before sending it back or having someone replacing the screen. I hope everything else stays just fine.

Anyway, will keep you folk updated in case I find anything worth sharing.
If you're reading this and deciding whether you should buy this laptop or not, I'd say go for it, but go with touch screen as you will not only get a glossy layer of protection that covers the whole screen but also high likely get the AUO panel, instead of this cheap gameboy color-like display.

UPDATE: No luck with support yet, will keep on it.
Funny how the parts for the t440s at lenovo's website doesn't even show the LG panel: http://download.lenovo.com/parts/ThinkPad/t440s_fru_bom_20131014.pdf

 

Wife's T440s doesn't seem to be falling asleep when she closes the lid. I've got it set to sleep on lid closing whether she's on battery or AC power, and it's still not falling asleep 100% of the time. Last night we made sure that it was asleep. It had the slow fade in/out red light on top, and that was the last time she touched it. This morning, the red light was solid and when she opened the lid, the machine was sitting at the slide to unlock screen. Has anyone else seen this behavior? I've run that Lenovo System Update Utility and it shows that we're up to date on drivers. Thanks!

 

So, after sitting in the repair depot for 27 days waiting for the AUO screen, I just got it back and they put in another LG screen! To say I am F'n pissed is an understatement. The laptop is going back....I am done. They better not hassle me with the return.

 

Ouch, they just told me I'd need to ship it to them and it is not guaranteed that I'd get the AUO panel.

Am now thinking if I better return or try to update it myself, the only problem is the time wasted with all this :/