Lenovo ThinkPad T431s: The End or The Beginning?
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.ย. 2024
- Today we examine a controversial entry into ThinkPad history, this is the first machine to get the newer design that would distinguish the T430 line from the upcoming T440 line. Let me know what you think in the comments below!
The design at the time certainly split people, Lenovo addressed it at the time in their Blog which I have linked down below. Lessons were learned on this unique piece of ThinkPad History.
/ laptopretrospe1
teespring.com/...
laptopretrospe...
Maintenance Manual:
thinkpads.com/...
Specs Page:
noteboox.de/me...
www.lenovo.com...
Lenovo Blog Post Regarding the Changes:
blog.lenovo.com...
If you are looking for the latest and greatest version of this laptop, I suggest heading over to Lenovo's website to see what they have been up to recently. As a member of the Lenovo Affiliate Program, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through this link.
Lenovo Canada
lenovo.vzew.net/5XBWL (General)
lenovo.vzew.net/P2ZLR (ThinkPad)
Lenovo USA
lenovo.vzew.net/BXEK5B (General)
lenovo.vzew.net/zagjz0 (ThinkPad)
so they destroyed the X2xx line and someone had to come with a quick fix to that mess.
nice.
After seeing your video about installing an MSATA drive on a T430 I went and bought a T430. I put an SSD in the drive bay for Windows, installed the MSATA for Linux use, and put an HDD in the Ultrabay for storage. I even used the same brand of MSATA drive. The T430 is now my favorite laptop.
Haha glad to hear things are working out for you Trench. Thanks for keeping me updated.
Only thing i dont like about t430 is they got insanely heated up when you put work pressure on them, thats when t530 comes.
They do have a bit more mass to disperse the heat.
I had this laptop throughout university and I have quite a lot of opinions and stories about it. Settle in for a grand tale about a T431s that lasted by throughout school and beyond. Now, I was in a tough spot with my laptop breaking near the end of summer break and needed to get a laptop for my first ever day of classes. I was deadset on Thinkpads as my option but unfortunately the T431s was the only one that really made sense to purchase. When I got it, I honestly felt like a million bucks. The trackpad, as blasphemous as it is, worked great for gestures. The included SSD was a little small at 128GB, but it was mainly just for coding/word processing so it was fine at the time. And coming from a 7200RPM HDD from my desktop, it was a pretty big leap in performance for me. I was kinda bummed that it didn't have the hot-swappable batteries that the old Thinkpads had before it. And also remember that this laptop shipped with Windows 8, which was a huge bummer at the time. This T431s served me well all throughout university. It has really stood the test of a huge beating (I didn't baby it because I wanted to test the Thinkpad durability throughout my ownership of the device). On two separate occasions, the water drain actually saved my laptop. (replying directly to @laptop restrospective on his video) One time it was just a small bit of water which didn't really have me worry at all. But the second time, someone tripped over my charger and it dragged my coffee down, spilling hot coffee all over my keyboard. I was so furious at the guy. The keyboard was sticky when everything was wiped and dried. I referenced the hardware maintenance guide and realized I can slide the keyboard open as he did on this video. I could now wipe off the rest of the coffee that was trapped underneath the keyboard! It was still sticky for 1 week but then it just became like normal again! One thing I love about the T431s is the upgradeability. While the video made fairly logical points on finding it hard to find parts for this machine, what it fails to realize is you are able to use parts from T440 and T450 on this machine. Throughout the years, I upgraded the screen from 1366x768 matte to 1080p IPS glossy (you can connect generic 14" screens), upgraded the ram from 4GB to 8GB, upgraded the SSD to 250GB (and now 1TB) and even upgraded the trackpad to the more traditional Thinkpad trackpad layout with 3 physical keys up top. My T431s took a beating and kept on ticking. These days, I mainly use it as a media dump. As a young man who's first experience with a Thinkpad had huge potential for upgrades, robust durability and multiple occasions having the port drains save all of my data, Lenovo made a customer for life. Currently typing this on my X1 Extreme. Loving every minute of it. If I learned anything from the Thinkpad line, is that these machine were engineered to be future-proof. And just because something seems awful at launch, does not mean the end of the world for Thinkpad machines because of all the upgrades that can be accessible 1-2 years down the road. LEGENDARY LAPTOP!
Thanks for sharing your awesome story! Much appreciated.
The Lenovo logo stopped facing at you, they don't care about you anymore
Yupp, they went the apple route to announce the world that you are using a Thinkpad. (Although the upside down apple logo would have been bad design decesion). Sometimes I see fellow uni students walk around with Thinkpads that warms my heart. :P
Fantastic history lessons for me who got his first Thinkpad last year and a recent model
Glad you learned something!
I agree. Being a recent convert with a modern era machine (T450s), this is fascinating as it was the precursor for many of the design decisions moving forward. That being said, I'm definitely going to add an x20/x30 series machine to the collection down the track, most likely an X230.
Great choice.
Hello,
Yet again a very nice video we have here. I also have a T431s in my collection and as it's very recent, I have things to do to give him back its former glory again (new battery, backlit keyboard and I think I'll install a Full HD IPS display (the HD+ TN panel is always horrendous on these machines). I can understand why it's not as loved as other laptops. To my eyes, it's more the beginning than the end of an era. For me, the true last classic Thinkpads are the Sandy Bridge models, where we still have a true 7-row keyboard (and the keyboard is, I think, the most emblematic part of the Thinkpads). The Ivy Bridge series is a transition, with a new keyboard but not in the definitive design (no space between the function keys, the colors of the letters on the keys the secondary functions in grey, barely visible, the new backlight system which can be redondant with the classic Thinklight).With the T431s (and also the X230s), it's a whole new machine, new chassis, keyboard better (color of the letters, spaces between groups of function keys). There is almost nothing left of the previous series with, of course, the new despised buttonless trackpad), no more ODD, much more portable machine, new adapter, new screens connector, totally different conception inside the laptop, the "rollcage" (if we can still use that name) is part of the external chassis, more like the exoskeleton of the insects, the new system A/B/C and D covers, which adds ease of upgrade to the laptop). At first glance and if we look at the machines that came after (T440, T450, T440s, T450s), we could think that only the CPU changes, but in fact, the T431s is very different compared to the machines that came after. The T440 and T450 are bulkier than their "s" siblings and the T431s is even more thin/tiny. Not by much, but nonetheless, the difference is here. You have done a video where you talked about the famous champfer on the Thinkpads 600 and later models. It's very visible on the T431s, a lot less on the future models. It gives a true impression of a very thin machine. Of course, no Powerbridge, just one battery, the motherboard is totally different, the fan is at the right when the machine stands before us, the battery is more like a simple rectangle, the ports on the left and the right are not placed where they will later be on the T440/450 and T440s/450s. Even the b cover that comes on the screen is different, no adhesive, a hole for the camera with a bigger diameter. In fact, I think the only things in common between the 31s, the 40, the 50, the 40s and the 50s are the pad, the keyboard and the screen. Everything else seems specific to the T431s. I have also seen that on the keyboard of my T431s, no LED on the mute and on the F1 and F4 keys. So much differences when we look in detail how those machines are made, that's incredible. My daily when I go out is a X250 and the 12" pouch where I put it (an HP one), can be also used for the T431s, that is very similar in terms of dimensions.
W.
Yes the T43__ era was one of experimentation. I wrote an entry for my website diving into it a bit more years later after looking at all the different variants that were available at the time. laptopretrospective.com/laptops/the-t430-line-up-celebrating-experimentation/
I still run a T430 with the i7, totally lifeproof, dents floors, runs quiet and I even managed to get Fallout 4 to run on potato mode. Only downside being the lack of a HDMI port.
Nice! How many FPS are you getting?
@@LaptopRetrospective 10-30 I'd say, haven't actually checked. It's pretty choppy for sure, interiors usually tank performance. And a total of 213 mods presumably don''t help either.
Lol.
Just got myself an A485. I'm very haply with it and it does have a good feel and works great for everyday use.
It seems to me that this laptop model bridged the gap between the new X1 Carbon and the regular T series. If you couldn't afford the X1 Carbon with all soldered components and ultra thin structure, this would be the next best option. People have to remember that the regular T430 is NOT a thin laptop. It's not a monster but it's not what we consider to be an "ultrabook" It had mobile processors and was a real beast in it's day. The price difference between the T430 and the X1 Carbon was quite large so this laptop filled that void.
The T430 era was a time of experimenting. I wrote a whole article on all the different things they did. I suspect you may have already read it but I'll link it for others to discover. laptopretrospective.com/laptops/the-t430-line-up-celebrating-experimentation/
@@LaptopRetrospective Yes your report on the T430's and their differences was excellent. I love your web page since it has so much more in-depth information that you sometimes can't cram into a video.
@klwthe3rd Thanks. There are also some things I learn after the fact, even years later.
I almost bought one of these today. Thanks for saving me from the disappointment.
Happy to help assist in the decision making process.
It took a bit to get used to the changes, but I have a T450s and I am very happy with it. Good general purpose jack of most trades work horse and I think it looks nice. M.2 SSD (42mm) plus a 2tb hard drve and 12gb of RAM makes a very versatile laptop in a relatively lightweight package.
Sounds like a nicer setup in quite a few ways.
Honestly i think a better comparison would be between the T431s and the T430u. Doesn't the T430u also use the ultrabook processors?
Probably. The video is old now and I know a lot more than I did then.
Just switched my t430s for a t431s. Put in a 1080p IPS panel and a t450 trackpad. Its Perfect!!
Nice additions!
had a glass of water spilled on my T440p, I just dried out the trackpad, still rockin' 2 weeks later without any issues and the internals did not see any water whatsoever. the T440p got two drainage holes too
Is it setup pretty much the same as this one?
The T431s looks identical to my “ThinkMac” T440s.
They do have design aspects in common.
7:27 The T431s came with a small piece of plastic (04X0856) to make it fit the dock.
Gotcha. Thanks for the info.
I have been using for almost 2 years an L430, and all I can say is that I love the keyboard. But I will need to upgrade for a Workstation laptop soon (CAD/CAM).
Haven't been able to try an L series yet. Glad to hear it's working fine.
I have three Thinkpads. A T-60 running OS/2, a T-400 with Windows 7 and a T-430 with MX-Linux. Also, I have the dock that fits the first two machines.
Nice machines you got there. 😀
I don't know why but i still love laptops which are thick and durable Like the thinkpads. But if the thick body comprises of a dedicated graphics card too inside would be great to see.
Totally fair if it has the space to cool it.
The battery cable is quite similar to my Dell 7472. It was pretty hard to remove and I was pretty gentle removing it cause it's a brand new unit. Was afraid I might break the cable.
Yeah, what made this tricky was it being up against the battery itself so you could only really wiggle from one direction.
@@LaptopRetrospective precisely, I miss those old days where the batteries are being held by latches. Easier to replace and remove.
Indeed. I suspect that was one of many reasons for the inclusion of PowerBridge being a feature on later models.
Honestly, Lenovo made a good decision to make the T440p. Best modern ThinkPad imo. The T431s looks like a typical consumer laptop.
I'll have to keep my eye out for that model.
I love to see your demonstration about dell m4700/4800 workstation, competitor of lenovo w540.
I'd love to do them both, but it's all about getting my hands in them.
T430 + GNU/Linux is my daily driver. I do all my work with it. I just love my T430 (as well as W520). Still, I don't see why I wouldn't go with a newer T, X or P model in the future.
Newer processors or they get given to then at work would be my guess.
@@LaptopRetrospective You'll never get a spectacular Spectre/ Spoiler (Intel only) fix at the architecture level for Thinkpads for a long time. Just a shame that laptop processors can't get this kind of fix soon enough.
Yeah, the "new" design language for almost every laptop out there sucks... They don't want ANYBODY working on their own laptop, much like another well known company out there... (Apple for people who don't get it) That way, repair techs can overcharge you and you can't say "I'll just do it myself." BTW Apple is leading the charge for non-enduser serviceable stuff with all their proprietary screws and the like. Now, they can't even replace just the back-glass on their phone, they have to replace the back and the frame because not even they can do it and it's a lot of $$$ if you don't have Applecare, and it still quite a bit even if you do... That's bad for us all around.
Posted on a T-430... My last ThinkPad.
Yeah, it's hard to argue that they didn't feel the pressure from Apple's success chasing thin machines like everyone else.
I do not get, why do not lenovo change the keyboards on the X1 extreme and/or on the P1 to TP 25 one. And add back the integrated numkeys. Or just take the Legion Y740 and make it retro machine.
On topic, I guess this T431s was the companion piece of the original X1(not carbon), not sure if those were fitted with the M or U sku cpus.
One thing I do know is this keyboard is still easier to swap than the x240.
Do you think it's impossible to put a L412's keyboard on an T440 ?
No idea. Why would you want to?
@@LaptopRetrospective I don't know why people always make speeches about putting the T420's keyboard into a T430 but nobody have any idea about doing the same thing with the T440p and the L412's keyboard
@@LaptopRetrospective I also asked Sebi about this and he said it does impossible, but I will need to re-solder the connecter because they're different , and I also need to find a L4** keyboard which fit into the T440
@@tachalorah best of luck to you. It would be an ambitious project.
Bleh keyboard screwed in from the top is just a no. I like how slim it is but i like the ease of use the normal t430 has
Better than the X240 situation but yeah,I prefer my keyboard wiggle.
i'm probably buying a w520 with a quadro k1000m, it probably will be my 2nd favourite laptop, at the first place there will always be my lenovo x230.
Still haven't gotten to play with a W or P series yet. One day maybe...
I would recommend W530 with k2000m if you need a number cruncher. Having said this, W520 is a wonderful machine. I have a W520 with three SSDs and 32gigs of ram. W520 is still a beast.
@@LaptopRetrospective hope you will!
@@tubeMonger i know but i can find one of theese only from us. And to buy something from us i have to pay 100+$ just for shipping...
Sounds beastly indeed.
I am using a T60 since 2007 and wanted something more powerful to compile wit ease and got a L570. I can compile alright and I can play games despite the underpowered Intel GPU... but I still mostly use and work on my T60. The newer one is not as bad as this one with soldered RAM and whatnot, but the touchpad is too big, and it totally sucks not having dedicated function and volume keys, plus the stupid location for the home, end,insert row.... I keep missing when I want to go to a terminal, change volume, etc.
They are not as bad as the 431, but they are much worse than the IBM era thinkpads.
T60 is definitely solid.
my instant reaction is that basically ALL the reasons i like thinkpads have been removed..... however its pretty looking, and i TOTALLy understand why lenovo went this way given its consumer base rarely utilised any of the features that appeal to me personally
Yeah, they talk about it in their Blog post. It's interesting to see how everyone historically reacted.
@@LaptopRetrospective ill check it out now!
The height reduction is particularly insane and retrospectively you understand why they went that route
To an extent yeah, but some of the other changes were not as well loved. Comments section of the blog post are just as interesting to read.
I love these T430 systems. Beautiful. The T431s, not so much.
Indeed, it was an interesting experiment.
@@LaptopRetrospective these odd thinkpads are fascinating. Like the ancient Z61t and its titanium lid. So cool.
Have to keep an eye out for that.
Does the T450 trackpad work on the T431s? Would be interesting to know.
It would be interesting to find out.
Easy swap. Works fine.
Thanks!
the m.2 slot however, is a bit of a game changer in terms of personal appeal, especially given how reasonably priced these are right now
Watch out because it's an odd size. It isn't standard so drives that fit aren't incredibly common or large capacity from what I've read.
@@LaptopRetrospective ahhhh that makes more sense, i was thinking triple SSD's setup.... still tho, its a curious device for sure
It is an m.2 but it's the non standard size.
2242 is a type of m.2 slot... just for referance, as said they are expensive drives! Nearly £200 for a 250gb drive as far as i can tell
Ah thanks for the education!
Nah. Here in Nusantara T431s is very rare, even rarer than T430u or T440s. Not gonna buy it though, cause it not too worthy, but instead has plan for acquire second-hand i5-powered T440p, the last ever ThinkPad with replaceable (socket) CPU. Currently I'm still waiting for the right time to buying it.
Good luck on your hunt.
Alternative: plain T440, with i5 ULV, cost only slightly higher than ideapad 100/110/300/310, but much easier to find
@@tedarmavan ThinkPad quality too! Nicer roll cage.
I got one of these and for my use it's ok but I want to max it out,what upgrades can I do ??
Trying to remember. I didn't have this one around long. I remember it not having as many swappable parts as the T430 due to the chassis.
I own both a t420 and t430. They're beasts. But what came after isn't so great. It's a lot like the Latitude e Series. I love my 6440. It's compact, fairly efficient and fast. The newer 7000 series uses ULV intel CPUs, and while I love the form factor, Ultrabook the 7000 series certainly is not as rugged as the 6000 series. Granted much lighter, you lose a lot of upgradability options to boot. But I think with Lenovo it was worse. The e7440 was still a great laptop with a great keyboard and screen. The early T series was never known for their screens but with the T431s and the slightly improved t440 that just got worse in my opinion.. especially if you just got the base config. It's still much better then a consumer laptop chances are, but for the price I think people expected better over all and Dell having produced ultrabooks like the XPS did a phenomenal job at packaging their high end stuff, blending the old with the new. Many of the existing parts just worked with one another, and Dell didn't do things like solder on ram, bastardizing the poor thing further. Lenovo clearly bombed at this transition. But the good news it's gotten slightly better. I just don't think it's even close to the classic T pad line and that's probably a good reason why Dell now is a leader in the business class of products.
Hopefully people in the tech community won't be afraid to make upgrading attractive again over thinness.
Laptop Retrospective Amen to that. I was just writing about my Thinkpad T420. I picked this up for a pretty good deal. I let my roommate use my t430 and my dock was lonely. But a fellow fellow work mate bought a t431s and I have to say, yes that's built nicely, it's still nothing remotely close to my e7470. Yes even my daily driver, e7470 is nothing next to my e6410, yet I am lucky in that at least the e7470 was upgradable, the T431s isn't nearly, and the ram is on board like Apple. Thankfully the battery isn't glued in. I would never waste such hard earned money on that. But that's the direction. The idea is oh look, it's thin. The reality is oh look in two years your gonna be buying something else because it's not upgradable. Apple doesn't even want to fix their own batteries. That's why they charge such crazy fees. Plus, it's Apple. But really what they sell people is throw away technology and I think that's done on purpose. Apple knows once the fool parts with his money, he'll be back. If the initial investment didn't send him in to a coma, the prospects of doing it again are highly.
Laptop Retrospective Amen to that. I was just writing about my Thinkpad T420. I picked this up for a pretty good deal. I let my roommate use my t430 and my dock was lonely. But a fellow fellow work mate bought a t431s and I have to say, yes that's built nicely, it's still nothing remotely close to my e7470. Yes even my daily driver, e7470 is nothing next to my e6410, yet I am lucky in that at least the e7470 was upgradable, the T431s isn't nearly, and the ram is on board like Apple. Thankfully the battery isn't glued in. I would never waste such hard earned money on that. But that's the direction. The idea is oh look, it's thin. The reality is oh look in two years your gonna be buying something else because it's not upgradable. Apple doesn't even want to fix their own batteries. That's why they charge such crazy fees. Plus, it's Apple. But really what they sell people is throw away technology and I think that's done on purpose. Apple knows once the fool parts with his money, he'll be back. If the initial investment didn't send him in to a coma, the prospects of doing it again are highly. lol
Hello sir
Can 512gb m2 2242 ssd support?
On Lenovo thinkpad t431s?
According to this, yes.
www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=forums.lenovo.com/t5/ThinkPad-T400-T500-and-newer-T/M2-SSDs-for-T431s/td-p/1161639&ved=2ahUKEwjH_a_75aPmAhWWqp4KHe9YDLsQFjAAegQIBxAB&usg=AOvVaw0K8rJLM4qRc1hyZAlJ44jG
I'm very confused as to why you compared this to a T430 instead of a T430s when talking about I/O
Partly because I had one available and partly showing the change in design. You're right that a T430s would have been better but the s models are fairly rare around here.
@@LaptopRetrospective Oh are they? Had no idea. Around here I find them about as often as the normal T430. I must say I've also never heard of this model before, never seen it mentioned anywhere until this video. is it parts compatible with the 30 series or the 40 series? I mean, other than the docking port being a pre 40 series design.
I'm not sure about parts compatibility. The keyboard disassembly is the only one of its kind I've seen and being an intermediate model, I'm not confident it shares many parts.
@@LaptopRetrospective They use that same keyboard on the 40 series.
Ah yes on the T440 it looks to be the same. The x240 wasn't as lucky.
Commenting here because youtube won't allow me to answer on the community tab... Thanks youtube... For rendering etc a ryzen 2700x will work fine, you don't necessairly need a tr.
Roger that. Thanks for that information. The 2700x is the AMD equivalent to the i7 9700k from what I can tell.
@@LaptopRetrospective yep but with more threads (the ryzen has 16) if you buy the x version with a good motherboard you can get even more performance from it.
Possibly. Benchmark tests put them pretty equal. Again, with the exception of single core performance.
@@LaptopRetrospective in multi core the ryzen is better but you need to be able to use all of 16 threads, i don't know why but most of the benchmark i tried on my tr just use 8 threads and ignore the rest...
Can add ssd? M2 2240? On WWAN slot?
The T431s uses M.2 2242 form factor I believe.
@@LaptopRetrospective ye m2.2242ssd work?
The store that I bought the T431s said that this laptop is a T430s.
Two different machines.
@@LaptopRetrospective Yeah, I know. The pictures and everything said that the laptop is a T430s. What a lie.
They have similar features design wise but yeah, not the same. Even says right on it so not much for an excuse.
@@LaptopRetrospective yeah, but I personally like the T431s. I opted for the T430s for durability. I didn't expect the T431s to arrive.
Can the i5 CPU be swapped out for an i7 3rd gen.
CPU I believe is soldered on this model.
Thanks super super awesome
Excellent, glad you found it helpful.
This is the beginning of the end when you can´t change the specs much further just like the much much newer laptops that come with soldered only that is even on storage. Disgusting.
Good to know to skip this model. Thanks.
Yeah, it isn't a bad computer in the purest sense, but there are better, more readily available alternatives.
"Two thirds, almost a half ..."
Huh?
Two thirds of the bottom half. Just to clarify. Sorry for the confusion.
@@LaptopRetrospective Aaaaw, a-ha. ;)
I found an old dell with an i7 which costs £70
What gen?
@@LaptopRetrospective I'm not sure yet but its definitely nothing newer than 3rd gen ivy bridge
I don't know this model exists
Happy to share something new!
#T430gang
Respectable gang for sure.