For someone who is concerned about excessive heating and longevity, which choice is best?

Hi, I am buying a notebook for someone who uses their laptop for long periods of time for general tasks (e-mail, watching videos, surfing the net) and who is concerned about the sturdiness and most importantly the cooling performance. So I am trying to choose between a ThinkPad L430 and an IdeaPad Z380 (I originally found the U310 appealing but have heard about wifi issues until as recently as December of 2012, even though Lenovo stated that the issue has since been fixed in new hardware units). I know that the ThinkPads are quite sturdy and reliable, so I would like to ask about cooling, and how hot the laptops get. For example, do either of these get quite hot from using it on your lap or in bed (as some people do from time to time). Thanks for the info.

 

I would go with L430. I have both E420 and T430 which are similar to L430, mainly to run some on-line applications during the day, and have never run into overheating problems.

 

FWIW, the T430u I've had for about a week runs unbelievably cool. Rarely feel any significant warmth on the bottom, the fan, when it even runs, is barely audible. Mostly web use. Did livestream non-HD video for two hours and remained cool. The 430u lacks an optical drive, but also can be had for as little as $600+.

 

Some people are saying the resolution is a bit lacking on the T430u, would you say you're satisfied with it, and would a non-technophile notice it?

 

I don't know, we just met. In my personal opinion as screens have become more squat, bumping up in resolution is less desirable as all the extra space comes on the sides, which has less value. If you want the extra resolution, the L series offers it.

I would also take stuff you read on the internet with a grain of salt. You can find negative opinions about every notebook ever made via Google. In the end pick the notebook you like and make the best of it. That's about all you can do. Good Luck.

 

The viewing angles are poor and it's not going to render beautiful, vibrant, sharp images, but evidently that's a problem with all Lenovo HD (1366x768) anti-glare screens. The HD+ option (1600x900) on the L series will be a little sharper due the the high pixel density, but from what I read here they too will have poor viewing angles and aren't particularly vibrant/sharp either. I don't know anything about the glossy screen on the Z380, but it will suffer from light reflection if that's an issue. But to answer your question directly, as a "non-technophile" I've found the 430u screen to be ok for basic web browsing, word processing, occasional Youtube video etc. The screen is my compromise to get a high build quality, lightweight ultrabook for $600 -- I wasn't expecting too much and the screen fully delivered those expectations. (Full disclosure: I haven't personally seen the Lenovo HD+ screens, I only know what I've read here and elsewhere.)

Edit: Just to add to ZaZ's comment, if they're going to be working with two or more windows side-by-side on screen or on large spreadsheets then the higher resolution HD+ screen would help because it enables more content on the screen. However that comes at the price of smaller text size. If they don't need more screen 'real estate' then from what I can tell they won't see a lot of value in the HD+ upgrade -- at least not on most Lenovo 1600x900 screens.

 

Would the Z380 have an improved screen over the ThinkPad? I'm leaning towards this one, the Z series seem to be popular and it's got a nice price right now:

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/...low:Enter?sb=:000001CA:0000298E:#.UNxpSonjm9c

It also says "HD Glare with integrated camera 1366x768" but Lenovo site says the Z-series are focused more on multimedia as opposed to the ThinkPads for productivity. So would they look identical in terms of vibrancy/sharpness?

 

In my experience glossy screens on budget notebooks look better because they offer more contrast, though you'll still get limited angles. If you want a ThinkPad with a good screen I'd look at the X220/X230 with the IPS LCD or the T520/T530 with the FHD.

 

Here is one of the best laptop reviews that I've yet seen: Lenovo ThinkPad T430u in-depth review – Part 1 (Overview)

Part 9 gives an in depth discussion of the display quality of the T430u, both pro and con, and includes some interesting comparisons to other T430 variants.

I went with a 15.6" T530 with FHD screen (1920x1080). The 14" T430 and it's variants (which include T430u (u for ultrabook)) is a bit smaller but especially *lighter* and has a number of interesting "gotcha's" including that the T430 can only take a 7mm drive in the main bay, whereas the T430u can take a 9.5mm drive in the main bay. AFAIK at least one of the variants does not have a DVD.