Thinkpad T420s Owners' Thread

[John Ratsey]

I just got my T420s this morning. Only had a few hours actually using it, but a few thoughts...

The screen is average (I have the 1600x900 matte). It is bright enough, but the contrast is meh. I didn't really notice the grainyness that has been commented on. The viewing angles are bad. It's bad enough that I feel like even if your head is centered, the colors on the edges of the screen are on the verge of being distorted.

What make is your panel? HWiNFO32 will give you the monitor code. Mine is LP140WD2-TLB1 (which means LG-Philips) and the contrast is good. I also have the Intel graphics.

You can try to improve your display quality using Windows' 7 calibrate tool.

John

[de_user]

Yes it does: I've got one. It's battery 42.

I have also seen this problem and installed TPfancontrol. I suspect there is a bug somewhere in the thermal tables and await the next BIOS update with interest. The 4000 rpm fan speed is acceptable but it is the 4500 rpm top speed is very noisy and, once that speed is reached, the fan is reluctant to go to a slower speed.

John

battery 42 is supported yes. my fault sorry. will buy one soon.

regarding to the fan problem. i hope lenovo will fix it soon. its not acceptable or me. i bought a 2000euro blow-dry

[warmonked]

What make is your panel? HWiNFO32 will give you the monitor code. Mine is LP140WD2-TLB1 (which means LG-Philips) and the contrast is good. I also have the Intel graphics.

You can try to improve your display quality using Windows' 7 calibrate tool.

John

Is this the "Monitor Name" in hwinfo32? If so, mine is B140RW02 V1. Date of Manufacture: Week 1, 2010. Terrific. Year old display and it still took them 4 weeks to ship it.

[John Ratsey]

Is this the "Monitor Name" in hwinfo32? If so, mine is B140RW02 V1. Date of Manufacture: Week 1, 2010. Terrific. Year old display and it still took them 4 weeks to ship it.

Are we looking in the same place? This is my HWiNFO32 summary:



(That's actually a photo, not a screen dump).

I wouldn't be over-reliant on the manufacturing data code. It may not be interpreted correctly.

John

[ooxxoo]

Are we looking in the same place? This is my HWiNFO32 summary:



(That's actually a photo, not a screen dump).

I wouldn't be over-reliant on the manufacturing data code. It may not be interpreted correctly.

John

I have the same code B140RW02 V1. It seems that is the AUO panel.

I can see why people complain but it doesn't really bother me. It looks like any other business grade matte screen to me. Maybe I'm just used to it though since I've only had non-Flexview Thinkpads for laptops and a NEC H-IPS monitor for desktop (so everything looks like crap in comparison anyway).

[Hearst]

I have the same code B140RW02 V1. It seems that is the AUO panel.

I can see why people complain but it doesn't really bother me. It looks like any other business grade matte screen to me. Maybe I'm just used to it though since I've only had non-Flexview Thinkpads for laptops and a NEC H-IPS monitor for desktop (so everything looks like crap in comparison anyway).

You certainly get two sets of opinions here. If I'd just be using my T61 throughout then upgraded to the T420, I would certainly say it's a wonderful improvement. However after comparing the T420 with the Dell E6420 with the same resolution and both have anti-glare matte finish, you can't help but feel that Lenovo could've made better choices with its panel selection.

[raineed10]

Many thanks to the people contribute in this thread. I learned a lot about T420s.

Now I formally become a T420s owner just about 24 hours ago. I would like to comment on the laptop very briefly.

Good:

As has been mentioned, the screen is good in my opinion. Mine is also labeled as LP140WD2-TLB1.

The built quality is solid, especially when I open and close the lid.

Bad:

The DVD read/writer does not fit the ultrabay very well. I can see an obvious gap between the DVD and the body. The DVD is fixed so loose, that it still can be moved left and right in 0.5 mm when its in the bay.

When you grab the laptop at the DVD bay part, you can feel that it is not very solid. The bottom of the bay is quite soft.

Soso:

Cpu fan, I have a similar experience. In 2000 rpm, it is silent, but in 4000 rpm, the fan noise can be noticed, which is not different from other low price laptop.

[John Ratsey]

The DVD read/writer does not fit the ultrabay very well. I can see an obvious gap between the DVD and the body. The DVD is fixed so loose, that it still can be moved left and right in 0.5 mm when its in the bay.

I think one reason for the poor fit is that Lenovo made the bay high enough to take a 9.5mm hard drive in an adaptor. This means there is a bit of clearance above the 9.5mm thick optical drive. I hadn't previously noticed the lateral movement but I can confirm that it is there on mine as well.

When you grab the laptop at the DVD bay part, you can feel that it is not very solid. The bottom of the bay is quite soft.

This may be related to the clearance around the optical drive. However, flexibility does not necessarily indicate weakness unless there's the risk of damage to something inside.

Another location with flex (and perhaps a little more worrying) is that when the computer is closed it is possible to squeeze the back of the display between the hinges. The other edges of the display are well supported.

John

PS: I'm sitting outside typing this. The display is on full brightness due to sunshine. The power drain is ~11W and Power Manager says 78% charge / 2 hours 40 minutes remaining. Reducing the display brightness will increase that run time substantially.

John

[raineed10]

Another location with flex (and perhaps a little more worrying) is that when the computer is closed it is possible to squeeze the back of the display between the hinges. The other edges of the display are well supported.

For this point, I checked my old Dell inspiron 6000. It is the same. I think all the laptop using similar type of hinges all have this problem.

I guess that designers are not allowed to put rubber buffers at the middle bottom of the screen. It is just too ugly.

And the screen is mounted on the hinges by two separated axises, so the middle part is flexible on pressure.

So it seems that one cannot avoid this, anyway.

[John Ratsey]

I guess that designers are not allowed to put rubber buffers at the middle bottom of the screen. It is just too ugly.

And the screen is mounted on the hinges by two separated axises, so the middle part is flexible on pressure.

So it seems that one cannot avoid this, anyway.

My Dell E6410 is very solid in this area. The E6400 was also quite rigid and then Dell added some more rubber bumpers to stop plastic rubbing against plastic while the computer is being transported. Both those Dells have metal display backs to provide extra protection.

John