Thinkpads Forum

Once I decided to upgrade from my T61, several machines have caught my attention. The X1C, W530, and T430. It became a goldilocks kind of situation. The X1C while a sweet machine didn't have all the options I wanted. The W530 on the other hand had everything and more, including a cost of around $1000 more than the T430. So, the T430 seemed just right with the configuration below:

ThinkPad T430 - 1 Year Depot Warranty
• Intel Core i7-3520M Processor (4M Cache, up to 3.60 GHz)
• Windows 8 Pro 64
• 14.0" HD+ (1600 x 900) LED Backlit AntiGlare Display, Mobile Broadband Ready
• NVIDIA NVS 5400M Graphics with Optimus Technology, 1GB DDR3 Memory
• 16 GB PC3-12800 DDR3 (2 DIMM)
• UltraNav with Fingerprint Reader
• 180GB Solid State Drive, SATA3
• DVD Recordable 8x Max, Dual Layer, Ultrabay Enhanced w/ SW Royalty for Windows 8
• 9 Cell Li-Ion TWL 70++
• Bluetooth 4.0 with Antenna
• Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 AGN
• Integrated Mobile Broadband (Ericsson H5321gw)
• 1 Year Depot/Express Warranty
3YR Depot + Accidental Damage Protection
ThinkPad Battery 28++ (9 Cell Slice - T410/20/30, T510/20/30, W510/20/30)

I assume I can swap the DVD ultrabay with an SSD if so desired?
My primary use will be audio editing using Reaper & Adobe Audition, video editing using Adobe Premire Elements, and photo editing with Lightroom. A T430 as configured above should have more than enough ooomph and processing power to accomplish these tasks, right? I'm thinking the difference between the T430 and my T61 would be similar to upgrading from the Gemini space capsule to the Space Shuttle.
Any advice, guidance, and personal experience would be greatly appreciated.
John

That's a very nicely equipped machine. A couple thoughts on it:

1) Are you buying the 16gb of RAM from Lenovo? If I go to www.lenovo.com and configure a T430 (without friends and family or other special program discounts), the upgrade from 4gb -> 16gb of RAM costs $340. You can get this same 16gb of RAM for under $100 from www.newegg.com and install it yourself.
2) The 180gb SSD is a $230 upgrade from Lenovo. You can get a 256gb Samsung 830 series for $169 from www.newegg.com and install it yourself.
3) The Core i7 3520M processor is a $140 upgrade over the Core i5 3360M. For the extra $140 you will get a bump in performance on the Passmark benchmark from 4249 for the i5 3360M (http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu ... 40+2.80GHz) to 4615 for the i7 3520M (http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu ... 40+2.90GHz). That's a theoretical 8.6% increase in performance for $140. Not worth the cost in my opinion.

Yes, you can add an SSD to the ultrabay by removing the DVD burner and adding an ultrabay hard disk drive adapter. You can also use an mSATA SSD for a 3rd internal drive.

My personal opinion is that upgrading the mechanical hard drive to an SSD is worth it (buy the SSD separately as mentioned above), but the upgrade to the Core i7 CPU is not going to be a noticeable difference vs. the top Core i5.

Good luck...

Thanks for the info Wolfman I will take your advice. This is what's great about this site. Folks with experience & expertise helping someone like me. Am I right in thinking the W530 would be overkill for my intended use?
John

johnny9fingers wrote:Thanks for the info Wolfman I will take your advice. This is what's great about this site. Folks with experience & expertise helping someone like me. Am I right in thinking the W530 would be overkill for my intended use?
John

The W 530 has a raid option, it can be useful for heavy pics

johnny9fingers wrote:Once I decided to upgrade from my T61, several machines have caught my attention. The X1C, W530, and T430. It became a goldilocks kind of situation. The X1C while a sweet machine didn't have all the options I wanted. The W530 on the other hand had everything and more, including a cost of around $1000 more than the T430. ...

My primary use will be audio editing using Reaper & Adobe Audition, video editing using Adobe Premire Elements, and photo editing with Lightroom ...

You did not mention the T530. A T530 that is configured to suit your needs can be purchased for much less than a W530. Also, the AUO FHD 1920x1080 screen offered on T/W530 is excellent.

You work on color photo and video, yet you did not mention the FHD screen. The HD+ screen on the T430 is about average.

For perspective, I do audio, photo and video editing on a T520 with i5 and HD 3000 integrated graphics without any problems. (I don't earn my living as a "media" professional, nor am I a casual Adobe user.)

Hi Kaso, Yes I did overlook the T530 but after checking it out find it might be a better fit for me. I'm liking the larger FHD screen too....

John

Well, I ended up getting a T530 from the Outlet Store.
T530 - 2359CTO, i5-3210M, FHD 1920X1080, NVIDIA NVS 5400M Optimus,
4CG RAM, 320GB 7200 HD.
Kind of a bare bones machine but as you all know Memory & HD's can be changed and the machine is open to reconfiguration. I'm happy.
John