Take a look at our
ThinkPads.com HOME PAGE
For those who might want to contribute to the blog, start here: Editors Alley Topic
Then contact Bill with a Private Message

I want to buy a newr thinkpad.

General Questions, Rumors, Real news & More
Post Reply
Message
Author
Lovele
Posts: 8
Joined: Wed Feb 08, 2017 11:45 am
Location: Gherla, Romania

I want to buy a newr thinkpad.

#1 Post by Lovele » Fri Nov 02, 2018 12:10 am

Hi guys.

I have a T400 atm, but I wanna buy a newer one (at least T420), with a better graphics card. Maybe something with with the GT720/730M series cards.
Can you please tell me what could me a good buy in 200-300 dollars? I don't know what series, should I look for except the T series? Also could you tell me where could I purchase 1? I am from Europe, but I am willing to pay the customs fee if I find a nice laptop even in the US.

Please help me with a suggestion.
Thank you.

Screamer
Senior Member
Senior Member
Posts: 585
Joined: Sun Apr 15, 2018 7:15 am

Re: I want to buy a newr thinkpad.

#2 Post by Screamer » Fri Nov 02, 2018 3:08 am

There are 3 ThinkPads that were equipped with a GeForce GT 730M, which was the T540p, T440p and the T440s. There is also another ThinkPad that was equipped with a GeForce GT 720M, which was the T440. Although, I would like to know what is the GeForce GT 720M or 730M that you are looking at.

The first GT 720M that was released, is a GF117 (Fermi) and is slower than the newer GT 720M. The newer GT 720M, is a GK208 (Kepler) and is obviously faster than Fermi. The only time that Kepler would ever lose to Fermi, is in FP64-intensive calculations.

The first GT 730M that was released, is a GK107 (Kepler) and is faster than the newer GT 730M. The newer GT 730M, is a GK208 (Kepler) that has half the amount of texture mapping units and rendering output pipelines, compared to the GK107-powered GT 730M. This means the GK208-powered GT 730M is slower than the GK107-powered GT 730M.

If you want the best possible performance in a reasonably modern ThinkPad that can be purchased under $300 USD (assuming that you meant US dollars), you should look for a W530 equipped with a Quadro K1000M (GK107) or a Quadro K2000M (GK107). The Quadro K1000M's speed is slightly faster than the GT 720M (GK208), but it is no match for the GT 730M (GK107). The Quadro K2000M's speed is nearly the same as the GT 730M (GK107), and this is the ideal graphics chip that you should be looking for in a W530.

However, if you want to purchase a T530 or a T430 with the NVS 5400M (GF108), be warned that none of them are as fast as the slowest GT 720M (GF117). Also, keep in mind that the X230/T430s/T430/T530/W530 can be modified to accept the 7-row keyboard from the X220/T420s/T420/T520/W520. That is one of the reasons why I recommended the W530 for you, considering that some of them are not very overpriced too ($220 USD link).

EDIT: Corrected mistake, I thought the T440s had a GT 720M? Inconsistent.
Last edited by Screamer on Fri Nov 02, 2018 9:22 am, edited 2 times in total.

Whitieiii
Junior Member
Junior Member
Posts: 468
Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2017 8:54 pm
Location: Kingston, WA

Re: I want to buy a newr thinkpad.

#3 Post by Whitieiii » Fri Nov 02, 2018 3:11 am

If your looking for a newer laptop with a dedicated graphics card the T440p with it's GT 730m does a great and can be found for $300-400 USD on eBay I've got one and it currently is my favorite Thinkpad.. I might sell mine soon for an upgrade to a newer Thinkpad with the GTX 940MX graphics although mine is missing a dedicated power adapter (share a cord with my T440s) and has no battery but for how I put it together outta random T440p parts it works awesome! If you wanna play GTA V the GT 730M graphics just barely cut it and that's why I'm upgrading my machine..
My Collection:
A30 Pentium 3 512MB ram 60GB HDD Win 98SE
HP 8460p 2nd gen i7 8GB ram 500GB HDD Radeon 6470m Win 7
T440p 4th gen i7 12GB ram GT 730m 1TB SSD Win 10
X1 Extreme Gen 2 16GB ram 1650 M-Q 1TB SSD Win 10
x260 6th gen i-series
Mum's T440s 4th gen i5 8GB ram 300GB SSD Win 10

wujstefan
ThinkPadder
ThinkPadder
Posts: 1343
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2011 8:38 am
Location: Tarnow, Poland

Re: I want to buy a newr thinkpad.

#4 Post by wujstefan » Fri Nov 02, 2018 5:52 am

Wow. I was completely unaware that one could write a whole post without any stoppage marks :D

If getting a little bit lower on power I'd suggest T530 w/nvs5400m. They can be bought at around 150Euros mark in Europe, and does not have the clunky clickpad all Tx40s do. Can be modded for legacy keyboard. Only TN displays are available for those, but stock FHD is a very nice panel.
Too many thinkpads not enough time!
(stable under reduction)

Whitieiii
Junior Member
Junior Member
Posts: 468
Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2017 8:54 pm
Location: Kingston, WA

Re: I want to buy a newr thinkpad.

#5 Post by Whitieiii » Fri Nov 02, 2018 3:34 pm

The nvs 5400 I believe is equivalent to a GTX 530?
My Collection:
A30 Pentium 3 512MB ram 60GB HDD Win 98SE
HP 8460p 2nd gen i7 8GB ram 500GB HDD Radeon 6470m Win 7
T440p 4th gen i7 12GB ram GT 730m 1TB SSD Win 10
X1 Extreme Gen 2 16GB ram 1650 M-Q 1TB SSD Win 10
x260 6th gen i-series
Mum's T440s 4th gen i5 8GB ram 300GB SSD Win 10

Screamer
Senior Member
Senior Member
Posts: 585
Joined: Sun Apr 15, 2018 7:15 am

Re: I want to buy a newr thinkpad.

#6 Post by Screamer » Sat Nov 03, 2018 4:02 am

No, the NVS 5400M's consumer equivalent is the GeForce GT 630M (GF108) or the GeForce GT 540M. These 2 consumer graphics chips are slightly slower than a GeForce GT 720M (GF117), and I don't think I have heard of a GeForce GTX 530. There was a desktop GeForce GT 530 though, but that was only meant for OEMs.

wujstefan
ThinkPadder
ThinkPadder
Posts: 1343
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2011 8:38 am
Location: Tarnow, Poland

Re: I want to buy a newr thinkpad.

#7 Post by wujstefan » Sun Nov 04, 2018 6:00 am

Screamer wrote:
Sat Nov 03, 2018 4:02 am
No, the NVS 5400M's consumer equivalent is the GeForce GT 630M (GF108) or the GeForce GT 540M. These 2 consumer graphics chips are slightly slower than a GeForce GT 720M (GF117), and I don't think I have heard of a GeForce GTX 530. There was a desktop GeForce GT 530 though, but that was only meant for OEMs.
This is correct.

This GPU can be heavily overclocked with no voltage increase to gain more power. Stock it is somewhat slower than GT540m due to lower clocks. However, this is passed with software overclock, and I have found this graphics running stable with 800MHz on the core :)
Too many thinkpads not enough time!
(stable under reduction)

Whitieiii
Junior Member
Junior Member
Posts: 468
Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2017 8:54 pm
Location: Kingston, WA

Re: I want to buy a newr thinkpad.

#8 Post by Whitieiii » Sun Nov 04, 2018 6:02 am

Screamer wrote:No, the NVS 5400M's consumer equivalent is the GeForce GT 630M (GF108) or the GeForce GT 540M. These 2 consumer graphics chips are slightly slower than a GeForce GT 720M (GF117), and I don't think I have heard of a GeForce GTX 530. There was a desktop GeForce GT 530 though, but that was only meant for OEMs.
Yes the GT 540m is what i was thinking of... Sorry
My Collection:
A30 Pentium 3 512MB ram 60GB HDD Win 98SE
HP 8460p 2nd gen i7 8GB ram 500GB HDD Radeon 6470m Win 7
T440p 4th gen i7 12GB ram GT 730m 1TB SSD Win 10
X1 Extreme Gen 2 16GB ram 1650 M-Q 1TB SSD Win 10
x260 6th gen i-series
Mum's T440s 4th gen i5 8GB ram 300GB SSD Win 10

Post Reply
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post

Return to “GENERAL ThinkPad News/Comments & Questions”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 38 guests