Lenovo Thinkpad T410 Owner's Lounge

[ba11ousai]

Hello all,

After much pondering, I have bought a T410 . It's the 2518-4JU, so discrete graphics and a 9-cell. I'm mostly happy with it, but I do have a few gripes. I've searched on these forums but haven't found much definitive info on them. I'd be happy if anyone could answer these or point me in the right direction.

a) I got a Samsung screen . Generally it's ok, the brightness is pretty good, but the screen just seems slightly 'blocky' and blurred sometimes. Are there tweaks that one can do to minimize this effect? Or should I install different drivers like the Omegadrivers?

b) Would it be worth buying an LG screen and replacing it myself? Is the difference in quality that marked? Has anyone ever done a review (with pics) of LG vs Samsung screens for the T410?

I found an LG screen at this link: link

If I buy it and replace my screen with it, would I void the warranty since it doesn't have an official Thinkpad part number? The screens with official Thinkpad part numbers (say at thinkpad-parts) seem to be much more expensive (around 300$).

c) I was slightly surprised to find that the discrete graphics runs somewhat warm and I can feel the warmth on the palmrests. I looked into downclocking the NVIDIA GPU to reduce power dissipation and was able to get it to manageable levels. However, nTune and the NVIDIA control panel seem slightly buggy to me. When I saved my profile to downclock the card on startup, it ran into issues with the Baseline.npe script/profile that downclocks the card to minimum whenever it is inactive for 30 seconds. Does RivaTuner (or something else) work better for controlling the clock of the GPU?

d) I also got one of the "hyperactive fan" models. Using TPfancontrol certainly helps, but it would be nice if Lenovo fixed their BIOS on this note. My current BIOS version is . Would updating to the latest 1.34 BIOS help me at all with regards to the fan issue?

e) Curiously, my T410 came with Windows XP installed, but with Windows 7 recovery disks that could be used to change it to Windows 7. Is it possible to install Windows 7 and keep the Windows XP recovery partition to restore to factory if necessary? If I end up having to mail this laptop to Lenovo for warranty service, do they require the laptop to be reset to factory before doing so?

Thanks!

[realwarder]

a) Check for power management issues on the display drivers - if you have a brand new T410 it may use Optimus and basically use the Intel HD and/or the Nvidia based on the application. Intel HD has a low power mode which is visible mostly on battery and does have an effect of blurriness like you describe. I don't know about this on Nvidia.

b) My LG is ok.. I've never seen a Samsung to compare. I think you'd break the warranty though.

c) pass

d) No. All BIOS on the T410 run the fan faster than you think it needs. You might find that is the cause of (c) if you are slowing it down.

e) I'd make the XP recovery disks and then wipe the drive completely and install Win7. You could always go back if required, but you won't need to.

[sunnypv]

Is this an OK Deal for T410 ==> $794.29


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[DboogieC]

can someone recommend me a thinkpad, these things a sweet, id like to have one as a secondary notebook. pre owned would be nice ? what are somethings to look for ?

[ePsychotiC]

Can someone tell me how the NVS 3100 will play CSS? @1440x900 of course .

I am planning to buy the T410 tomorrow with:
Processor Intel Core i5-560M Processor (2.66GHz, 3MB L3) Operating system Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Operating system language Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 US English Display type 14.1 WXGA+ TFT, w/ LED Backlight (WWAN antenna) System graphics NVIDIA NVS 3100m Optimus Graphics 512MB DDR3 with AMT Modem 56K v.92 Designed Modem Total memory 4 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1067MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM) Keyboards Keyboard US English Pointing device UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad) Hard drive 500 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm Optical device DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer, Ultrabay Slim (Serial ATA) Battery 6 cell 2.6Ah Li-Ion Battery - Dual Mode Power cord Country Pack North America with Line cord & 90W AC adapter Integrated WiFi wireless LAN adapters ThinkPad bgn Wireless Integrated mobile broadband Integrated Mobile Broadband - Upgradable Language pack Language Pack US English

For $853. Is that a good deal? I'm applying a 10% off coupon and the sales rep is taking around $50 off for me. Are there any coupons that are more than 10%? Thanks.

[realwarder]

Can someone tell me how the NVS 3100 will play CSS? @1440x900 of course .

I am planning to buy the T410 tomorrow with:
Processor Intel Core i5-560M Processor (2.66GHz, 3MB L3) Operating system Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Operating system language Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 US English Display type 14.1 WXGA+ TFT, w/ LED Backlight (WWAN antenna) System graphics NVIDIA NVS 3100m Optimus Graphics 512MB DDR3 with AMT Modem 56K v.92 Designed Modem Total memory 4 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1067MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM) Keyboards Keyboard US English Pointing device UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad) Hard drive 500 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm Optical device DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer, Ultrabay Slim (Serial ATA) Battery 6 cell 2.6Ah Li-Ion Battery - Dual Mode Power cord Country Pack North America with Line cord & 90W AC adapter Integrated WiFi wireless LAN adapters ThinkPad bgn Wireless Integrated mobile broadband Integrated Mobile Broadband - Upgradable Language pack Language Pack US English

For $853. Is that a good deal? I'm applying a 10% off coupon and the sales rep is taking around $50 off for me. Are there any coupons that are more than 10%? Thanks.

I don't see a webcam listed there - don't know if you wanted that or not.

That's about as good a price you'll get at the moment for that build.

Don't know what your use is, but I like the fingerprint reader add-on which is normally around $20. Allows you to secure your system better.

[ePsychotiC]

I don't see a webcam listed there - don't know if you wanted that or not.

That's about as good a price you'll get at the moment for that build.

Don't know what your use is, but I like the fingerprint reader add-on which is normally around $20. Allows you to secure your system better.

All I will be using it for is school work, watching videos, and playing CSS. I wont need a webcam and I really have no use for a finger print reader. Do you know how CSS will run on the 3100m @ 1440x900 res? Thanks

[ePsychotiC]

Just bought it . Will be joining you guys very soon. Should I condition the battery and reinstall Win7? Does Lenovo come with a lot of bloatware? Also, is it worth it to do a clean install or should I just remove the applications that I think are useless? I have never done a clean install before so I am worried that I might miss a driver and mess up my whole laptop. Thanks

[realwarder]

Just bought it . Will be joining you guys very soon. Should I condition the battery and reinstall Win7? Does Lenovo come with a lot of bloatware? Also, is it worth it to do a clean install or should I just remove the applications that I think are useless? I have never done a clean install before so I am worried that I might miss a driver and mess up my whole laptop. Thanks

You don't need to do anything to the battery. Thinkpad battery management is probably the best of any laptop made.

While Lenovo doesn't load tons of junk, I have to say that I always wipe and install a clean Windows simply so I know the state of the machine.

If you've never done that though, I'd simply save yourself the effort and just uninstall anything you think you don't need. The default build is actually pretty good.

[sfgiants123]

First time poster as I'm new to this forum, but I've been reading through this thread and there has been some very helpful information. I'm in the market for a new laptop, but it looks like I will be a first time thinkpad owner. After looking through the models, it looks like I may be set on the T410 as well.

As of now this is what I'm looking at:

Processor: Intel Core i5-560M Processor (2.66GHz, 3MB L3)
Operating system: Windows 7 Home Premium 32
Operating system language: Windows 7 Home Premium 32 US English
Display type: 14.1 WXGA TFT, w/ LED Backlight (WWAN antenna)
System graphics: NVIDIA NVS 3100m Optimus Graphics 512MB DDR3 with AMT
Modem: 56K v.92 Designed Modem
Total memory: 4 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1067MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM)
Keyboards: Keyboard US English
Pointing device: UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad)
Camera: Camera, 2.0 MP
Hard drive: 250 GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm
Optical device: DVD Recordable 8x Max Dual Layer, Ultrabay Slim (Serial ATA)
Battery: 6 cell 2.6Ah Li-Ion Battery - Dual Mode
Power cord: Country Pack North America with Line cord & 90W AC adapter
Integrated WiFi wireless LAN adapters: Intel Centrino Wireless-N 1000
Integrated mobile broadband: Integrated Mobile Broadband - Upgradable
Language pack: Language Pack US English

For: $917.36 including a student discount and another christmas time e-coupon

Thoughts?

Also I have some questions:

-Is Windows 7 Professional really that much better (from my understanding it basically just has xp mode), also 32 bit vs 64 bit? I know Vista had some issues with 64 at the start.
-On Display type there is the option I have, and then another option for 28$ that says the same thing but with "WXGA+" with the plus at the end. What is this upgrade, is it worth it at all?
-On the RAM it's the same price 4, should I go with 4GB that's 1 DIMM or 2 DIMM?
-I know it has been talked about quite a bit in this thread, but 6 cell vs 9 cell. Is the 6.6 hours of battery life with 6 cell and 11 hours with 9 being extremely optimistic, or are these realistic numbers? Getting a solid 5 hours or so would be a huge improvement over my Sony Vaio.
-On the WiFi card, is it worth spending the extra money on the more expensive cards such as the Intel Advanced or Ultimate? Or is the regular one get the job done fine?
-How is the overall picture quality with the screen? I use the instant streaming on Netflix regularly, so that is something important when it comes to a laptop. It's unfortunate that there isn't an HDMI output on the T410.