Lenovo ThinkPad T410 Review Discussion

Don't get yourself confused here buddy. The Acer and HP have brushed metal but they are not magnesium. The underneath construction of those machine is pure plastic. Macbook Pros is Aluminum, on slim piece of aluminum that is.

The bottom half is still magnesium alloy covered in plastic. What are you talking about?

Nope. The bottom half of the T61 is magnesium roll-cage with plastic cover, same as before. It does make the computer stronger.

well, before that. It was a slim magnesium layer with plastic underneath. That design is nowhere near as strong as the roll-cage because you get a thicker magnesium frame that protect the components inside.

 

Don't have the specific numbers, but a post on a chief Thinkpad designer's blog on Lenovo's website described the slightly-bowed-upwards lid design of the T61 and Tx00 series as an improvement over the older T60 and T4x series lids because they can bend in slightly under heavy pressure, therefore protecting the screen from damage.

I doubt anyone has spare Thinkpads that they want to test this with

 

The brighter screen on the left is the WXGA model and the dimmer model on the right is the WXGA+ screen.

 

I have put my 170 lbs on my T61 and nothing cracked or broke. Don't ask me why.

So yeah, its bowed lid definitely works.

 

I am more of a 15" person (T510) but this sounds great. Maybe I'll skip dedicated graphics the next update cycle. Don't play games but it always seemed to give the systems a significant overall boost regardless.

However, two things I'd like to see from the ultimate ThinkPad to really move on from my T61p:
1. Backlit keyboard (I fear this will never happen. Sigh...)
2. USB 3.0 (should be coming any moment. HP quietly updated the Envy with 3.0 it seems)

 

Yes and some of the new Elitebooks have USB 3.0 as well.

I'm impressed, I was expecting a total piece of crap... so it's only half crap. but it's not bad, but I really think Lenovo is slipping out of the business market. the Dell and the HP Elitebooks are improving with every generation and in my opinion have far exceed Lenovo in many areas. for example HP uses a magnesium and aluminum combo and is far stronger than the thinkpad. I haven't compared it to a new thinkpad but my HP 8530p feels and is far stiffer than my T500.

I got my T500 a year ago and the Elitebook is a little over a month ago (thanks dtwn!) and after turning it on... the first thing I did was write the kijiji ad to sell my T500... and I'm not regretting it PERIOD.

all I'm trying say is I'm disappointed with Lenovo. I like my computers ROCK solid. Lenovo really doesn't deliver, especially compared to the Elitebook.

I think lenovo should:
1. bring back a primarily metal design
2. get a decent screen! I really hated my T500's screen (and I mean really hated)
3. issue a standard 3 year warrenty (HP does this with there Elitebooks)
4. get rid of the Think light (it's not bright enough anyway) and get an LED keyboard.

 

I disagree. Both thinklights and backlit keyboards are gimmicks with low utility. Rarely do people end up working in environments so dark that need an illuminated keyboard, and even so, someone who uses a keyboard often should know the keys by touch. There's no need to spend money and time putting in the circuitry and changing the keyboard around just so it can light up.

Kevin, do you know if the battery threshold feature is still present on the power manager? If not, could you ask lenovo why they would remove such a useful feature?

The outside shells of dell and HP computers might be metal, but it doesn't mean anything unless these laptops are tested for actual strength.

Furthermore, HP and Dell business notebooks are more expensive than thinkpads. The quality between the three laptops are about the same and they all have deficiencies. Dell latitude keyboards aren't as nice to type on as thinkpad keyboards for example.

Screens are indeed hit or miss. My WXGA+ CCFL screen has great contrast, if average brightness.

Lenovo took feedback from the last generation and made an overall improvement with the 14 inch T series.

 

The Nvidia GPU in the T410 is too slow....

 

For a 14" laptop, it's not bad. It's a vast improvement over the Radeon 3470 in the T400, in any case. It's nearly on par with the Radeon 3650 that was in the T500. Also keep in mind we're not talking about a gaming laptop here.

 

your right, HP and Dell computers are more expensive, but I still feel they are stronger.

 

It's not bad, but they could have done better. If Asus can fit a 4650/4670 in a 14" laptop, so can Lenovo.

 

And why would they?
That would mean thicker machine for cooling, unnessary.
Asus laptops aim at different market.

 

Glad I got my t400! Between the lower battery life, Nvidia GPU, keyboard change, and weaker chassis Ill stick to mine for a while. But Ill admit it does have some decent features compared to mine.

 

you say that T400 got better battery life than T410?
I think if NBZ made a battery test of a T400 equipped with ati 3470, the result might even out. Or even turn to T410 favour.

 

T400 has switchable GPUs so the T410 can't beat that unless it uses switchable GPUs.

 

That's not quite nice for a new GPU. It is roughly on par with the 8600M GT considering the resolution used in this test, but even in a 14.1" notebook there should be better performance by now.

But my real beef with it is that it's the only dedicated option in the T510. In a 15-inch notebook, performance should definitely be better than 8600M GT-quality - that's been the standard for 2.5 years now. The T500's ATI Mobility Radeon 3650 was as good as this new nVIDIA GPU, and gave switchable graphics. It was a better option. An upgrade to the 4650 for the T510 would have made sense and been a very competitive option. As it is, the nVIDIA 3100 isn't any more impressive for its category than the Intel X3100 was for its category back in the day.

For the price, Lenovo almost always gives a 25% discount or so - this is probably the price before that. I definitely wouldn't pay the price listed here for this notebook, though.

Yeah, I have to agree that the T400/T500 have pretty dreadful screens, if the ones I saw at MicroCenter were any indication. The Samsung matté screen on my Dell consumer-grade laptop was leaps and bounds better than the screen-door T500 one, and the T400 was only a touch better. If that's what consumers see when they view a matté screen, it's no wonder they prefer glossy.

Screenshots can't really do screens justice, though. Much better to see them in person.

I also like rock solid computers, and I'm skeptical of this Lenovo. Dell gave me a screen that does not flex on an Inspiron, but Lenovo can't on a T-series? I like being able to put my laptop in a backpack or put books on my laptop and not having to worry about any damage, and I wouldn't trust just any laptop for that. Sure, I'd trust my dad's ancient IBM ThinkPad, and probably a T60, but even those aren't as sturdy as the mid-late '90s models. I guess it's a balance of cost, weight, and durability - the old IBMs are rather like bricks in weight per volume.

I agree on #1-#3 - as I mentioned the screen on the T500 really disappointed me when I saw it in person. The low warranty also raises some questions, although at least they don't gouge too much for an upgrade. I'm not a fan of backlit keyboards myself, but as an option I wouldn't mind.

The battery life on the T410 is quite impressive, though. Can't say I expected anything that good for a 14-inch notebook. Didn't expect a 94 WHr battery, either, though. The 16:10 aspect ratio is also a pleasant surprise - wish they'd kept it on the T510, too. So there are definitely positives. But on the whole I think I'd rather have the previous generation, unless I see the screens on the new ones in person and they are much improved.

 

Exactly what I was thinking. And I love my thinklight! its more then bright enough for me to use.

 

They had to limit the GPU performance on the T510 for the sake of the W510. It has the 1GB NVIDIA Quadro FX 880M (similar to GeForce GT 230) and the ATI HD 4650 outperforms it...not to mention the new HD 5650!

 

So they're the victim of their own lineup. Why don't they upgrade the W510 so they can put a better GPU in their T410?

 

ATI doesn't have a workstation variant yet in the x6xx series.

 

It does seem odd that the W510 doesn't have an upgrade beyond the 880M. The HP EliteBook 8540w, a direct competitor, has the 880M standard (DDR3) and offers the Quadro FX 1800M (GDDR5) as an option.

It will be interesting to see if one or both will be available in the Dell Precision M4500 when it rolls out...

 

It also has the even more powerful ATI FirePro 5800 (GDDR5).

 

I played around with the T410 at my University's bookstore today and thought the quality of the display on the T410 was OK, and nicer than the ones on the X301 and the T400s (don't know how it compares with the standard T400). The screen on the X301 especially is shockingly bad. Such a shame, as the laptop itself is so nice.

 

Diasagree. They can cheap out on the other lines. Take R or whatever but leave the T high end for those who need a reliable work horse. What's a few bucks compared to consulting fees....

 

This would be an option of course. So super keyboardists like you or cheapos don't have to go for it...

 

Of course there are people who, like you, disagree and would feel just fine about paying upwards of $3000 for a nice, reliable machine.

But the problem is, you're in a minority (as are many others on this forum). Most businesses, and even more so consumers, are not willing to pay that much for a computer, when they are now so easily replaceable. Data is now easily synchronized with network storage, so protecting individual data drives is not as critical anymore.

So corporations and consumers alike expect a solid machine with premium features for much less than they paid in the past, forcing manufacturers to make certain small concessions in some areas. For the cost reduction, I think Lenovo has done a pretty admirable job in maintaining quality, although there have been certain blips (keyboard flex, poor switchable graphics drivers, etc).

 

The R-series is being discontinued. The SL-series are the entry-level models aimed at small business, T-series are the mid-range work horses and the W-series are the top-end mobile workstations with the most power and features. The last T61p was the last of the top-end T-series models, then the W500 and W700 took up that flag!

 

1. Is the T410 WXGA+ Display same as the one in T400?

The specs for the LG WXGA+ display in T400 are Brightness is 300 and Contrast is 500:1. Source is: http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/TFT_display

2. Overall dimentions between the T400 and T410 seems similiar. But the base of T410 seems thicker than T400 and the lcd/lid thinner to make overall thickness same. Is this the case?

 

You are both obviously not frequent flyers on night/long haul flights. Apart from lighting up the keyboard, what ThinkLight also does, which backlit keyboards don't, is provide sufficient ambient light to reduce strain on eyes when working in very dark environments, such as on night flights. When it is almost pitch black keeping screen brightness at lowest setting is still to bright for my eyes - ThinkLight is the perfect equalizer.

I have at least one long haul flight a month (11+ hour each sector), where ThinkLight comes very much in handy. When all the passengers around you are sleeping, I don't like to have the seat lamp on as it is always so strong that the passengers close to me will be bothered.

 

LED backlit keyboard is not possible if people still want the same old feel and construction. Let a "cooler" laptop if that's what you want.

 

Both T400 and T410 have 300:1 contrast ratio (from tabook). T510 has 500:1. The notebookcheck review measured the T400 brightness around 184 nits, and the T410 at about 183 nits (weak considering LED back-lighting). Dimensions are the same between the T400 and T410. I would imagine both laptops use a similar screen.

 

I just bougth a T410 that I have upgraded to a 160 gb Intel disk.

I am super-pleased with this laptop! I have a T60 that are really crappy, I upgraded this to a T61p that where a wonderful machine, and still is, and now I have those machines and my new T410. I was planning on buying the T410s at first, but here in Norway they will not start to arrive untill mid March, I was told by Lenovo. And those did not even have a better gfx card.

Very nice review that sums up all my first impressions as well, great job! (only had mine for a few days)

 

@DrSeafood
What battery runtime are you getting out of your system ? I'm asking because the NBR review seem to get much more than the German review at notebookcheck.net. I'm just wondering if there's a difference between European and American SKUs. I'm interested in the NT93FGE offered in Germany.

Could you please provide your battery life and specs for a meaningful comparison? Thanks in advance...

 

Hi, the SKU`s look very similar, mine is NT92WMN.

LENOVO ThinkPad T410
i7-620M 2.66Ghz
14.1" WXGA+ LED
NVS3100M-256MB
4GB
160GB Intel
DVDRW
FPR
BT
CAM
W7P-32

I do not know the battery runtime as of now, I can test this tomorrow at work. Would you like a test with a HD-movie or playing mp3`s perhaps?

 

Hey DrSeafood, can I ask you where you got your T410 from?
I'm in Olso now and not sure where to get it (datakjeden, etc;..) also, I can't find my perfect configuration so far.
DO you know if there's some CTO option available through a retailer maybe or Lenovo Business partner?

 

I bought it through Amentio.no, the problem the way I see it in Norway is that you can not find the perfect config, since you cant do any upgrades. What you see is what you get. I found out that hattelco.no and ps.no had the best descriptions, but amentio the best prices. Datakjeden is owned by amentio, so they have more similar prices now.

I would send a mail to lenovo and get the excell file that shows all of the SKU numbers and what spec they come with, I did that for the T410s, but since they could not deliver untill March, I went for the SSD pimped version of the T410.

 

Do you have a 6-cell oder 9-cell battery? I'd be interested in mixed uses involving web (incl. Flash video), PDF reading/processing, writing music (web or local, more constant), some 720p trailers and some video chat maybe. Anything one is likely to do in a café casually without wanting to carry the brick. I don't "properly" work on battery.

 

Thanks for the tips, I will mail lenovo indeed, should have thought of that earlier.
How long did it take between delivery and reception if I can ask?

 

Until I read your email discussing configurations, I had forgotten that Lenovo doesn't offer CTO (configure-to-order) ThinkPads in most European countries. If I'm not mistaken, only Lenovo UK and Lenovo Ireland offer them.

I found a link on the Lenovo website that lists all of the Lenovo online retailers in Norway- http://www.pc.ibm.com/no/findreseller.html I think it also allows you to search for a dealer in your area. I'm sure there's other useful info there also, if you can read Norwegian, unlike me!

Actually, I learned quite a bit of Swedish prior to visiting Sweden with my ex-wife back in 2003. Oslo was also on the itinerary, but the entire trip (12 long days) were a nightmare and I saw very little outside of Gothenberg and two days in Stockholm. The only bits of Norway that we saw were very rural. We drove from Gotherberg, Sweden to a port city called Drammen, Norway...

I'll spare you the details, but we were taking part in Volvo's "European Delivery Program". We were stuck for the first four days in Gotherberg waiting for the car to arrive from the factory in Belgium!

Next year, I'm planning to visit all of Scandinavia- without the stupid Volvo or the ex-wife!

 

Completely incorrect. Many people (like myself) enjoy working in a semi-lit room environment, with the ThinkLight being the key illuminating factor. I couldn't do without it, to be honest.

It would be interesting to try out an illuminated keyboard, but the ThinkLight is the superior lighting method, in my view.

 

Hey, whatever happened to the pictures you promised, Kevin?

 

Haha you have probably seen more of Norway than I did, I only recently moved from Ireland (and I'm French)...
Got to catch up on you now
Also, I checked those shops and they are all fine, but rather expensive.
Where I stand right now is to decide where to get my T410.
The situation is:
I live in Norway and will be here for the foreseeable future, so a norwegian laptop (with norwegian keyboard) would make life a lot easier for writing.
I'll miss my french keys but that's ok.
I can buy from Ireland and configure it as I wish (I can go back or get it sent over) and for a cheaper price, but I lose the benefit of my keyboard (and no norwegian or french keys at all for that matter).
Or I could buy french, but I doubt it as they have even less choice than Norway right now.
I need to check with Lenovo Ireland or Norway if they can get some customized models... A longshot

 

I have the 9-cell battery and it lasted 6 hours and almost 5 min, with only winamp running and the screen was set to 80% brightness. Not bad I think.

 

I bougth it with a "unknown delivery date", but from the time they got it in their stock, it took 2 days untill I got my dirty hands on it.

 

If you are buying this as a private person, buying it in Norway has huge benefits, you get a "reklamasjons rett" (kind of a consumer warranty in Norway) that beats the producers warranty. It is always 2 or 5 years and this is something you will not get in any other country that I know of. All products has a 2 year reklamsjon, but if it is intended to last longer then 2 years without dying, you get 5 years.

 

I'll be buying it as enkelpresonforetak, as I need it to do my job.
Do you know if that "reklamasjon rett" applies as well?
Also, Can't find a sales email for Lenovo Norge, the contact page as a phone number and a weird email address.

 

Nope, that would be considered as a company i guess.

 

I have owned two ThinkPads in the past, both with the ThinkLight (T43 and R61). Last year, I bought a Dell Latitude E6400 with the backlit keyboard option. To be honest, I'd have a tough time going back to a non-illuminated keyboard or even a ThinkLight! It's a far more useful feature than you'd imagine until you use the laptop in various situations with less-than-ideal lighting. It's an awesome feature, IMO.

The keyboard is flex-free and rock solid, which was a pleasant surprise. I had heard that backlit keyboards would compromise in terms of fee and quality, but that wasn't the case! Now if only Dell could make their Track Stick feel and function half as good as the TrackPoint, it would be close to perfect!

 

What is the battery life on this..?

 

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