ThinkPad X1 Carbon Vs. ThinkPad T430s Full Comparison of Features and Design 

I should also mention that I played around with the color management settings (Gamma, contrast, brightness, etc.) I think it made a huge difference once you find the sweet spot.

I think it's tough to move from the old keyboard style to new, but for someone that has not used a ThinkPad before and is used to the 6-row setup other laptops have there won't be any real adjustment necessary.

very nice review answered every single question i had (cad, battery, ssd) plus they both have the click buttons instead of the whole pad.. i think t430s custom ssd is what i'll opt for. thanks

I just took a long drive to check out the T430s at a nearby college, and I'd have to agree with you there is an awful lot of belly aching over the screen. It's really not bad at all IMO. Sure, it's not going to satisfy the graphics artist, which is a shame because it could be a nice platform for that, but for the average user like me it is totally usable. That said, I ordered one.

I switched from Core I7 t420s to Core I7 X1 Carbon. Carbon is considerably slower in heavy Excel applications due to the low voltage CPU.

in my opinion the top hinges set up used in T30s (and older) design is beats the U- style due the screen is set higher and your neck gets less strain. also it gives a little gap between the body and the screen casing which (especially in combination with the trackpoint) makes using the laptop while standing much easier because the gap allows your fingers to hold the laptop without an effort (so sometimes you just looked like a guy from old games graphics cause you were walking and shaking hands and holding an open 5.5 pound T420 simultaneously). one of the major reasons why so many people got stick to thinkpads is a trackpoint. so for me the trackpad is useless (moreover on T430s and so it gets worn and very ugly). also the trackpad on my old s205 was teenytiny but yet very ergonomical thanks to great buttons and surface (which lets you set the sensitivity to max). in spite of the size it had an accurate+fast crispy and short travel keyboard too btw. a large trackpad is just an other reason for it to be turned off because the palms will drive your cursor crazy while typing. check Louis Rossmann's youtube videos for more about Lenovos design failures.

Based on what I've read in forums this is not possible, the screen used for the X1C cannot be swapped into other models. I don't know why exactly, but there are a number of reasons that would make it impossible to do. I wouldn't base a purchasing decision on the assumption this could be done.

A larger touchpad could be handy for the new Windows 8 gestures, the more space you have the more usable it becomes when multiple fingers are involved in an action!

They both have mini DisplayPort and so could support above the 1920 x 1080 resolution that HDMI is limited to. In other words, yes it could drive the resolution on the Samsung Series 9, configuration won't matter, the Intel HD 4000 can support high resolution.

Great video comparison as usual. Does the X1C have 2 DIMM slots?

Much better, the viewing angles are far wider and the display is brighter.

just got a used T430s, mine has the finger print reader although i'll never use it :P

all the RAM is soldered onto the motherboard. i hear that you can still special-order the 8 GB w/i7 config of the X1 even though it is not listed online. talk to a representative. i know for me that's the biggest barrier to purchasing one.

Need Lenovo with large SSD and HDMI, not Mini-Display....I can't see it !!! help

Awesome review! For heavy excel work with macros/vba, would I see a significant performance between the two models? Thanks in advance!

please do compare the batteries also! which one does last longer, especially whats about this ultrabay battery in t430s

Do you think it would be possible to install a replacement X1 screen in the T430s? About the only thing keeping me from purchasing the T430 series is the bunk screen. I don't need the slimness of the X1 and would benefit more from a standard (Non-UV) processor, higher ram capacity, etc. If they use the same video connector, it would be a very compelling buy for me.

Thanks, I figured that was the probably the case too. It's too bad Lenovo has such odd feature sets. W530 is a heavy monster with everything but no thunderbolt, T530s i7 has thunderbolt but crippled by the screen. X1 Carbon seems great but lacks standard processors, graphics, and ram upgrades for power users. I know there are always compromises that need to be made but it seems like they are always shortchanging themselves from having home-run notebooks.

Ha, welcome to the world of online user feedback where opinions are a blessing and a curse, a lot of the complaints you see regarding aspects of some technology are people that take pleasure finding some problem or another to complain about ;) Yeah, for 80% of people the screen will be fine, but it is not on par with some of the nicer screens. I can live with that. Enjoy your T430s when it arrives!

You can upgrade the SSD (sort of). Some call them Blade or Half Slim SSD. It's the same drive in MacBook Air and some ASUS Ultrabooks. You can find used ones on ebay. The drives are not available retail yet. But they should be coming soon. I think the manufacturers have cut a deal with Laptop makers and not making them available retail so that they can jack the price way up when you buy the laptop. Sounds almost illegal.

the screen/display on x1 carbon is better than t430s is it?

RAM appears to be soldered on, meaning you can't upgrade.

How are they on heating up?

anyone knows how to upgrade the t430 to nvidia graphics?

Does t430 support 32gb ram

The T430s / T430 screens are not as good as the ThinkPad X1 and you see lots of belly aching about how bad the T series screens are, but honestly, it's not like they'll make you go blind or something. They're just average laptop screens and don't match the premium quality the other parts of the laptop have. If you're fine with an average screen, then you won't be bothered by the T430s screen.

Also Toshiba, Samsung and SanDisk make them.

The keyboards are not exactly the same at all, every other review talks about how Lenovo sacrificed vertical travel with the x1 carbon.

Amazingly how even such expensive machines dont have a decent solution for scrolling down the web pages...on the other hand you have 3 different options to make a click

word!

The x1 carbon makes the t430 looks shit