[Review] Thinkpad T430u from a Linux perspective

Thinkpad T430u from a Linux perspective

What is he talking about? Versión en espanol (pronto...)
 

Overview

Recently I purchased a new computer. Being a Linux user when you plan to buy a new computer, you really want to know if your hardware is going to work out of the box.

I wanted to buy a computer that will last for a long time and that would have great specs. After long hours of research I came with two options:

• The Gazelle professional from System 76, mainly because it comes with Ubuntu and everything works great.
• The Thinkpad T430u from Lenovo, the model with the i7 processor and the nVidia graphic card.

At the end I decided to purchase the Thinkpad because it had some features I found very interesting.
Also, buying the Gazelle would be a little bit difficult because I live in France. So at the end I would end up paying the same price.

Hardware specifications

I have the 86148CU model of the T430u series. It comes with the following features:

• i7 IvyBridge dual-core processor, 1.9GHz with TurboBoost up to 3.00GHz.
• Intel 4000HD Graphics.
• nVidia GeForce 620m 1GB with Optimus Technology
• 4 GB of RAM
• 126GB Toshiba SSD

Some other hardware specifications:

• 3 cell battery, up to 7 hours (I get around 5 hours with TLP installed and using an Ethernet connexion)
• 2 USB 3.0 ports
• 1 SD card slot
• Headphone/Microphone jack
• Finger print reader
• HDMI port
• Mini Display port 

What does that mean exactly? Well, sadly, some hardware is not going to work out of the box.

T430u and Ubuntu

First thing I did after getting my new computer: delete Windows and format the drive. I was happily surprised that I didn't had any problems with UEFI booting. I had so much troubles trying to make Ubuntu boot in a Dell XPS so I was expecting to make change some options in the BIOS but I could boot and install Ubuntu without problems.

During the installation process, I noticed that the UltraNav utility and the keyboard mouse worked really well. All function buttons worked well too.
The only problem, was that I needed to enable the proprietary drivers for WiFi, so I needed a wired connection to do that.

After enabling my WiFi connexion I did almost everything I mention in this entry of my blog. But I had to test some drivers in order to use all my hardware.

Enabling drivers

As I mentioned before, some of the things that comes with the computer aren't working out of the box.

First of all I wanted to test the graphic card that comes installed. As you can see in the image above I can't enable the drivers automatically. This happens with nVidia graphic cards that use Optimus Technology.

After breaking X like 5 times, I ended up finding the Bumblebee project. I installed Bumblebee using a PPA and I was finally able to properly use my graphic card and safe some battery life.
Here is a post about how to install Bumblebee and how to test it. +1 for this amazing project (+Bumblebee Project in Google+).

Second thing I wanted to make sure that was working was my finger print reader. I did some research for the packages I could install to use my finger print reader, and I found the Fingerprint Gui project.
There is a PPA I used and the configuration was very simple. I set it up so when I need to have special permissions I can swipe my finger or put my password. It works pretty well and even if you are using your system with tty1 (Ctrl + Alt + F1) you can still use the finger print reader.

Conclusion

I don't see why I couldn't recommend this computer. Honestly it works better with Linux that my previous machine. Hibernation works well and if I close the lid the computer Suspends. I had some issues enabling drivers but it wasn't very difficult to make my hardware work.

Sadly the model with the i7 processor is discontinued. And I can't say how you can enable the WWAN if you have one. But if you don't want all that fancy stuff you won't run into any problems and you could make everything work.

Thinkpads are popular for being great pieces of hardware, so if you want to invest in a good computer that will last for a long time I would recommend you the Thinkpad T430u. It may be expensive for some people, specially if you don't live in the US but if you can get yourself a computer like this one you won't be disappointed.

Here is a very very very detailed review, but with a Windows perspective.

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