T410s vs T420s

Ok so shocker one of my sister kids is heading off to collage and needs a laptop. So she's more than likely getting my trusted x300. So please some one please let me know the pro's and con's of these two models above. I have never owned anything outside of the x series. Are the T "s" thin enough to really be close to the 300/301 or is it just "thinner" than a fat baby?.
If I'm correct the t410s screen is 16:10 which rocks and the t420s is 16:9 which sucks but how are the screens themselves. I know there not IPS but are they atleast x300 level.

Thanks guys. If things don't add up I might just end up buying a ebay X301 and if so does anyone remember which model ran cooler then SU9400 or the 9600?

ym

 

I have tested both extensively. I own the T410s. It's the Optimus version with the 16:10 ratio 1440x900 res screen. The T420s in my corp lab is the T420s with the 16:9 1600x900 screen. It is also an Optimus based machine.

I prefer the T410s screen but the T420s has the benefit of a wider landscape which is good for email.

Both are plenty powerful but the Sandy Bridge T420s (i7-2620m) is certainly more powerful than the T410s (i5 560m). At least that's true for the models I have access to.

The T420s gets slightly better battery life. Both of mine run nice and cool. The T410s runs quieter.

 

Any heat or fan issues?

 

I haven't used either. But you should know the T410s uses a 1.8" harddrive. If you want to buy an SSD, the 1.8" are less common and usually cost more, at least they used to, I haven't checked in long time.

The T420s uses the 2.5" size drive. I think, someone correct me if I'm wrong.

The T420s also supports mSATA SSDs. So you can buy a 60-80GB mSATA SSD, install windows and office on it, and keep all your office files, mp3s etc on the 2.5" drive.

I don't think the T420s supports intel SRT (Smart Responce Technology), but I think it just came out on desktop Z68 chipsets and no laptops support it yet. Link to AnandTech SRT Article SRT combines a regular harddrive with an SSD 20-60GB. SRT uses the SSD for caching files and is supposed to result in near SSD performance without you having to decide whether to keep files on the SSD or harddrive.

 

You're correct about the harddrives, though the T420s uses 7mm drives which limits the size and choices of harddrives quite a bit.

 

The T420s stays quite cool externally but the fan can get a bit noisy under full CPU load. I'm using Thinkpad Fan Utility on my T420s and this keeps the fan either off or at the inaudible lowest speed.

John

 

Yes, it limits the choices to the best drives on the market.

In my experience by doing that you raise the temp of the internals quite a bit. I really wish Lenovo would add some fan controls to Power Manager. After looking at the temps and fan rpm's through the tpfancontrol, it seems Lenovo is only off a few hundred RPM here and there.

 

I should have added "under normal usage". Once the CPU temperature reaches 70C then the fan speed will increase with maximum speed enabled at 85C. The problem with Lenovo's default settings is that, once the fan gets up to the moderately noisy 4000 rpm, the temperature needs to get quite low for the speed to drop again.

John

 

A student heading to college and needing a laptop, and:

1. The OP considers either a T410s or T420s?
2. My forum friends rattled off about mSATA this and i5 Sandy Bridge that?
3. Heat? Noise? Speed? SRT? 7mm? Resolution? Aspect ratio? Optimus? What???!!!

Are we nuts? Please!

 

Haha. Amen to that, I'm looking at a laptop for college too and I've been sucked into the vortex of looking at every possible configuration possible. I enjoy it though . But in the interest of accuracy, I think the OP said that he/she is giving his/her laptop to the student and is in the market for a t410s/t420s for personal use.

 

Eh? My bad. Must've been early morning without enough caffeine!

 

Actually for biz but non the less. This is data I'm actually looking for.
thanks for all that replied. Does any one have a pic of the t420s beside a x220? or pics of the t410 and t420s? I'm trying to find pics that I can relate to. So own a x220 and a x300 so set a t420s or t410s beside one of those would be a massive help. One of the things I didn't think that would be that big of a deal to me was the 16:9 screen on my x220. The loss of that inch is actually alot more impacting than I ever thought it would be. I differently do not need a "wider" pc but higher for my main laptop like my x300.

ym

 

Have you considered an X1? In many ways it is the most direct successor to the X301, though with it being so new there are precious few in-the-wild user reviews/opinions.

I use a T410s at home and like it. I would not consider an X220 because of its screen resolution. I suspect the X1 will get a resolution boost whenever Ivy Bridge arrives. If/when that day comes, I'll be very much interested in the X1. I've never handled an X301. It seems like those of you who own X301's really, really like them and find it hard to stoop to other models, though I'm not positive exactly why that is. (Hey, it's fine with me) If it is because the X301 was the premium Lenovo ultra-portable, you'll probably like the X1 more than a T410s. On the other hand, the T410s port layout is almost identical to the X301.

Here are some dimensions from the T420s vs X301:
T420s Specifications - 14"
Dimensions: 13.5" x 9.1" x 0.83–1.02" = ~125.31 cu. in.~
Screen resolution: 1600 x 900
Weight: 3.68lbs (6-cell)

X301 Specifications - 13"
Dimensions: 12.4" x 9.1" x 0.73" - 0.92" = ~103.81 cu. in.~
Screen resolution: 1440 x 900
Weight: 2.93lbs (3-cell)

Just my $0.02.