ThinkPad X1, X230, X230t, T430, T430s, T530, W530, L430, L530 Official

You are running out of models to try.

 

Lol. Man, they are driving me crazy, so I do the same for them. You cannot imagine how frustrated I am with this process. This time, I really decided I am gonna stick with one last machine (whatever it is) and no matter what, I am not gonna change it again. I got sick of searching for the perfect Windows PC

 

so guys with the new line up of thinkpads hows the keyboard? I'm getting my brother the X1 which should come on Tuesday but I'm just curious how does it feel

 

It feels very comfortable to type on, in my opinion.

 

Love ThinkPads i respect the brand IBM and now Lenovo but i noticed that every ThinkPad I've owened came with a loose 9 cell battery I remember my T42 my T60 my T500 my T520 I think the manufacturer doesn't think of it as a problem but i certainly find it annoying I always put a small piece of paper under the battery to stop to wobbling.

 

I share your annoyance about loose and wobbling 9-cell batteries. Nevertheless, certain people firmly believe that what mortals like us call "wobbling" is actually a Lenovo design intention based on precise engineering considerations of the thermal and material conditions, i.e. users must respect such intentional tolerance and quit complaining.

 

I think the battery wobbling is noted by Lenovo, and left in on purpose. It is very easy to fix with just a few pieces of electrical tape though.

 

You really exaggerate what we are saying, don't you.

Battery wobble an intentional design feature that sacrifices premium solid feel to enhance durability and reliability under extreme thermal stress. The majority of Lenovo's customers think this is a good decision. If you don't, feel free to use a piece of tape.

 

The six-cell batteries do not deserve such special treatment? How many users run into situations of extreme thermal stress on a daily basis?

 

The X1 keyboard is one of the best chiclet keyboards made.

 

I share the annoyance with you too but I was just about to say the same like Kaso that you are just 'ignorant' of the innovation and creativity of Lenovo engineers who did this like many other things 'on purpose' but you just do not know. I am sure some guys will confirm this to you.

 

I assume Lenovo listens and follows the demands of their customers. They are pretty smart from a business point of view, as shown by their growth in both marketshare and profit.

So from that, I make my own guesses:
-9 cells need more protection from thermal stress compared to 6 cells
-I would suspect most customers don't care about the wobble. The few major customers that have a preference on the issue have users that run into situations of extreme thermal stress regularly.

 

Sorry to put it this way, but the majority of customers who are the reason for market share growth stopped caring about the defects in the machines. They have seen enough garbage from all manufacturers and they decide to choose any machine for all kind of reasons except 'being really satisfied'. They just get the best garbage as they see it and move on to be productive. They also do not come to these forums and do not share anything. They just 'do'. Remember it when the day comes and Lenovo states that 'we have fixed the battery wobbling issue". People also claim that the mediocre display on the 14"s are 'intentional' to protect your privacy from people beside you!

 

I feel the same way about this. I'm kinda sick of people making excuses for design imperfections. Sure they say it is for thermal expansion. However I've played with x220's with 6 cells with no wobble at all. Mine on the other hand does have wobble. Some people have horrible wobble in all directions. I only have it front to back. I guess my buddies with no wobble weren't lucky enough to get the "thermal expansion" safe guard. To me, this is a tolerances/fit n finish issue rather than a feature. Out of all the laptops I've ever owned, my batteries never wiggled a bit. I've never had thermal expansion issues and many of the laptops got scorching hot to touch.... much much hotter than the x220/30.

 

On the other hand, quad core extreme processor capable notebooks haven't been on the market very long. They came on the market not long after some high profile battery explosions.

The W520 and W530 are capable of running long multi hour encoding jobs or simulations. Those long running tasks generate quite a bit of heat and noise. Could they generate enough heat to expand a chassis or battery? I seriously doubt it.

I don't like the wiggle. I worry the battery isn't locked and the machine will slip out of my hand and crash to the ground due to a battery release. It hasn't happened so I don't know if my fears are grounded. But if it ever does, I know I'll get a new machine out of the deal. Or it will be the last ThinkPad I'll ever use.

 

+1. So true on both accounts. You need to add the people who will never admit that there is a single problem, ergonomic issue, etc. on anything they purchase, because it is their way to justify that they spent so much money, the fact that they will never admit that they made a mistake, or to impress other people with their decisions. I have seen it with laptops, cars and a host of other items. Maybe it is just the engineer in me, but I have to review things honestly as to always look for areas of improvement. We would still be using Fred Flintstone foot power for our vehicles with that kind of attitude !

 

Intel Core i5-3210M Processor (3M Cache, up to 3.10 GHz)
Genuine Windows 7 Professional (64 bit)
12.5" HD (1366x768) LED Backlit Display, Mobile Broadband Ready, 3x3 Antenna
Intel HD 4000 Graphics in Intel Core i5-3210M Processor
4 GB PC3-12800 DDR3 (1 DIMM)
UltraNav without FingerPrint Reader
320GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm
4 Cell ThinkPad Battery X44
ThinkPad 1x1 b/g/n

$704

...Was only a gift to me so I couldn't request to have it souped up

Planning to upgrade it with aftermarket components:
16GB of DDR3-1600
6 cell batt
Intel Ultimate N
Either 750GB WD Scorpio Black or a 240GB SSD (Sandisk Extreme or OCZ Agility)..... can't decide

 

A x230 can only accept a 7mm drive. You could do a mSATA + a normal hard drive if you want speed along with space.

Did you get the IPS display? It's hard to tell from the spec. sheet.

 

Samsung ssd's are 7mm I believe. Also Intel ones are avail in 7mm too.

 

Really? Damn I don't know that... should've told them to bump them at least 500gigs.

They didn't get the IPS display. Oh well I couldn't do anything, I'm only the recipient

ps... what SSD models are available in 7mm form?

 

Most of them, these days. Usually "7mm" (thickness) is clearly indicated. Like this one.

Or, if you want to keep a large "spinner" drive in the primary bay for storage, you can use a mSATA SSD like this one (in the PCIe/WWAN slot) for boot/OS/apps drive.

 

Or look carefully at the height of the drive.

7mm = .2756 inches

 

What would you do if you're in my case? Replace the clunker into a low profile SSD, or get an mSATA SSD(retaining the 320gb))? I have a spare 500gb Scorpio Blue where I can put my files in, but I want to have much space as possible.

 

Well, you can't reuse that Scorpio Blue as it is 9.5mm in height/thickness.

I would go the mSATA SSD route, as larger 2.5" SATA SSD's are still expensive. You could either keep that stock 320GB HDD, or get a larger drive like this one.

Or, do nothing. (My X201 with a 320GB HDD functions well -- not snappy, but quite well.)

 

I mean the Scorpio Blue could be just plugged into an enclosure.

Thanks for the heads up on Momentus Thin

 

External SATA-USB adapter? Ah, sure.

By the way, I'm wondering why you need 16GB RAM. 8GB (2 x 4GB) would be plenty.

 

You can always stuff the HDD in an external case. If you are patient, the Samsung Series 830 7mm 256GB SSD has been as low as $189 so you might see that again soon.

mSATA drives have just started shipping in 256GB capacities, too.

 

I am an IT student, and every little bit counts. I usually have 2 browsers open with 30 tabs each at the least, Untangle and RedHat VMs, Eclipse, and a word processor open. And there's one on Amazon that sells it for only $89 Komputerbay 16GB (2x 8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800 1600MHz SODIMM 204-Pin Laptop Memory 10-10-10-27 with Black Heatspreaders

 

All very good reasons to purchase 16GB RAM.

 

I see that the ThinkPad slice battery gets bad ratings and there are no solid reviews out there about it. Any personal experiences here especially about the issue of the system completely draining the slice first without stopping at a low threshold which can cause the battery to loose its life very quickly. Also, I see that the new slice is 28++ vs the 27++. What does this mean?

 

It doesnt actually drain it all the way. Yes it goes to zero% but even at zero% the battery still keeps enough reserve charge as to not damage itself. Dont worry about it, the engineer's have it covered.

 

Not sure whether this has already been posted here, I guess this thread is also for the T430u...

Link for the t430u, incl price of USD849:

Google Translator

 

Do you think one should get the slice in addition to a 6-cell battery or just order another regular 9-cell? I am very confused about it. I just got the 6-cell to fit flush and also to avoid the wobbling and now I do not think it will suffice me and confused about what additional battery to get?

 

Well, first upgrade I would do is go from the 6 cell to the 9 cell. I would avoid going with 2 regular batteries as swapping them is a pita. If your laptop supports an ultrabay battery, that may be something to consider as well. I would go with the slice if the 9 cell is not enough, but remember the slice will add a fair amount of size.

Essentially, whatever you do, you don't want to get into a situation where you have to swap batteries to continue. You either want to go larger, or add more that you can use at the same time.

 

I just ordered a x230 and i just remembered i didn't upgrade to a 6-cell and stuck with a 4-cell. how much battery life would i have? any significant disadvantages?

 

The 4 cell is roughly half of the size of the 6 cell. (29Wh vs. 63Wh) Light web browsing and simple office tasks will get you around 3 to 4 hours at best. If you just ordered it, cancel and redo it. (Don't forget that IPS display... )

 

I have T530, so unfortunately, ultrabay battery is not an option. I just read some customers' reviews that you cannot also attach the slice battery while the machine is on or the computer will turn off. If this is true, it will be a little inconvenient. Any experience with that? Also, do you know why the new slice battery is 28++ vs the 27++? I do not see much information online about the slice battery whether on Lenovo's website or elsewhere?

 

ah damn it. i knew i should've got the 6 cell. i'll just call them tomorrow morning. luckily i remembered to get the ips haha

also, one more quick question, since i'm going to call them tomorrow to make a few changes anyways. is it worth going all out for the Core i7-3520M (extra $275)? i'm mostly going to use it for college (taking notes, writing essays, watching lectures online). but i also do photo editing and photoshop (graphics design, magazine ads) on the side as a hobby. the other options for the x230 are: Core i5-3360M (add $135), Core i5-3320M (add $85) and Core i5-3210M (add $30). thanks fellas

sorry for the triple post, but the difference between the i7-3520M and the next highest, i5-3360M will only be ~100 after my barnes and noble discount. worth staying with the i7?

 

If you're taking notes, writing essays, watching lectures online, get the i5. Even the i3 is sufficient.

 

thanks for the reply. i also do photo editing and photoshop as a hobby/side job. i edit photos and design graphics (business cards, magazine ads) for clients, so should i still ditch the i7?

EDIT: also, if its better to go with the i5, which one should i go with from the options lenovo offers: 3360 vs 3320 vs 3210? thanks again

 

3210 doesn't have VT-d. If you don't know what that is you should be fine.

 

haha i actually don't know what that is. i guess i should just stick with the 3210 then huh. i feel dumb for configuring my x230 with an i7 now lol.

so would the 3210 be fine with photoshop, photo editing etc?

EDIT: Just to clarify, i'm mostly going to use it for web surfing, office and productivity software, listening to music, photo editing, video editing, video chat and conference, movie streaming and viewing, casual gaming here and there.

like i said i also use photoshop for graphic design and photo editing just as a side job to make some money to get by college

 

I have no experience with these latest models and the slice. They probably updated the version either because it contains newer/better cells, or they just want people to buy a new battery with their new laptop, I'm not sure.

 

The new batteries have authentication chips that are required by the *30 gen Thinkpads to charge.

battery compatibility table

	*20 gen Thinkpad	*30 gen Thinkpad
*20 gen Thinkpad battery	Works	Will not charge
*30 gen Thinkpad battery	Works	Works

 

*30 gen TP battery in *20 gen TP: works and charges?

 

i searched around google to find an answer. i found some helpful links that might help others out.

heres a link comparing the 3210, 3320, 3360 and i7-3520.
Compare Intel® Products
the i7 offers a 4% faster GPU clock speed (1250MHz vs 1200MHz) and isn't likely to translate into a noticeable gain. therefore the best overall value will be the 3320M, as it's the least expensive CPU that offers every feature available at a fraction of the i7's cost and 92~96% of its performance. so in the end, i decided to ditch the i7 and go with the i5-3320.

 

From what I've heard, yes.

 

if you happen to need one of the features that are added by the 3320M, (VT-d, TXT, vPro), its the best overall value. Otherwise it isn't really worth the upgrade over the 3210M.

 

I pulled the trigger on the slice battery 28++ and it seems like it is gonna take some time for it till it arrives as it is probably coming from China too! I will update you with battery life numbers once I test it along with the 6-cell battery. I also thought about the inconvenience that may happen due to the fact that I have to charge it while attached to the machine and without the dock but it is more inconvenient to carry around the external battery charger and also it will add a cost. I guess I will consider this battery as just an additional accessory to be used when needed (travel, long day without AC source ... etc).

 

This is a little off-topic but there are two technical issues with the forum that I need someone's help with:

1. After this new appearance of the forum, every single time I change a page or refresh a page, I have to get an ad and skip it.
2. I cannot unsubscribe from some threads that I am no longer interested in and when I click on the "Unsubscribe" link in the e-mails I receive, I get "Invalid link" error.