Thinkpads Forum

I recently bought my wife a thinkpad T410 with 1280×800 screen resolution and an Nvidia discrete graphics card. My current thinkpad T60 with 1400 x 1050 and a ATI radeon X1400 has been giving me some issues lately, and I figured it was time for an upgrade. I started playing around with my wife's computer to see if a T410 would work for me, and the first thing I noticed was the terrible screen quality.

On my T60 there is very minimal distortion of the picture or color with different viewing ankles. You really need to be viewing at close to 70 degrees from center in any direction before the picture starts to seriously degrade and reading/viewing becomes difficult.

With my wife's computer, if you move your head 5 degrees from center, the picture starts to degrade. Viewing the screen from below is the worst, with some kind of glare on the darker colors rendering the entire screen unreadable. Watching movies on the T410 screen is not a pleasant experience.

In short, my 4 1/2 year old, non wide-screen T60 screen blows my wife's brand new T410 screen out of the water. There is absolutely no comparison. The T410 screen is so inferior, I think it's a deal breaker for me, and I need to consider a different laptop.

Is there something I'm missing here? Did my wife just buy a crappy model? It cost $1600 so I can't see that being the case. Is the T410 with 1400 x 900 resolution better?

If screen quality is important to me, will a W series screen be closer in quality to my T60? The problem is I really like the form factor of the T410.

I have the 1400 x 900 with absolutely no complaints. Better than my Fujitsu T5010. Paid $1049.

14" or 15" T60? If it's the 15" SXGA+ flexview, the only current Thinkpad that will offer a similar experience would be the X201t.

On a T410, you want the 1400 x 900 LCD - LED backlit. Send it back or change the LCD.

I suppose my eyesight is getting worse with age, but I consider the screen on my T410 (1440 x 900) about the same quality as my six year old T41 (1400 x 1050). Both could use better contrast--black is just gray. The viewing angles are so-so, but this really isn't a problem.

FredGarvin wrote:14" or 15" T60? If it's the 15" SXGA+ flexview, the only current Thinkpad that will offer a similar experience would be the X201t.

It is the 15" T60 and it's flexview, but I'm not sure about the SXGA+ part. It is 1400 x 1050 pixels.

I don't really need or want a tablet PC. Has anyone dirrectly compared the T410 1400 x 900 screen and the lower definition screens with regards to viewing angles? I didn't really think I was picky about screens until viewing the T60 and T410 that we have side by side, and I don't think I'm willing to shell out more than $1000 for something that isn't going to look as good or better than what I have.

That fits your description. As FredGarvin said - they don't have similar quality screens (in terms of viewing angles that is) in any Thinkpad these days except tablets.

sweetness wrote:It is the 15" T60 and it's flexview, but I'm not sure about the SXGA+ part. It is 1400 x 1050 pixels.

I don't really need or want a tablet PC. Has anyone dirrectly compared the T410 1400 x 900 screen and the lower definition screens with regards to viewing angles?

There is no point in comparing these, as TN panels have inferior viewing angles by design.
And the only thinkpad which now uses non-TN panel (IPS or *VA) is X200/X201 tablet. Also, there is an option of DIY upgrade of X200/X200s/X201/X201s wih an IPS/*VA screen.
Other manufacturers are not much better though. Nowadays you will only get IPS or *VA panel (with great viewing angles) in tablets (however, not all tablets feature such screens) and in a couple of expensive, huge and heavy "workstation" models from other manfacturers (i don't remember the exact models).

penartur wrote: Other manufacturers are not much better though.

Not quite true. All TN panels aren't the same. Go to your local Apple store and compare a MacBook to almost any Thinkpad. The Apple product looks vastly better. Lenovo could spec better panels - they just choose not to.

The HD+ and FHD panels in the T510 and W510 are supposedly really good.

Hey colonel...

I noted one of your posts:

"The HD+ and FHD panels in the T510 and W510 are supposedly really good."

Which video options would you be willing to pay extra for?

jayk wrote:Not quite true. All TN panels aren't the same. Go to your local Apple store and compare a MacBook to almost any Thinkpad. The Apple product looks vastly better. Lenovo could spec better panels - they just choose not to.

We were talking about viewing angles. Yes, TN panels used in macbook have better viewing angles than TN panels used in thinkpads, but there is no comparison to IPS or *VA.

Daniel Davis wrote:Hey colonel...

I noted one of your posts:

"The HD+ and FHD panels in the T510 and W510 are supposedly really good."

Which video options would you be willing to pay extra for?

Well, the regular HD panel is a definite no-no due to the visible pixel grid.
I wouldn't buy a ThinkPad without a 35% or 40% coupon. Usually you get a price break if your sale price goes above $2000 (before the web discount).

So if I were to spec out an i5 T510 with HD+ panel, I'd get something like $1200 after tax. If I were to change the HD+ to an FHD panel, I'd end up with a price tag of $1150 after tax. So... No-brainer.