Renewed Lenovo Thinkpad T430 Â£288

jimmycrackcorm · 20-04-2021 1:38pm #1

For anyone looking for a decent cheap laptop - this renewed Lenovo Thinkpad T430 is good value at £288

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lenovo-ThinkPad-T430-i5-3320M-1600x900/dp/B01C6WNEL6/ref=pd_rhf_ee_s_pd_crcd_5?pd_rd_w=qQ4bE&pf_rd_p=4ba9925f-47a4-4906-a372-44ecada5f7e4&pf_rd_r=X07NWBDPSESMZEPVPM2T&pd_rd_r=a2fb6821-180d-4faa-9005-47af9ecae5ab&pd_rd_wg=mgL0x&pd_rd_i=B01C6WNEL6&psc=1

I bought one for my son and it is lightning fast.
It is renewed but comes with an Amazon 1 year warranty

The Continental Op · 20-04-2021 3:27pm

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

For anyone looking for a decent cheap laptop - this renewed Lenovo Thinkpad T430 is good value at £288

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lenovo-ThinkPad-T430-i5-3320M-1600x900/dp/B01C6WNEL6/ref=pd_rhf_ee_s_pd_crcd_5?pd_rd_w=qQ4bE&pf_rd_p=4ba9925f-47a4-4906-a372-44ecada5f7e4&pf_rd_r=X07NWBDPSESMZEPVPM2T&pd_rd_r=a2fb6821-180d-4faa-9005-47af9ecae5ab&pd_rd_wg=mgL0x&pd_rd_i=B01C6WNEL6&psc=1

I bought one for my son and it is lightning fast.
It is renewed but comes with an Amazon 1 year warranty

Whats the screen like, everything else looks OK but the biggest review there knocks the screen quality?

20-04-2021 3:32pm

The Continental Op wrote: »

Whats the screen like, everything else looks OK but the biggest review there knocks the screen quality?

it's a laptop from 2012 that has been "renewed" with a sata 3 ssd and a bit more ram

laptop screens were pretty awful 9 years ago in terms of colours particularly

would be ok for strictly office use or web browsing where you don't mind the bad screen

SomethingElse · 20-04-2021 3:36pm

glasso wrote: »

it's a laptop from 2012 that has been "renewed" with a sata 3 ssd and a bit more ram

laptop screens were pretty awful 9 years ago in terms of colours particularly

would be ok for strictly office use or web browsing where you don't mind the bad screen

Processor is pretty miserly as well. Very much one for the basics.

Xterminator · 20-04-2021 3:39pm

it would be good enough for a child's/teenager who need laptop for zoom/teams/ms office etc.

remember you can dock the laptop into a much better screen if the screen was an issue. that one can support up to

Lenovo T430 Maximum external resolution: 2560x1600@60Hz (DisplayPort).

20-04-2021 3:46pm

Xterminator wrote: »

it would be good enough for a child's/teenager who need laptop for zoom/teams/ms office etc.

remember you can dock the laptop into a much better screen if the screen was an issue. that one can support up to

yes but why not just buy a laptop with a better screen to start with.

far from everyone will want to use an external monitor

as said the cpu is really old at this stage - will run basic productivity software but the integrated graphics will be terrible for software that would make use of that

even the budget amd cpus of today would run rings around it and have a better battery life also

- the likes of something that you can get for 450 euro or so new

288£ is already 333 euro

add on a monitor to that and you're at the price of a new laptop

https://www.lenovo.com/ie/en/laptops/ideapad/s-series/IdeaPad-5i-14IIL05/p/88IPS501390

get the 10% lenovo discount off for newsletter sign up.

add 4gb ram for 25 euro

11th gen i3 cpu over double the performance benchmark scores of the 2012 i5.

The Continental Op · 20-04-2021 4:54pm

glasso wrote: »

it's a laptop from 2012 that has been "renewed" with a sata 3 ssd and a bit more ram

laptop screens were pretty awful 9 years ago in terms of colours particularly

would be ok for strictly office use or web browsing where you don't mind the bad screen

Its to leave in the car. Really only for use while I'm travelling.

jimmycrackcorm · 20-04-2021 4:58pm

SomethingElse wrote: »

Processor is pretty miserly as well. Very much one for the basics.

It's definitely a better bet than the Celeron based laptops that are more expensive.

Xterminator wrote: »

it would be good enough for a child's/teenager who need laptop for zoom/teams/ms office etc.

remember you can dock the laptop into a much better screen if the screen was an issue. that one can support up to

My lad has it for a Uni course and using it for Java development with IntelliJ.
I already had it (intended for those uses) and was considering buying him a new laptop until I saw it in use.

The Continental Op · 20-04-2021 5:04pm

glasso wrote: »

yes but why not just buy a laptop with a better screen to start with.

far from everyone will want to use an external monitor

as said the cpu is really old at this stage - will run basic productivity software but the integrated graphics will be terrible for software that would make use of that

even the budget amd cpus of today would run rings around it and have a better battery life also

- the likes of something that you can get for 450 euro or so new

288£ is already 333 euro

add on a monitor to that and you're at the price of a new laptop

https://www.lenovo.com/ie/en/laptops/ideapad/s-series/IdeaPad-5i-14IIL05/p/88IPS501390

get the 10% lenovo discount off for newsletter sign up.

add 4gb ram for 25 euro

11th gen i3 cpu over double the performance benchmark scores of the 2012 i5.

As soon as I start looking at new laptops I never buy anything because that €450 soon becomes 1K or more when I start to add in everything I want. At least with a second hand I don't have that choice although I can obviously top up the RAM and have a better SSD on the desk here and on that particular system I suspect I can also put in a better processor.

fryup · 20-04-2021 5:14pm

Lenovo Laptops esp the Thinkpad range are excellent, wouldn't use any other

20-04-2021 5:15pm

The Continental Op wrote: »

As soon as I start looking at new laptops I never buy anything because that €450 soon becomes 1K or more when I start to add in everything I want. At least with a second hand I don't have that choice although I can obviously top up the RAM and have a better SSD on the desk here and on that particular system I suspect I can also put in a better processor.

strange logic but if it works for you fair enough...

won't get much of an uplift on a cpu change and you'll have to buy that cpu also for 50 euro or so at least

personally can't make an argument of getting that over even a budget modern laptop like the one that I linked that is going to be lighter, have way faster cpu, faster ram, faster ssd, better screen, longer battery life, fast charging capabilities, modern bezel design etc.

Batattackrat · 20-04-2021 10:54pm

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

For anyone looking for a decent cheap laptop - this renewed Lenovo Thinkpad T430 is good value at £288

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lenovo-ThinkPad-T430-i5-3320M-1600x900/dp/B01C6WNEL6/ref=pd_rhf_ee_s_pd_crcd_5?pd_rd_w=qQ4bE&pf_rd_p=4ba9925f-47a4-4906-a372-44ecada5f7e4&pf_rd_r=X07NWBDPSESMZEPVPM2T&pd_rd_r=a2fb6821-180d-4faa-9005-47af9ecae5ab&pd_rd_wg=mgL0x&pd_rd_i=B01C6WNEL6&psc=1

I bought one for my son and it is lightning fast.
It is renewed but comes with an Amazon 1 year warranty

I know its a no chat thread but seriously don't spend 330 euro on this. Sorry but i had to post this.

Its a 2012 laptop, chunky as hell and doesn't even have HDMI. The screen will be awful on it.

. Get something like this and add an extra 4gb of ram for 20 euro which has a full HD screen and a modern chassis.

Thats only me after looking for 5 minutes for something better. Probably way better deals than this available

https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/acer-aspire-3-14-laptop-amd-athlon-128-gb-ssd-silver-10209096-pdt.html

Any further chat to the chat thread quoting this post.

Batattackrat · 20-04-2021 11:13pm

glasso wrote: »

yes but why not just buy a laptop with a better screen to start with.

far from everyone will want to use an external monitor

as said the cpu is really old at this stage - will run basic productivity software but the integrated graphics will be terrible for software that would make use of that

even the budget amd cpus of today would run rings around it and have a better battery life also

- the likes of something that you can get for 450 euro or so new

288£ is already 333 euro

add on a monitor to that and you're at the price of a new laptop

https://www.lenovo.com/ie/en/laptops/ideapad/s-series/IdeaPad-5i-14IIL05/p/88IPS501390

get the 10% lenovo discount off for newsletter sign up.

add 4gb ram for 25 euro

11th gen i3 cpu over double the performance benchmark scores of the 2012 i5.

Ive warned people off that in the bargain thread.

I just couldn't let someone buy that for 330 euro thinking its a bargain.

The processor in this dell is equivalent to the 2012 laptop posted in the bargain forum. Add an extra 4GB of ram for 20 quid,

https://www.dell.com/en-ie/shop/laptops/inspiron-15-3000/spd/inspiron-15-3502-laptop/cn30206

grogi · 20-04-2021 11:20pm

In 2017 I bought a refurbished Dell E7240 (i5, 8GB RAM, 120GB SSD, Windows Pro) for ~ €300.

Four years later and two years earlier model for 10% more is far from being a bargain, even in the COVID times...

donegalnet · 20-04-2021 11:24pm

glasso wrote: »

yes but why not just buy a laptop with a better screen to start with.

far from everyone will want to use an external monitor

as said the cpu is really old at this stage - will run basic productivity software but the integrated graphics will be terrible for software that would make use of that

even the budget amd cpus of today would run rings around it and have a better battery life also

- the likes of something that you can get for 450 euro or so new

288£ is already 333 euro

add on a monitor to that and you're at the price of a new laptop

https://www.lenovo.com/ie/en/laptops/ideapad/s-series/IdeaPad-5i-14IIL05/p/88IPS501390

get the 10% lenovo discount off for newsletter sign up.

add 4gb ram for 25 euro

11th gen i3 cpu over double the performance benchmark scores of the 2012 i5.

Maybe we have antique collectors amongst us who think it's good value

‚ the state of that original laptop from 2012..

21-04-2021 12:40am

Batattackrat wrote: »

Ive warned people off that in the bargain thread.

I just couldn't let someone buy that for 330 euro thinking its a bargain.

The processor in this dell is equivalent. Add an extra 4GB of ram for 20 quid,

https://www.dell.com/en-ie/shop/laptops/inspiron-15-3000/spd/inspiron-15-3502-laptop/cn30206

the 11th gen i3 1115G4 in the Lenovo scores a lot more on performance benchmarks that that n5030 in the dell

over 6,300 vs 2,600 on passmark

Batattackrat · 21-04-2021 12:54am

glasso wrote: »

the 11th gen i3 1115G4 in the Lenovo scores a lot more on performance benchmarks that that n5030 in the dell

over 6,300 vs 2,600 on passmark

Apologies, i was comparing the 2600 benchmark in the Del to the 2012 refurbished one that was posted in the bargain thread.

The processor in that lenovo you posted is miles ahead.

Ive edited the post to reflect that.

Grumpypants · 21-04-2021 8:00am

The Continental Op wrote: »

Whats the screen like, everything else looks OK but the biggest review there knocks the screen quality?

I've bought a few refurbs for relations recently. For what they needed, College or general email/web access they are perfect.

I've picked up 3 ThinkPad T440p and 2 Dell5450 with between i5 and i7 processors.

Screen is a let down on that one listed. You can get a refurbished ThinkPad T440p that has a nice screen. You could do better on the price as well. You should land one in the €200-250 bracket on eBay. Most I paid was €300 and that was an i7 with 500gb SSD & 16gb of ram. I nearly kept that one myself it was so good.

An i5 was a great chip. With an SSD it is plenty fast too.

Those Lenovo ThinkPads were great machines. Built to last. If you just want it for normal work/college use it is hard to beat as they will last forever.

If you want to play games or edit videos then don't get a laptop at all. Otherwise there has been very little progress on laptops when compared to the desktop market. No matter what they put in them they will always be bottlenecked and only really useful for general light work with little between them until you get into the high end of the market.

Batattackrat · 21-04-2021 8:49am

Grumpypants wrote: »

I've bought a few refurbs for relations recently. For what they needed, College or general email/web access they are perfect.

I've picked up 3 ThinkPad T440p and 2 Dell5450 with between i5 and i7 processors.

Screen is a let down on that one listed. You can get a refurbished ThinkPad T440p that has a nice screen. You could do better on the price as well. You should land one in the €200-250 bracket on eBay. Most I paid was €300 and that was an i7 with 500gb SSD & 16gb of ram. I nearly kept that one myself it was so good.

An i5 was a great chip. With an SSD it is plenty fast too.

Those Lenovo ThinkPads were great machines. Built to last. If you just want it for normal work/college use it is hard to beat as they will last forever.

If you want to play games or edit videos then don't get a laptop at all. Otherwise there has been very little progress on laptops when compared to the desktop market. No matter what they put in them they will always be bottlenecked and only really useful for general light work with little between them until you get into the high end of the market.

You really couldnt be more wrong here, there's excellent processors in laptops now days in the more expensive category.

Just because an old laptop has an I5 or an I7 doesn't automatically make it a good chip. Those I5 or I7 are entry level processors of today's world.

It's easy to upgrade Ram and SSD for cheap as peanuts on a laptop. The processor and screen are the two most important.

Grumpypants · 21-04-2021 9:39am

Batattackrat wrote: »

You really couldnt be more wrong here, there's excellent processors in laptops now days in the more expensive category.

Just because an old laptop has an I5 or an I7 doesn't automatically make it a good chip. Those I5 or I7 are entry level processors of today's world.
.

That was literally my point. And a high-end expensive laptop isn't a bargain. :pac:

If you want a bargain laptop for the €200-300 range then you are better off with a high spec older machine than a new cheap one.

The i5/i7s from that era are great chips and will still do anything you would want to do on those laptops with ease.

killbillvol2 · 21-04-2021 9:52am

Batattackrat wrote: »

You really couldnt be more wrong here, there's excellent processors in laptops now days in the more expensive category.

Wrong? That's what he said!

Kintarō Hattori · 21-04-2021 9:54am

Now lads, I think you might be in danger of derailing the auld thread. Valid points being made but this probably isn't really the place for it.

Batattackrat · 21-04-2021 10:05am

Grumpypants wrote: »

That was literally my point. And a high-end expensive laptop isn't a bargain. :pac:

If you want a bargain laptop for the €200-300 range then you are better off with a high spec older machine than a new cheap one.

The i5/i7s from that era are great chips and will still do anything you would want to do on those laptops with ease.

How? they benchmark at around 3000? how is that a great chip as you put it.

You can get 2500U laptops in the 400 range.

Davy · 21-04-2021 10:31am

Posts split from Amazon threads. Makes more sense to discuss here in its own thread.

The_Conductor · 21-04-2021 11:47am

I buy in the region of 20 laptops annually for upgrading which are sent out to teachers in a teacher training college in Kenya.
I exclusively buy either Thinkpads or HP Elitebooks.
The T430s- is a decent machine- its rock solid, and the keyboard in particular is nice to type on.

The only issue I'd have with the Amazon offer- is the price, they are pricey, you can pick up similar machines on ebay or elsewhere, significantly cheaper.

Big plus with the 430 Thinkpad range- is they are so easy to upgrade and/or repair (in comparison to pretty much any other laptop series)
Even changing the keyboard- is only 3 screws and a 3 minute job- and replacement keyboards are 15-20 quid each

I'd have no hesitation in recommending this laptop- my only misgiving- is the asking price is, in my opinion, too high.

Note- I have 3 of these sitting in a box right next to me here........

21-04-2021 12:44pm

Just saying i3 or i5 doesnt really specify enough lads

An i5 from 2012 isnt going to be set up to handle what an i3 from today nor even a few years ago could run through without breaking a sweat

Even saying "college/emails" isnt necessarily massively helpful, though of course it's a decent general indicator, but even browsers these days are hungry enough beasts on resources

If you are replacing something from 2005, yep this will be an improvement

If you are looking for a better use of the money involved, for the use cases given, you could absolutely do a lot better

21-04-2021 1:38pm

yes there is a bit too much affection for these old laptops

- some are well built yes but also many are heavy old bricks well over 4 pounds and even approaching 5 pounds. decent budget laptops can be around 3 pounds making them truly portable

- the old clunky designs with thick bezels around the screen are not attractive compared to modern designs

- most have heavily degraded batteries offering at most a few hours battery life and frequently worse, making them not very useful if you are away from a charge point. proper replacement batteries are expensive - that's why the shot batteries are left in situ

- even budget laptops today have fast-charging where you can get big battery % increase in only 20 minutes mains power

- screens are horrific to look at in many cases and older ones are particularly harsh on the eyes also. a screen is what you're looking at all the time.

- the older i5's and even i7's in these sorts of deals have maybe half the performance output of a current generation i3

- the integrated graphics on older cpus will struggle even just playing modern video codecs like HEVC as they have no hardware support for them. even basic games or other software relying on gpus won't run properly compared to modern cpus with more recent integrated graphics

- the ports can be out-dated on them. no usb-c, older gen usb 3 and usb 2 if lucky and as seen maybe even no hdmi

sure they can run ms office but even browsing is unpleasant on a gaudy screen and once you have used a laptop with an actually decent screen you can't go back to that old muck. you can get a much better screen on a 450 euro laptop with all the other modern advantages of proper battery, fast-charging, more cpu power, faster ssd types (nvme), faster ram, better integrated gpus, actual modern port selection etc

The_Conductor · 21-04-2021 1:45pm

Deleted User wrote: »

Just saying i3 or i5 doesnt really specify enough lads

This particular one is an i5-3320M- which is a dual core part, with HT enabled.
The advertisement suggests its a quadcore- its not.
It is a 2.6Ghz processor, and its well capable of running W10Pro (and indeed VLC, Open Office or whatever you'd like to throw at it).

The main reason for buying this- is to get a Thinkpad- and indeed, even with a weaker processor it is a desirable proposition- its well built and so so serviceable- its a doddle to upgrade the wifi or any other components in it- if you are happy messing with your laptop, you'll love a Thinkpad.

Note- the memory is *under* the keyboard- aka you'll have to take the keyboard off if you want to upgrade the 4Gb module there (it does support 2 * 8Gb DDR3 modules).

The big issue with this- is the price, its simply priced far too high. Take a hundred quid off the asking and its a no brainer- but at the current price, its kind of hard to justify it.

Homelander · 21-04-2021 1:49pm

This is the furthest thing from a bargain alert going. €350 for a 10 year old laptop with very basic processor and screen, as well as lacking tons of modern features, as well as being clunky, etc.

You would get a new laptop for that price that is faster. The big problem is people looking and thinking "Oh, it has an i5", when an i5 from 2012/2013 and a modern model i5 have zero in common.

In fact by 2021 standards, i5's from that era are fairly bottom of the barrel. They're dual core, not quad core.

Something like an Athlon Silver 3050E, which can be found in €230-€350 laptops, would be pretty similar in performance, not to mention any laptop it's included in would also have HDMI, much better integrated graphics, way more modern features, be lighter, brand new, etc.

Hop on Adverts and find something way newer and also more powerful for less that the Amazon price either. Not alone is this not a bargain, it's actually a horrible price.

Kintarō Hattori · 21-04-2021 2:47pm

Quietly pushes own X230 under a desk and out of sight.

The Continental Op · 21-04-2021 2:52pm

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Quietly pushes own X230 under a desk and out of sight.

Is it going cheap

I nearly bought a refurbished one at the beginning of the first lockdown. If I see a X250 for a decent price I'd probably buy it.

Kintarō Hattori · 21-04-2021 3:10pm

The Continental Op wrote: »

Is it going cheap I nearly bought a refurbished one at the beginning of the first lockdown. If I see a X250 for a decent price I'd probably buy it.

Afraid not, it's a great little machine for my needs. I'd happily buy an X250 if I saw one for the right price.

The_Conductor · 21-04-2021 6:42pm

Something like this would be a better buy imho:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Laptop-Lenovo-Thinkpad-E530-Intel-i7-15-6-500GB-HDD-8-GB-Ram-spots-/294125949956?_trksid=p2385738.m4383.l4275.c10

(Providing you got it at the right price)

Batattackrat · 21-04-2021 7:12pm

Those old laptops would struggle to play 720 YouTube videos even.

grogi · 21-04-2021 7:36pm

Batattackrat wrote: »

Those old laptops would struggle to play 720 YouTube videos even.

Don't exaggerate. I also have a E6220 (they I got 6 years ago for 150€) and it's going perfectly fine. Just got a new battery and keyboard this Xmas. I use it daily.

It plays Minecraft, StarCraft remastered and other games well as well.

Homelander · 21-04-2021 8:08pm

grogi wrote: »

Don't exaggerate. I also have a E6220 (they I got 6 years ago for 150€) and it's going perfectly fine. Just got a new battery and keyboard this Xmas. I use it daily.

It plays Minecraft, StarCraft remastered and other games well as well.

And that's fine, no-one's arguing the laptop in the OP is useless. It'd be grand for the uses he's described, and perfectly good for a few more years even.

The problem is it being described as a "bargain" at the huge €350 price tag.

I mean I bought a Athlon Silver 3050E laptop recently for €330 on sale from Lenovo.

Core performance is very similar to the i5, and the integrated graphics blow it away - not just in games, but also in stuff like hardware decoding and other features.

Not to mention the laptop itself has a better screen, higher resolution, HDMI, and other ports and features that didn't exist when that OP laptop did....in 2013.

So while 720P is obviously an exaggeration, there are tons of things a modern laptop costing less can easily do, that that laptop cannot.

For example mine can decode 4K via GPU effortlessly....the OP's laptop hasn't the faintest chance of running 4K content, and even at that, certain codecs would result in crazy high CPU usage as it massively pre-dates a large number of codecs.

And yeah you can argue "but I don't want to decode 4K" and that's fair enough, but the ultimate point is....why would you pay €350 for a product that delivers a €150 performance/feature-set level.

My own parents laptop is a €150 HP Elitebook with i5-4200U, 4GB and 180GB SSD. It's perfect for them, and a great laptop.

It's not about the laptop being useless or bad, it's about it being terrible value for money compared to other offerings.

The_Conductor · 21-04-2021 8:35pm

Batattackrat wrote: »

Those old laptops would struggle to play 720 YouTube videos even.

I'm playing Microsoft Flight Simulator medium settings @ 42 fps on a 2012 HP 8770W Elitebook which has an i7-3820QM processor with an 8Gb GTX 980M graphics card.........

It all depends on the specs of the machine- and just because something is 9 or 10 years old, doesn't mean you can't play even brand spanking new games on it.

This machine has 32Gb of RAM and 2 * 2Tb 870 EVOs in it too.........

Different strokes for different folks.........

Note: I wouldn't exactly suggest this machine is mobile..........

Grumpypants · 21-04-2021 9:03pm

Homelander wrote: »

And that's fine, no-one's arguing the laptop in the OP is useless. It'd be grand for the uses he's described, and perfectly good for a few more years even.

The problem is it being described as a "bargain" at the huge €350 price tag.

I mean I bought a Athlon Silver 3050E laptop recently for €330 on sale from Lenovo.

Core performance is very similar to the i5, and the integrated graphics blow it away - not just in games, but also in stuff like hardware decoding and other features.

Not to mention the laptop itself has a better screen, higher resolution, HDMI, and other ports and features that didn't exist when that OP laptop did....in 2013.

So while 720P is obviously an exaggeration, there are tons of things a modern laptop costing less can easily do, that that laptop cannot.

For example mine can decode 4K via GPU effortlessly....the OP's laptop hasn't the faintest chance of running 4K content, and even at that, certain codecs would result in crazy high CPU usage as it massively pre-dates a large number of codecs.

And yeah you can argue "but I don't want to decode 4K" and that's fair enough, but the ultimate point is....why would you pay €350 for a product that delivers a €150 performance/feature-set level.

My own parents laptop is a €150 HP Elitebook with i5-4200U, 4GB and 180GB SSD. It's perfect for them, and a great laptop.

It's not about the laptop being useless or bad, it's about it being terrible value for money compared to other offerings.

Literally no one outside the first post is saying it is good value at 330. We are saying the ThinkPads are great machines but you sould pay about 2-250 on eBay and that would get you the higher spec'd T440p that has 1080p screen, HDMI and it has a DVD drive which most new laptops don't have.

I've bought 3 or 4 for people. They are great. I can throw pretty much anything at it and it runs it.

No reason to play 4k content on a laptop that doesn't have a 4k screen.

Homelander · 21-04-2021 9:33pm

The_Conductor wrote: »

I'm playing Microsoft Flight Simulator medium settings @ 42 fps on a 2012 HP 8770W Elitebook which has an i7-3820QM processor with an 8Gb GTX 980M graphics card.........

The 980M is from 2015, and was very high end at that time. It wouldn't have been included in that configuration orignally surely. Also very different scenario, obviously a €2K laptop from 2013 will age better than a €1k laptop from 2013.

No reason to play 4k content on a laptop that doesn't have a 4k screen.

Loads of people connect their laptops to their external monitors and TV's. It doesn't even have to be 4K.

Or even for example if you were playing a 1080P x265 file. On a modern laptop, no problem at all at low CPU usage.

On an old laptop like the OP, it would rely on brute CPU power to playback the file because there is no hardware decoding support, leading to high CPU usage, high fan noise, temps, etc.

_Kaiser_ · 21-04-2021 10:14pm

Have to agree with most of the posters above. The T430 was good in its day but that day is long past. For what it is now, it's ridiculously overpriced.

Thinkpads of that era were always more expensive and less specced than the equivalent Dell Latitude. No HDMI, crap screen, low resolutions etc

Even if this was half the price it wouldn't be worth it IMO

The Continental Op · 22-04-2021 10:52am

The_Conductor wrote: »

Something like this would be a better buy imho:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Laptop-Lenovo-Thinkpad-E530-Intel-i7-15-6-500GB-HDD-8-GB-Ram-spots-/294125949956?_trksid=p2385738.m4383.l4275.c10

(Providing you got it at the right price)

Went for €201, but didn't bid as it was too late (2minutes left) to contact the seller for a cost for delivery.

Grab All Association · 25-04-2021 6:26pm

The_Conductor wrote: »

This particular one is an i5-3320M- which is a dual core part, with HT enabled.
The advertisement suggests its a quadcore- its not.
It is a 2.6Ghz processor, and its well capable of running W10Pro (and indeed VLC, Open Office or whatever you'd like to throw at it).

The main reason for buying this- is to get a Thinkpad- and indeed, even with a weaker processor it is a desirable proposition- its well built and so so serviceable- its a doddle to upgrade the wifi or any other components in it- if you are happy messing with your laptop, you'll love a Thinkpad.

Note- the memory is *under* the keyboard- aka you'll have to take the keyboard off if you want to upgrade the 4Gb module there (it does support 2 * 8Gb DDR3 modules).

The big issue with this- is the price, its simply priced far too high. Take a hundred quid off the asking and its a no brainer- but at the current price, its kind of hard to justify it.

Agree it’s Overpriced, but at least it’s PGA socketed and not BGA. Iirc these can be upgraded to a quad core i7-3820QM processor.

The Alienware Area 51m and a Clevo (sold under various brand names) are the only laptops on the market that have an upgradable/downgradable LGA socketed desktop processors. I have the 9th generation A51M, best machine I ever owned. I recently seen a dead (out of warranty) Dell XPS as a paperweight in a friends house. Soldered RAM, SSD etc. At least with the A51M, Clevo etc you could salvage the RAM, nvme ssd, processor etc.

shanec1928 · 25-04-2021 8:16pm

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Afraid not, it's a great little machine for my needs. I'd happily buy an X250 if I saw one for the right price.

The x230 is a great machine. We have a spare one here that’s had everything upgraded. We deployed 100’s of these in work. Possibly one of the most reliable laptops going and our would have had a hard life!

For anyone searching skip the x240’s crap trackpad.

Renewed Lenovo Thinkpad T430 Â£288

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