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90 degrees
</td>
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120 degrees
</td> </tr> </tbody> </table>
Ports and Docking Station
I’m still using my previous generation Mini Dock Plus Series 3 (433810U), but it seems to work just fine, save for the understandable lack of USB 3.0 support.
The Thinkpad itself has the following ports:
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2 USB 3.0
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1 Powered USB 2.0
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1 USB/eSATA
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Gigabit ethernet (10/100/1000)
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Expresscard 34mm (I have an SD card reader in here)
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3.5mm audio
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VGA out
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Mini Displayport
The introduction of two USB 3.0 ports was welcome, especially in this age of ultrabooks with only 2 USB ports total. Note that the Displayport has changed size, so older adapters will no longer work. It is, however, now compatible with Macbook adapters.
Noise, Heat, and Battery Life
The fan runs a little louder under load than my T410s, but not enough to really be bothersome. Even when running graphics benchmarks, the computer didn’t become very hot.
In daily use (some web browsing and document editing) I was able to get around 4 hours of use with Nvidia graphics enabled, and closer to 5 with them disabled. I am at 75% display with the maximum better life settings in the Lenovo Power Manager and an extra bay battery.
I ran a DVD with Windows Media Player on battery at 80% brightness with balanced power settings. The computer lasted 2 hours and 15 minutes before going to sleep. This was with the primary battery alone (DVD drive was in the bay). Though slightly better than my T410s, I really don’t feel that an extra battery should be necessary just to hit 4 hours, especially since it adds a little extra weight.
As a final note, the T430s is not “rapidcharge” out of the box. My batteries take 4+ hours to fully charge from a dead state.
Performance & Connectivity
So far, the T430s has handled nearly everything I’ve thrown at it without a hiccup. I timed it, and from a total shutdown state it boots to the Windows desktop in almost exactly 30 seconds. I’m not a huge gamer, but I fired up Mass Effect 3, and was able to play on max graphics settings without any issues.
Sound quality was solid for a laptop. The dual speakers project well, and while you won’t see rich bass, they are perfectly acceptable for a laptop of this size.
My wireless card has been great, giving a consistant 300 mb connection to my 802.11n dual band network on both 2.4 and the 5 Ghz bands. Copying a 1 GB file over the network took just under a minute with a constant 18.5 megabyte stream. I’ve done some bluetooth tethering, and it also works flawlessly.
Benchmarks
Windows Experience Index
WEI is not the best measure of performance, but it is a good starting point.
WEI scores: Processor – 7.2, Memory – 5.9, Graphics – 4.9, Gaming – 6.4 (6.3 on Nvidia), Hard Disk – 6.8
The processor is a powerhouse, and the Corsair SSD also pulls its own weight. I expect the memory score to increase once I jump to 16 GB of RAM, and will update the review accordingly. Interestingly, the Intel HD 4000 graphics posted a slightly higher score than when I enabled the Nvidia Optimus (more on that below)
3DMark Vantage
3DMark is a staple of graphics benchmarking, and I tested the T430s with Nvidia graphics enabled and disabled, with the following results:
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P3162 (Nvidia graphics disabled)
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P4498 (Nvidia graphics enabled)
</td> </tr> </tbody> </table>
The graphics score is passable for some moderate mainstream gaming like Starcraft 2 or Mass Effect 3, but this is not a machine built to run Crysis 2. The Intel HD 4000 score seems low, but I believe that the 4GB of RAM is keeping that score down.
Geekbench
A newer, general benchmark that has seen more use of late.
Score: 5895
A score of 5895 is a little on the low side. For reference, the newest 2012 Macbook Air with a 1.8 Ghz i5 processor scored a 6,195 when reviewed by Engadget. The 4GB of RAM is again dragging the score down, as the processor is scoring a respectable number. Again, I will update the benchmark once I get more RAM.
Nvidia Graphics
This is where things really started to go downhill. Nvidia graphics are a $300 upgrade, but I really wanted to run 3 displays at a time. As I noted above, battery life takes a noticeable hit when the Nvidia graphics are enabled in the BIOS, so that is already one knock against this feature.
Looking at benchmarks above, the Nvidia graphics do make a difference when compared with the integrated solution. However, with 16GB of RAM I expect the integrated graphics to close the gap, as this forum post with the i7 and 16GB of RAM shows a score of P4200, just barely below the Nvidia score. It appears that the Nvidia solution offers no real benefit over the Intel 4000 HD integrated graphics.
But at least I can run multiple monitors, right? Unfortunately, I am unable to power more than two displays simultaneously. I have connected two monitors through the VGA and Displayport on the laptop, and through the DVI ports on my dock. In both cases, I can see the 2 external monitors and the internal LCD in the Intel and Windows settings, but can only ever enable two of them. The Nvidia control panel, which normally has a “multiple display” setting, only shows 3D options. Lenovo sales assured me that the computer could power 4 displays, and their web documentation is such a mess that I struggled for hours trying to figure out the problem.
After hours of investigation, it seems that all of the display adapters are powered by the Intel graphics, which is a departure from the T420s, when the Nvidia graphics powered the digital output (Displayport and DVI). The readme documentation for the Nvidia driver seems to confirm this problem, stating that “No display is connected to this display adapter” for the 5200m. The Nvidia control panel also seems to show that only the Intel graphics powers all of the display adapters, as you can see in the screenshots below, where it is compared with the w520.
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T430s Nvidia Control Panel
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w520 Nvidia Control Panel
</td> </tr> </tbody> </table>
I went so far as to endure a frustrating, hour long support call. The support staff and supervisor kept insisting that the Nvidia graphics would power up to 4 displays, even when he remotely logged in and I showed him the readme and Nvidia control panel. He eventually sent me recovery disks, insisting that it would solve the problem. While I appreciate that Lenovo offers USA-based phone support, this was not a great experience for me.
Finally, one of my coworkers also ordered the same machine and tried to install two different Linux distros. Even with the Nvidia graphics disabled in the BIOS, he was unable to reliably power just one external monitor in addition to his T430s. Eventually, he was forced to return the machine and ended up with a Mac.
In the end, it’s clear that the Nvidia graphics serve no purpose but to add unnecessary 3D acceleration, and can even be a net negative over integrated graphics (such as when using Linux). My advice is to purchase the i7 model with integrated graphics; it is cheaper and offers more value.
Conclusion
Pros
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Best chiclet keyboard I’ve used
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Solid build
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Lightweight
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Speedy processor
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Quick boot times
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Lots of ports
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Works with existing docks
Cons
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Poor viewing angles on the screen
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No support for more than 2 simultaneous displays, even with Optimus graphics.
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Nvidia graphics offer no real graphics performance gains to the Intel HD 4000
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Mediocre battery life
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Top row of keys is a little difficult to press
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Frustrating sales and support experience
Final Thoughts
I had always been a fan of Thinkpads, despite their history of mediocre displays. The solid build quality, great keyboards, powerful internal components, and great docking solutions have generally outweighed their issues. The T410s and T420s have been able to keep all of these aspects in a sub 4 lb form-factor with dedicated graphics, a feat very few competing machines can match.
With the wave of ultrabooks being released, Lenovo faces increasingly impressive competition, and I feel that the T430s risks falling behind. An extra battery is required just to hit the low-end of battery life in the ultrabook market. The screen quality is barely acceptable. Worse, the T430s removed support for multiple external displays that was present in the T420s, and the Nvidia Optimus graphics provide no value on top of the integrated card. I could probably live with the screen, but the lack of external monitor support coupled with the frustrating hours I spent to finally figure out the problem (despite the best efforts of Lenovo sales, marketing, and support) have left a very bad taste in my mouth.
Despite my personal concerns, the T430s remains a solid machine, with powerful internal components, a great keyboard, and solid construction. At the end of the day, if you don’t mind buying a bay battery, don’t need more than 1 external display, and can live with poor viewing angles, the Thinkpad T430s is still probably a worthwhile purchase. If you decide to purchase the T430s, I would definitely recommend the i7 version with integrated graphics. For myself, I am debating whether to return my T430s for a notebook from another vendor that supports their own marketing and sales claims, powers multiple monitors, and provides a better quality screen.
Resources
Feel free to leave a comment. I will try to answer any questions as I have time.
[1]: http://www.lenovo.com/products/us/laptop/thinkpad/t-series/t430s/T430s-datasheet.pdf
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