Problems? See this thread at archive.org.
So I found a T510 quick review online. From what I can see, there seems to be a keyboard flex issue. Please see youtube links for video.
Source: http://hammarlundlaw.com/posts
First Look Review of Lenovo Thinkpad T510 (Part 1)
I'm writing this on a brand spanking new Thinkpad T510, one of the first models to ship worldwide. The T510 is Lenovo's update to their Thinkpad line of workhorse business computers, popular among attorneys for durability, good design, and thoughtful features.
On paper, this is an impressive machine: Intel i7 620-M processor, NVIDIA 512M graphics card, 4G of RAM, and Windows Ultimate 64 bit.
Priced at under $1,750, it's a good deal as well. Is this machine capable of competing against the older models offered by its competitors, and/or the new models yet to come? Read on...
EDIT: It seems I may have a minor manufacturing defect; other users are not reporting similar problems.
There's one big problem with my T510: It's broken. Or at least, I hope it's broken, because the keyboard is horrible.
Apparently I am missing a screw, so I'll post an update when I see if it fixes the problems.
Excellent keyboards have always been a hallmark of the past Lenovo Thinkpad models. These new Thinkpads were to have continued that evolution. Unfortunately, the designers dropped the ball on this one--or at least they managed to ignore 20% of the keyboard. The issue is keyboard flex, and the results of that flex.
First, a note of explanation. I'm not an especially heavy typist. I didn't learn on an typewriter or an old click keyboard, and I have a light typing style, around 50-60WPM. I've typed on keyboards ranging from my older Thinkpad X series (a wonderful unit) to various Mac notebooks; I've owned HPs and Dells; I used laptops and desktops alike. I have never had a typing problem; I have never had a keyboard slow me down much. I think I'm well qualified to evaluate the keyboard on the T510.
The entire left side has an enormous amount of visible and audible flex. From a visible perspective, the right hand side of the keyboard has about a millimeter of so of flex. If you don't think that sounds like a problem, you're wrong. What that means in practice is simple: Every single time that you hit the quote key or anything to the right of it, the keyboard flexes. Every time that it flexes, it taps. Loudly. So the feeling of smooth typing is lost, and the noise goes way up.
Just in case you're not staring at a keyboard, let me tell you the affected keys: Enter. Backspace. Delete. Home, End, Page Up/Down, Backslash, and the arrow keys, as well as the brackets; the zero key; the dash; and equal.
Do you see the problem? It would be annoying if the F1 key was loud, but frankly I wouldn't care much. But these are the "money" keys, used in every paragraph; every Excel formula; every web and drive address. It's a huge issue.
I was going to write a full review, and I still plan to do so. But I wanted to get this up there and online quickly, before other people bought the computer based on reputation. Perhaps the best way to show the issue is through the Youtube videos, which allow you to see for yourself.
Here's a video showing the key click issue:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKs1YqEWXD0&feature=channel
and here is a closeup of the flex:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NHn1hcgUnU
Current recommendation: If you're much of a typist, or expect good detailing in a company's flagship laptops, look elsewhere. If you can look past the keyboard, or if you don't care about the noise, then this may be an acceptable laptop for you.
First Look Review of Lenovo Thinkpad T510 (Part 2)
The T510 is replete with ports, including 2 standard USB ports; one powered USB port (more on that later,) Ethernet and modem ports; DisplayPort and VGA ports; Firewire 4 pin; and a nifty USB/ESATA combination port.
The Firewire was a pleasant surprise, as it's not listed on Lenovo's site. I was more than happy to pass my recently-purchased Firewire card adaptor off to a friend.
The powered USB port was also a pleasant surprise; as per the site it's not supposed to be there either. The basic concept is that the "always on" port lets you charge your iPod when you are plugged in and/or when you are in sleep or hibernation mode. (If your laptop is both unplugged and down, the port isn't powered.) Because your laptop battery is so much larger than most peripherals' batteries, i don't think it is a cause for worry. That said, I wouldn't use that port for unlimited-drain items such as fans, coolers, and such.
ESATA is more useful than it seems. It's always best to back up your computer regularly, and especially so for a laptop: not only can your unit develop "normal" problems such as viruses, but it is susceptible to being lost, stolen, or physically destroyed.
ESATA is a significantly faster data standard than is Firewire or USB 2.0, and the inclusion of an ESATA port means that users will be able to do seroius backups with ease. It's a good choice for a business unit.
VIDEO:
The Thinkpad offers a VGA output, as well as a DisplayPort output. The DisplayPort is a relatively recent standard that purportedly offers many of the benefits of DVI and also includes functionality for HDMI.
I have yet to test it, but apparently the DisplayPort in the T510 is not capable of carrying simultaneous audio. If you want to play hi-def videos, you will need to run a separate audio cable to the unit.
Frankly, I don't see that as a problem. Audio cables are cheap and widely available. Besides, if i imagine using the laptop, it seems just as likely (if not more so) that I'd send the audio to a separate amp, thus requiring an audio port anyway.
First Look Review of Lenovo Thinkpad T510 (Part 3)
This part will cover the display.
I have what Lenovo refers to as the "HD+" display. That equates to a 1600x900 pixel resolution, on a 16:9 wide screen display.
Screen quality:
The LED backlighting is even and fairly bright. Color rendition is good: the NVIDIA control panel gives a fairly wide ability to control finer details of the presentation. Like all LED-type screens, it is best used at maximum resolution.
The lighting adjustment steps are fairly large. However, the NVIDIA control provides additional fine tuning which should allow almost all users to find a brightness and contrast ratio that suits them.
Power users will want to pay a further $250 to upgrade to the high-brightness, full-gamut, 1920x1080 screen. It sounds like a beauty but wasn't in my budget for legal work. I do not have easy access to a screen spider, so i cannot comment on color accuracy.
The form factor is pleasant. I personally appreciate the wider black bezel, as it helps to remove distractions from the background. I find narrow bezels (or worse yet, narrow shiny bezels) to be less functional, albeit more "modern" looking.
The screen shape is acceptable but not ideal. The recent trend towards wider screens has made laptops better suited to display video and certain types of photos than to work on documents and spreadsheets.
For most attorneys, a 16:10 (or 16:9) ratio screen is actually preferable: once you have the task bar and application bar and other assorted information on screen, there can be precious little room left for actual text. You can use a very narrow monitor before you need to use a horizontal scroll bar to work, but we all use the vertical scroll bar often.
In this context, a relatively square screen would be an improvement. But there's little choice. The fact is that the huge consumer demand for video-capable laptops has driven the market for production. It's growing increasingly difficult to find "square" screens in these sizes.
Given the overall quality of the display, that doesn't seem to be a problem.
Next: pointing and input devices.
First Look Review of Lenovo Thinkpad T510 (Part 4)
POINTING AND INPUT:
The new Thinkpads stand alone from many other manufacturers in that they offer two entirely discrete input methods. Lenovo refers to this as the "Ultranav" setup.
The bottom of the laptop holds the normal multitouch trackpad with two buttons.
Also, centered in the keyboard is the Lenovo Trackpoint, a pressure-sensitive joystick designed to function as an alternate controller. The Trackpoint itself is made of a highly tactile rubber which seems to have just the right amount of "stick" for its intended use. It has its own set of three buttons immediately below the space bar: left and right mouse buttons, and a special programmable button which can perform two different tasks.
TRACKPOINT
I've always liked the Trackpoint for serious word processing. When you're properly positioned to type and want to use the mouse, you have to completely change your arm position in order to access the trackpad. but the Trackpoint lets you just use a finger to get to where you want to go.
The Trackpoint is also unusually accurate, if you set it right. It really is a good design, and Lenovo makes the best one out there.
However, because the Trackpoint is only a single input point, it can't support things like two-finger scrolling or pinch zooming. The third button (available only for the Trackpoint, not the normal track pad) is designed to let you use the Trackpoint either to scroll or to magnify. Those are the only two options for now, though as they are software based there seems to be no limit on what Lenovo could do.
TRACKPAD
Most users are more familiar with trackpads than they are with a Trackpoint. Moreover, there are some actions that you can only do on a multitouch trackpad. As a result, it's probable that even devout Trackpoint users will switch to the trackpad for photo editing, moving around large web pages, and the like.
The trackpad is Lenovo's recent "flush" design. As someone who has been known to eat pretzels near a computer, I greatly appreciate the functionality. No more gunk on the trackpad edges.
The trackpad is among the more highly textured ones that I have used, covered with small tactile dots at about a 2mm spacing. Although this may not make sense at first, it does seem to provide a pleasant feedback as you slide your finger along it, and I suspect it would be less likely to have that "sticky" feel which has plagued other manufacturers' track pads in the past.
I found that although I was able to use the trackpad accurately, it required a somewhat heavier touch than I was used to.
The trackpad supports multitouch, including two and three finger actions such as pinch zoom, scrolling, and moving between pages. All of those features are selectable.
In keeping with its focus on input devices, Lenovo provides an extraordinarily high level of available customization. In fact, I can say beyond a doubt that the T510 provides more options to design your "perfect" pointer interface than does any other laptop I have used. It may be that you don't like the factory settings, but it is very unlikely that you won't be able to find just what you are looking for in the Ultranav control box.
Lenovo Thinkpad T510 review (Part 5)
Of course, what's a business notebook without solid performance? This post will discuss the Windows 7 and PASSMARK benchmark results.
The simplest benchmarks to use for comparison are the ones which everyone will have on their own system: the limited versions built in to Windows 7.
The Control Panel offers a "performance information and tools" option which gives the following numbers (all are on a scale ranging from 1 to 7.9)
Processor 6.9
RAM Memory 5.9
Graphics 4.9
Gaming Graphics 5.9
Primary Hard Disk 5.9
The difference between "graphics" and "gaming graphics" is that the latter includes the theoretical possibility of using system memory, while the former is limited only to the NVIDIA card.
I'll allow the reader to draw their own conclusions about those numbers. I'm satisfied, though in reality I could easily trounce this unit's performance with a relatively bargain priced desktop. Laptops are simply slow for the money, and it's important to remember that fact.
PASSMARK
I also ran the Passmark test, although I didn't have a CD handy to run the CD test.
As expected, the system posted fairly high results for the CPU test, with a CPU score of 3186.2.
The graphics performance, however, was atrocious, posting 291.1 and 276.0 for 2d and 3d graphics, respectively. The 3d graphics DIrectX test ran at under 3 FPS.
This is unfortunate, and suggests that the purportedly rebadged NVIDIA chip may be due for a replacement some time soon. Serious graphics users and gamers will probably want to look elsewhere.
This particular laptop was built with a 5400 RPM drive, far from the fastest one available. The disk benchmark of 526.0 reflects that fact, but could surely be increased by using a 7200 RPM disk or, better yet, a solid state drive.
(I don't use DVDs much, so my drive choice was planned. In a few months I plan to replace my system drive with a 40 or 80G solid state unit, put my DVD into a portable enclosure, and buy a new 7200 RPM drive to put in the Ultrabay. That should vastly increase my system performance.)
Finally, the DDR3 memory tested about as expected, with a benchmark of 1164.1.
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and if you would have read that thread, you would have seen that he replaced the missing screw and it didn't fix the flex problem
get your story straight
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I am doing this to avoid a thread asking if the T410 has flex
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T510 Quick Review: Keyboard Flex Still Present?
Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by pkja1, Jan 31, 2010.
