T410 vs T410s?

Hi all, would appreciate some advice on this question.



95% of the time, my laptop will be sitting on a coffee table next to a power outlet. So portability and battery life are not factors for me.



Assume all attributes are the same (processor, resolution, etc). And disregard price as a factor.



Knowing all this, is there any logical reason to choose the T410 over the T410s?

Reply 1 : T410 vs T410s?

No.



In fact, the slender T410s will look beautiful on that coffee table.



(If and when you wish to replace the main drive, just keep in mind that it is of 1.8" form factor.)

Reply 2 : T410 vs T410s?

Go for Slender T410s.

Reply 3 : T410 vs T410s?

T410s will be lighter and slimmer than T410, I would pretty much appreciate T410s over T410 in this respect.

However, battery life on T410s is below any acceptable limits to me, it has only one battery available and I dont consider additional ultrabay battery to be note worthy or serious addition, its just a laugh, not a real battery for frequent use IMO since it degrades very quickly as reported by users(talking here about additional ultrabay battery and not the main one). I wish Lenovo made slice battery for T410s just like they made one for T410. Still dont get it why its so hard to make unified slice for 14" ThinkPads, both regular and slim series. If Lenovo did this, I would definitely consider S series as my main laptop.

So, aside from weak battery T410s would be my logical choice.

If on the other hand you dont care about weight and need more battery life, then T410 wins hands down.

Reply 4 : T410 vs T410s?

The logical reasons for choosing T410 over T410s are:



1. You can use 2.5 inch hdd.

2. There are 4 usb ports rather 3 on the T410s

3. Easier to source.

4. You can get one with smartcard, which i don't think you need.



Other than i can't really think of any reason why you should get a T410 over the T410s.

Reply 5 : T410 vs T410s?

Given what you wrote I'd be asking whether there's any reason to get a T410s over a T410. Functionally, no. If you want the prettier notebook go for the T410s, it looks great.

Reply 6 : T410 vs T410s?

If you do intend on getting a T410s, make sure you look up the "vertical band" issue just so you know what you're in for. I own a T410s right now and there's a vertical strip on the screen that doesn't work -- I need to send it in to Lenovo to fix. It's a widespread issue.

Reply 7 : T410 vs T410s?

Quote:

Originally Posted by akwok If you do intend on getting a T410s, make sure you look up the "vertical band" issue just so you know what you're in for. I own a T410s right now and there's a vertical strip on the screen that doesn't work -- I need to send it in to Lenovo to fix. It's a widespread issue.

IIRC, from what I've read on the Lenovo forums, that was sorted out a long time ago and the faulty panels were removed from manufacturing several months back. Newly-produced units shouldn't be subject to that problem.

Reply 8 : T410 vs T410s?

The vertical band issue only affected early models of the t410s.

LN-T5265 UPDATES

Does anyone know where I can go to get my wiselink firmware updates? I have not updated it since I bought it.

Cf 51: are LCD displays interchangeable ?

Will an LCD display from one Cf 51 model fit any other Cf 51, ie, will LCD from a Mk2 1.73 motherboard plug into Mk3 duo motherboard?

Reply 1 : Cf 51: are LCD displays interchangeable ?

The duos use a different cable. You should also verify the same resolution. I am not sure if the UXGA and the XGA use the same connector on the LCD itself or not. I (think) they do(no guarantee). They did on a CF 50 I worked on. Swapped a UXGA LCD for a busted XGA with no problems. The laptop just used the highest common resolution.

The difference in the cable is the single core units have separate connectors on the motherboard for the LCD and for the inverter. The duo core units have 1 connector on the motherboard combining the LCD and the inverter. The lid itself is the same. As matter of fact the lid from a cf 50 will physically bolt on. With some minor creative wiring I could put the lid assembly and LCD from a CF50 on a single core CF51.

One day if I run out of projects, I am going to take a single core or a CF50 LCD/lid assembly and wire a duo core connector on it. I have the parts here, I am just busy right now.

One seller on fleabay has a duo core cable for sale for 25.00 or something like that. Last time I searched anyway.

Vostro 1320: Random reboots and freezes

I'm currently having odd freeze/reboot issues with my Dell Vostro 1320. I will get the sound of connecting and disconnecting a USB device repeatedly and rapidly, followed by a freeze. I also get random reboots.



I've done a clean reformat and installation/update of Windows XP. I've also run CHKDSK and memtest86+ and found nothing. That pretty much is the limit of my knowledge as far as cheap/easy things to do.



Has anyone else experienced similar issues?



Thanks!

Reply 1 : Vostro 1320: Random reboots and freezes

Did you try running Dell Diagnostics?

XPS 14 has shortest life in dell's laptop history?

the resell value is pretty bad because dell discotinued it.............

I am upset why discontinued it so early, I'd sell it earlier.



XPS14 only last less than 4 months, then got killed...............

Reply 1 : XPS 14 has shortest life in dell's laptop history?

Why'd being discontinued affect its resell value?

Reply 2 : XPS 14 has shortest life in dell's laptop history?

It might actually help the value -- plenty of people like the smaller laptops for portability. Maybe you'll find the right buyer.

Reply 3 : XPS 14 has shortest life in dell's laptop history?

Hey, if its an i7 with the 14 Inch laptop that would sell well. A lot of laptops don't have that kind of power in the size range and plus like thumper300zx said, a lot of people buy smaller laptops. Just need to find the right person.

Reply 4 : XPS 14 has shortest life in dell's laptop history?

The XPS 14 case is definitely weird. Though Dell made some really dumb choices to begin with (denying it USB 3.0 for example) that may have pushed a lot of potential buyers to go with the XPS 15 instead.

Reply 5 : XPS 14 has shortest life in dell's laptop history?

Their biggest mistake was the POS screen they put on them. I don't think most people really have anything for a USB 3.0 port anyways.

Reply 6 : XPS 14 has shortest life in dell's laptop history?

Thought they were replacing XPS 14 with something else? It could go either way, either a super expensive notebook that was rare or a notebook that barely sells for 1/3 of it's brand new price. Only time will tell.

Reply 7 : XPS 14 has shortest life in dell's laptop history?

The SXPS 13 didn't last that long either, and it wasn't replaced with anything. Maybe the market for small but powerful Dell laptops just isn't there.

Reply 8 : XPS 14 has shortest life in dell's laptop history?

If they had updated the XPS 14 with USB 3.0 and a blu-ray reader (without the expensive writer combo), I totally would've gotten it. It would've been the perfect laptop for me. I was really disappointed when they pulled it

Reply 9 : XPS 14 has shortest life in dell's laptop history?

If they would have updated it with a decent-quality higher-res 1600x900 option like that LG panel everyone's sticking in there, I would add it to my list of recommended general-use / multimedia / light-gaming laptops.

Skype, Z Series, and Windows 7 Service Pack 1

Has anyone else had problems with Skype causing system to hang with W7 after adding SP1? My Skype was working fine before, but now whenever it is launched, the system completely hangs and has to be rebooted. Any ideas what might be going on?

Internet Explorer 9 - Hybrid lappie owners

As the title suggests.



First off. I am not a big fan of the IE software. Personally would prefer Chrome myself due to it feeling a lot more fluid / smoother, but hey, that's my opinion. So when IE9 beta first entered the public release phase, I thought I'd give the IE browser another go, after about 2 years of abandonment.

...Not bad, said I...

Until I tried switching the GPU over with IE9 running (while minimized). BSOD. This was reported here as well, however I was unable to re-find that thread (hence reluctantly starting this here).



Anyways, I assumed the issue was due to the beta stage of the development, so I ditched IE9 and returned to Chrome, at least until the browser got a full, proper release.



Just checked, and the release date is slated for tomorrow, the 14th of March (it's just hit 13th of March where I live).



I own a VGN-Z26, a lappie with hybrid graphics. Curious as to whether any hybrid graphics owners here (preferabbly the VGN-Z and VPC-Z, though other hybrid-using models welcome) are willing to give MS and IE9 another shot, and whether current RC users have had BSOD on their machines, notably when they were switching the GPUs over? Or are most individuals here die-hard Mozilla / Opera / Chrome fans...?



Granted, you technically shouldn't be switching graphics with minimized / running software but hey, Chrome doesn't complain (nor does IE8 for that matter).

Reply 1 : Internet Explorer 9 - Hybrid lappie owners

Chrome and IE8 don't complain when you switch graphics because neither is using the graphics card for hardware acceleration.



I've been testing the IE9 RC and don't get blue screens when I switch graphics. However, it does cause IE to glitch and lock up and I've had to crash out of it.



It would be nice to think that Sony will provide a driver update that offers better compatibility with modern browsers but I doubt that is likely to happen

Reply 2 : Internet Explorer 9 - Hybrid lappie owners

Uhm my guess is that this is an microsoft / windows problem not an nvidia (or whatever) switchable graphics problem. The browser can't handle the sudden change of graphics card.

Reply 3 : Internet Explorer 9 - Hybrid lappie owners

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5ushiMonster As the title suggests. First off. I am not a big fan of the IE software. Personally would prefer Chrome myself due to it feeling a lot more fluid / smoother, but hey, that's my opinion. So when IE9 beta first entered the public release phase, I thought I'd give the IE browser another go, after about 2 years of abandonment. ...Not bad, said I... Until I tried switching the GPU over with IE9 running (while minimized). BSOD. This was reported here as well, however I was unable to re-find that thread (hence reluctantly starting this here). Anyways, I assumed the issue was due to the beta stage of the development, so I ditched IE9 and returned to Chrome, at least until the browser got a full, proper release. Just checked, and the release date is slated for tomorrow, the 14th of March (it's just hit 13th of March where I live). I own a VGN-Z26, a lappie with hybrid graphics. Curious as to whether any hybrid graphics owners here (preferabbly the VGN-Z and VPC-Z, though other hybrid-using models welcome) are willing to give MS and IE9 another shot, and whether current RC users have had BSOD on their machines, notably when they were switching the GPUs over? Or are most individuals here die-hard Mozilla / Opera / Chrome fans...? Granted, you technically shouldn't be switching graphics with minimized / running software but hey, Chrome doesn't complain (nor does IE8 for that matter).

If you realized from 260.xx nvidia added 1 process, this process is to prevent ie9 to crash.

I am using 263.14 2266 and i don't have this problem.



edit:

but i can tell you that i don't have any acceleration with intel, it is like software simulation for intel hd side.

But if you wanted to try intel hardware acceleration as well, try searching

"Force Enable GPU Hardware Acceleration Graphics Rendering on Old GPU in IE9" at google.

Reply 4 : Internet Explorer 9 - Hybrid lappie owners

Cheers for the replies guys; greatly appreciated.



I am currently running Sony's GPU drivers, so don't really have that one extra process in the Task Manager. But it is indeed curious; nvidia and/or Microsoft then know about software instability with hybrid machines... That tells me those who ain't confident with drivers not from Sony will be left out in the cold. Unless Sony releases an update (though fat chance of that ever happening...).



As for why I'm using Sony's drivers... I have opted for Nautis's drivers a few times in the past, numerous versions, however had temperature issues. Idles around a good 75-80'C mark in SPEED whereas the stock drivers do so around 60'C in said mode. Though that could be an issue on my part as I haven't clean-installed my OS in over a year. Don't really have the time to re-set everything after clean-installs...



Anyways, indeed. I do remember MS touting hardware acceleration as IE9's stronger points. That would explain it being rather dependent on the nvidia hardware when it starts up. And would explain the crashes when the switch was flicked; the nvidia card is either turned on or off hence the browser falls into a bit of a dilemma...

Reply 5 : Internet Explorer 9 - Hybrid lappie owners

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5ushiMonster Cheers for the replies guys; greatly appreciated. I am currently running Sony's GPU drivers, so don't really have that one extra process in the Task Manager. But it is indeed curious; nvidia and/or Microsoft then know about software instability with hybrid machines... That tells me those who ain't confident with drivers not from Sony will be left out in the cold. Unless Sony releases an update (though fat chance of that ever happening...). As for why I'm using Sony's drivers... I have opted for Nautis's drivers a few times in the past, numerous versions, however had temperature issues. Idles around a good 75-80'C mark in SPEED whereas the stock drivers do so around 60'C in said mode. Though that could be an issue on my part as I haven't clean-installed my OS in over a year. Don't really have the time to re-set everything after clean-installs... Anyways, indeed. I do remember MS touting hardware acceleration as IE9's stronger points. That would explain it being rather dependent on the nvidia hardware when it starts up. And would explain the crashes when the switch was flicked; the nvidia card is either turned on or off hence the browser falls into a bit of a dilemma...

If you want you can try my hybrid graphic driver, since it is signed you don't need test mode anymore. But i forgot which settings i put for nvidia side, but my intel side is as good as sony one.

Reply 6 : Internet Explorer 9 - Hybrid lappie owners

The full, final version (9.0.8112.16421 RTM) has been released and I have since installed.



Opinions, though quite mixed... The goods first:

- Smooth. The overall feeling is a lot more fluid, zippier, and less stuttering. Tested on a webpage where the vertical scroll bar quite essentially turns microscopic. Where IE8 failed on EPIC proportions, IE9 mows through such pages without a hitch in performance.

- The font type has been changed. Checking the SETTINGS page my IE9 says KOREAN scripting and has chosen a Korean-named font. My VGN-Z's locale setting is set to Korea in case it's relevent. That said, the majority of sites I view are in English and the font is indeed different. A subtle change, but a welcome one nonetheless. Looks like Calibri but could be Tahoma (or could be text-edge-smoothing, if memory serves correct, called Clear-Text).

- Before I ditched IE8 a few years back, I had the settings set as I see fit. Some settings were NOT migrated, but most were (notably the 'disable-google-analytics' in the EXTENTIONS manager). Yeah yeah, I installed a similar plug-in for Chrome.

- Click-and-snap TABS. It actually resembles and performs like Chrome does. For me considering coming back from Chrome, it's an extra.

- Search via the URL field; ABOUT BLOODY TIME MICROSOFT.........



Negatives:

-Seems the BSOD issue has been addressed / fixed (from SPEED to STAMINA with IE9 running). But switching from STAMINA to SPEED required me to restart the IE to take advantage of the suddenly added 'hardware'; it would continue using the Intel graphics without doing so (ie, no hardware acceleration as mentioned by Andrew08). I guess that's normal so this borders a negative + positive opinion...

- IE9 is EXTREMELY reliant on hardware. I am viewing the fish-tank for the IE9 (on the official page Beauty of the Web). My nVidia 9300GMS peaks at around 93'C in regards to temps, and memory usage is a HUGE 220MB for 300 fish. Not to mention the fan now sounds like a vacuum cleaner in regards to loudness... And everything that is NOT IE9 is rather laggy; it is rather demanding on the hardware as it is touted as I guess. It would not do well multitasking when you're watching a higher-res Youtube video, for example; hardware will take preference for IE9 over whatever else.

- In conjunction with above, RAM usage. It's extremely dynamic and IE9 with the 300 fish consumes a good 200MB. However, with normal / idle browsing it's less at around 60MB (IE8 was around 110MB at idle).

- I thought the new download page was a little too fiddly, with a completely seperate window. I would have preferred it to be a in-the-window TAB like Chrome. But that said, CTRL+J brings up the download window like it does on Chrome, so I most certainly welcome that wee similarity.



With the VGN-Z set to STAMINA, with 300 fish I'm getting 11fps. With SPEED mode I see around 25fps. And with the Intel, since it is the CPU doing the work, the CPU temps peak at around 70'C (CPU0 at 65'C and CPU1 at 75'C). It's lower than the nVidia but with how the BIOS-level thermal strategy is set up on the VGN-Z in regards to fan speeds, the sound difference between the nVidia and Intel graphics is neglible...



Now, the ULTIMATE question. Would I ditch Chrome for this?

My opinion (READ: MY OPINION) - Maybe, inclined towards Chrome. Chrome is alot more fluid than IE9. I just don't know how else to describe it. IE9 feels more like Opera in regards to fluidity, but without the RAM consumage and bloat that Opera has become over the past few years. I've got 8GB of RAM, yes. But I find Chrome better uses that to its full potential (and yes, I only use IE x64 except when I feel like some youtube, since x64 Flash is yet to be released). But IE9 is a huge improvement. For everyday browsing, apart from the slight learning curve of the GUI (or the lack thereof for average-Joe users), it will fit the bill perfect.



Sum-up.

Microsoft has done an excellent job getting IE9 upto where it is today. It is indeed a world of difference compared to IE8. But with the race against the competition, one could say IE9 only allows Microsoft to finally see the leader's tail. Doesn't catch up to them / it, well, at least not yet...

Reply 7 : Internet Explorer 9 - Hybrid lappie owners

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5ushiMonster The full, final version (9.0.8112.16421 RTM) has been released and I have since installed. Opinions, though quite mixed... The goods first: - Smooth. The overall feeling is a lot more fluid, zippier, and less stuttering. Tested on a webpage where the vertical scroll bar quite essentially turns microscopic. Where IE8 failed on EPIC proportions, IE9 mows through such pages without a hitch in performance. - The font type has been changed. Checking the SETTINGS page my IE9 says KOREAN scripting and has chosen a Korean-named font. My VGN-Z's locale setting is set to Korea in case it's relevent. That said, the majority of sites I view are in English and the font is indeed different. A subtle change, but a welcome one nonetheless. Looks like Calibri but could be Tahoma (or could be text-edge-smoothing, if memory serves correct, called Clear-Text). - Before I ditched IE8 a few years back, I had the settings set as I see fit. Some settings were NOT migrated, but most were (notably the 'disable-google-analytics' in the EXTENTIONS manager). Yeah yeah, I installed a similar plug-in for Chrome. - Click-and-snap TABS. It actually resembles and performs like Chrome does. For me considering coming back from Chrome, it's an extra. - Search via the URL field; ABOUT BLOODY TIME MICROSOFT......... Negatives: -Seems the BSOD issue has been addressed / fixed (from SPEED to STAMINA with IE9 running). But switching from STAMINA to SPEED required me to restart the IE to take advantage of the suddenly added 'hardware'; it would continue using the Intel graphics without doing so (ie, no hardware acceleration as mentioned by Andrew08). I guess that's normal so this borders a negative + positive opinion... - IE9 is EXTREMELY reliant on hardware. I am viewing the fish-tank for the IE9 (on the official page Beauty of the Web). My nVidia 9300GMS peaks at around 93'C in regards to temps, and memory usage is a HUGE 220MB for 300 fish. Not to mention the fan now sounds like a vacuum cleaner in regards to loudness... And everything that is NOT IE9 is rather laggy; it is rather demanding on the hardware as it is touted as I guess. It would not do well multitasking when you're watching a higher-res Youtube video, for example; hardware will take preference for IE9 over whatever else. - In conjunction with above, RAM usage. It's extremely dynamic and IE9 with the 300 fish consumes a good 200MB. However, with normal / idle browsing it's less at around 60MB (IE8 was around 110MB at idle). - I thought the new download page was a little too fiddly, with a completely seperate window. I would have preferred it to be a in-the-window TAB like Chrome. But that said, CTRL+J brings up the download window like it does on Chrome, so I most certainly welcome that wee similarity. With the VGN-Z set to STAMINA, with 300 fish I'm getting 11fps. With SPEED mode I see around 25fps. And with the Intel, since it is the CPU doing the work, the CPU temps peak at around 70'C (CPU0 at 65'C and CPU1 at 75'C). It's lower than the nVidia but with how the BIOS-level thermal strategy is set up on the VGN-Z in regards to fan speeds, the sound difference between the nVidia and Intel graphics is neglible... Now, the ULTIMATE question. Would I ditch Chrome for this? My opinion (READ: MY OPINION) - Maybe, inclined towards Chrome. Chrome is alot more fluid than IE9. I just don't know how else to describe it. IE9 feels more like Opera in regards to fluidity, but without the RAM consumage and bloat that Opera has become over the past few years. I've got 8GB of RAM, yes. But I find Chrome better uses that to its full potential (and yes, I only use IE x64 except when I feel like some youtube, since x64 Flash is yet to be released). But IE9 is a huge improvement. For everyday browsing, apart from the slight learning curve of the GUI (or the lack thereof for average-Joe users), it will fit the bill perfect. Sum-up. Microsoft has done an excellent job getting IE9 upto where it is today. It is indeed a world of difference compared to IE8. But with the race against the competition, one could say IE9 only allows Microsoft to finally see the leader's tail. Doesn't catch up to them / it, well, at least not yet...

I have been a long time Chrome user and IE hater and I must say IE9 runs very well and smoothly. Looks good and has some unique features.



I will stay with it for the time being !

Reply 8 : Internet Explorer 9 - Hybrid lappie owners

I'm a long time Firefox user and although IE9 loads faster, etc. I MUST have my add-ons in Firefox... which leads me to my next point, if this browser was IE8 or IE7... MS would have crushed chrome and slowed down Firefox's growth... I guess better late than never?

Reply 9 : Internet Explorer 9 - Hybrid lappie owners

It's in every Windows users interests to upgrade to 9, even if you don't intend on using it! Do you really want IE8 sitting dormant on your machine? *shudders*



As an I.T professional, I use all browsers because I need to. IE9 is very, very nice. It's quite close to Chrome & Firefox 4 (RC) in many areas, but the development of Chrome and Firefox should see those browsers pull away from IE9 (you could argue Chrome was so far ahead of the rest anyway...).