Thinkpad T420 Owner's Thread

[Hearst]

Hi Ghidorah, both systems should handle your requirements without problem. The Core i3 is still a fast processor in its own right, it just lacks the Turbo Boost which is featured on the Core i5 but since you mentioned you'll be playing some games that are a couple years old (early 21st century you say) then this shouldn't be an issue. I was surprised myself how capable the Intel HD 3000 card really is as I was able to play games such as Team Fortress 2 which at first, I thought was a non-starter.

One thing I would be concerned is the screen on the first system configuration, 1366x768 can be frustrating to work which requires a big vertical pane (such as word documents). With the latest Office applications that uses big chunky toolbars you may find yourself scrolling a lot which is why I probably suggest opting for a HD+ screen (1600x900) instead if you can.

Just wondering Ghidorah, are those systems configurable or are they premade to buy?

[Ghidorah]

In some manners they are configurable (hdd, ram, battery etc.) but not when it comes to screen resolution and processors unfortunately.

To have a 1600x900 screen (alt. 2) and not pay upwards to like 2000$ I would have to order one from another european country and have to verify my status as a student (the site which carries it is student only) which would be tiresome.

Yes, I believe you are right about the screen resolution. Especially since it would be my only computer and I will be writing at least 15-20 word pages a week.

I will have to think about my alternatives for a little longer while

[John Ratsey]

I'm sure that somewhere there is a discussion about the best place for getting student discounts on the T series. This post may help. I'm sure that there was a German company that offered good configuration options and would ship to most of Europe.

John

[shazam26]

Hi,

I'm trying to decide b/t T420 vs. T520.

. Is the T-420 screen graininess still an issue?
. Is there any CPU whine one this model?
. Any other difference you guys might want to share (aside from ports options)

I recently checked out the T-520 FHD display and it's gorgeous! I want something more portable and can live less stellar display but graininess I can't.

Your feedback is greatly appreciated.

[pundit]

Heh, FHD screen on a T420 would be nice, but the T420 has a regular LED backlit panel. From the examples I've seen, "grainy" panels are not the norm, although there is evidence of such in all the screens (but you have to be inches away from the screen to discern that).

The T420 screens are certainly not stellar, but they are bright and better than the old CCFL screens which were absolutely horrid.

Lenovo sources a number of manufacturers for the T420 screens. Some show less colour shift and slightly better contrast than others, but from what I've read, the problem is not insurmountable if calibrated properly. Notebookcheck.com offers an ICM profile (calibrated screen profile) as part of their review (found here - look in the "display" section of the review). Supposedly this helps tremendously in alleviating contrast making the screen look much better. There are other such profiles available throughout the forums here, search for "T420 screen calibration" and you'll find the thread with additional ICM profiles.

The T420 seems to be a forgotten child in Lenovo world though.

Hope that helps.

[Dinomon]

Is there anyways to put Helix (a Linux forensics) in this laptop? Any help is greatly appreciated and is urgent to get it done ASAP. Thanks in advance.

[formerglory]

Been getting some throttling with my i7 while running Left 4 Dead 2, but TPFanControl seems to solve most of the throttling when I jack up the fan speed to max.

The T420 fan controller is somewhat dumb in the fact that it will spin up later than it should. Other machines the fan spins up right away when the temps rise a bit, but the T420 likes to wait until you get up to 80C to up the fan speed, in my experiences.

Going to do some thermal paste replacement this weekend and I'll see if that helps.

[Hearst]

Been getting some throttling with my i7 while running Left 4 Dead 2, but TPFanControl seems to solve most of the throttling when I jack up the fan speed to max.

The T420 fan controller is somewhat dumb in the fact that it will spin up later than it should. Other machines the fan spins up right away when the temps rise a bit, but the T420 likes to wait until you get up to 80C to up the fan speed, in my experiences.

Going to do some thermal paste replacement this weekend and I'll see if that helps.

I don't know, the fans on my T420 starts to kick in around the 70c mark albeit moderately and i'm not using TPFanControl myself. Though I do agree that gaming on the T420 does make it quite toasty, my T420 with the i5-2520M peaks 85c when I play certain Steam games on it.

[wy2sl0]

I am looking for a high quality laptop and have always loved the look of Lenovo's. I am considering getting a T420, however I am wondering about how feasible it is to switch the screen out? 13xx to 1600...

I looked at the previous post, but he explains how he broke clips permanently. I wouldn't want to do that. Any here have information on the switch?

[Hearst]

I looked at the previous post, but he explains how he broke clips permanently. I wouldn't want to do that. Any here have information on the switch?

Was it this post that you read? The swap out does require a bit of work and you may need to acquire a HD+ cable too if you're doing an upgrade from 1366x768 to 1600x900. Also peforming such procedure may void your warranty so unless you're confident on doing it yourself, I would recommend trying to source a T420 system that has the HD+ screen pre-fitted by factory.