Thinkpad Ultrabook T430u

Hello all
Does anyone think a decent aftermarket upgrade to an HD+ screen might be worthwhile? lead_org, you like the T430u, would you even bother? I found this supposedly certified for it -
IBM LENOVO THINKPAD T430U REPLACEMENT LAPTOP LCD SCREEN £49.95
...but it might be poor despite the resolution I suppose. Any thoughts? If this were to be a good option later I'd be ready to buy
Roger

 

The quality of the LCD i have seen on my T420, T420s, T430, T430s HD+ LCD, i wouldn't bother about it.

I am trying to find the X1 Carbon's LCD model that can fit in the ThinkPad T430u.

 

Do you think the motherboard and/or the cable can support higher resolutions?

 

The cable is compatible with the T430s HD+ screen.

 

This means you´ve already run a hd+ screen successfully on your t430u? Great news!

 

Well sort of. He broke the T430s LCD when he tried to put the LCD into my T430u screen chassis. Need to get a replacement LCD.

 

@flonz happy to help.

1.) I don't know about HDAPS, I'm using an SSD so I don't need it.
2.) I didn't get the fingerprint reader
3.) Trackpoint seems to work fine, I tend to use the touchpad more. If the trackpoint has scroll function, I don't know how to use it?
4.) The trackpad, two intergrated buttons, and three top buttons work as I would expect. I disabled tap to click and enabled two finger horizontal and vertical scrolling, both work. Palm detection works fine, I may tweak it a bit in the future.
5.) All the special keys work that I've tested (which includes the ones you've mentioned as well as screen brightness) work fine.
6.) Suspend and hibernate work as they should.

I did not try 12.04. Hope this helps.

 

JD, I see you did a clean install of win 7. I plan to make a factory recovery media on my usb stick. But thanks anyway! This is still helpful!

 

The T430u Prime95+Furmark on i5 + Intel 4000 CPU die temp plot.



ThinkPad T430s Prime95+Furmark on i7 + Intel 4000 CPU die temp plot.



ThinkPad X1 Carbon Prime95+furmark on i5 + intel 4000 CPU die temp plot.

 

Oh dear, I just spoke to UK sales. 'Probably not available this side of Christmas'. Has anyone heard anything more hopeful from them? (and thanks for replies above on the screen)
Roger

 

@lead_org Thanks for the detailed review you did (I know it's not completely posted yet). Just ordered one and can't wait as it seems to be a great machine for the price. When do you think you'll have part 2 of your review up?

 

i think i have too much detail in my reviews, since all the tests and stripping apart the laptop to take pictures take such a long time (also i have to work during the day).... it should be up by the end of week. But my thermal and acoustic noise parts should be up tonight.

 

has lenovo fixed the ram upgrade issue ( I am debating the 12 gb of ram, cuz technically you would never need more thatn 8gb of ram)? also do you think it matters if I buy a SATA3 SX300 ADATA msata for the T430U even though its a SATA 2 port or am i better off buying a specific SATA2. do you think itll kill my battery life because its a SATA 3? just wanted people thoughts.

 

Lenovo hasn't released the new BIOS update yet, so the RAM issues is still a problem.

 

Awesome review, very detailed, thank you very much.
You may or may not be aware of this course by Lenovo which includes CRU and FRU videos:
ThinkPad T430u Ultrabook Training RTPW1050

It's strange I hardly find any more T430u reviews. It's also strange my local Lenovo website still doesn't offer the T430u in their shop. Well, they very recently started listing it, but still without any price tag. And in the novelties section, they keep saying "availability not yet scheduled" though I've seen this device in a number of webshops in this country. Looks like they want to give the X1 Carbon another push.

 

Hello everyone. I'm new here and I stumbled across this thread while searching for reviews for the 430u.

Lead, can you post some battery life numbers? I know you'll have them in the detailed review, but i was just wondering what you're getting on average use. What is battery life like with Optimus enabled (but GPU is idle) when browsing the web, doing spreadsheets, word, other office productivity (wifi on, battery saving, ~30-40% brightness? In your earlier posts, you mentioned about 6 hours "without GPU". When you say "turn off the gpu", are you doing that in the system bios prior to startup? Or is that the 620m on idle (not being used by any applications)?

 

Just got my T430u today. Not impressed. Two problems right off the bat:

- My LCD has a very noticeable "screen door" effect. Any color other than white looks like it has a fly swatter sitting on top of it. My previous laptop is a Dell XPS 15" with the same resolution (1366x768) and it did not have this problem whatsoever.

- The letter "G" on my keyboard makes a very loud clicking sound when pressed down.

It's a good thing I added the next business day on-site repair service to my warranty, otherwise I would be twice as pissed as I am now. lead_org, did you encounter either of these issues that I am experiencing?

 

Okay, i will post the win 7 number (i haven't tested the win 8 OS much yet).

With 2.5 inch SSD on Intel graphics (i5-3117u) - with screen on 40% brightness - battery saver mode

-Idling - 9 hours
-surfing web and doing word processing - 6.4 hours
-watching FHD videos 5 hours

with mSATA no hdd with intel graphics - same setting

-idling 9.2 hours
-surfing web 7.2 hours
-watching FHD video. 5.4 hours

with 500 gigs 7200 rpm.

-idling around 7.5 hours
-surfing web 6.2 hours
-watching FHD video 4.7 hours


On nvidia GPU, your battery time on the above will be reduced by 15 to 60 minutes in battery saver mode.

=============================

billyd00d, no my screen doesn't have the issue.

Download HWinfo32, check under the monitor property, and see what your LCD part number is. There are 2 different AUO panel and one CMI panel. The one i have doesn't have any fly screen effect that is visible in the T430s/T430/T420s/T420 HD+ AUO LCD.

Post back with the model number of the LCD.

Regarding your keyboard, you need to call them up and ask for new keyboard. My keyboard doesn't have any of the issues.

 

HWinfo32 didn't work for me. It shows information for everything else except for the monitor. However, I was able to get the information from CPUID PC Wizard 2012:

Manufacturer : B140XTN02
Product ID : LEN40A0

If you press on the top left corner of your "G" key, it doesn't make a clicking sound?

 

Thanks so much Lead, that really helps.

When you say "without the gpu", does that mean that you disabled the 620m in the bios? or does that mean that the gpu is enabled, but idling (on nvidia optimus)?

Also, are these times actual measured times, or what the battery monitor tells you?

 

without GPU means with the Nvidia GPU switched off in the BIOS menu under graphics option.

 

Indeed. Since the time Intel starting pushing the Ultrabook concept the standard technology press critique has been that pricing is generally too high for them to be competitive. Here in the T430u we have a business class quality UB competitively priced at US$600+ and ... *crickets*.

As I mentioned before when I made a similar comment, you have to question Lenovo's marketing/public relations commitment to this product. The lack of press ink is on them.

 

this is why my review is ranked highly. Also, at this price, Lenovo is not going to make much money out of it, so why put all the budgets promoting it when you can do better with the ThinkPad X1C and Yoga.

But the T430u is a gem, now my friends whom are on the fence about the Ultrabook format have all jumped on with the ThinkPad T430u, at 700 odds dollars they are wise to go along with the machine.

I have received about 34 emails so far about people reading my review and purchasing the T430u, which is pretty good because they bothered to tell me about it.

 

Per unit perhaps, but at this price point it could be a large volume enterprise best seller. You'd think some well-placed reviews would help that. If this is just a low margin, low volume product why even produce it? Can't Lenovo marketing/PR walk and chew gum at the same time?

~~

I'm close to adding myself to your list. The base config is US$599 right now through B&N, and has been right around that price for awhile. At this price it'll be a useful placeholder until W8 hardware form factors and software either matures or dies. Yoga's a nice effort, but I'm just not sold on it or W8 yet. The X1C's (still mediocre) better display and rapid charge isn't enough to justify twice the price. The X1C Touch is probably going to be W8 only and a touch screen on a traditional laptop has no appeal to me.

I wish Lenovo would expand rapid charge to more products. The ability to fully recharge a laptop battery in the time it takes to eat lunch has tremendous value in a mobile work environment.

 

Enterprise customers would have reviewed the product long before we know about the product.

 

Make that 35 (probably more you haven't heard from). This is going to be my first windows laptop in roughly 10 years and your review pushed me toward it. I was unsure about how the 768p resolution would be but lead_org's praise have made that a non-issue.

Now if Lenovo could send out that bios update so we can upgrade our own ram. . .

 

lead_org, here are the details for my T430u's LCD panel:

Manufacturer : B140XTN02
Product ID : LEN40A0

Are yours different?

 

Just a few more questions for Lead:

Could you give me specific battery life numbers for graphics card on (in the bios), 2.5" ssd, and web browsing/productivity. I don't plan on turning off the graphics card every time I want to switch usage, so i'll probably keep it on but idling. Any ideas how an i7-3517u processor might affect these numbers?

Also, what are the processor settings for the battery saving setting (min/max processor state)?

Thanks so much.

 

It seems lead_org is making up for Lenovo's lack of marketing. He convinced me too.

Mine just shipped 6 days early.

 

Here are a few things about the T430u that may help some other owners:

- The touchpad comes defaulted with a setting that will cause the mouse to temporarily freeze up when any button is pressed on the keyboard. This is especially annoying for anyone like me who uses the space bar and mouse to move a canvas in Adobe applications. This problem can be fixed here:

Control Panel >
Hardware and Sound >
Mouse >
Ultranav (tab) >
Settings (button under touchpad) >
Smart Check Settings >
PalmCheck >
Uncheck box that says "Prioritize for TrackPoint and keyboard input"

- The screen is quite uncalibrated out of the box. Using the "LCD monitor test images" page at http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/, I came up with optimal settings for my LCD which are posted below. Your mileage may differ, but this is probably a good starting point. To get to the display settings dialog, do the following:

Right-click on desktop >
Graphics Properties... >
Advanced >
Display >
Color Enhancement

Here are my optimal settings, according to the LCD monitor test images:

Brightness: 29
Contrast: 45
Gamma: 0.6
Hue: 0
Saturation: 0

I hope these tips are of help to fellow T430u owners!

 

Once everyone else receives their T430u, can they report back on whether or not their LCD has the "screen door" effect? Mine has a very noticeable screen door effect.

I'm quite pleased with my machine otherwise, but it just irks me that Lenovo would cut corners on the most important part of a computer, the display! What's funny is that I have a five year old, 15.3" Dell XPS laptop with 1280x800 resolution (and consequently must lower pixel density) that doesn't exhibit this effect at all. This leads me to believe that this "screen door" effect is not caused by too low of resolution on too large of a monitor, but rather the use of low quality hardware.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

 

Sure, but the great majority of business buyers don't get review samples. Purchasing decisions are certainly easier and likely to be more robust if the unit has been well-reviewed and recommended in the technology press. It gives small-to-mid-level IT guys some CYA back-up on their purchases if bosses raise questions. Plus, people like to feel like they're choosing "winners" -- e.g. a Top 5 or Top 10 product in its category.

 

@billyd00d, I just unboxed my new T430u and am going through the setup routine. No noticeable screen door effect here. I did notice that the screen brightness was set at the max. Do you still see the screen door pattern when the brightness is turned down?

 

@billyd00d, you could talk to the warranty department and ask whether a replacement machine can be sent. My machine's LCD doesn't have any screen door effect that i can notice.

 

@drjohn, it is noticeable at all brightnesses.

@lead_org, I have a ticket in with them and am waiting to hear back.

 

Hey guys.

Also very close to pulling the trigger on this ultrabook, but just have two quick questions.

1. Does the computer completely shut down if you insert more RAM due to the bug reported, or does the RAM simply just not work?
2. If I switch the mechanical hd with a ssd, there wouldn't be a need for copying the windows image, since the 24 gb flash drive stays, right ?

Cheers guys

 

1. The computer won't power on with the extra RAM if I remember right.
2. Windows is installed on the standard hard drive. The 24GB SSD is used as a cache for Intel's Smart Response technology and as such doesn't store the operating system on it. So you still have to copy the data on the hard drive to the SSD.

 

Cool, thanks.

I'm gonna wait with the RAM upgrade, then.

 

Just placed my order. Base config with W7, Intel 4000, fingerprint reader, MS Home/Student and 3yrs Next day/Accidental for $808 plus taxes through B&N. Every purchase requires compromises and tradeoffs, but overall I'm pretty happy with the value/price ratio here. Now the waiting begins...

 

@billyd00d: I received mine today - no screen door effect, however, I do have the clicking "G" key. It makes a a cheap, plasticky sound if I type on it in the lower right corner. All other keys are solid. I'll call warranty on Monday to get a replacement keyboard.

Aside from the above, I'm very pleased with mine.

Thanks lead_org. Mine was a $636.75 (CAD) Black Friday special. The commentary at your website was what convinced me to buy. Actually,I couldn't find much info on this computer other than what you've written there.

 

Cheers ppl... well i guess i can go to Lenovo and ask for some sales commission... LOL...

But on a more serious note, as couple of you people have already got the machine, i would say (minus some minor issue with kb and one account of screen door effect) that overall the T430u is pretty good for the price. would you people agree or disagree?

 

I don't have mine yet, but value for the price certainly made my buying decision. The price point made springing for the 3yr next day onsite an easier swallow, so I feel reasonably covered on the downside. If this thing turns out to be rock solid it'll be a real steal.

That said, there's still a lingering 'what's wrong with this picture?' feeling. Why is this thing priced the same as or cheaper than the Ideapad Ultrabooks? Really, cheaper than almost all Ultrabooks. If it's such a solid product at a great price, why hasn't anyone noticed other than lead_org?

 

IdeaPad Ultrabooks are slowly moving up the price ladder, and Lenovo is trying to inject more design/build quality into the lineup.

Regarding why others have not noticed, they probably have not owned that many ThinkPads as i do (i currently have about 60 ThinkPad), so i guess i know what a solid ThinkPad is, when i use it for the first time. Others may not have used that many ThinkPads, and those whom got a ThinkPad T430, T430s, X1 Carbon may not put the T430u within their purchasing priority right now.

 

Mine came with a 24GB micro SSD. How can I access is specifically - so that I can load some frequently used software on it instead of on the hard drive?

 

I'm happy with mine. The fit and finish make it seem much more up-market than my old R61. No screen door effect or clicky G key here, luckily.

My only issue thusfar has been Win7-related... Windows update wanted to pull 90-some updates to the OS and Office. I said Ok, but about 50 of them "failed." Tried again and the same failures, but with no indication of why... Annoying but more Micro$oft's issue than Lenovo's :-/

 

You need an intervention...

 

I also bought mine after reading lead_org's review. I just received it today, and all the doubts I had when ordering is now gone.

I was first thinking that the weight of 4lbs would bother me but I guess that fear just came from all those ultrabooks being under 3lbs.
You really have to touch the machine to understand how well crafted it is. I haven't owned any other thinkpads before btw, so maybe they are all this well made.

The only thing I would improve on this machine is the lcd. It's a bit underwhelming to be honest.. I don't mind the resolution but it's not very bright either.

Also luckily I've had no clicky keys and no screen door effect (I think* , I've never actually seen the screen door effect, if anyone can provide me with a picture, I can check it on my thinkpad).


EDIT: I take back the underwhelming screen, after configuring my settings from billyd00d's post (#330), the images look amazing. Now the max brightness seems to be perfect.

 

[Edit: Never mind. Getting an external dvd writer.]

 

@Mr Pennypacker, if you use the drive for that purpose, then you would lose the rapid startup time of OS and apps.

@drjohn, this may help you out. Windows Updates fail 15AUG2012 - (KB2732500) - Microsoft Community

 

Can any other T430u owners besides lead_org comment on battery life? I'm reading through some of the other first-hand accounts of lenovo products and it seems that lenovo generally grossly overestimates their battery life claims (by 200% in some cases-yikes!!) I'm just anxious that this computer won't come anywhere close to its 7.1 hour claims. I'm most interested in the battery life for wifi surfing/word processing, with the discrete GPU (optimus) enabled in the bios.