Thinkpads Forum

ThinkPad T430u will be available later this month (Aug) for $779

Read the article:
http://www.theverge.com/2012/8/8/322899 ... nouncement

• $779
• Ivy Bridge
• 14in
• 1366x768 (booo!)
• up to 8GB RAM
• HDD or 128GB SSD
• 1GB Nvidia GeForce GT 620M
• up to 7 hours battery life
• 0.83in thick
• 4.08 pounds

It seems like a better idea than the X1 Carbon. Excusing personal issues with the keyboard, the screen is a real shame. Hopefully there's a HD+ option
And in my opinion, it looks much better than the X1 Carbon

Lenovo is doing great job by killing every new model with subaverage low-res displays.

Seems like the T430s is very, very similar if thicker. But the T430s gives option of higher resolution screen and higher installed RAM, etc. Out of these two, I think I'd go with the T430s for the flexibility of configuration options.

The main difference between the two is that the T430s still has the 9.5mm ultrabay, which is a huge benefit. That way you can carry around over 1TB of data while still being able to throw in not only one but two SSD's without selling your kidneys on ebay.

Hmmm....looks like the T430u does not have the roll cage or the carbon fiber reinforcement like the T430s does. Disappointing.

http://www.lenovo.com/products/us/lapto ... /t-series/

Given all these issues, I would definitely go with the 430s over the 430u.

The product page...
http://www.lenovo.com/products/us/lapto ... ies/t430u/

says it has a "Sturdy aluminum construction". So they're ditching roll-cage for aluminum... tsk tsk tsk.

yak wrote:says it has a "Sturdy aluminum construction". So they're ditching roll-cage for aluminum... tsk tsk tsk.

What do you mean "ditching"? The T430u is the first of an entirely new chassis design -- there's nothing to "ditch"!

The closest comparison would be to the T4x0s, so it's a choice of an aluminium body or magnesium/GFRP body. I'd take the latter, but I don't exactly think the former will be awful.

Still, I can't really see the T430u being that appealing when the T430s so close in price... (Then again, I can't really see much appeal in "ultrabooks" at all, except perhaps as one of those sorts of show-off-to-your-friends luxury items that seem all too common in the gadget world.)

ThinkRob wrote:What do you mean "ditching"? The T430u is the first of an entirely new chassis design -- there's nothing to "ditch"!

The closest comparison would be to the T4x0s, so it's a choice of an aluminium body or magnesium/GFRP body.

I meant that they decided to replace magnesium with aluminum. Maybe "ditch" was too strong, sorry.
It was my understanding that ThinkPads use magnesium (and not aluminum) for a reason so I was curious why they decided to go with aluminum in T430u.

Hmmm, thunderbolt or not? January announcements said yes. Now (Aug), do a T430u and thunderbolt search and you will see some saying yes, others saying no more thunderbolt (i.e. its just a vanilla mDP).

yak wrote: It was my understanding that ThinkPads use magnesium (and not aluminum) for a reason so I was curious why they decided to go with aluminum in T430u.

It depends on for what. Most of the full-size ThinkPads use plastic casing with a internal magnesium frame (the T6x and many earlier used magnesium lid casing). The X series has traditionally used magnesium alloy for their bottom casing as well, but do not contain an internal magnesium frame.

I'd guess that the T430u uses aluminium for the casing due to its light weight, but I'm not a material science person so that's just speculation. I'd be interested to know the reason. (Not that it will change my opinion of the T430u, but still...)

ThinkRob wrote:I'd guess that the T430u uses aluminium for the casing due to its light weight, but I'm not a material science person so that's just speculation. I'd be interested to know the reason. (Not that it will change my opinion of the T430u, but still...)

Aluminium parts are less expensive than magnesium ones because magnesium tends to ignite and requieres more safety measures in manufacturing. But weight-to-strength ratio favors magnesium over aluminium.

It's a saving measure. Thinkpads are cheaper than ever, in case you've not noticed.

mikemex wrote: It's a saving measure. Thinkpads are cheaper than ever, in case you've not noticed.

Yes. I have. Naturally every change since 2005 has been a cost-saving measure...

Either way, the T430u doesn't make a lot of sense to me given how good the T430s and X1 Carbon look..

ThinkRob wrote:Yes. I have. Naturally every change since 2005 has been a cost-saving measure...

Lids used to be one solid piece of magnesium but modern ones have a plastic border on top or are entirely plastic. This is not a cost saving measure, it was a change requiered to improve signal propagation for all the radios modern laptops have. Not every change was made to save on costs because fiber reinforced plastic parts parts aren't really cheaper than magnesium equivalents.

Tyler K wrote:Hmmm, thunderbolt or not? January announcements said yes. Now (Aug), do a T430u and thunderbolt search and you will see some saying yes, others saying no more thunderbolt (i.e. its just a vanilla mDP).

I looked at the tabook and (unless they have made a mistake or omitted it) it doesn't appear that the T430u will feature thunderbolt ... (I was hoping they would have, at the least, made it available on an i7 option like they did with the T430s, or as how a USB3.0 option was done with earlier models).

As a consolation, this laptop will be able to drive three displays simultaneously (the laptop's own screen and two external monitors via the HDMI and mDP connectors). As per the tabook:

Intel HD Graphics 4000 in processor,
external digital monitor support via HDMI or Mini DisplayPort
supports three independent displays;
Maximum external resolution: 2560x1600 (Mini-DisplayPort or HDMI)@60Hz

mikemex wrote: Lids used to be one solid piece of magnesium but modern ones have a plastic border on top or are entirely plastic. This is not a cost saving measure, it was a change requiered to improve signal propagation for all the radios modern laptops have. Not every change was made to save on costs because fiber reinforced plastic parts parts aren't really cheaper than magnesium equivalents.

I don't know what the cost of various materials are, so I'll have to defer to experts on that one.

I was being facetious, aping some of the responses I've seen about this issue that seem a little quick to claim every change as being due to "cheapness".

Sorry if this wasn't obvious!

Latios wrote:the screen is a real shame. Hopefully there's a HD+ option

According to the Tabook ... no HD+ option !!!
It's really very difficult to understand Lenovo !
They change the wonderful KB for a chicklet and even the W 530 has the crappy 16/9 HD panel

The T430u and T430s are similar, but you are getting double the hard drive space and and slightly longer battery life. If you look at the images the casing is also different designed and finish. The speaker outlets are on the T430s are on the top and to the side of the keyboard. Where as on the T430u the speaker outlets are on the side. The ports are in different places. T430s the ports are all in the back. The T430u ports are on the side and back. The T430u looks to be slightly thinner.

The T430u lid is made of aluminium, and the bottom chassis is made of glass fiber reinforced polymer.

For the size comparison of T430s, T430u, X1 Carbon and X1, have a look at the picture set.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lead_org/8 ... 911400126/