t410s 5 minutes before purchase

Hello guys,

hope you will help me with this:

If I apply the current coupon I can get a new 410s for $1,189USD (before tax).
Spec:

Intel® Core™ i5-520M Processor (2.40GHz, 3MB L3, 1066MHz FSB)
Genuine Windows 7 Professional 32
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD, Intel Core i5-520M Processor (2.40GHz, 3MB L3, 1066MHz FSB)
2 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1067MHz SODIMM Memory (1 DIMM)
250 GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm - Low Halogen
DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer, Ultrabay Slim (Serial ATA)
shortened.

3 QUESTIONS:
1. This sill doesn't include the Switchable Integrated Intel® 5
NVIDIA® NVS3100M 512MB graphics does it? (on the web Lenovo claims it does but I don't see it in the specs.) I understand that the switchable option will significantly enlarge battery life? By how much though? Is it worth it for me to wait for the swtichable option?

2. 80GBSDD vs. cheaper 250 hard drive? Let me put it straight: I don't do any games, I don't use any demaning software (only the common stuff: office+web surfing). I need to have space on my disk and speed is not an issue for me. HEAT IS: i.e. I LIKE SILENT COMPUTERS. Would the SSD help that? Is it really worth it for me to go with the SDD option?

3. Warranty: is it worth it to upgrade my warranty to 2-year depot for 60$?


Should I buy today or should I wait?
Thanks.

Christina

 

1. No, you don't need dedicated graphics based on your needs. So your current configuration is good enough.
2. I'd go with SSD here as it's silent and way faster.
3. Yes. I'd even make it to 3 years just in case.

 

If you like a silent computer, you should choose the onboard gma graphics chip. The newest generation of intel hd graphics are pretty decent for light gaming and watching movies. It will also make your notebook run cooler.

SSD has no moving parts, so it wil be more quiet. It will also run a bit cooler. The downside is the price, and the low amount of storage.

edit
Haha, i was to slow i guess

 

The dedicated graphics models haven't been released yet, despite the fact that they are featured all over their web site. It may be nice to have, but I also opted not to wait for it, based on lack of any real need (same as you describe) and skepticism that it will work well.

Agree with cn_habs that SSD is an upgrade you should really consider. Depot warranty is your call; I used to repair Lenovo systems for a living and opted not to bother with this myself.

That's a great deal, but beware, the ship date mentioned on their web site is most likely completely bogus. The estimated ship date on my "15 bus. days" system was 3 weeks out, until yesterday when the ship date went blank completely. Consider the ship date a total mystery...

 

Cn_Habs,
thanks for the answer. You say that I don't need switchable graphics. Well the only thing why I thought that switchable graphics would be good for me is for having a longer batter life - so to rephrase the question: is the battery life enhanced by that option? (say from 4hours to 6hours?). Anyone has an idea in this regard?

Zjorz, how do i choose th onboard gma graphics chip? As of now there's no choice offered on the lenovo website when it comes to graphics? For 410s it all comes with Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD, Intel Core i5-520M Processor (2.40GHz, 3MB L3, 1066MHz FSB) .

 

The battery life is "longer" with switchable graphics only because it switches to the integrated when the dedicated graphics aren't necessary (as I understand it?). Anyway, with integrated - your only current option on the T410s - you're using the most battery-efficient graphics all the time.

 

Unless you specifically ordered the NVIDIA NVS graphics chip on your T410s then there shouldn't be a switchable graphics facility. From looking your specification you ordered the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator HD so it won't have this option. Switchable graphics are designed for people who need intensive graphical power when they need it most such as CAD, gaming etc. Then on days where mobility and battery life is more of a priority then they can switch to integrated graphics mode to save power. A switchable graphics facility doesn’t necessary mean that it will have more battery life than a standard T410 system with integrated graphics. Since you told us that you prefer to do office work and web browsing then the switchable graphics facility is overkill, I recommend sticking with the Intel graphics as that should be powerful enough for your needs.

SSD are virtually silent, draws less power and will run cooler then standard hard drives, not by much however. Standard hard drives today don’t emit as much heat or draw much power either. The main advantage of SSD is purely for speed, it will boot up and load your programs and files a lot quicker than standard drives and you will never have to worry about it slowing down over time (defragmenting). But the drawback would be the cost and capacity, SSD are much more expensive than standard drives and is offered in much lower capacity than the standard hard drives. If you value the convenience of big storage space for your files then stick with the standard hard drives, if you want absolute speed then go for the SSD.

For your warranty, yes go for it for peace of mind should it go wrong.

 

Hearts555,

thanks a lot. Your answers make a lot of sense to me.
The switchable graphics is truly not important to me at this point(as you say, it'd be an overkill given what it is).
I will upgrade the warranty to 2 years, that should be just the right time. Now the SSD remains the only question:
I've read on this web raves about the SSD. The problem being that a lot of people who contribute here are not "common computer folk" like me - i.e. I don't care about the latest technology improvements unless I see a real difference. Some people say that SSD shorten the time of boot-ups and shut-downs by 3 seconds. That is quite a difference but on the whole yet not worth my extra 200USD (and smaller storage capacity). I do care though about the noise - by that I don't mean noise that HDD produce when you write data on it (that's a non-issue to me) but possibly the heat issues that HDD produces and thus te greater need for fan activity....actually I am not even sure that greater fan activity is realted to the HDD heat. After all the fan is supposed to be cooling on the CPU, right? In anyway, I've got a t400s and it annoys me that the fan is kicking constantly. I have not yet installed tpfcontrol for I will be returing this unit (produces a high-pithched noise through the speakers, Lenovo accepted my request for a full refund).
To wrap it up: what do you guys think of the following: I'll get a 250HDD low halogen with the idea that I might upgrade this in 2 years time when SSD become way cheaper?

 

Another option for 3-year warranty is through a 3rd party such as SquareTrade. It's a lot cheaper. My mom's new computer has it, and I've heard a lot of good things about their service.

 

So the 80 Gb SSD is 200 more than the 250 HDD? Then I'd upgrade when it becomes cheaper.

 

The majority of the noise will come from the fans of the CPU. Though the newer processors should be more efficient then their predecessors thus giving off less heat which should translate to less CPU fan intervention. Heat is not much of an issue for standard hard drives as they give off little, the majority of the heat will come from the CPU and GPU (graphics chip – especially dedicated ones such as the NVIDIA NVS). The standard hard drives may make some noise during times such as installing programs or defragmenting for example but during normal day to day use such as web browsing, emails etc. I hardly notice it unless I put my ear right next to it (250GB 7200RPM hard drive here!).

It's only a matter of time before SSD become mass market and affordable for everyone. At the moment it's simply too expensive if you compare the storage size to the price so it's best to wait for the moment.

 

The SDD is the single greatest improvement you can make on your computer. It is amazing and after having an Intel SSD in my laptop all other computers seem sluggish.

 

Hearst555,
how difficult, do you think, will it be to update my future t410s if I decide to go with HDD now and change for SSD later?

Paul386, you say that it's the single greatest improvement. Could you be more specific? I'd like to hear why i am supposed to pay 200USD extra for a 128GBSSD as compared to 256GBHHD.

 

I think the upgrade should be simple enough, provided you get the right size drive (1.8" rather than standardish 2.5"). It's a great speed boost, particularly with the Intel drive (the 80GB one, not the 128GB). But since that's not what you're counting as most important, it makes sense for you I think to wait and upgrade that component later (unless the scant amount of heat/noise/battery life loss are bigger concerns for you than the loss of storage space).

 

k3Davis,
what type of noise are you talking about? Noise is important to me...but it seems to me, at least according earlier replies, that HDD do not have an impact on the noise level when it comes to fan activity? What other noise could a hard drive produce apart from a few little squeaks here and there when it's working 100%. Also, by how much does the better get enhanced with the SSD?
Lastly, which is super improtant to me, you say that the 128GB is bad whereas the 80GB isn't? I definitely was thinking of 128GB, anything else is too little storage for me.
Thanks again.

 

I wouldn't say the 128GB is "bad," just not as speedy as the 80GB drive. Both are probably fine upgrades in terms of speed and power savings over the standard hard drive. The Intel drive is just the speedier of the two SSD options, making the upgrade more significant for the money (IMHO). But then again, I'm personally not concerned about storage space, so your priorities are different.

I don't think the standard hard drive will be very noisy, as other posters have said. But the SSD of course would be silent.

 

1) any good modern SSD will transform any computer in multiple ways. you will far more notice a difference between a 7200rpm HDD and any modern SSD than between any modern SSD.

2) if you need both an SSD and 120GB, do not get 80GB, however much "faster' it may be than the 120GB. if 80GB is not enough, you will for sure notice it far more than a faster SSD.

3) not only is an SSD silent, and creates less heat, it also does not vibrate. all these things impact on the system as a whole

4) storage media speed is the bottleneck of most computers. SSD's address that problem.

5) if you use your computer a lot, any boot time differences between any HDD and any (modern) SSD will pale in comparison to speed and other system-wide differences.

 

what about weight, btw? Any significant difference there?
what lenovo offiers with t410s is a 5400 256GB, or Intel 80SSD or 128SSD.

 

I would advise against getting the Samsung SSD, and especially paying $200 for it, when you could get this Intel 80GB for less:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...7021&cm_re=intel_x18-m-_-20-157-021-_-Product

It's a G1 Intel drive, so it doesn't have TRIM support.. but it is still much faster than the Samsung.

I think it would be a waste of money to get a Samsung SSD. Intel or Inidilinx-based drives are the way to go.

If you want an Intel G2 drive with TRIM support, you can get it for $230:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...7026&cm_re=intel_x18-m-_-20-167-026-_-Product

Basically, as usual, Lenovo's upgrade option is way overpriced.. it's as if they're not crediting back the original value of that 250GB HD.

I remember when I bought my Thinkpad X200, it cost more than $100 to upgrade from the base 80GB drive to a 250GB. So I just ordered the laptop with the default 80GB drive, and ordered a Seagate 320GB 7200RPM for $90 from another website.

 

She doesn't really have that luxury of buying a fast aftermarket 2.5' HDD with the 1.5' factor of T410s.

The 80 Gb samsung 100 dolloar upgrade is the way to go IMHO. No one can predict how much of a decrease in price that we'll see in SSDs in a couple of years.

 

So my local shop tells me, the most important thing you need when buying a laptop these days is LUCK.

So here's to good luck to you on your imminent purchase!

- avi

 

Well for one, my computer is completely silent, it is really nice. Normally when you launch an application you get the whirl up of the HDD... not of that.

In terms of speed, it is nice because everything launches so fast. Word comes up instantly and when you open up my documents there is no delay before the files appear. Searching is very fast too.

 

As an aside...isn't your "5 minutes" over by now? Just kidding!

Good luck with your choice!

 

It’s relatively easy to upgrade the T410s to SSD should the time come, it’s just a matter of swapping out the old with the new just like any other hard drive. SSD’s will eventually become affordable and possibly be even better and faster than the current batches so I wouldn’t worry about it too much if you can’t get it now.

 

Physically swapping out a hard drive for an SSD is very easy. The harder part, and more correctly frustrating part, is installing Windows and all your software. It isn't necessarily difficult to do but it does take quite a bit of time.

Personally I prefer installing Windows myself and I wipe a new computer as soon as I get it. I also wipe my computer every 6-12 months and reinstall Windows just to keep it "clean".

 

The links I gave were for the Intel X18-M.. which are indeed the 1.8" version. (As opposed to the X25-M which is 2.5")

 

As for reinstalling: actually i used to do a hardcore reinstall as soon as I got a computer myself - but that was back in the old days when one got the installation CDs with it. But how do you do it now? also, I've tried to do that recently with one IBM notebook (yeah, no Lenovo) using some XP installation CDs which belonged to a different computer and honestly it was a mess: e.g. though I installed all the proper drivers downloaded from Lenovo's website I would have troubles with the unit (e.g. the DVD drive, after updating to SP2 or SP3..can't remember which now, would disappear and it was impossible install it back as a new hardware). My sense is that reinstalling has become cumbersome just for the fact that the manufacturers don't want you to do it.

and yes, the 5 minutes are gone now. but the coupon expires in 2 days so I have still some time to think about it. The more people tell me how great their experience with SSD is, the less rational I am about this and the more likely to get a SSD myself - even if on a rational level I agree with Hearts - it's sitll overpriced.

Btw. If I was to get a 128GB SSD and had to buy some external harddrive to store my data (something cheap like this http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5388188&Sku=W10-9020)
how reliable are these things? I've never had one, mainly for the fact that I've heard bad stories about external hardrives - i.e. the potential for loss of data much greater than many realize.
What do you think?

 

Tankguys.com has the 160GB G2 X18-M SSD for $460.

Also, Intel is suppose to cut their SSD prices in half sometime in March, so perhaps the best bet is to get the regular hard drive and then when the prices cut get the SSD and put in it yourself.

As for how to install Windows that is a hard question to answer. I happened to have a Windows 7 CD available to use. I don't know what to do in your case. However if you can find a CD the installation in regards to the drivers is a drastic improvement compared to XP. Windows 7 seems to "just work" out of the box.

It is worth nothing I had heard that you could get a Windows 7 CD for a few dollars (it does not come with a license, just the CD) at Best Buy.

 

if you are just backing up to an external HDD, a big laptop 2.5" external is fine. but if you are running it all the time better to go with a desktop 3.5" external. a lot of failed drives do so due to impact (being bumped, dropped, etc, while in operation). you have to be very careful not to impact a spinning disk.

any HDD can (and will) fail catastrophically at any unexpected second. so if you use an external HDD in real time (not just for backup), then you need to back it up to another external HDD (of equal or bigger size) in readiness for the inevitable HDD failure. if you do not use the 3nd external HDD in real time, but only for backups of the real-time external HDD, then you will always be "safe"

 

Any more info on this? I would be jumping into the SSD market if this is the case...

 

I read it in an article at Anandtech. I looked but I could not find it.

 

Perhaps it is this (from here):

 

Interesting, should that be true how fast do you think would Lenovo reflect the change in prices of SSDs in their own products?

 

I would be surprised if their price changes drastically or very quickly. The only way you will see those prices is if you buy the drive yourself from an e-tailer.

 

If you are going with the T410s, I would strongly recommend you go with a SSD. The SSD makes a huge difference in perceived speed in all aspects of your computer usage - how fast it boots and shuts down (typically 1/2 the time or better than a standard drive), how fast programs open, etc. If you've ever experienced lag time when trying to open a program, you will notice the difference with the SSD. This will be especially true in the T410s because it uses a 1.8" hard drive which is EXTREMELY slow. I would recommend you buy an Intel drive separately. If you need more storage space, you can buy an adapter that allows you to have any 2.5" drive you like in place of the CD drive which can be used for storage.

As for noise, a 1.8" drive is not very loud, but a SSD will be quieter. If your computer is idling with the fans off, the whooosh sound you hear is the hard disk.

 

so does no one actually have a t410s in hand yet?

 

SSD prices won't go down just because Intel's new plant starts up. They'll charge as much as they can get away with until the competition catches up, obviously.

 

somebody in the forum.thinkpads.com has it an posted some impressions. go check it out. he says he's gonna do a full review as soon as he can.

 

So people my 5 minutes have become a few days but I am buying it today.
Despite all the advise when it came to SSD buying I've decided to stick with the original suggestion by Hearst. I think I will go for the HDD 5400 as of now...the SSDs 128GB is not sufficient for me in terms of size and it's still too pricey. i will update my laptop though with a better drive in 2 years time or so. I speculate that by that time I will spend 200USD and will get something faster and bigger than the SSDs on the market now. I guess that I can wait.
I just wonder, if you do your own upgrade of the harddrive do you invalidate your warranty? I've decided to buy a 2-year warranty - that should be enough.
Oh, thank you everybody!!!

 

The warranty isn't invalidated, but the warranty only covers the configuration your laptop was sold to you in. Meaning if you upgrade your hard drive, and it fails, lenovo isn't responsible for it. However, most hard drives come with a 3 year warranty, and enterprise class drives generally come with a 5 year warranty. At least that's the case with most Western Digital and Seagate HDDs.

EDIT: Also I would keep the old hard drive around. In case you ever do need to send your laptop off to lenovo for warranty service you can just stick in the old HDD and not have to worry about your sensetive data on your original HDD.

 

funny story, as i was checking out the t410s impressions on the thinkpads forum, my 6 yo laptops HD started clicking... i knew what was coming. Ill take it as a sign to get the t410s. i just hope they don't screw around with my shipping date as ill need it as soon as i can get it.

 

I talked to a Lenovo representative and he claimed that they really deliver within 9 business days (if it's not delayed at customs). I got the sense that he was full of....but who knows.

 

I personally wouldn't believe it, but then I'm jaded for not having it after nearly a month

 

i just ordered mine on 3/6 and the estimated shipping date was 3/31. to my surprise, i got an email from lenovo saying that the 410 has been shipped today.

 

There's no guarantee but it's very plausible unless you have some configured it with some rare options.

 

^^ 410 or 410s?

 

Ill be ordering early next week, ill call them before and see if they tell me the same story.

 

DRI, why early next week? the coupon for 15% is valid until tonight. Is there anytihng better in sight? Why wait?

 

That was a wise decision Christina. I always buy my hard drive and RAM upgrades separately, configuring the laptop with the cheapest options available. With the RAM memory, i often get a better price, better warranty (lifetime vs 1-4 year offered by manufacturer) and then I can sell the original RAM on Ebay for a few bucks. I can use the 1.8" as a swap in drive for testing, since I don't currently own any 1.8" drives. SSD drives will continue to drop in price and the technology will continue to improve. By the time you decide to upgrade, you'll get a much better price and drive.

I'm still waiting on the switchable graphics option, no telling how long that will be. I spoke with a rep yesterday and he couldn't even give a ballpark on when the T410s will start shipping with that option. Let us know how you like it when you get it, I'm looking forward to reading some user reviews.

 

Does anyone know if the T410s comes with the Nvidia graphics card?