Planning on buying T420s

What will the battery life be on the T420s with the NVS4200M?

 

There was a review saying 2.5h w/ the 6 cell while playing movies.

http://blogs.technet.com/b/keithcombs/archive/2011/04/16/lenovo-thinkpad-t420s-mini-review.aspx

 

I'm planning on upgrading the RAM and SSD myself.

However, I have a couple of questions. Firstly, how do I clone the image from the current HDD to my new SDD. Considering that they are different sizes, won't the partition sizes be off when doing the restore using the CD's?

Also, what about the Lenovo Experience thing? How do I make sure I still have that? What about when Windows 8 comes out? Can I just buy the recovery disks Lenovo provides? I'm assuming that includes that experience thing.

Also, is there an mSATA drive space? If so, where?

Also, which ultrabay battery do I buy?

System components
Intel Core i7-2620M Processor (2.70GHz, 4MB L3,1333MHz FSB) with Intel Turbo Boost Technology up to 3.4GHz
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bit)
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 - French
14.0" HD+ (1600x900), with Wireless WAN Antenna
NVIDIA Quadro NVS4200M Optimus technology (1GB)
2 GB PC3-10600 DDR3 (1 DIMM)
Keyboard - US English
UltraNav with Fingerprint Reader
250GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm
6 Cell Li-Ion Battery
90W AC Adapter - North America, Latin America (2pin)
Broadcom Bluetooth 3.0 with antenna
Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 AGN
Integrated Mobile Broadband (Ericsson F5521gw) with 21Mbps D/L
Publication - US English

 

Will the NVIDIA Quadro NVS 4200M be powerful enough to play games like Call Of Duty: Black Ops, World Of Warcraft?

 

Call of Duty will be fine if you keep the settings low. WoW should play great if you turn shadows down to "Low" (you can keep everything else on Ultra).

WoW actually runs pretty well on the Intel HD 3000 graphics too, although you'll see higher/more consistent frame rates on the NVS 4200M.

 

WoW, yes, by far.
COD BO, maybe on low settings.
modern warfare 1 runs great on high
crysis is good on low/med at 720p.

there are plenty of reviews for similar 48 core nvidia chips of yore. 9600gt, 520m, etc. Alternately, take a review for the 96 core gts430 and run with "if that cant run it, i sure as hell cant"

 

I use Acronis TrueImage 2011. It will automatically resize partitions (or let you choose) and also seems to handle the partition alignment needed for optimum performance on SSDs.

This is the slot for the WWAN card - you cannot have both installed.

ThinkPad Battery 42 (3-cell, bay) Part No. 57Y4536

John

 

it's a joke, not meant for gaming. that said, WoW will run on just about anything including sandy bridge integrated graphics.

the nvidia gpu is slightly more powerful than the intel integrated gpu and has better drivers for games, but expect to play all modern games at the lowest possible settings which means low detail and horribly blocky resolution. for some, this is an ok price to pay in exchange for portability and a great business machine.


honestly, attempting to play games on a laptop is a very expensive hobby. youre probably better off saving it for desktops. if you have loads of cash to blow, the thinkpad w520 with quadro 2000m can play games quite well

 

I seriously doubt that you'd have to play modern games on low settings and low resolution. PC games outside of a few exceptions have not been very demanding on resources for a very long time (IMO due to consoles).

As for WoW and Black Ops... it will EASILY run those.

 

it will NOT easily run black ops.

But you are right. it is more powerful than a 360 or PS3, it's just that games ported to PC are never optimized, so modern stuff still runs like crap on low-end. (see gta4)

 

lol Black Ops didn't run well with my 1 GB GTX 460 or my 2 GB 6950.

 

On the Lenovo Canada website it gives an option for 3 3Yr Priority Onsite + 3Yr ThinkPad Protection and 3Yr Onsite Warranty + 3Yr ThinkPad Protection. The priority onsite is $70.00 cheaper.

What's the deal?

 

Why can't I get the Intel 6300 with the webcam option?

Must I get the 6205 in-order to get a webcam?

What is the: System expansion slots - Gemplus 54mm ExpressCard SCR?

Is the 6-cell battery flush on the X220? What about the 9-cell? How long do each of them last?

 

Priority means they care about you and you will be first. Regular means screw you and will get to you after they deal with first priorities. It's like VIP vs regular joe. Make sense?

 

No what BNHabs said is...

Now logically if Priority Onsite means a more responsive and better service than the regular onsite, why would Lenovo make it $70 cheaper in comparison? Now thats the question in which I can't really answer unless Lenovo made a right gaffe there.

 

Often times Lenovo will accidentally misprint or have errors on the website. Priority on site should be more expensive.

 

How long on battery life does the T420s with nVidia graphics have?

 

Already answered you in your other thread.

 

No need to post the same question twice in two identical threads. I merged three of your threads on the T420s.

It's hard to answer your original question without any details: usage pattern? Which battery? Screen brightness? Also, for a more general consensus, you'll have to wait until more users get T420s laptops in their hands.

 

6 Cell will give the bottom rear a tad of a lift, not much;

The 9 cell will give you that extension out the back

3 cell will give you the flat look

Webcam wires takes up a tad more room, so the 3x3 is not offered. 6205 as reported is still a very good choice

Others will weigh in on the other questions you asked

 

What would be the best option for 2x4GB RAM for my T420s?

Crucial..? G.Skill..?

What's the difference between PC3 10600 and PC3 10666?

Does the T420s support 10666?

 

Core i5 now support 1333 RAM, and quad core i7 supports 1600 RAM.

Honestly RAM speed makes no real world difference. Even during synthetic benchmarks/rendering the difference is miniscule.

 

What are the differences? Those who are buying after-market RAM might get confused when buying RAM for there new Lenovo laptop.

PC3 10600
PC3 10666

The Lenovo T420/s and X-series state that they use 10600 but will they be able to use the 10666 model? Both are the same price, so wouldn't the 10666 be a better choice? Do the Lenovo models support it?

 

There's no difference between 10666 and 10600...just some manufacturers have different numbers.

 

Some also use 10660, I'm pretty sure it's to avoid the negative connotations of 666. Intel has done the same sort of thing with processor speeds, and in that case the cores run at the expected speed, and not the marketed speed. I haven't actually checked, but considering the way buses work, I'm sure they all run at the proper speed.

 

So which RAM should I go for..? Considering they are all the same price?

 

Then just get the highest rated. Again, RAM speeds are not noticed in real world use and hardly make a difference in actual work.

 

I always buy Crucial, and Kingston if that's not available for some reason. Usually that's Unregistered ECC for small servers, so not really relevant. I wouldn't go near this junk from the likes of Geil and Patriot. I bought PNY for a short period when they were significantly cheaper, and man, their warranty service absolutely sucks, and I had a high proportion of bad RAM. Every time I've strayed from Crucial, Kingston, and the occasional Corsair I've had problems, so now I just don't stray.

 

For T420/i/s and X220/i/T, buy 204-pin DDR3-1333 SO-DIMMs.

It's just that many aspects are included, rather confusingly, but not incorrectly, in one mouthful.

A 204-pin SO-DIMM can contain DDR3 SDRAM, with specifications such as DDR3-800 (PC3-6400), DDR3-1066 (PC3-8500), DDR3-1333 (PC3-10600), and DDR3-1600 (PC3-12800).

Standard module DDR3-1333 has module name of PC3-10600, memory clock of 166 MHz, I/O bus clock of 666 MHz, data rate of 1333 MT/s, and peak transfer rate of 10666 MB/s.​

Or something like that.

Mechanically and electrically: 204-pin DDR3 SO-DIMM.

The RAM speeds are regulated by the CPU FSB anyway. For T420, say, pick DDR-1333.

 

Okay:

Now do I buy:
G.Skill, Kingston, Corsair or Crucial?

Price doesn't bother me.

 

^^^ In that case, pick Crucial. (Full disclosure: I own no Micron stocks. )

 

It's a personal preference; there is no difference between the brands. Only the CAS latency, frequency and price are true determining factors (Even CAS has lost its importance, especially with laptops). Anything after that is subjective with RAM.

 

Understood, so let me re-phrase the question.

What brand do YOU prefer.

That way I can see what people prefer and go with that.

 

Honestly, like I said there are really only three factors to consider. If I had to rank them in order, I'd say:

1. Highest frequency (that is supported by my laptop of course)
2. Lowest CAS latency
3. Lowest price

I've used Corsair and Kingston in aftermarket upgrades before. And I've also used the stock RAM (Samsung, Hynix, Micron, etc) without problems either. Crucial and GSkill are just as well regarded as Corsair and Kingston, so it really doesn't matter.

 

What exactly is a smart card reader?

 

smart card reader - Google Search

 

And what is it useful for?

If I put in my debit card/visa.. What can it do?

 

I don't think the Smartcard reader has any use for the average Joe. More for business use to verify credentials.

 

Smartcards are typically used in corporate environments for multi factor authentication. The chip on the card typically stores a user cert issued by the companies certificate infrastructure.

Those cards can be used for remote access, VPN, login, locking the workstation on removal and a wide variety of other applications.

See the wikipedia entry in the search results for more background, pics, etc.

 

Please do not crosspost in the future: while it's permitted and sometimes advisable to create a new thread for entirely different topics, it's poor forum etiquette and against forum rules to create multiple threads of the same topic all across NBR.

Take this as your final warning; as you have been warned for this in the past, the next time I have to merge another one of your threads, you will receive a larger infraction.

 

Sorry, but that's really not true. They may be using mostly the same chips, but a cheap PCB and poor handling at the factory can make all the difference in the world. Not only that, but dealing with some of these companies for warranty replacements is a nightmare.

Yours has gotten to be a very popular opinion, but you're much better off deling with a reputable company who's core business is, or has been (for Corsair's sake), RAM. That is very limiting, yes, and at times you may not be able to get the lowest latencies. But I promise you, you'll notice occasional bit flips a whole lot more than lower latencies.

 

What is the core business of these companies: Kingston, GSkill, AData, Corsair, Patriot, Mushkin, Crucial? Answer: Flash memory.

I have never heard of PCB issues with RAM, ever. If a stick is considered "DOA" or has errors, it is because of the physical memory chip(s) on the sticks that is(are) defective and that memory is NOT produced by Corsair, Kingston, etc. It is made by companies such as Infineon, Hynix, Samsung, Micron, etc. Kingston sells you a finished product and provides service for it and that's it.

You just proved my point by saying -- . "They may be using mostly the same chips". Same chips = same product. Different company = different customer service, which is correct. Corsair, Kingston, GSkill and Crucial are all reputable companies with large consumer bases; you can't go wrong with any of them. You are correct though in respect to not noticing the difference in lower latencies, this is a fact.

Edit: Although, I don't have proof for this, but a plausible explanation to your argument would be that the "lesser brand" companies use memory chips that are binned at a lower-tier, thus costing less in the end, but having a higher rate of failure or errors. This has been seen with OCZ using lower tier memory chips in SSDs from Micron, but I haven't seen this pop up with RAM.

 

Same, in all the RAM I've ever bought I've never had any issues whatsoever. So, I always go for the lowest priced sticks. When I bought RAM for my T500 and X120e, that happened to be a SuperTalent 2GB stick and a Lenovo-Refurbished stick. The former had Hynix chips and the latter had Samsung chips.

Even if the RAM sticks I bought have lower-binned chips, I doubt that would matter at all if you're not overclocking your RAM. I certainly haven't noticed a difference.

In short, go for the cheapest RAM with the specs you need. Use the money you save elsewhere.

 

Since all are quality memory modules made by reputable companies, I'd choose whatever RAM has the strongest warranty and customer service. In my experience, that would be Corsair, followed by OCZ.

 

When purchasing a machine, does the laptop get registered to the name of the billion or shipping address?

Or does it get registered to the name who calls up?

How does it work?

 

I would say billing but not entirely sure.

 

neither.   it's not registered until the first service case is logged with the system or you fill out the info at lenovo.com/register.

 

Amazing! Thanks.

Also, I plan on upgrading to a SSD myself? How do I go about doing this?

Can I use R&R and restore it to the SSD? What about alignment issues when transferring from HDD to SSD?

 

buy ssd
on bottom of notebook unscrew x1 and remove flap
remove 40hr old technology HDD
insert SSD
insert linux live cd
turn on
click install icon

 

Do recovery discs include the EE 2.0?

I think this would be the best option for those who want to go from HDD to SSD instead of cloning and restoring due to alignment issues.

I don't think R&R would work well when going from HDD to SSD due to alignment, am I wrong?

What other options should I consider? I know many will want to do the same thing?