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Renewed Lenovo Thinkpad T430 £288

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Comments

  • #2
    The Continental Op
    Registered Users Posts: 6,152 ✭✭✭The Continental Op


    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?

    Wake me up when it's all over.



  • #3
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭[Deleted User]


    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


  • #4
    SomethingElse
    Registered Users Posts: 1,534 ✭✭✭SomethingElse


    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.


  • #5
    Xterminator
    Registered Users Posts: 4,716 ✭✭✭Xterminator


    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).


  • #6
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭[Deleted User]


    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.


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  • #7
    The Continental Op
    Registered Users Posts: 6,152 ✭✭✭The Continental Op


    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.

    Wake me up when it's all over.



  • #8
    jimmycrackcorm
    Registered Users Posts: 14,326 ✭✭✭✭jimmycrackcorm


    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.


  • #9
    The Continental Op
    Registered Users Posts: 6,152 ✭✭✭The Continental Op


    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.

    Wake me up when it's all over.



  • #10
    fryup
    Registered Users Posts: 18,069 ✭✭✭✭fryup


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


  • #11
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭[Deleted User]


    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.


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  • #12
    Batattackrat
    Closed Accounts Posts: 222 ✭✭Batattackrat


    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.


  • #13
    Batattackrat
    Closed Accounts Posts: 222 ✭✭Batattackrat


    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


  • #14
    grogi
    Registered Users Posts: 8,615 ✭✭✭grogi


    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...


  • #15
    donegalnet
    Registered Users Posts: 15 ✭donegalnet


    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..


  • #16
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭[Deleted User]


    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


  • #17
    Batattackrat
    Closed Accounts Posts: 222 ✭✭Batattackrat


    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.


  • #18
    Grumpypants
    Registered Users Posts: 7,740 ✭✭✭Grumpypants


    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.


  • #19
    Batattackrat
    Closed Accounts Posts: 222 ✭✭Batattackrat


    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.


  • #20
    Grumpypants
    Registered Users Posts: 7,740 ✭✭✭Grumpypants


    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.


  • #21
    killbillvol2
    Registered Users Posts: 5,178 ✭✭✭killbillvol2


    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!


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  • #22
    Kintarō Hattori
    Registered Users Posts: 14,963 ✭✭✭✭Kintarō Hattori


    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.


  • #23
    Batattackrat
    Closed Accounts Posts: 222 ✭✭Batattackrat


    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.


  • #24
    Davy
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 19,340 CMod ✭✭✭✭Davy


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


  • #25
    The_Conductor
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 32,278 Mod ✭✭✭✭The_Conductor


    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........


  • #26
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭[Deleted User]


    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


  • #27
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭[Deleted User]


    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


  • #28
    The_Conductor
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 32,278 Mod ✭✭✭✭The_Conductor


    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.


  • #29
    Homelander
    Registered Users Posts: 4,339 ✭✭✭Homelander


    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.


  • #30
    Kintarō Hattori
    Registered Users Posts: 14,963 ✭✭✭✭Kintarō Hattori


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


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  • #31
    The Continental Op
    Registered Users Posts: 6,152 ✭✭✭The Continental Op


    Kintarō Hattori wrote: »
    Quietly pushes own X230 under a desk and out of sight.

    Is it going cheap :D 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.

    Wake me up when it's all over.



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