T530 vs old T-series Thinkpads in terms of quality.

After using many low quality laptops, I am trying to look for something of generally descent quality, like when it comes to quite fan even under load, quality speakers, quality keyboard that is easy to type on for long hours, and precise and fast touchpad with light touch, and requiring a relatively light button pressure on keyboard or touchpad buttons.

The more I read, I hear allot of complaining about the decline of quality for little things like that, which is really important to me.

How much did quality really drop in general ? , should I just try looking for something else ?

I am looking to buy a used T530.
Last time I used thinkpad, it was the T30, (14", pentium M, 256mb ram, 20gb HDD).

So the question is, if I see a good price for a T530, should I go for it or not ?

 

Huh...T30 was a tank. You could hit someone over the head with it while running and it wouldn't bluescreen...

Quiet fan under load...not going to happen with a newer ThinkPad with discrete graphics. The units with integrated graphics are quite docile.

Keyboard...very different from what you might remember, but still arguably the best laptop keyboard around.

Quality speakers...look elsewhere. Seriously.

Having said all of that, T530 with a FHD LCD - avoid other screens like the plague - is still a tempting offering in its class.

My $0.02 only...

 

I have had: T60, T60p, T61, X61,T420, R60
Still have: X1, X220, T400, T410, T430 and T430s
I have seen and declined a W540 (took the T430 instead)

As you can imagine I have seen the progression and my 2 cents are that the T/X 030 series is the last true "thinkpad". the 30-line still has the volume up/down, screen latches, docking port, old power connector. Improved or similar from T420 is the touchpad, CPU fan cheaper/became nosier.
The 40-series really changed the way Lenovo designed thinkpds, in my opinion not always improving, but focusing on cost reduction.

I would not hesitate on a T530. I almost got one the other week with i7 and NVS 5400, took a T430s instead. In a similar price range I could have gotten an newer T440p but declined. The only key I miss on the T430/430s is the Break key. Our corporate software is single threeaded (and hangs alot) and the break key is required to halt whatever it is doing.

 

Thanks for the reply.

I can handle a slightly bad speakers, as long as they are not very bad, I only need them to listen to music or for movies occasionally, and not using them for anything professional.

I plan to upgrade the LCD if it wasn't right, I am guessing that it shouldn't be hard.

And not looking for discrete graphics option, Intel's HD Graphics is fine.

 

Not sure how much performance you need, but IMO the T500 might be the best compromise. Build quality and overall feel is superior to T510 and newer and it also has a much better soundcard and speakers. (don't expect too much though) The fan is extremely silent, even under heavy load (I had the model with ATI graphics and it stayed very cool to the touch) and you can equip it with a T60 NMB keyboard if you want, which many regard as one of the best keyboards. The touchpad is not the fanciest model around, but it handles the way you described. (light touch, easy to press buttons)

Unless you need more performance, the T500 is definitely worth looking at.

 

The T530 touchpad is identical in style to the T510 and T520. It's good for Windows 7, but not exceptional for anything newer. I find the two finger scroll to be sub-par for Win8.1. These models were not optimized for the "big touchpad" OS's of today. If this is not a factor for you, it's a decent touchpad.

 

This is most likely the wrong place to post this but....
I have a T530 Lenovo Thinkpad. Recently I started having problems with the speakers whether I'm using the internal speakers, external speakers or plugging in the headset. The issue is static and/or cutting out. Looking for any help.
Thanks

 

Welcome to the forum!

Is your machine still under warranty? If it is, you should be calling Lenovo and getting it fixed...

 

Warranty is long gone. A bit more info. If I reboot the problem goes away for a bit but then it returns.
Thanks for the help

 

In that case, this might be worth a shot: go into device manager (hit start+R, type "devmgmt.msc"), find the audio card, uninstall it, reboot, and let Windows redetect it. Maybe go to Lenovo's site and reinstall their drivers after this. (Note on Lenovo's drivers - for some reason, I've found that the sound on my t440s actually works better if I use the generic driver. Got some funny lags loading the login screen and devices/printers with the Lenovo audio driver.)