Lenovo T530 Owner's Thread

[Ozymandius]

Hello to all t530 owners. Am planning to get the t530 with the NVIDIA quadro, i7 and 1600x900 hd+ options. Was just reading the notebookcheck review which stated that there were some heat issues, especially under load. Can anyone confirm this? Is the heating really that big an issue?

[susanwrites]

Hi Susan,

I am currently on a Dell Studio 1555 and am seriously considering the T530 as my next laptop. I am also a writer/photographer and I would appreciate it if you could answer a couple of questions based on your experience with the T530 so far:

1. How does the keyboard compare with the Dell's?
2. I have a FHD screen on the Dell. How is the FHD screen on the Thinkpad, especially for photography?
3. The Dell has a real flimsy hinge holding the lid up. I assume the Thinkpad has no wobbling issues?
4. How does the trackpad compare to that on the Dell?
5. The Dell has some decent speakers and the laptop has served well for my wife and I to watch movies on. How are the ones on the T530?

And are there any other things you think might be an issue for someone who has used a Dell Studio 1555 for almost 3 years?

Thank you so much for your time,

David

Hi David,

Wow, sounds like we have similar Dell systems. I can give you first impressions and then some more as the week goes on as I've been dragging my heels getting things moved over to the new system because I'm not looking forward to switching to Windows 7. (I liked the simplicity of XP and hate the look of Windows 7, even after trying to customize it.)

1. I like the keyboard and that's saying something because I LOVE my Dell keyboard. So much so that I think when I've finally committed to the new system I'll probably wipe this old Dell, install Windows 7 and Scrivener and use the Dell to finish the current WIP.

The best thing about the Dell 1555 is the near full-size keyboard without the blasted number pad. The T530 is about an inch less wide which throws me off a little but not a lot. I don't have any trouble with the arrow keys and the stuff on the right but I will say that the cntl/fn keys being reversed is a pain. I left it Lenovo's way for a start to see how it felt but I'm going to go into the bios and switch it and hope my OCD doesn't freak out at having the keys labeled wrong.

I was able to type a page with no errors right out of the box and the keys had a nice response for someone who is going to be inputting a lot of text. I'm hoping the smaller keyboard doesn't create other issues but right now, I think it will be great.

2. I got the 1920 x 1080 FHD screen on the Lenovo and it is wonderful. I put the same photos on both systems and looked at them side-by-side and they looked pretty close to the same with an edge to the Lenovo. And that was just a quick look. I'm moving my photography stuff over today and will look at things more closely then but I think it's going to be great.

3. My Dell hinge has no problems so I can't really compare there but the build on my Lenovo seems pretty darned solid all the way around. I'm impressed with it.

4. The trackpad might take some getting used to. It depends on you. It's not smooth like the Dell one and the textured throws me off a little bit but I imagine it will smooth down with use.

5. The speakers are laptop speakers. No better than the Dell but no worse. That will be a personal call for you. I don't watch movies on my laptop but I do use it to listen to music but then I'm usually plugged into the larger monitor and nicer speakers.

I think the biggest adaption is going to be the keyboard size. You can tell you're typing on a smaller keyboard but it's not like typing on my little Samsung netbook that I use when I travel.

It's very quiet but then I swapped out the DVD drive for an SSD and I swapped out the HD it came with for a larger 1 terrabyte HD from Western Digital. It's been super quiet and no heat issues (though I always use a lap desk when using the laptop.)

It's been hard for me to leave Dell because I've been so happy with this Studio 1555. I had the extended warranty on it and many things have been replaced and I will let Dell keep on repairing it so I'll have a nice backup computer.

Oh, the battery life on the Lenovo is MUCH longer than the Dell. That part is very nice.

I think, after doing a lot of obsessive research, that the T530 is a nice move up from the Dell 1555 and will give me years of good service. For you I would guess the speakers might be the only issue but if you were happy with the Dell ones, the Lenovo might be okay.
(I haven't plugged my system into the docking station yet to see if I have the clicking issue so many folks are having.)

Ping me again with any more questions I might be able to answer about the comparison.

[susanwrites]

Hello to all t530 owners. Am planning to get the t530 with the NVIDIA quadro, i7 and 1600x900 hd+ options. Was just reading the notebookcheck review which stated that there were some heat issues, especially under load. Can anyone confirm this? Is the heating really that big an issue?

What is considered a big load, enough to cause heat issues?

I'd like to put my system to the test but I'm not sure what that would mean.

[Ozymandius]

Not really sure, but the notebookcheck review I linked above seems to indicate a problem even in general running. The relevant paras are below:

"In terms of temperatures, the ThinkPad T530 did not score as well. While idle, the underside of the T530 reached nearly 40oC (104oF). This is very close to the feasible limit for lap-top use. The top of the notebook stayed within an acceptable range with a maximum temperature of 35oC (95oF). During the extreme load of our simultaneous CPU/GPU stress test, the ThinkPad heated up particularly in the vent area on the left side and both the top and bottom of the unit reached a high 53oC (127oF). The left wrist rest did not remain particularly cool with a measured temperature of 39oC (102oF).

In our stress test, we checked to see if CPU and GPU performance remained available over longer periods of full load. At first, it seemed that the T530 coped well as it was able to run at its full 3.4 GHz Turbo Boosted speed for the first hour. Once the CPU temperature climbed to over 100oC (212oF), the CPU clock immediately dropped to 1.2 GHz and remained there until the core temperature dropped to below 80oC (176oF). In 3DMark06, the ThinkPad was able to reach full power, suggesting that overheating is very unlikely in normal use."

Like I said, am considering buying and had pretty much ordered it, but the heating issue is kind of worrying. Any similar issues on your system? This is the link for the review I quoted above Review Lenovo ThinkPad T530 2429-5XG Notebook - Notebookcheck.net Reviews

[brokebutnotpoor]

Not really sure, but the notebookcheck review I linked above seems to indicate a problem even in general running. The relevant paras are below:

"In terms of temperatures, the ThinkPad T530 did not score as well. While idle, the underside of the T530 reached nearly 40oC (104oF). This is very close to the feasible limit for lap-top use. The top of the notebook stayed within an acceptable range with a maximum temperature of 35oC (95oF). During the extreme load of our simultaneous CPU/GPU stress test, the ThinkPad heated up particularly in the vent area on the left side and both the top and bottom of the unit reached a high 53oC (127oF). The left wrist rest did not remain particularly cool with a measured temperature of 39oC (102oF).

In our stress test, we checked to see if CPU and GPU performance remained available over longer periods of full load. At first, it seemed that the T530 coped well as it was able to run at its full 3.4 GHz Turbo Boosted speed for the first hour. Once the CPU temperature climbed to over 100oC (212oF), the CPU clock immediately dropped to 1.2 GHz and remained there until the core temperature dropped to below 80oC (176oF). In 3DMark06, the ThinkPad was able to reach full power, suggesting that overheating is very unlikely in normal use."

Like I said, am considering buying and had pretty much ordered it, but the heating issue is kind of worrying. Any similar issues on your system? This is the link for the review I quoted above Review Lenovo ThinkPad T530 2429-5XG Notebook - Notebookcheck.net Reviews

it was addressed. check the earlier pages. the review seems faulty because some owners disagreed and the room temp is too high. also, check laptopmag's review of the w530, same chassis, if anything the w530 should run hotter because of the gfx card and the qm. Lenovo ThinkPad W530 Review | Workstation Reviews

[ibmthink]

Not really sure, but the notebookcheck review I linked above seems to indicate a problem even in general running. The relevant paras are below:

"In terms of temperatures, the ThinkPad T530 did not score as well. While idle, the underside of the T530 reached nearly 40oC (104oF). This is very close to the feasible limit for lap-top use. The top of the notebook stayed within an acceptable range with a maximum temperature of 35oC (95oF). During the extreme load of our simultaneous CPU/GPU stress test, the ThinkPad heated up particularly in the vent area on the left side and both the top and bottom of the unit reached a high 53oC (127oF). The left wrist rest did not remain particularly cool with a measured temperature of 39oC (102oF).

In our stress test, we checked to see if CPU and GPU performance remained available over longer periods of full load. At first, it seemed that the T530 coped well as it was able to run at its full 3.4 GHz Turbo Boosted speed for the first hour. Once the CPU temperature climbed to over 100oC (212oF), the CPU clock immediately dropped to 1.2 GHz and remained there until the core temperature dropped to below 80oC (176oF). In 3DMark06, the ThinkPad was able to reach full power, suggesting that overheating is very unlikely in normal use."

Like I said, am considering buying and had pretty much ordered it, but the heating issue is kind of worrying. Any similar issues on your system? This is the link for the review I quoted above Review Lenovo ThinkPad T530 2429-5XG Notebook - Notebookcheck.net Reviews

This is a really bad part of this review. They test the notebook at 27° C room temperature and then they wonder why the notebook gets hot? Hello, Notebookcheck, thats not a good test.

[crackertime]

Hi David,

Oh, the battery life on the Lenovo is MUCH longer than the Dell. That part is very nice.

Thanks very much for your thoughts thus far. I wonder if you could comment on the average battery life you are seeing? Thanks!

[Ozymandius]

This is a really bad part of this review. They test the notebook at 27° C room temperature and then they wonder why the notebook gets hot? Hello, Notebookcheck, thats not a good test.

Hmm. So what temps are reviews meant to be carried out in? I am really interested, because I'm from a pretty hot country, where access to air-conditioning is not always a given. Would like to know how the T530 (or thinkpads in general) handle ambient room temps around 30c.

[OCM]

I've a T530 and the bottom of the laptop is pretty much room temperature during normal operation. It get's hot when running the GPU full load (specially because I have it OC'd) but it's still cooler than my old T60p, after owning one of those nothing really gets too hot for you.

i5-3360M Nvidia NVS5400M

[BigDaddySweets]

Hey T530 owners. I have just placed my order. One question for all of you: are you happy with your product?

I'll let you know when I get mine. I ordered on 7/13. It spent 7 1/2 days in Customs in Louisville, KY. Finally released and should be delivered today (one week after the initial UPS estimate).

The most frustrating thing about ordering my T530 is the anxiety over the miscommunicated delivery date and the lack of information once it his Customs. Prepare yourself for a delay in customs. I've seen delays from 4 hours to 3 weeks when scraping these forums (and others). I'm not sure why, but there is larger number of customs delays with Lenovo's versus other manufacturers. Note, I have confirmed that the entire Lenovo "Group" of packages was delayed in customs, not just my packages. In the past, there were concerns that individual packages included invoices, but the "group" of packages did not include the master invoice.

I chatted with UPS online at 6 days in customs and they stated "we are waiting on customs to release." I got an email reponse from Lenovo to the same effect.

The bottom line here is: Set your expectations and be patient.

I've had Thinkpads before (T30, T31, T43) and I've had great success with them all. Some were work computers, I still have the T30 (acquired used in 2004) and would keep using it, but it has critical software configurations and I don't want to risk an upgrade of memory or OS. Once I get the T530 set up, I'll move over the critical software and upgrade the T30 for other usage.