T540p!!!

True, I agree the wattage use is a wash, but system builders have repeatedly reported that the Haswell runs hotter than Ivy-bridge. Your point doesn't dismiss that the CPU/GPU (the GPU uses shared memory) under heavy load with a 3K display will run down the battery faster and alson cause the CPU?GPU to work harder and hotter.

 

I'll try to get a daylight shot tomorrow. Just walking with it outside though it's plenty visible with just a little bit of glare. Nothing that's not manageable.

 

I agree the W540 is a true workstation machine, but I disagree the T540p is. The T-series are general business machines with the p models offering slightly more grunt, but still not near workstation spec. I'd call them "semi-workstation" machines. IMO a workstation has to not only offer quad-core CPUs but also quadro GPUs (or equivalent), good docking capability and arguably more than 16GB max of RAM. High-quality displays are useful for some applications but not all and many people I know using mobile workstations get by fine with regular TN panels because most of the time they're docked to a two-monitor setup. Obviously YMMV

 

A mobile workstation will always have compromises. The compromises vary by application in terms of acceptability.

HDD space...I do CFD simulations and have TB's of data. Obviously a desktop only works for this application.
RAM...If I'm looking at multiple simulations, I have found that 32 GB RAM is sometimes not enough.
CPU...Actually I'm rarely limited by CPU speed for viewing results. In fact, I think a dual core would be quite enough.
GPU...Autodesk uses DirectX so I'm not sold on the need for Quadro.

What I will not compromise on is display quality. I use my mobile workstation for sharing results. The best TN panels are acceptable, but I'm more inclined to think IPS displays are more suitable.

 

Newbie here! I'm looking to buy this laptop during the sale season, and trying to save a few dollars where I can. I know that it is pretty common to upgrade the RAM with your own RAM. Can anybody tell me if this RAM would be OK for the T540p? Any reason not to use this over the Lenovo stock RAM?
G.SKILL 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Laptop Memory Model F3-1600C9D-8GSL

I know it would only save $30, but that would put allow me to put in an i7 and discrete graphics and keep it below my absolute max budget.

 

Yes, since it's 1.35v

 

Great thanks! Hopefully I will have the guts to buy today!

 

If you go with a 2x upgrade (2x4gb for 8gb total) then that means you're replacing the current 4gb ram. Basically throwing that away. You might consider just adding a single 4gb stick or 8gb stick in the single empty ram slot. I know that matching memory chips is preferred, but in real world usage I'm not sure how much difference it actually makes.

 

Thanks, I thought about that but I am not confident that I would know how to match the ram correctly. I looked in the parts specs on the website and it doesn't specify. I understand that I need to look at the speed and voltage but I'm not sure what else!

 

Here is a nice short test of the T540p: Google Übersetzer

Some nice pictures and they compare it against the FHD TN screen.

 

I never thought I would say this, but what an ugly laptop The off-centered keyboard is just too much for me... Good thing there is T440p... but too bad that W530 will be my last Thinkpad.

 

A helpful review. At a glance this is what I got from the review:

1. Temp readings looked good as I would have expected but both CPU's were 37watt, dual core not the hotter 47watt quad core. Even the other review out of Japan used a I7-4600m 37watt CPU. So really we don't yet have a thorough review using an I-7 47 watt cpu. I also didn't see any external surface temps taken of the laptop itself.

2. We all knew the 3K would be much better for movies and some games(at medium) (GT730m the issue) than the FHD TN panel. But as the reviewer stated there will be problems with scaling in many 3rd party programs and you may need a magnifying glass to see menu's and icons. Also I'm not keen on waiting on Software venders to update their software especially if it involves something like updating to Win 8.1 because it will likely cost more money$$. Seems like Movies and games would most likely will be secondary to most buyers (of these larger work laptops) and I would think they would buy a nice gaming laptop if that was their main concern instead of working when on location.

3. I wonder how many buyers of the T540p or the w540 or even the T440p are going to be using Windows 8 or 8.1 instead of Windows 7 ?

4. I still can't find any information or specs concerning the 3K Panasonic panel. It's like a ghost. Even Panasonic own Global News link has no available links or info??

5. I'm going to hold out for the small chance that Lenovo will offer a decent FHD (AHVA or advanced TN panel) with the W540 like they did with the W530.

 

Any owners have any comments about the T540p or some Pic's of the FHD or 3K panel using diferent resolutions and/or scaling with a non-microsoft 3rd party application/program? Can the 3K panel be scaled on one setting that can be used for Windows and 3rd party Apps for those that are older with poorer vision?

Or is everyone just waiting for the ISV Certified W540 which will use the Nvidia Quadro GPU options and maybe a better FHD panel(IPS or AVHA) than the T540p currently does? I mention this because last years W530 does or did in the beginning use an advanced TN panel with 95% color gamut with good reviews ),not sure about now. I'm sure that the price, especially after the holiday prices are over will make the deal for the W540 much more expensive than the T540p. Even the current W530 with outdated options is still around the same price as the T540p once you add similar options. So, I expect the W540 to be quite higher which would make the HP ZBook 15 inch pricing not far off. What do you think, wait or not?

Also,I am thinking about just getting the T540p (I want a 15 in + panel) with the FHD TN panel and hope that it's good enough. I could always return it if I didn't like it. I know that some TN panels perform fair enough and I would rather get a good holiday deal on a panel that was of a fair quality FHD that I could reasonably scale once for all occasions rather than get an expensive 3K panel that would end up being difficult to use on both Windows and 3rd party apps while using the same resolution and same scaling all the time. I don't really need the W540 or want the extra expense but currently there is not enough solid information from reviewer or owners to make an informed decision. Any opinions or helful owner comments or Pics?

 

Has anyone tried replacing their stock laptop screen?

What I mean is ordering one from ebay or laptopscreens.com and replacing the low quality panel with a better one:

https://www.laptopscreen.com/English/model/IBM-Lenovo/THINKPAD T540P SERIES/

I personally have never done this before. Would it make sense to buy the T540p with stock 1366x768 panel and then buying an aftermarket screen and performing the replacement myself?

Lenovo is charging $170 for a 1920x1080 TN panel compared to the $100cad at laptopscreens.com.

What do you guys think? Smart? Stupid?

 

That's funny. I had the W530 and the T540p side by side for several days and I can't tell you how much I love the W530. The feel of the keyboard, the trackpoint, the casing, it all just feels like home. The best ergonomics of any Thinkpad I can recall. But that screen? Oh boy, there was nothing I could do to get rid of that hazy blue cast to the screen. It wouldn't happen in all cases, just web pages with big areas of light color (like most forums) would take on a blue hazy hue. Enough to drive me crazy in an otherwise beautiful machine. I adjusted all of the settings available, and overall it was pretty good, but after using IPS displays for so long it's just not the same.

Fast forward to the T540p 3k and you have the complete opposite experience. The typing/trackpoint experience is enough to give you a headache from the constant "clunking" of using the touchpad as a left/right button. There must be 1/4" of mechanical travel in that thing, it's really obnoxious and loud. Forget about using it in a quite environment, everyone would be staring at you everything you left-clicked! But that screen? Every bit as good as any IPS panel you've seen and then some. I'm using my X230 Tablet right now and it reminds me a lot of this display. Razor sharp, gets super bright and there's a flatness about it from the incredible contrast that just makes using anything else seem like too big a compromise.

It took more a long time to figure out what I value more; ergonomics or display quality, at at the end of the day I have to chose display quality. Most of my use is looking at text on a page, and for that there's nothing better than the 3k display. If the W530's display was a little better it would be a harder decision, if the T540p had dedicated trackpoint buttons it would be no contest, but it comes down to what you appreciate more.

I will say on a slightly different note though that I compared movies / videos on them both as well and for that I actually preferred the W530. The video quality on the 3k panel seemed overly sharp whereas the W530 has a nice smooth warm quality to it. If my use was not dominated by text on a page, it would be a different comparison as well.

It's crazy because I had boxed the W530 up to send back and I literally unboxed it 4 separate times over a 24 hour period wanting to give it one more run through to make sure because I missed that Keyboard/Trackpoint experience that much.

Edit:
So after I posted this I went and took a look at the pics from the link that IBMTHINK posted, and you can see the blue cast I'm talking about the FHD TN Panel. It's plainly evident in all of those comparison pics, but the one highlight the viewing angles also shows how it can take on that hazy blue quality But just look at how good that 3k screen is. I would love to see that compared to the T440p FHD IPS screen side by side like that.

 

Since there are not enough independent 3rd party reviews, especially owner reviews and or owner Youtube reviews concerning the T540p 3K, and since time is running out concerning the holiday sales, I was glad to see that a 20 Point Rep came out with some hard facts. To summarize, you indicated in so many words from personal experience that the T540p:

1. It has worse ergonomics than the W530 due mostly to the new Trackpad.

2. from personal use and from IBMTHINK's previous URL link :

Google Übersetzer

*You concluded that the W530 FHD had poorer color reproduction and poorer angle viewing than the T540p 3k but overall the the W530 was pretty good.

*You concluded that the T540p 3K panel was overly sharp.

I also carefully reviewed the screenshot pic at the bottom of the Link review and carefully listened to what you had to say based on your person comparison and this is what I've concluded. I agree with everything you posted and would like to add my observations:

1. Based on the Pics at the bottom of the Link page, It occurred to me even before you posted that some of the 3K IPS pic were overly sharp also to the point that they appeared washed out (bright white) in some of the silver metalic areas on the fromt of the vehicle. There was actually less detail as compared to the FHD (non-angled view).
*So I guess the 3k is not as good for watching movies as the FHD as per your remarks.

2. You didn't expound concerning "viewing text on a page" while using the T540p, but I'm quite sure that it produces profoundly sharp text in most cases even if you need a magnifying glass to see it at native resolution. Even the reviewer mentioned that he had to scale up to 200% and would have done 250% except that the icons would be cut off in the task tray I presume.
*So it remains that significant scaling will be required for many users and even then scaling up mostly works for Windows programs and not as well for 3rd party programs. Basically the reviewer concluded that it was best to use Windows 8.1 because it rendered a better result and to try and get new updated 3rd party programs that were coded for using on 3k 15.5 inch panels using Windows 8.1.

*I believe that it would have been smarter and a safer move on a 15.5 inch panel to move to a FHD IPS panel rather than 3K IPS especially if used in a Office Laptop. Safer, less headach and potentially less expensive. Really, get new versions of $600 programs.

Plus, these 3K panels in my view seem to help herd users toward using Windows 8.1 instead of staying on Windows 7 and waiting for Windows 9 for Destops and Work laptops. I say no thank you. As another blogger stated I would pay for a FHD IPS 15 inch panel before I would take a free 3k IPS panel. And by the way, no one knows if the 3K panel is truely IPS, it could be AHVA just like the FHD in the T440p. I mean that Lenovo is still describing the T440p FHD an IPS panel and most informed users know it is not. Also there is no 3rd party specs and/or info on the 3K panel, it's a ghost. My guess is that the 3K panel looked overly sharp and whited out because of over saturation which is usually the result of poorly implemented IPS or AV panel technology.

I want a Quality FHD IPS 15.x panel and since I know that it would have been the right way to go, I'm going to keep complaining. Since I can't get what I want I will probably buy the
T540p FHD and just keep the price down. I'd rather get the FHD because its cost less and I know what it will take to reasonably scale it on a 15.x panel and I will just deal with the poor angle viewing. By the way the I-7 4330M runs at 2.8 MHz, uses less watts at 37(less heat) and has all the new instruction sets and will do virtualization in case some of you want to sandbox your OS and never update again(if you are happy with way your setup works).
Thanks for the input

 

T540p video-review(?) in korean: here

( Google Translate)

 

@kevroc Interesting... it's screen vs. keyboard

By the way, those that have tried 3K screen. Are you keeping it at max resolution or changing to a lower?

 

For me it's T540p/W540 with FHD or 3K, I' not planning on getting a W530 because the QM77 chipset does not support 802.11AC and it uses older drivers that have since been improved. I have accepted the crappy no-button trackpad and non switchable HDD Non-Ultra Bay adaptor, but I want a FHD IPS panel that is more easily managed(scaled) for work purposes.

 

Yes, indeed, screen vs keyboard, that sums it up.

I ran at 1920x1080 very well. Super sharp, darn near perfect screen. Ran it at 3k occasionally just for fun, and quite honestly, if I got down to doing more Lightroom editing which I've been putting off I may just run at 3k for that. There's some real benefit to being able to hop into 3k mode if needed, but then back down to FHD mode for normal stuff. Even 1600x900 looked really, really good and could see using that if I just wanted to do light browsing or couch surfing stuff. It's a very flexible display. I've never had a display that could change resolution from stock and still look as good.

 

Thanks. This is good news to me.

I've followed a few of your posts regarding this display (which have been helpful in making my decision) and I was very hesitant between getting the FHD display with TN panel or the 3k with IPS. In the end, I placed an order for the 3k display but I'm pretty apprehensive as to whether I'll be able to "manage" with the super high resolution and Windows' not so great (to my understanding) scaling.

In the end, if it doesn't work out, I guess I can always send it back.

 

Does anyone else notice that when the comments get negative how it's only the members with High Rep Power that try to smooth over the complaints and then another High Power Rep member seconds the motion with a pat on the shoulder of agreement?

The 3K has a DPI of 213 on the T540p. The T540p HD has a DPI of 101 and the HD+ if it existed would have a DPI of 118 which has been the norm for most 15 inch panels in the recent past. So this means that at native resolution the fonts on the 3K panel will be around 80% smaller than what you are usually accustomed to. For some peeple with poor eyesight this will require aggresive scaling and also setting the resolution much lower for which there are not many reviews concerning this matter because this Fall is the 1st Season these panel have been released for Office Laptops.
There are no owner YouTube videos concerning the T540p or the T440p like there are concerning the T440s.

I have asked more than once on a different thread for one of the High Power Reps or anyone to post a Screenshot Pic using the 3K panel at 125% scaling on 1920x1080 Resolution(or as close as possible) with a full page PDF document. This would give everyone a good idea before buying.
However, I also advise others to try and find a 15.x 3K panel that they can check out at a local store to be certain. I believe thats what I will do since no one has posted convincing Pics. Thanks

 

Trust me, I went back and forth on that as well. If the FHD was IPS I would've gone with FHD. Since I'd be running in mostly FHD resolution it doesn't make sense to pay the extra premium for the 3k display. I was also considering the T440p as it does have FHD IPS, but I really wanted the 15". So the only choice really for me was the 3k display. You don't have to run it at the high res so scaling issues don't apply. It comes from the factory set to 3k resolution with fonts scaled at 150% which doesn't work for me. I run windows apps that don't conform to scaling, so I have to run at 100%, maybe up to 110% or stuff doesn't work right. Setting the resolution back down to FHD and fonts at 100% is perfect. Super crisp and no scaling problems. Best of both worlds really.

I currently use an X230T with IPS
before that it was an X220 with IPS
W500 FHD Non-IPS that I couldn't stand so gave to my daughter for school
T60p with IPS (or they may still have been calling it Flexview)
T43p with Flexview
T40p with Flexview
etc. etc. all the way back to the original Thinkpad I believe.

I give you my history because as you can see, If it doesn't have IPS I generally won't have it. My eyes are very sensitive to strain. The only reason I dropped down to the 12" X series is because they are the only Thinkpads that offered IPS any more. Now that Lenovo is offering them back on the T4x and T5x series is just fantastic.

But like you said, if you don't like it you can send it back. You might not be as display sensitive as I am (and honestly wish I wasn't), but it is what it is.

Either way I'll be interested to hear what you think about it when you get it.

 

Guys really? 3K on scaled resolution looks sharp? Cmon. I sold my Macbook Pro Retina because in windows DPI Scaling is a MESS. If you programm a lot and need some special IDES then the 3K display really sucks. I sold my rMBP 15 to get a T440s because no scaling option and no fix in the internet could help. Its just really really buggy and looks ty. Also i got headaches. But on the other hand in Mac OS scaling is good implemented it looks pretty nice...but working with mac sucks. It was just an overpriced mailing and surfng machine.

 

Sounds good.

I'm actually planning on doing just that because I don't think my eyes will able to handle the resolution on the 3k display but I do want an IPS panel. I don't code or deal with spreadsheets so won't be an issue for me with text as long as my browser can deal with increasing the font size. I mostly just surf, e-mail and watch movies these days but I'm tired of the crappy build quality of consumer machines so figured I'd get a business class one this time around.

My projected ship date in the 10th so hopefully I'll have the computer sooner rather than later if Lenovo doesn't keep pushing it back like I've read about in other threads.

 

Resolution scaling and DPI scaling are 2 different things.

Yes, DPI scaling sucks, without a doubt. Nothing but the OS and App developer can change that as it's a software issue not a hardware issue.

Changing resolution down is a different story.

 

In the last two days I have read at least 2 articles that emphasize to try changing the DPI Scaling 1st in Windows 7 in the advanced DPI settings and to check the "maintain xp scaling properties" (close enough) and to maintain native resolution. Also, if you still feel like you need to increase the Font and Icon sizes( lower DPI) then try decreasing the Reslolution but only using a resolution that is proportional to the native resolution. IE: change 2880x1620 to 1920x1080 so that the window maintains it's original aspect ratio. That way there is a better chance to maintain crispness and have less abnormal stretching.. Makes sense to me, howerver the usual approach may not work with the 3K 15.x panel because 3K is really just too much for a 15.x panel when used with office apps. Windows is really not Fully ready for seamless AutoScaling like OSX. Without seamless autoscaling 3K is pushing the limits of a 15.x inch panel and wouldn't be as much of a problem if it had a FHD panel. All of the youtube video's of other 3K gaming laptops only show how well games look on on them, but never show office applications.

Another issue that will end up being discussed thoroghly in the future are the hardware requirements to truely push a 15.x inch 3K panel. The W540 will have the options to do it properly with a better GPU and increased GDDR5 memory and larger ac adaptor. Most gaming laptop Mfg's are putting better hardware to match up with the 3K panels such as up to 4 GB of GDDR5 memory, I-7,at least 16GB of memory and they don't rely on the Intel HD 4600 or a GT730m GPU. Also, the battery life has not been discussed thorougly while using a 3K panel. So, I will say it again, the T540p appears to be impaired.

It's a shame that I have to pick between an impaired T540p or the smaller 14" T440p. I am more convinced than ever that the 3K IPS panel has impaired the T540p in many ways. Thanks for the opportunity.

 

The only reason why user interfaces don't scale with windows' dpi settings is because the application developers didn't consider it or because they decided against supporting it. Applications that don't support it use a pixel based approach for their UI controls which is relatively simple but it doesn't work if the physical size of a pixel differs widely.

- If you use applications that don't work with windows' dpi settings then lower the resolution (and live with potentially bad interpolation) or don't buy high ppi displays at all.

+ On the other hand all applications that scale with windows' dpi settings look smoother (less aliasing).

With the advent of 4K 24 inch displays for the desktop I'd expect developers to catch up soon though.

 

If you'd rather not read through my post (understandable) here's the summary version: I wanted to love the T540p but ended up ordering an XPS 15. Here are my reasons:

Sadly, I decided to give up on Lenovo. My wife, sister, and father each bought Lenovo computers in the past 2 years on my advice, and I don't regret giving it (nor do they, fortunately!). When my 2-year-old son decided to stress-test the display on my aging (5-year-old) laptop (thus turning it into a desktop because it needs an external display now) last summer I began my search for a replacement device.

In short order, I identified the T540 as the ideal replacement. As the weeks turned into months, however, it became difficult to get a clear sense for when the product would become available. At first the presumption was October, with some hoping it would be September. Before I knew it, the timetable had slipped to November and now we're into December. No official statement from Lenovo, but on their website they quietly state that devices will start shipping on 16 December. To the best of my knowledge, nobody has received devices for review purposes, either. Surely, less than 10 days from shipping the product to early adopters, Lenovo would want all the major pop tech journals reviewing this new machine. Unless, of course, the concern is that it will be a buzzkill or the 16 Dec shipdate is likely to slip into January or February.

I've been okay not having a laptop for the past 6 months while I waited, but the T540p is not nearly as impressive now as I had hoped it would be. Perhaps I was being unrealistic. But the device seems limited when compared against its peers. Part of the problem is that I'm not a good fit for any of the typical consumer categories. I want a daily work machine (read: great keyboard for typing) that is robust enough to survive a lot of travel yet has enough GPU muscle to play some PC games when time permits. And I know the T-series has never tried to cater to part-time gamers like me. But I had hoped - especially since they call it the T540p and not just T540 - that this machine would do the trick.

But a soldered-on 730M with 1 GB DDR3 dedicated memory? Oooookay. I think I'd rather have had IrisPro graphics and given up discrete altogether. Sadly, that's not an option. The 730M is a marginal card, yet Lenovo thinks it adds $130 to the value of the machine.

Then I learned that there is no longer any talk of Lenovo offering a touchscreen for this machine. Again, I realize that the core consumer group for the T-series doesn't care about touchscreens, but it matters to *me*. Between Windows 8 and Ubuntu Unity, it is clear that OS developers are drifting toward touchscreens as an important element of user interface. Similarly, I understand why Lenovo keeps putting VGA ports instead of HDMI ports on T-series laptops, but I've long found that to be a cheap move. Instead of cripping that port slot, why not put HDMI (or Thunderbolt) there and let VGA users dumb it down manually with an adapter? Instead, we get a legacy port that will never get any more capable, and it is a video standard that I stopped needing ~10 years ago. For years all my displays have been HDMI or DVI or DP. (I realize the T540p also has a mini-DP, but the XPS has both HDMI and mini-DP, which works better for me). I like being able to drive audio through the same cable that delivers video, and I like the flexibility of using HDMI when I'm slaving to a TV and mini-DP when I'm using a dedicated external monitor.

Then it became clear that they've dumbed-down both the trackpad and the keyboard. Chiclets and a rocking unipanel trackpad? Ugh. The new trackpad design is unlikely to offer an equivalent experience to the fantastic discrete-buttoned trackpads of the 2012 and earlier T-series laptops. I thought the T-series was supposed to be a bit more conservative, using the IdeaPad line to test out stuff like experimental input hardware while retaining tried-and-true (and beloved) input hardware on the T-series.

Fortunately, people seem reasonably pleased with the chiclet keyboard. Still, it seems the sort of change that should have hit the IdeaPad line a year or two ahead of the ThinkPad line. It's not like it's an improvement. Has there really been demand for more chiclets and fewer traditional ThinkPad keys?

And the fact that my wife's teeny X220 has over a dozen more unique keys than the T540p is stunning (I am discounting the numpad because those keys are mere duplicates). Who told Lenovo that full-size ThinkPads have too many keys on them? I understand the value in having some multi-key functions tied to the F-keys, but there are some things (like dedicated media keys) that justify carrying around a bigger machine. I accept that 12" laptops need to compromise keyspace to allow for a decent-sized trackpad, but 15" machines have no such excuse.

I apologize for ranting like this. I had such high hopes for the T540p. I'm sure that it will delight most of the people who invest in it. I'm just sad that I won't be one of them. I ordered a Dell XPS 15 yesterday. Sure, the XPS is a clone of the rMBP and that means it has a minimalist keyboard and is too thin to manage heat effectively. But it has the legitimate muscle to do all the work and play I want my laptop to be able to do. In addition, it has a touchscreen with 100% RGB, and it's 20% lighter than the T540p. I also like that it was designed in tandem with the workstation version (M3800) rather than separately (as the T540p and W540 seem to have been developed).

It doesn't have a trackpoint, nor does it have a swappable battery or the rollcage that defines ThinkPad durability. But I was willing to give those up in order to get a laptop that would do everything I want it to do. Lenovo ought to drop the 'p' from the T540p name or muscle it up to the point where it merits such a designator. For now, it's a paper tiger whose invoice still bills you for teeth you'll never get, and that's too hard for me to swallow.

 

I almost opted for a Dell XPS15/M3800, too, until I saw the quad-core prices and the "silicone plamrest" (why does Dell always manage to cheapen every design?) I also didn't particularly want a QHD sceen or a touchscreen, and I have nothing but bad memories of Dell keyboards. So I reluctantly opted for a quad-core T440p, helped by being able to stack a Lenovo coupon on top of an EPP discount It was perhaps the first time I've bought a Thinkpad based mostly on price.

But this was certainly the most reluctant Thinkpad purchase I've ever made and, as you can see from my sig, I've made a lot in the past. I was sorely disappointed with the measly GPU in a 'p' Thinkpad, and am a bit nervous about the new clackpad, but hopefully in a few months I'll simply forget all my worries and the computer will just become part of my life.

 

I'm convinced that attitude triumphs over all. No machine is without its flaws, and our satisfaction with our purchases is dependent much more on our ability to focus on the strengths while overlooking those flaws. The T440p has a lot going for it, and I'm sure you will be glad you didn't spend a bunch of cash on a Dell experience you don't want to have.

I've long been accustomed to Dell's XPS keyboard (it's been my daily driver for the past 5 years) and I've yet to be bothered by any computer's palmrest. But I really wish I could have a trackpoint on my computer (love those ThinkPad trackpoints!) and I wish Dell followed Lenovo's lead in terms of unifying its laptop battery specs so that they are more inter-swappable. I'm not a fan of lithium-polymer batteries molded into modern thin-and-light devices, nor am I a fan of each device within a product line needing a unique battery shape.

But I'm confident that I will be able to delight each day in the features I love about the machine I bought, just as I'm able to delight in my wife's X220 or in my old XPS 13. It's why I normally buy 'high-end' devices; they usually have enough quality that it is easy for me to continue enjoying them long after they acquire their scrapes and dents and lose their decals. Cheaply-made machines are harder for me to enjoy, and I am a little concerned that as the PC market continues to contract that pursuit of market share might lead all companies down the road of cheaper-is-better. I sincerely hope that doesn't happen.

 

I love your attitude and I concur. More focus on the positive's!!

I will disagree to a point though in the sense that the pc market is cheapening. I think it was for the last decade, but Apple changed the game with people now expecting premium build quality AND premium displays and it seems the market is catching on (or playing catch up) and we are seeing a trend towards better products. A much needed reversal from the past.

 

Well said! And I did almost pull the trigger on a Dell M3800, silicone palmrest or not, until I did the math. I was kinda excited to try something new for a change and escape my Thinkpad past.

Agreed... the drop in quality of WinPCs up until recently was arguably what almost sank Dell and HP and certainly damaged their reputation. It's a hole they partly created, out of which they're now trying climb. It's also why I remained loyal to the Thinkpad brand -- it remained a beacon of quality IMO. Now, however, the Thinkpad brand is facing stiffer competition and its overall quality is coming under more scrutiny just as Lenovo seems to be cutting some corners, which is worrying. Luckily, HP and Dell seem to be pricing their new higher-end models in the stratosphere so Lenovo still wins on price

 

T440 Keyboard and Trackpad Video-Review:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOD8NfWLnRU

 

Click and clack ...

Might need a bit of electrical tape to dampen that clatter. Fortunately, there seems to be plenty of travel to allow for a creative fix. Perhaps it could be easier yet to dampen the track point buttons only?

 

I would even lock that thing into place if the surface registered right and left clicks through touch (does it?). God I hate the track pad.

 

We should start a thread called "T440 clackpad mods" for people to share their modifications to silence that noise

Has anyone tried removing the touchpad so get a look underneath?

 

I was thinking of a slim piece of foam, not too unlike what you have for MousePads. If you could put a think piece of that under it you could still push down due to it being foam but it would spring back a bit. Not sure how much travel you need to instantiate the "click", but SOMETHING needs to be done.


When you use the TrackPoint the touchpad becomes disabled to touch. The "tap to click" is gone. If you are using the touchpad and are scrolling around, the tap to click works. It seems to be a software issue designed to prevent errant taps while using the TrackPoint and it works quite nicely, however it does disable the handy tap to click feature. If you do a default install of Windows, before you install the Touchpad drivers, the tap to click is back and I used it quite a bit and was quite happy with it for awhile, but those darn errant clicks as my hand would brush over the touchpad was too much to bear. It's one thing having that clacky click going on, but at least its intentional, when you can inadvertently send an email or delete something though, that's another story, I'll take clacky click anyday. So before long I had re-installed to Touchpad driver and decided to live with it.

 

Did you notice in that video that he was tapping it hard, as if trying to make it loud? When I use my touchpad, it's pretty quiet unless I'm kinda striking it. I used a sound measuring tool to see if it was just me, and it didn't pick up almost anything when using it gently. I honestly use mine gently by default.

It's funny, I'm lying on the couch and my wife is using her desktop computer across the room, which has a standard inexpensive Logitech or Microsoft two-button w/scroll mouse, and the clicks are high pitched and loud. This laptop is pretty quiet.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

to those who already purchased a T540p, how's the battery life with the 6 cell battery?

i was thinking about buying T540p and swapping out the optical drive for an ultrabay battery but then i found out if might not be possible since T540p is using "Serial Ultrabay Enhanced" and there isn't a compatible battery for it yet. or am i wrong? are there any previous generations of ultrabay batteries that might fit?

i don't use the optical drive at all nor do i need more storage, but the more battery life the better.

hey is it just me or did Lenovo bump up the price for their 3k screen by $200 or something? cause the exact configuration i had yesterday is more expensive now... what gives?

 

Lenovo had adjust their price a few times in the last couple of weeks. Not the display, that seems to have remained constant, but the base price with discount has changed. I've canceled and re-ordered the T540p 3 times now, but at least each time it's cheaper.

Both my T440s and T540p were clacky like that without trying too much. If I tried really hard to press gently or press by the extreme edge I could dampen the sound a bit, but not much.

I was at the Microsoft Store last night and clicked on a bunch of trackpads and they all worked as expected. The big difference, besides the sound, was the minimum travel distance they had as compared to the Thinkpads. They all clicked more quickly and more quietly. If you were to time the click duration on the Thinkpad due to the increased travel it's probably twice as long as a standard touchpad.

As I click away on my W530 I can't even hear a click on the left button and it seems to "trip" instantly. Plus it rests right under my left thumb so it's very convenient...

 

It's evidently a new ultrabay design and I don't think it I will ever have a battery option (someone mentioned the new ultrabay does not include a power pass-through connector). So it seems we're stuck with optical drive or storage only, making it less of an "ultrabay" and more just a "bay"

 

They've also made changes to some of the options. Last I checked they had deleted all SSD upgrade options. Seems an odd choice, but not nearly as upsetting as their decision to use a 1 GB DDR3 GT-730M as the discrete graphics option. The 730M doesn't have enough oomph to justify its inclusion. If you're going to add discrete GPU, it ought to *crank* when needed. For everything else, Intel's Iris can handle it. Dell's choice in the new XPS 15 isn't much better (GT-750M with 3 GB DDR5 memory), but it *does* give more performance without any additional power overhead (it is also a 33 Watt chip). Lenovo should have gone with a 765M (IMO), but even the 750M would have been a significant improvement over the 730M.

I would have liked to have seen an IPS touchscreen as well, but I understand that has less value for the core consumer of the T540p.

But given that (to the best of my knowledge) they *still* haven't shipped units, I'm guessing they're experiencing frustrations with supply chain issues. It seems unlikely that they're still struggling to get everything to work together. There's just nothing terribly new with this release.

 

Yeah, this is what I figured. Yet another bonehead decision. What would this have really added to the cost? Less than putting buttons on the trackpad, I'm guessing. The T-series has been cheapened to the point of being indistinguishable from the Edge series. And that's why I ordered a Dell this time around. Hopefully Lenovo will retool the T-series in the next couple of years and I'll be able to return to being a ThinkPad user. I so love the basic design tenets of the ThinkPad, it saddens me that Lenovo no longer offers an industry-leading T-series option.

And why add the 'p' suffix to the name? Clearly the new T540 is more in line with the T440 than it is with the T440p. I'd have bought a T540p if they offered one for real, instead of a baseline T540 that merely has the suffix of a performance ThinkPad. Sorry for venting. I had been waiting 6 months to buy a T540p and felt terribly disappointed when it turned out to be a weak offering compared to the Dell XPS 15 (9530), which is theoretically in the same class of device as the T-series. Grrrr.

 

6540 is the Dell's competitor to T540p I think.

 

I'm puzzled why on earth they bothered with the "p" version of the T540. If buyers want a 15" machine with some serious grunt they can get a W540 (assuming it ever appears), which is about the same size and weight. Then just offer the GPU "upgrade" for the regular T540 as Lenovo usually does in the T-series.

At least the T440p does offer something new and somewhat worthy of the "p" designation -- quad-core CPUs in a 14" T-series machine. If Lenovo had added a K1100M or GT750M then I'd be very happy with my T440p order instead of just thinking "meh, it'll do for now". And if Lenovo had included an mSATA or 80mm M.2 slot then I'd be even happier

Looking forward to seeing what the T450 and T550 look like.

 

Me, too. Perhaps it is not too much to hope that consumer backlash will convince Lenovo to bring dedicated trackpad buttons back.

To be honest, though, what I've always wanted was a 14 or 15 inch T-series that could serve as a high-end Y-series while still having all the ergonomics of a hardworking T-series. The W-series doesn't really fit that bill because its graphics muscle is not well suited to gaming and I'm unlikely to do heavy 3D modeling work since I'm not an engineer or a designer.

I'm also a little disappointed with Dell's new XPS 15 because it's trying so hard to be a rMBP instead of being the best XPS it can be. Clearly I'm just a difficult, niche customer. But the XPS can work and play with equal vigor and that's what I need in a laptop, much as I drool over ThinkPad ergonomics (I'm typing this on an X220; a GREAT machine). And I also believe ThinkPads *look* better than other laptops. I wish they clad their machines in something a little more upscale than plastic, but plastic sure gets the job done.

So I'll assume that this year's T-series is a fluke (inspired by sales of MBP thinness and the need to cut production costs) and Lenovo will get back to basics next cycle, delivering iconic ThinkPads that are rock-solid, ergonomically superior, and highly capable.

 

My two cents about the T540p.

Pros:
IPS 3k Screen is nice
Build quality is solid (except the trackpad which is horrendous)
Very good keyboard

Cons:
Horrible trackpad
Wrist rest has a sharp edge
Pulsing fan (tpfancontrol fixes that)
Windows 8 crashes with BSOD after installing drivers with their ThinkVantage System Update tool

The 3k display is really nice except for the varying software support for dpi scaling. It has very little bleeding even with an all black screen in a dark room. It is not noticeable under normal use. The body is very sturdy and the keyboard has a nice tactile feel (as expected from a Thinkpad).

Clicking the trackpad produces a cheap clicky sound. Right clicking requires too much force and does not register every time. The integrated buttons are a huge setback for trackpoint users. While using the trackpad the wrist rests on a sharp edge and my hand started to hurt after using it very sporadically over the course of 3 hours (waiting for things to be installed/downloaded, little web browsing).
A good thing about the trackpad is that you don't have to click it. You can tap with one finger for a left click and tap with two fingers for a right click which works well. However you still get the cheap clicky sound and sharp wrist rest.

I am definitely going to return the machine.