Computers & Electronics

Refurbished T430s B-Grade Review

  • Last Updated:
  • Aug 14th, 2016 1:22 pm
Sr. Member
Jul 1, 2010
569 posts
354 upvotes
aviador wrote: Cherry-picking only good reviews... I don't trust on companies that do that!
It's "Testimonials", suppose to be only good stuff. LoL
Deal Addict
Sep 9, 2010
4863 posts
3538 upvotes
Burnaby
chovan wrote: It's "Testimonials", suppose to be only good stuff. LoL
Rotfl. Perhaps two decades ago before the www became mainstream. Now anyone can leave negative testimonials about a business (product/service) in yelp, angie's list, Google, BBB, reddit....you name it. Testimonials (the word) is no longer synonym of positive reviews or endorsements. ;)
Sr. Member
Feb 25, 2005
629 posts
52 upvotes
How did you run the battery test and get that report? I found a store in Scarborough that can sell the T430S but only has 30 days warranty but no warranty at all for the battery. They are selling it for $370 cash with 128GB SSD hard drive and 256GB SSD hard drive for $400. But there's barely any warranty so I want to test the laptop there first to see if its good & legit in person before I buy it.

So I might buy it from this store Macro Computers or Refurbio for $456 with 256GB SSD for the T430S. I need a new light weight laptop for my next travel trip.

Macro Computers & Electronics
1241 Ellesmere Rd (Midland and Ellesmere)
Toronto, ON, M1P 2X8

Tel: 416 285 7222
Mobile: 416 725 8053
http://www.macrocomputers.ca

Store Hours: Monday to Friday 11 AM to 8 PM
Saturday 10 AM to 5 PM
Sunday - Closed
Newbie
Sep 15, 2004
44 posts
30 upvotes
aviador wrote: Rotfl. Perhaps two decades ago before the www became mainstream. Now anyone can leave negative testimonials about a business (product/service) in yelp, angie's list, Google, BBB, reddit....you name it. Testimonials (the word) is no longer synonym of positive reviews or endorsements. ;)
FYI,

I bought a T430s from boxxaroo last month. Laptop is in great condition. It was manufactured in May 2013. However I received an old laptop charger that is stamped 2007.01 and it looks in pretty bad shape. It still works though.

Another problem is that keyboard in the right hand area is loose and rattles a lot when you press the Enter Key, right Shift key or any of the arrow keys. It is very loud and annoying to use these keys compared to the rest of the keyboard. The plastic bezel in between these keys moves up and down a couple millimeters and rattles whenever you use those keys. I found some people posting online about this problem even when their computers were only a few weeks old back in 2013.. so I think this was a intermittent quality issue from Lenovo, and not Boxxaroo's fault. The keyboard is installed and seated correctly. It's completely flush everywhere. It's just bad design or fit in the bottom right hand area.

I did contact boxxaroo to let them know about these problems. but I did not want/need a return because neither issue is a big deal for me. (I plan to use with external keyboard)

The rest of the laptop is flawless.

I wrote a pretty positive review (4 stars) for this product on their website. I did mention these two issues and it showed up on the site as a verified purchase review. A couple of days later the review disappeared (deleted by boxxaroo I guess?).
Deal Addict
Sep 9, 2010
4863 posts
3538 upvotes
Burnaby
nodnub wrote: FYI,

I bought a T430s from boxxaroo last month. Laptop is in great condition. It was manufactured in May 2013. However I received an old laptop charger that is stamped 2007.01 and it looks in pretty bad shape. It still works though.

Another problem is that keyboard in the right hand area is loose and rattles a lot when you press the Enter Key, right Shift key or any of the arrow keys. It is very loud and annoying to use these keys compared to the rest of the keyboard. The plastic bezel in between these keys moves up and down a couple millimeters and rattles whenever you use those keys. I found some people posting online about this problem even when their computers were only a few weeks old back in 2013.. so I think this was a intermittent quality issue from Lenovo, and not Boxxaroo's fault. The keyboard is installed and seated correctly. It's completely flush everywhere. It's just bad design or fit in the bottom right hand area.

I did contact boxxaroo to let them know about these problems. but I did not want/need a return because neither issue is a big deal for me. (I plan to use with external keyboard)

The rest of the laptop is flawless.

I wrote a pretty positive review (4 stars) for this product on their website. I did mention these two issues and it showed up on the site as a verified purchase review. A couple of days later the review disappeared (deleted by boxxaroo I guess?).
That's usually the case. With etailers, any review including valid objective (technical/service/pricing) criticism gets either edited (i.e., censored) or deleted. It happens a lot. I have had reviews gotten deleted at The Source, Future Shop, NCIX, etc. It's funny how sometimes they leave alone poor ratings when the reviewer provides no reasons for the rating or the reviewer provides only subjective reasons.

BTW. Even if the charger you received is working, double check that its specs match the ones for the charger usually shipped with the T430s [for example, it might be underpowered so the battery takes longer charging, etc.]

Again, it doesn't make too much difference that Boxxaroo deletes all reviews that include any criticism as long as the reviewers post them as well somewhere else including pertinent keywords [boxxaroo, review, feedback, defective, problem, etc.] so that Google can index these reviews and peeps can easily find them later with simple Google queries.
Sr. Member
Feb 25, 2005
629 posts
52 upvotes
Sinyk wrote: I wanted to post a review about the B-Grade laptop I purchased from Boxxaroo to help people decide if B-Grade is good enough for them.

To start off, I ordered this laptop from Boxxaroo for $299.99 ($314.99 all-in, delivered) https://boxxaroo.com/collections/b-grad ... 0456672583

Image

Specs:
Intel Core i5-3320m 3rd Generation Ivy Bridge CPU
Processor Speed 2.60Ghz
RAM 4GB DDR3 1600MHz
Hard Drive: 320GB (7200rpm)
14" HD+ Screen 1600x900
DVDRW
Windows 7 Pro
Graphic Card NVIDIA NVS 5200m and Intel HD Graphics 4000
2x USB 3.0 and 1x USB 2.0
D-Sub connector and mini DisplayPort
SD Card Reader
Wireless 802.11 a/b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0
3.96 lbs
Part Number: 2356-H8U

The laptop took 6 days to arrive after receiving the shipping confirmation.

Here is how the laptop comes packaged from Boxxaroo:

Image

Foam anti-static packing material
Image

Image


The AC Adapter was in like-new condition. The only sign of wear on it was the white tag

Image

Image


The laptop itself came wrapped with a document showing what was inspected on the machine before it was sent.

Image


Next I went around the outside of the laptop to visually inspect it. Boxxaroo lists a lot of possible damage as being acceptable as B-Grade:

TOP - Very good condition. There is one 1/2 cm paint scratch in the bottom edge, and I did notice that the bottom of the "e" in the Lenovo decal in the bottom left is broken off. No other wear found (smudge at the bottom is a fingerprint)

Image

FRONT - Visible paint scratches on the front edge and the corners of the lid.

Image

RIGHT - No real scratches but signs of wear along seams.

Image

LEFT - A few more paint scratches and surprisingly still some dust in the ports and heatsink.

Image

BACK - Excellent condition, some dust again in the ports and heatsink.

Image

BOTTOM - Pretty good shape, no scratches, just signs of use.

Image

BATTERY - Looks to be in good condition. Details about the cycle count and capacity to follow

Image

EXPANSION PORT - Hynix 4GB ram as specified, a slot for an mSATA card as well in there (but apparently it only runs at SATA II speeds)

Image

I did find a tiny feather inside this slot by the ram. It made me wonder if they used feather dusters to clean the laptops...?

Image

Once I opened the laptop it was in really good condition with the expected shiny keys.

Image

SCREEN - no marks or scratches. There was a smear from when they cleaned the screen, but it came off.

Image

One of the rubber pieces that cushion the screen against the keyboard was missing.

Image

KEYBOARD - A couple shiny keys and the decal on the A key has a bit of wear.

Image
I just checked online. The price from Boxxaroo is now $350 + HST. Does anyone know when it will be listed for $300 + tax again so I can order? Does it have 4 GB RAM or 8 GB RAM?
Deal Expert
Aug 2, 2004
38396 posts
12024 upvotes
East Gwillimbury
rageking wrote: the newer laptops has resolution of ‎2560×1440. You don't know small until you see that.
I stopped buying notebooks because of the crappy screen resolutions

I switched to tablets because even a Nexus 7 2013 offers 1920 x 1080

I'm considering going back to notebooks now that resolutions are higher
Sr. Member
Feb 25, 2005
629 posts
52 upvotes
I ended up buying my used T430S from this store in Scarborough as I am able to see the actual laptop before buy it and its was cheaper than buying from Boxxaroo and Refurbio. So if you are looking for used laptop & desktop off lease. Check out this store below.

I bought this laptop below for $300 total cash :)

Model: Lenovo ThinkPad T430s light weight Laptop

Features:
♦ Core i5 (3320M) 2.6GHz
♦ 8 GB RAM
♦ 320GB Hard Drive
♦ DVDRW
♦ Display -14"
♦ Webcam
♦ WIFI
♦ Windows 7 Pro COA
♦ Good Battery
♦ AC Adapter

♦ Condition: In very Good condition. Used. Laptop is tested and in good working condition comes with good Battery & AC Adapter.

Test and Pickup with your Convenient @ Macro Computers & Electronics

Location:
Macro Computers & Electronics
1241 Ellesmere Rd (Midland and Ellesmere)
Toronto, ON, M1P 2X8

Tel: 416 285 7222
Mobile: 416 725 8053
http://www.macrocomputers.ca

Store Hours: Monday to Friday 11 AM to 8 PM
Saturday 10 AM to 5 PM
Sunday - Closed
Deal Addict
User avatar
Feb 14, 2009
1280 posts
518 upvotes
Тhanks, Sinyk. It is good to know.

I can confirm your experience with recently purchased
refurbished Dell Latitude E6430 -- similar to this one
(but with 128 SSD, no optical drive, for 300$ + tax, B-grade)
http://dellrefurbished.ca/product/compu ... /si6851081

Contrary to your experience, and to my pleasant surprise, Dell B-grade
was in excellent external conditions. May be this is because
Dell refurbished laptop are from business lease.

Other-wise it is the same i5-3320, screen, etc.
Memory was maxed out from 4 to 16G by me.
now it is my main laptop. with rather high resolution is it too
small for me. But I was able to connect this laptop to
two additional (3 screen total!) 16:10 24' monitors.

So, I support advises to get solid business-grade
laptop (Lenovo, Dell, HP) off-business-lease
instead of getting new more expensive consumer-level ones.
Deal Addict
User avatar
Sep 24, 2007
2317 posts
1091 upvotes
@ Sinyk, thank for your thorough review. Based partially on this I decided to go with this refurb company Boxxaroo for the T430S A grade version. However I am running into some crazy issues with the keyboard on this thing. Everytime I hit the B and N keys the laptop closes the application I am working with or not input the those keys. Moreover sometimes when typing fast other keys causes this. I wonder if you know of any preinstalled Lenovo software on the 430s that is causing this so maybe I can uninstall them? Maybe keyboard mapping software behind the scenes? After not using the computer the keyboard return to normal/ Moreover the reason I think it is a software issue is sometimes and external USB wireless keyboard attached exhibits this funky issue. Furthermore I need to press 3 times on the power key for the laptop to completely boot up windows. driving me nutty. I upgraded to Windows 10 and put in an SSD, same issues.

Already asked them to open an RMA for warranty but wanted some thoughts first.
Member
User avatar
Jul 12, 2006
438 posts
35 upvotes
What kind of experience have you had with the refurbs on battery life? The IBM/Lenovo battery is pretty expensive to replace.
Newbie
User avatar
Mar 31, 2016
45 posts
10 upvotes
905
I have a T420s for work and love that thing! Great computer
Deal Expert
User avatar
Oct 28, 2004
24672 posts
8755 upvotes
Toronto
it might not be a software\keyboard mapping issue - I also purchased a Grade A T430s from Boxxaroo and the first one I got was having some weird keyboard\trackpad issues....everything was ok for the first 10-15 mins and then it started freezing....

I originally thought it might be software as well but what I did was grabbed a new SSD and clean installed Win10 on it - exact same thing was happening (i.e. 10-15mins later, keyboard and trackpad would be freezing).

I ended up RMA'ing the unit - Boxxaroo was very responsive to my email and ended up swapping for another unit. The 2nd unit was just as good condition wise and no problems - typing on the T430s as we speak!

I would suggest troubleshoot it a bit but don't spend too much time and just get the unit swapped...

astrotrain wrote: @ Sinyk, thank for your thorough review. Based partially on this I decided to go with this refurb company Boxxaroo for the T430S A grade version. However I am running into some crazy issues with the keyboard on this thing. Everytime I hit the B and N keys the laptop closes the application I am working with or not input the those keys. Moreover sometimes when typing fast other keys causes this. I wonder if you know of any preinstalled Lenovo software on the 430s that is causing this so maybe I can uninstall them? Maybe keyboard mapping software behind the scenes? After not using the computer the keyboard return to normal/ Moreover the reason I think it is a software issue is sometimes and external USB wireless keyboard attached exhibits this funky issue. Furthermore I need to press 3 times on the power key for the laptop to completely boot up windows. driving me nutty. I upgraded to Windows 10 and put in an SSD, same issues.

Already asked them to open an RMA for warranty but wanted some thoughts first.
Deal Addict
User avatar
Sep 24, 2007
2317 posts
1091 upvotes
ji2o0k wrote: it might not be a software\keyboard mapping issue - I also purchased a Grade A T430s from Boxxaroo and the first one I got was having some weird keyboard\trackpad issues....everything was ok for the first 10-15 mins and then it started freezing....

I originally thought it might be software as well but what I did was grabbed a new SSD and clean installed Win10 on it - exact same thing was happening (i.e. 10-15mins later, keyboard and trackpad would be freezing).

I ended up RMA'ing the unit - Boxxaroo was very responsive to my email and ended up swapping for another unit. The 2nd unit was just as good condition wise and no problems - typing on the T430s as we speak!

I would suggest troubleshoot it a bit but don't spend too much time and just get the unit swapped...

astrotrain wrote: @ Sinyk, thank for your thorough review. Based partially on this I decided to go with this refurb company Boxxaroo for the T430S A grade version. However I am running into some crazy issues with the keyboard on this thing. Everytime I hit the B and N keys the laptop closes the application I am working with or not input the those keys. Moreover sometimes when typing fast other keys causes this. I wonder if you know of any preinstalled Lenovo software on the 430s that is causing this so maybe I can uninstall them? Maybe keyboard mapping software behind the scenes? After not using the computer the keyboard return to normal/ Moreover the reason I think it is a software issue is sometimes and external USB wireless keyboard attached exhibits this funky issue. Furthermore I need to press 3 times on the power key for the laptop to completely boot up windows. driving me nutty. I upgraded to Windows 10 and put in an SSD, same issues.

Already asked them to open an RMA for warranty but wanted some thoughts first.
Did exactly that, got it returned from Box and no issues so far. These guys were very responsive and up to date on the repairs. My keyboard got replaced, yeah same thing, hardware issue. My first guess was that, even during boot setup the keyboard was acting up. I am glad this company back ups their warranty. I would recommend them, just make sure to anyone you thoroughly test out the item when it arrives and contact them poste haste if issues found. Love the system now, replace the HD with a 480g PNY SSD and it flies. Good enough for my business usage. Fingerprint bootup is awesome. Wish the batt was better, had a 96 cycle count but did the Lenovo battery reset tool, seem to get 2 and 1/2 hours. Trying to find the ultrabay batt for this thing, they seem pretty expensive just for an extra 3 cell, somewhere in the $60 to $100 U.S range.

Top

Thread Information

There is currently 1 user viewing this thread. (0 members and 1 guest)