Rating: 
This post may or may not read a lot like my review of Lenovo ThinkPad T400. At least when I refer to its legendary status in today’s corporate computing anyway…
As previously mentioned, The T series ThinkPads have been one of the most popular choice for IT managers worldwide for decades. However, Lenovo’s attempt to freshen up the series is quite evident in this new model T410 which was released just hours before CES earlier this year. 
Gone are the rubbery tactile lid top and top side magnesium roll cage. WHAT? No Magnesium roll cage? Relax… Not that I would risk dropping this laptop to test how sturdy it is, the unit’s build quality is solid as ever. I’m not sure whether the visual illusion comes into play or not, but the symmetrical hinges appear to be strong as well. Up until T400, the T series always used a bigger hinge on left and a smaller hinge on right.
But the real beauty of this new laptop is that you can configure it with up to Core i7 CPU. This particular laptop registered 4900 in GeekBench benchmark test without any special tweaks and adjustments. Paired up with 4Gb of DDR3 RAM, this laptop just quietly sits down and handles it all with flying color. Does it have Vera Wang design lid? No. Does it have flames and neon lights on the outside? No. It looks all business and it handles all business as it is meant to do.
This reviewer made a mistake ordering Lenovo Port Replicator model 25o4 thinking it would use the same damn dock that T400 uses, but I was corrected the moment I tried to set it down on a dock. Epic Fail. The T410 uses Lenovo’s Mini Dock 3 series stuff and will not share its power adapter or a dock with T400. (T400 uses 65w while T410 comes with 90w adapter)
Trackpad buttons are bigger and the pad itself is larger and somewhat better to use. It sports a new trackpad that has tactile feedback rather than gliding your fingers on a smooth surface. Inclusion of a display port is nice and many of familiar ports from old T series have been moved to different spots on the chassis.
All in all, there isn’t much to complain about this model as it is a yet another solid T series laptop from Lenovo. It is deceptively thicker than what Lenovo’s website shows you and it is exact same dimension as the ol’ T400. In a way you may feel the T400 could be lighter because the front part is more “wedged” creating a thinner profile. T410 is more even in terms of thickness front and back.
This reviewer is anxiously waiting for more units to be available to get a few more in.
Popularity: 100% [?]
Look I got my ThinkPad delivered before most people! I have no clue on technology, I am a visual reviewer. Lights, feel, tired old statements generically applied. Fluff…
Thanks Capitan Obvious
I am sorry you felt the review fell short. My reviews aren’t meant to be deep in details as there are many review sites that drill down deeper. I meant this review to be top level, quick, and concise review not necessarily deep in details of Lenovo engineering. It’s a quick guide for one who needs a quick read on it. I make no apology for what it is, I spend my own time and own money doing it, and it cost you nothing. If you got something out of it, GREAT! If you didn’t, so be it. As for calling me clueless on technology without knowing me on a personal level, let’s just say I wouldn’t call you names without knowing you fully.
Thanks for stopping by though. Have a great day!
Hi,
Could you please stand on the top of T400 and also T410?
Joking… When you opened the lid on the video, I noticed it a bit flex.
Otherway, some other information (compared to T400) would be very helpful for us tring to buy T410:
- idle fan speed (noise), temperature and power consume in watt
- max performance (e.g. 3dmark) fan speed (noise), temperature and power consume
- quality (and material) of the new speaker grille
- switchable graphics (related bios menu)
- some more information about the display (compared to T400)
- predicted battery life (idle/surfing/load) when fully charged
- subjectively, which one would you choose after tested, the old or the new one?
I think these information would be very helpful and cost not much of your time but would be much appreciated.
Thanks is advance!
I’d get you those numbers within next few days.
ql. please post them:)
up till then, you should do the stand-on-the-top test:)
Stand-on-the-top test will guarantee that those other tests you wanted will “not” get done. But I will let you know how my frisbee test turns out.
Hello everyone. I had some craziness going on today at my “day job”. I will be updating the review with aforementioned requests “very” soon. Thank you again.
Hey thanks for your site and your videos. I saw this video and I am concerned about the build quality. You say it is like Thinkpads of the past but this video clearly shows the quality went way downhill! Can you please record a video of you pushing down on the wrist pad and any other place? The T20, T40, T60 (and X series) never had this issue, those were tanks!
Well, here’s my 2 cents based on following facts:
- thousands of laptops go through my hands each year for setup, config, and post sale support
- I do not work for Lenovo (therefore have no reasons to praise them more than necessary)
Based on that, I will tell you that I don’t necessarily think this model falls behind the previous generation units. You can certainly see where they cut corners to save manufacturing cost etc, and that may bother some folks regarding the whole build quality issue.
Looking at it from day-to-day end user usability perspective, I would say it really isn’t an issue. It’s plastic, it will flex if you put pressure on it. Pressing it hard using a fingertip which concentrates pressure into small spot, it will flex of course. Having said that, I will also tell you I actually dropped this laptop 2 days ago. It slid out of my car from back seat of a high sitting SUV, and fell straight to concrete parking lot. It didn’t get intensionally tossed but the impact was rather high for a laptop computer making me cringe when it happened. Not only it survived the drop, nothing has come loose, nothing has gone out of place, nothing got jolted. Do keep in mind it wasn’t dropped on a carpeted surface, but a solid concrete pavement bare naked dropped out of accident.
I don’t know what my experience can tell you but I have no hesitation recommending this unit to my clients or anyone who asks. I have no issue with its build quality, magnesium roll cage or not.
Excellent review. You were one of the first to review the T410. I am thinking about buying one. The other laptop I am interested in is the Toshiba Tecra R10. The Core i5/i7 with Windows 7 machines are still a few weeks away. And even the T410 will take 3 weeks to arrive in England.
G’day
Is there something wrong with your blog or with my web browser? I keep clicking on the subscribe button and I get some strange code from the web browser. The feed content shows many strange characters and it looks messy. Maybe it’s from the new plugin I set up to get the subscription feeds into a custom way. Weird, never the less.
Cheers!
Hello to all prospective buyers!
I have just received a new T410, but I had my doubts about it from all the literature I had read. Those doubts dissolved after I examined it and used it for a day. Yes, the screen does flex rather alarmingly between the hinges, but it isn’t much of an issue really, especially when the unit is closed. I even dropped the unit from knee height onto carpet about 3 times to show people, and yes, it has a 7200 rpm mechanical platter HD! The laptop was fine. Only once did the fascia (screen surround) separate from the lid at the right corner. This wasn’t a problem, as it clicked back into place with very little pressure. This I felt was a good thing, as the flexible ABS plastic does what it is designed to do…absorb the shock. This goes for the rest of the chassis. I am glad it flexes somewhat, because that energy is not going to be sent through the motherboard etc. I do not recommend continually dropping the computer, but it will survive a decent fall in the event of an accident! It seems perfectly suited to situations where there is vibration and moderate shock. eg, in a vehicle or at a construction site.
The T410 does still retain the magnesium rollcage, much to my delight, and provides a lot of rigidity to the lower chassis. The keyboard does flex a little in the Esc key corner, and clack a bit, but that is all. The keyboard feels quite nice. People do report spelling errors, but the keyboard does require getting used to, due to the shape, and placement of some keys. The palm rest is exceptional, and only flexes under heavy strain.
The ThinkLight is well designed, and bright enough to illuminate the keyboard, and immediate surroundings. I would have liked it if Lenovo immobilised fluorescence into the key substrate, so the keys illuminate when exposed to the ThinkLight. This would be even better than a back-lit keyboard! However, I still like the nostalga of such a simple, if crude solution. Even the laptop design itself is rather nostalgic, for those who like that sort of thing, like me!
Battery life on the 6-cell is ~4 hours, with heavy energy saving profiles in place, and a screen brightness of a nice, usable 5 out of a rather sunglasses-worthy 15. I have the LED backlit model, with the discrete nVidia option. The “Home Performance” edition, as Lenovo calls it.
The fingerprint reader doesn’t appear to recognise any of my finger prints!!!??? It is a possible software issue. Lenovo will get back to me.
All in all, a rather surprising, and very fast computer that has received a lot of negative rap. I recommend it to anyone looking for a semi-rugged laptop design, that does not skimp on performance.
I hope this finalises anyone’s decision to purchase! It really is better than you expected !
It is possible things on my side are jacked. As you can probably see, I am still in the process of getting things buttoned down over here as far as the site is concerned. I will make sure things get updated and hit you up within a few days to make sure your subscription works. I have more stuff coming up that are interesting and would love to have someone like you checking ‘em out. Thanks!!!
There are a lot of people who do not pay any attention to RAM when they buy their laptops. They may be ignorant or perhaps plain negligent on this. But when the laptop works slowly or perhaps conks off in the middle of important tasks, they wonder as to what happened suddenly.
One important thing I like about blogs is that they spark an idea in my head. After that happens, I feel like I must write a comment wishing it’s pleasant to some people. As there are many weblogs with distinct points of view, they question your comprehension. It’s at these occasions when you have useful insignt other people may not have had, not to mention the blogger himself/herself. I find myself returning to your web log simply because you have some very good insights and you happen to be at this a while, which is very exciting and tells me you know your stuff. Keep triggering imagination in others!
Hi there. Thanks for your review. I found it (especially the video) to be very helpful as I’m trying to decide between the T410 and T510.
I do have a few follow up questions for you though, if you have the time. I’d be very interested in hearing your honest opinions about the following:
- fan/HD/other noise that the laptop makes (I work in a quiet room)
- max performance (e.g. 3dmark), fan speed (noise), temperature and power consume
- quality (and material) of the new speaker grille
- some more information about the display (a list of the resolutions it has on offer?)
- Which is a better quality/performance/noise laptop between the T410 and T510? I use my laptop for about 16 of the 18 hours I’m awake.
Don’t worry about “influencing” me. I’m asking because I’d like to know your thoughts. Thanks in advance!
Hi there. Thanks for checking out the video review.
- my T410 runs 24 hours and there is no noticeable noise to speak of. a bit of hum noise coming out of my studio monitors is louder than very little or no noise coming out from the T410
- I only ran Geekbench and no 3dMark since mine just has an integrated Intel Video. When pushed, you still don’t notice any fan noise. The laptop runs very cool to the touch. Never seen the machine go up higher than 91 degrees so far at the max. Normally below 85. Start contrast to Macbook Pros or other PC laptops that you can’t put on your lap.
- I love the new speaker grille more than holes directly through the chassis as found in old T61.
- If you get a T510, you are giving up portability. That thing is LARGE and THICK.
Hi Allene. I can’t tell you how gratifying it was to read your comment and such is why I put effort into doing this. Only way I can make it worthwhile and continue to have you come back is to add compelling content as the site grows. Thank you again for your kind words. There are some cool gear reviews cooking right now so please make sure you return!
Thanks, especially for the comparison pics between the T410 and the T400, it makes me realize that the T410 isn’t much if any bigger than the T400 (it looks like it is when you see a pic by itself).
Are you saying that there is NO rubber feel on the lid anymore? It’s just a smooth plastic lid now?
What can you say about the sturdiness of the new lid (compared the the lid of the T400)?
Thanks again.
Specs shown on Lenovo’s website indicates external dimension between T400 and T410 to be IDENTICAL. Just by glancing at them, you will swear T410 being bigger. However they are the same.
The T410 DOES have rubbery feel as the older T series laptops. Though the T410 lacks magnesium roll cage on the lid part of it, it is as sturdy as the previous T series of notebooks. It flexes NO more than the ones that have magnesium roll cage.
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Hi Allene. I can’t tell you how gratifying it was to read your comment and such is why I put effort into doing this. Only way I can make it worthwhile and continue to have you come back is to add compelling content as the site grows. Thank you again for your kind words. There are some cool gear reviews cooking right now so please make sure you return!
hello, thanks for your nice website, it was very useful. good luck