Lenovo T530 Owner's Thread

[formerglory]

Well, I can give reports on a T420 and a 2011 MBP, both with similar hardware, as my T530 has been shipped but hasn't arrived yet.

The T420 (i7 Sandy Bridge dual-core, NVIDIA, HD+ screen, mSATA SSD) gave me around 7-8 hours with a 9-cell battery. Ivy Bridge should be more power-friendly, so possibly expect around the same, maybe less due to the higher-res screen and mechanical hard drive.

Mind you, these are just best educated guesses based on similar hardware. I'm not too keen on what kind of battery-saving measures exactly Ivy Bridge has, just know that it's more power- and heat-friendly.

[crackertime]

Well, I can give reports on a T420 and a 2011 MBP, both with similar hardware, as my T530 has been shipped but hasn't arrived yet.

The T420 (i7 Sandy Bridge dual-core, NVIDIA, HD+ screen, mSATA SSD) gave me around 7-8 hours with a 9-cell battery. Ivy Bridge should be more power-friendly, so possibly expect around the same, maybe less due to the higher-res screen and mechanical hard drive.

Mind you, these are just best educated guesses based on similar hardware. I'm not too keen on what kind of battery-saving measures exactly Ivy Bridge has, just know that it's more power- and heat-friendly.

Thanks very much for your input. I read somewhere that someone claimed 2-3 hours on this thing, which would be horrendous battery life. I would think even just getting 5-6 on a 9 volt battery would be on the low side no? I was hoping for the crazy 13 hour battery life reported for the T430.

[crackertime]

This review just gave me some hope

"Our test device uses a 9 cell battery with a rated capacity of 94 Wh. In the Battery Eater Reader test, with minimum screen brightness and Wi-Fi disabled, we achieved a maximum runtime of 10.5 hours.

The more realistic Wi-Fi surfing test, with a screen brightness of 150 cd/m2 and Wi-Fi enabled, uses Internet surfing as the load and our ThinkPad sample lasted a remarkable 8 hours in this test.

We tested the ThinkPad’s endurance by watching DVD movies and measured a runtime of 5.5 hours, more than enough for even two extended cut movies.

In the Battery Eater Classic test, we rendered a moving 3D scene with Wi-Fi enabled and maximum screen brightness, representing a worst case scenario. In this test, our notebook only lasted about 2 hours. The processor’s performance remained at the same level as on AC power. The GPU was a bit weaker and only scored 9033 points in 3DMark06 as compared to the 9215 points on AC power.

The ThinkPad T530 demonstrated a 3 hour recharge time."

Review Lenovo ThinkPad T530 2429-5XG Notebook - Notebookcheck.net Reviews

[brokebutnotpoor]

To anyone who has the T530 - how is the temperature on it doing idle and load?

The review from the previous post has me worried...Review Lenovo ThinkPad T530 2429-5XG Notebook - Notebookcheck.net Reviews

But another review for the t430 has extremely low temperatures from this review. http://www.laptopmag.com/review/lapt...kpad-t430.aspx

Also, where is the original stick of RAM located on the T530? Is it located on the underside of the machine or do I need to go underneath the keyboard for a RAM upgrade? Thanks a lot in advance.

[crackertime]

To anyone who has the T530 - how is the temperature on it doing idle and load?

The review from the previous post has me worried...Review Lenovo ThinkPad T530 2429-5XG Notebook - Notebookcheck.net Reviews

But another review for the t430 has extremely low temperatures from this review. Lenovo ThinkPad T430 Review | Business Laptop Reviews

Also, where is the original stick of RAM located on the T530? Is it located on the underside of the machine or do I need to go underneath the keyboard for a RAM upgrade? Thanks a lot in advance.

The article has a section on temperatures, and has a description and photos of where the RAM is located and how to get it.

[brokebutnotpoor]

Oh wow, I completely missed the pictures on the right of the review. Thanks for the heads - up.

I also read the section on temperatures and the reason why I'm asking is to find out why the temperatures are so different between the T430 and the T530. Aren't they the same machine except for the monitor?

[Titivillus]

Oh wow, I completely missed the pictures on the right of the review. Thanks for the heads - up.

I also read the section on temperatures and the reason why I'm asking is to find out why the temperatures are so different between the T430 and the T530. Aren't they the same machine except for the monitor?

I believe the t430 review unit is missing the discrete GPU that the T530 had. That probably accounts for some of the heat, but the jump in temps between the T520 and T530 reviewed by Notebookcheck is more perplexing. Maybe their T530 was a bad unit?

[crackertime]

Hopefully once people start getting theirs they can comment on battery life, and if that loose 9 cell battery was just a defective machine they had to review.

I am also curious, based on reading about the fact that the video card you can opt for is not good for gaming, is it possible to install your own GPU? Thanks

[KittyFields]

Hopefully once people start getting theirs they can comment on battery life, and if that loose 9 cell battery was just a defective machine they had to review.

My 9-cell is a little loose, actually. It definitely wiggles.

Also, I commented on the 9-cell battery life earlier on in this thread (page 7 or 8?).

[crackertime]

My 9-cell is a little loose, actually. It definitely wiggles.

Also, I commented on the 9-cell battery life earlier on in this thread (page 7 or 8?).

Hey there, sorry I missed that somehow. 6:37 seems pretty good to me.

Can I ask you to share with us how much it weighs with the 9 cell battery, should you have the time? Thanks so much.