Lenovo ThinkPad Edge S430 Review

The Lenovo ThinkPad Edge S430 is designed for the business man on the move needing a portable, capable laptop. The light weight and excellent build quality offer reassurance and the high quality screen and keyboard ensure productivity in many situations.

The 1600×900 resolution is a good compromise between true 1080p HD and real world usability on a 14 inch panel. The matte finish ensures that the screen can be used in a variety of less than perfect environments. It only loses the fight against direct sunlight, but very few screens can truly deliver in this situation. Overall, the quality of the panel is well above average, with good viewing angles and balanced colour definition.

The keyboard on the ThinkPad Edge S430 is class leading, and maintains the same high standards of the ThinkPad X1 which we reviewed many months ago. The anti spill feature is useful and the large keys with full sized spacing ensure that typists will feel at home. I had no problems maintaining a 100 word per minute typing rate, which is extremely rare in the mobile space.

The onboard sound system is decent, if unremarkable. A set of headphones or external speakers would be recommended if you want to get the most from the media experience.

Lenovo have managed to maintain a low weight, due to the adoption of a small battery. Battery life is certainly nothing groundbreaking, but it is acceptable for remote office duties. You will likely need to recharge in the afternoon, but it is no worse than many other machines we have tested in recent months. We experienced anywhere between 2 and 6 hours battery life, depending on the system settings and demand.

Noise levels are excellent and the machine is barely audible, unless when gaming or running CPU intensive software such as Cinema 4D. We rarely noticed the cooling system, although it can get hot at the rear right of the machine, as most of the air is expelled in this particular area.

It is important to be aware of limitations before contemplating a purchase, because the ThinkPad Edge S430 is not designed for gaming or heavy duty, processor intensive tasks. The dual Core i5 3210M feels a little weak when compared against the latest Intel quad core processors and the Nvidia GT620M is not able to power the latest Direct X 11 gaming engines. If you are happy running a couple of older, less graphically intensive titles then it may be adequate.

If you are in the market for a lightweight, well built machine for general office and browsing duties then the ThinkPad Edge S430 is an excellent choice. Lenovo have very high engineering standards and at a starting price of £635 in the United Kingdom it is highly recommended.

Pros:

• Great build quality.
• fantastic keyboard.
• screen quality is commendable.
• light weight.
• quiet.
• competitive pricing.

Cons:

• can get hot in one corner.
• not all day battery life.
• not designed for gaming.

Kitguru says: An excellent all round machine designed for work based tasks and portability.

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