Lenovo ThinkPad T410: Built for Business
by Jarred Walton on March 26, 2010 4:00 AM ESTNot so Fast at Games
Obviously, most people aren't going to buy a ThinkPad to serve as a gaming laptop, but the GPU is capable of running most games. We've standardized on a comparison at 1366x768 and minimum detail settings, but since the T410 has a 1440x900 LCD we've included results at that resolution as well (in dark green). Bumping the quality up to medium (gold) or high (red) will rapidly push framerates into unacceptable territory, so the NVS 3100M is going to be a light gaming solution at best.
Most games are playable at minimum details and the native 1440x900 resolution of the T410. Batman and Left 4 Dead 2 are among the few titles where you can still break 30FPS with medium details, and Stalker: Call of Pripyat manages low details with dynamic object lighting at 30FPS as well. The only game in our test suite that couldn't run at a reasonable frame rate without dropping the resolution is Mass Effect 2; you'll need to run at 960x600 to get frame rates up to 30FPS.
As we've seen in other reviews, the G210M/G310M and now NVS 3100M all deliver acceptable performance for low detail gaming. The ATI Mobility HD 4330 is a bit slower on average, though there are games (i.e. Mass Effect 2) where it's faster. We also have results from an older HD 3670 to emphasize that higher numbers aren't always better; with 120 stream processors compared to 80 on the 4330, not to mention a 128-bit memory interface, the old 3000 series hardware is still able to easily surpass "modern" entry-level GPUs. The same naturally goes for last-gen NVIDIA hardware like the 9600M GT. The big advantage of the newer GPUs like the G200M/G300M or the HD 5400 is the move to a 40nm process with improved power saving features. That brings us to battery life testing.
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kimt - Monday, September 13, 2010 - link
@Belard, can you please share which install method you used to install osx86 ?Gholam - Friday, March 26, 2010 - link
Call me when Apple actually releases a docking station, or lets you hook up a VGA projector without daisy-chaining seventeen dongles.takumsawsherman - Thursday, April 1, 2010 - link
Ring..Ring...It only takes 1 dongle. It's called the Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter. In fact, since most decent laptops will not be shipping with VGA, you will need a "dongle" no matter what you buy. The nice thing about the Apple is that upon insertion of the Dongle it automatically detects everything and sets it up. You should try it.
anishannayya - Tuesday, April 6, 2010 - link
"Finally, while the LCD resolution and matte coating are great, the contrast ration is disappointing."Ratio is spelled wrong, just thought that you might want to correct that.
Growly - Thursday, April 22, 2010 - link
I'm an avid ThinkPad lover. I fell in love with the T43, so backtracked to a T23 (what I could afford at the time) and have owned and loved almost every generation of ThinkPad since (with even a few prior). To give you a better idea, I had up to 15 at one stage but decided to sell a couple of X60s before I could justify any more. I'm a little disappointed by the aesthetic design changes in the T410, preferring the T400, but I understand that Lenovo has to do something to make its laptops a little more modern to make up for the plain appearance. (It should go without saying that I absolutely adore the quietly powerful and functional form of the ThinkPad.)I used to stick to the T{x}p series laptops to harness the raw power on top of all the construction quality. Unfortunately, after using my 15.4" T61p for a few years (when Lenovo decided that smaller ~p models were unjustified), I got a little sick of the weight and size. It was a venerable powerhouse, but lugging it around just for web browsing, word processing, and laboratory work became a hassle. I decided that for the remainder of my studies I would be better off with a smaller alternative, like the T410.
So far it has proven to be delightful. So, while convincing myself to forgive Lenovo for the weak graphics card (it's really quite disappointing, if not unnecessary), and trying to convince myself that I wouldn't be better off with a W510, I'm enjoying the keyboard and solidity of the unit (which is better in some ways, not in others). It's so cute! Ah how I love ThinkPads!
topsecret - Sunday, April 25, 2010 - link
I was just wondering if it would be worth it to upgrade from an i5 (2.53) to the i7 (2.66). It seems kinda silly as the price is 150 more dollars for 110 mHz. Thanks in advance!cptcolo - Monday, February 14, 2011 - link
The monitor can be tweaked to a large degree to get rid of the faded look of the screen.1. Open Intel Control Center. (Start button, type "Control Center")
2. Click on "Intel Graphics and Media Control Panel"
3. Under display click on Color enhancement
4. Reduce the "Gamma" to 0.8, and increase the "Saturation" to 12
Blacks are still no very black, but pictures and videos look much better and the faded out look is largely gone.
actionjksn - Saturday, September 24, 2011 - link
I tried it and it worked great! I didn't realize how bad it looked until I adjusted it according to your specs.adamjems - Tuesday, August 7, 2018 - link
Lenovo Thinkpads is just wow. I am using a T410 with Core i5-540M and in my review the reliability of these laptops are unmatchable.For more - https://lenovosupport.org/lenovo-support-number/