T430 Owners .. can i please get your opionions on it ?

[Farro]

hello all,
so i am just about to pull the trigger on a T430 with 3520M 4GB /500GB /14 incher
can someone who owns one give me some input on what to expect ? ( coming from a T61 )
i am planning on running debian or ubuntu on it

thanx all

[thinkpadin]

Hi,

I recently bought the T430 (Minus the Nvidia Graphics card) and the going is good.

What I like:

1) Tried installing CentOS, Scientific Linux, Mint, Ubuntu installs (Dual boot) and all works fine. All works out of the box. I also have a Z570, on which I had to install a newer kernel version for CentOS/SL to get the brightness working...Not so with the T430. It all worked out of the box. No issues what so ever. Suspend/Resume works...the backlight keyboard works....no issues.

2) Keyboard is awesome.....I had used a T60 back while working for IBM, and this keyboard is just as good.

3) The thinkvantage stuff rocks....I have installed a lot of updates and it helps keeping the system running good.

4) The Intel Integrated Graphics card is much better than I expected. I am not into games, so cant help you with Game performance stuff, but, youtube videos, generally video playback is quite good.

What I dont like:

1) Read a few posts about T430 with Nvidia Optimus having Fan Whizzing issues. I didnt need a graphics card, so just went with the Integrated Intel Card option.

2) Heat Issues - The left palm rest gets quite warm...especially if I am on Linux.... In either case the temp is reported at about 45 C...not sure if thats normal or above normal...

3) The T60 never seemed to get fingerprints smudge...This one does...Don't know why

Leaving aside the heat issues, it one awesome laptop. It feels rock solid, and it's a no-nonsense business machine.

I am using an HP Elitebook that my current employer has provided me, and I can clearly see that the thinkpad T430 blows the elitepad in performance, keyboard feel, and yeah looks way way better...

[Farro]

thank you thinkpadin .. i will keep your input in mind.