t430 usability profile

[Monkey_Brains]

I recently purchased a t430 thin client for use as a low powered desktop. I have created an administrator account and installed Microsoft Edge on the drive but the t430 is even struggling to keep the browser going with three tabs open.

I have used thin clients before, far older models, which would not have this much trouble. Is this newer line of devices meant exclusively as a terminal for software that is run remotely (like a local server) or in the cloud? Or should it be able to easily run a browser with multiple tabs open?

[DGroves · Accepted solution]

the t430 was really designed to interface to a server which would run the application(s)

if you are trying to use it as a actual computer then upping the ram to the devices max and installing a larger SSD is mandatory

the onboard dual core cpu/ intel UHD 600 video is not upgradable due to this i recommend chromium OS or Linux if the HP IOS win 10 is not working out for you

[Monkey_Brains]

Agreed. There may be some thin clients that might be able to handle office work but those are overengineered in the paradigm of remote computing which thin clients are really meant for. If you have greater requirements, such as I do, then a mini PC is a far better choice, and models such as NUCs have a form factor and power consumption very similar to a thin client, when compared to regular PCs.

[SamirD]

Generally, thin clients, (even those running some sort of windows) are meant to remote into another machine that is doing the 'heavy lifting'.  They are great for this purpose.  They have limited capability to run anything on their native hardware.

I have several thing clients from HP, Wyse, Dell, and Lenovo and they're all very limited.  A single browser session will pretty much lock them up or crash them.  But if you remote into another desktop and run the browser there, they're perfect for this use case.  I use them 24x7 this way.  I'm even using one now for this post.