T440s Owner´s Thread

Then again, how much room is there for a performance improvement anyway? And do the graphics seem any better than the X3100 on your old machine? (They should be in theory, but even the X3100 might be above the point where it makes a difference for most use cases.) It's also worth noting that your old machine was only capable of SATA 2.


Anyway, I think I might just go for this. 4GB RAM soldered + 8GB aftermarket, 240GB SSD aftermarket, 6-cell, and perhaps the 4300U upgrade. (Still debating if that's worthwhile or not - apparently it can't hold the full graphics frequency anyway, and I don't need the vpro management features, so the only gain for me is VT-D as I run VMs and a slight CPU clock bump.) I'm hoping it's built solidly enough and has enough power to easily make it for 5 years or more.


Edit: One more question - subjectively, how does the weight with the 6-cell and touch feel when lugging it around? Across a college campus, for example.

 

If you're not in a rush, I suggest you keep an eye on the Lenovo Outlet. I bought a brand new T440s with FHD Touch and 256GB SSD for $1224

 

I wonder how the outlet compares to the epp or even the student discount. (Both of which I have access to.) The last I looked, the prices weren't all that great. For example, when I bought my x120e ($450, and cheaper with epp), they were charging $500 for the last-gen x100e in the store.

I've also found that they absolutely refuse to budge on their outlet prices, even if they're significantly higher than the prices in their regular store.

 

Damn, thats a pretty good deal for a new one. I had to buy something off of ebay, I had money in my paypal account couldn't transfer it to my bank account, or I would have bought it from Lenovo.

I'm just curious, was yours new, because you mentioned buying it from the outlet...

The seller on ebay told me that its a refurbished system, I asked if there were any scratches, he said its "Like-new", or "Open-box returned".
Im hoping it doesn't have any scratches or anything, those tend to bug me on any new laptop I get.

 

I'm probably wasting time re-iterating this, but the lifespan issue of TLC is completely overblown. Posted more detail here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/lenovo/734969-t440s-owner-s-thread-151.html#post9584222

So on the balance of price, performance, features, etc. I personally bought the Evo rather than the Crucial m500, and the more expensive Samsung Pro.

 

That's true, and it's far from the first time I've heard that, but have you seen the techreport SSD endurance test? I know it's not supposed to be an issue, but I want to be sure anyway - and the regular 840 (TLC) did fare a lot worse than the others on that test. It's also worth noting that I run VMs sometimes, and will probably keep one or two that I use a lot on the drive itself. In any case, SSDs are still relatively new and TLC is unproven, so I'd like to stay on the safe side. And again, I wouldn't be surprised if I keep that SSD running in a T440s as a primary setup for the next 5 years, and then as a secondary one for some time after that.

As far as features go, there isn't anything significant between the M500 and 840 Evo that I care about (capacitor bank for power failures, along with eDrive support in the M500 I suppose). It's mostly just that the 840 Evo is a tad more expensive and TLC vs the M500 having slower write speeds. Those write speeds aren't too bad with the 240GB version, and are as good as the 840 Evo on the bigger ones (though I'm not planning to go there). All in all, I'd rather have more reliability than top-notch speed, just in case.

 

Brand new!

 

The P8800 is a Montevina C2D processor, which means it has the Intel GMA 4500MHD. I have nearly the same CPU in my T500 (P8700), and coupled with an Intel X25-M G2 80GB SSD, it's as snappy as I'd need it to be. No problems playing 1080p HD videos either.

My T440s arriving tomorrow will be nearly that setup. I ordered it with the touchscreen (strangely, it was cheaper than non-touch, so I just went with it), i5-4200U, 3-cell battery, and will be adding a Crucial M500 240GB and an 8GB stick of RAM. Seeing as my T500 has lasted me 5 years and one month (and counting) as my daily primary computer without letting me down performance-wise, I'm expecting my T440s to do the same.

Machines sold in the Lenovo Outlet are either Like New (Redistributed), Refurbished, or Scratch and Dent. A refurbished machine shouldn't have any physical damage.

Agreed, many people were worried about MLC SSDs' lifespans when they were first released, as the theoretical lifespan was much shorter than that of SLC SSDs. This didn't turn out to be an issue, and I think the same will hold for TLC SSDs.

That said, I went with the M500 because it was significantly cheaper than most other alternatives, and is probably more than fast enough for my needs.

 

Indeed I have, and it actually proves my point further. While the TLC-based 840 is absolutely seeing the highest error rate, it is greatly exceeding the supposed 1000 P/E cycles I have based my numbers on.

That I can understand, I went for speed. Mind you, I'm also a bit wary after being burned by Crucial m4 firmware issues.

 

Thank you MidnightSun for confirming this. I was always curious as to whether they would have any physical scratches. Now I can rest easy and wait for my T440s to arrive. You just put a smile on my face

 

Mine was brand new, not like new.

 

i can tell you is that the t440s with the 6 cells feels lighter than your typical calculus or chemistry textbooks.

the 6 cell battery itself sits at 333 grams on my scale, and the t440s with the 6 cell removed sits at 3.04 lbs (beautifully light i might add), which i do sometimes when im at home, drifting from room to kitchen, etc.

as far as the SATA 2 VS SATA 3, maybe we are at the bottleneck of another component in the system. i surely can't tell much improvement of performance in the common programs im using.

botttom line, sure the new cpu is faster on paper, but the performance bump is undeniably gradual.

definitely come back and update us on your initial thoughts on the performance of the i5-4200u over the P8700 once you've configured the new OS and ssd. and congrats on the buy, im sure you'll enjoy it.

 

Out of curiosity im just wondering, what speed are the ram slots able to handle? I know its DDR3L, but is it 1600Mhz or more?

 

Yea it really depends on my day-to-day usage. Right now, at 80% of my battery remaining (so about 77Wh worth) I'm getting an estimated 11-12 hours. But at this point all I have open are my two emails, google drive doc, and this tab on Chrome. No media running of any kind. Background programs are a PPT and 2 PDFs. So I might have underestimated my battery life. =P

I haven't had the opportunity to test out a multi-monitor setup (only have done VGA), but HD video runs just fine. I also don't have any other devices I can connect through mDP at this time, so I can't help you with that. Sorry!

Never checked out CPU-Z during those super-low power states. I'll monitor it when I can.

 

Good to know about the weight. The funny thing is that I was dealing with an HP 6530b earlier, and that thing is 5.3lbs, 1.28" at the thickest point, and it doesn't actually feel that bad - if the T440s is around 4lbs with touch and the 6-cell, it should be fine. I do question the need for ULV a little though - what I really want is a thicker shell (maybe 1"), a large battery that doesn't stick out, a dGPU, and no ODD.

 

I have a problem with the latest version 18.0.7.34 of the UltraNav driver.

Sometimes after I flick using two fingers to scroll, the mouse gets stuck in the scroll mode (as visible by looking at the cursor) even after I lift the fingers. If I try to move the pointer using one finger now, it scrolls instead. It finally goes back to pointer mode after I lift the finger.

In other words, sometimes after using two finger scroll I have to touch the touchpad once to be able to move the pointer again.

Has anyone seen this?

I've reverted to 17.0.12.56 for now (.60 had even more bugs than the latest).

This is on Windows 8 Pro x64.

 

Yes, I also have dicovered this bug with the newest driver. If you scroll with two fingers and then take one of the fingers off the TouchPad, it will still scroll as long as you still have the other finger on the TouchPad.

However, doesn´t bother me at all since I have disabled the TouchPad completely anyway,

 

Maybe someone here can help me with a T440s question... I just bought an i5-4300u, non-touch FHD model with 4GB of ram and the 3cell + 3cell battery combo.

When the laptop lid is CLOSED, the laptop will lay completely flat on a table surface.

When the laptop screen is OPEN (any angle where screen is viewable), the front left corner of the laptop, near the smartcard reader, comes up off the table about few hair's width. This is just enough room to make the laptop "tap" or "click" against a desk surface when I rest my palms on the keyboard rest.

It is annoying because I have never experienced this on another Thinkpad. I was worried that the frame might be out of alignment, but it doesn't do this when the screen/lid is closed so I am not sure. The table is completely fat and I have tried on multiple surfaces anyway.

Any ideas???? Does anyone else's do this??

Thanks!!

 

Although I am on a X240, I have the EXACT issues as you described. I could not find a download of the previous version of the ultranav drivers and I was not sure whether the "driver roll back" feature built into windows would perform a clean roll-back. Do you have the previous version of the ultranav drivers? This issue is getting really annoying.

 

Yeah, here's the link to 17.0.12.56:
http://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/pc/pccbbs/mobiles/gggx44ww.exe

Glad to hear I'm not the only one although this means that it's probably a bug and there's nothing we can do short of posting on lenovo forums about this to make them aware of the problem.

 

Oh no, there are other users also complaining about this issue

Could you please tell me how you located the earlier version of the driver on Lenovo's download servers? I have searched quite a bit and there was no way to browse for earlier versions of drivers. I also could not find an FTP source for the drivers either. Thanks!

 

Hey guys,

I need your help.

I'm about to purchase a t440s from lenovo and noticed that they have three options for the rear battery now. I know that in the past, the 6 cell option was heavier and sticks out. However, is there one that doesn't stick out now? What are the major differences between the two 6 cell batteries? I am going to assume that the 6 cell(72wh) will have longer battery life when compared to the (47Whr) one. Is that the only difference?

The options I see are
ThinkPad Battery 6 cell Li-Ion (47Whr) Cylindrical
ThinkPad Battery 3 cell Li-Polymer (23.2Whr) Rear
ThinkPad Battery 6 cell Li-Ion (72Wh) Cyl HC Rear

 

Can anyone tell me where to grab a 6 cell battery cheaper than the $140 price?

 

Amazon had them for $85 a while ago, though recently they went up to $130. Search for "Thinkpad 68+ battery"

 

are you selling your 3 cell?

 

No just wanted to have a back up

 

Someone wants to sell me their for $75. Is it a good price?

 

Are all FHD screens listed on Lenovo Outlet touchscreens? Strangely, it doesn't specified if its touchscreen or non-touch screen HD.

 

I believe both 6-cell batteries stick out. Only the 3-cell is flush with the body.

 

That wouldn't surprise me, but by how much? I can't find any pictures of the 47Wh 6-cell.

 

I need some advice on what configuration to get. specifically the windows 7 option. My wife doesn't want windows 8 so i'm wondering if i should pay $50 for the w7 version or if I should get the w8 version and swap out the hdd with a samsung 840 (which is in her current laptop) and install w7 myself (I have my own copy). I read somewhere that there was compatibility issues with that drive but I didn't know if it was resolved yet. There's also the micro hard drive... how does that affect things if i want to swap in my own SSD?

 

As far as I have ever heard, the two six cell batteries are the same physical dimensions.

 

Some observations after being some months with my T440s:

1. The AO display is superb. I have never experienced a better display.

2. Windows 8 (including 8.1) 64bit is stable. Windows 8.1 32bit is not.

3. One weird think I noticed and is worrying me: At the Windows Login display the touchpad does not work 50/50 of the time, in that case I have to turn the computer back to sleep mode and wake him up, as the disabled touchpad from Login screen continues also will continue to be disabled later on. When the touchpad works on Windows Login, it always works later on.

4. It's by far the best notebook out there for me. I just looked up the retina MacBook and I am so happy I choose the Thinkpad again. After an accident with the keyboard I ordered a new one for less than 50 USD. I also switched my HDD. Whenever you open up the case from the bottom, it's always possible some of the small plastic latches helping the screws to keep the notebook together break.

I would also consider getting the 6 cell battery, its far more than twice as large than the 3 cell battery

 

Has anybody actually ordered and received the 47Whr 6-cell battery? I wonder if its just a typo on the T440s order page since I could not find any reference to this battery anywhere on lenovo's website. Everywhere I looked (PSREF, Accessory guide, parts lookup) I could only find the 23.2Wh 3 cell battery and the 72Wh 6-cell battery. The details of these two batteries (including physical specifications) can be found here:

http://support.lenovo.com/en_CA/product-and-parts/detail.page?DocID=PD027968

 

hmm interesting,

The 47 Whr 6-cell is also 5 dollars cheaper than the 3 cell and 10 dollars less than the 72 Whr 6 cell battery..

I chatted with sales last night with low expectations of receiving a productive answer to my question about the batteries and was told that the laptop had a 9 cell battery... I corrected him by stating that only the 3 cell and two 6 cells were displayed in the configuration page. He then proceeded to tell me to go for the 6 cell since they all have the same form factor. He also stated falsely that both 6 cells don't stick out of the laptop.. lenovo sales is abysmal and so misleading...

 

Having had the T440s for around a month now, I'm pretty happy with it overall. Everything works as expected and no new issues have come up. Running linux, I'm getting a good 8 hours of work (virtual machines, coding etc), 10 hours of medium usage (browsing, videos) and 12 hours with light usage.

The only minor issue that I have is with the "thud" sound that the trackpad makes when I have to press it in (i.e. when it is being used with the trackpoint). It is incredibly loud in a quiet place like a library.

However, Lenovo continues to be below par in every other aspect for me. From order to delivery was 23 days. I got the on-site NBD warranty, which is also turning out to be pretty useless. I requested a keyboard around 10 days ago (from their US/Atlanta? based center) who said it would be at my doorstep NBD. Since then I have gotten 3 emails and calls about the part being on backorder. I don't see how they can promise NBD warranty without having the parts available to them?

 

Whenever I plug or unplug the power adapter from and into the notebook, my screen turns off for a second.

Is this normal?

 

Mine does the same, I suppose this may be related to power savings / Intel drivers.

 

I wonder if this has to do with limits on shipping batteries in the mail - notice how laptops never seem to have >100Wh of batteries?

 

Make changes within the Intel graphics properties as shown below (within the On Battery tab). That should fix it.

 

Thanks!



Any chance you know why the notebook still uses the internal battery after the swapping batteries (Power Bridge)?

 

Thanks!



Any chance you know why the notebook still uses the internal battery after the swapping batteries (Power Bridge)?

 

I just received my T440S today, and honestly, the pictures online don't do it justice, this thing is beautiful! (well for anyone that loves lenovo).
The keyboard is just too good to be true. All I can say is damn! I love typing on this thing. And even with the 500GB hard drive the thing is snappy, and fast. Touchpad can get annoying at times but i can cope with it. The Screen looks super nice and vivid, better then my day-to-day M1330 with a CCFL screen, major improvement. Which brings me to my next point, Anyone notice backlight bleeding? On the sides, to the right and bottom of the bezel?

Snagged a Samsung EVO 250GB, from ebay for 135, waiting on it to arrive.

Funny thing happened... My M1330 had a major accident, and broke the screen bezel, hours before it arrived.

So my concern is really just the backlight bleeding TBH, Should I contact lenovo? and how would that work seeing as its a refurb and all.

 

Backlight bleed is a common issue. In the ~ 8 examples I've seen they've all had it, so unless it is particularly bad, there isn't much likelihood of getting one without it.

 

It pretty much is most noticeable on boot.

 

Mine also has some, bothered me at first but I don't care anymore, I only see it at boot so it's ok.

 

Its normal. Enjoy your T440s, I am very happy with it, too.

 

My T440s also has some bleed, as I also wrote in my review. It is visible when the machine boots up, because the display is at full-brightness on boot...but not in Windows, when the display dims down.

 

Got my T440s today. AUO screen. No dead pixels. A little light bleed along the bottom edge, only noticeable in a dark room with black screen on 90%+ brightness. Seems I can create/move light bleed with very gentle pressure just running my finger along the lower screen bezel. Strange design choice - I would happily have had 3mm thicker display to make the bezel rigid.
Other stuff: Keyboard is brilliant. No fan noise. And for some reason they gave me the 4300 in place of the 4200, at no extra cost... Am not complaining!

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

 

I briefly had a T440p back in November, which I returned. It had the same FHD AUO screen as my new T440s. Light bleed was also the same - only slight, only visible in the conditions described in my post above, and only in a couple of places along the bottom bezel and one place on the top-right edge. It did have a dead pixel though.

FYI I won't be returning my T440s. I'll never notice the light bleed and will soon forget about it, as other posters have said. This is s fantastic machine.

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