T420 / T420s

I'm getting conflicting information while searching, so thought I'd ask if anyone knew the actual differences between the T420 and the T420s?

In either case, would there be any restrictions or gotchas on self-fitting an SSD I can buy through distribution for much less than Lenovo want (I need self-encryption anyway).

 

The T420 will take basically any 2.5" SSD you can find with no issues.

The T420s will only take 7mm 2.5" SSDs. This limits you to SSDs with spacers like the Intel x25-m G2 or the Intel 320 series. There are some other choices which look like they may work, including the Crucial C300 and M4, but I haven't personally seen them.

It looks like the Intel 320 series has encryption, so that might be a good option if you choose the T420s.

T420s advantages:

• Thinner (about 15%)
• Lighter (about 15%)
• Supports an extra battery in place of the optical drive
• USB 3.0
• Dolby Sound Room audio

T420 advantages:

• Cheaper (about 20%)
• Uses standard 9.5mm thick HDDs/SSDs (T420s requires 7mm)
• Supports slice batteries
• eSATA
• Bigger batteries (6-cell is 56Wh vs 44Wh for T420s)
• Socketed CPU

In addition the T420 has far more configuration options than the T420s. The T420 has:

• Two display options (HD and HD+; T420s is only available with the HD+)
• More CPU options (T420 has i3/i5/i7; T420 only has higher-end i5 and i7)
• Two primary battery choices (6-cell and 9-cell)
• NVIDIA Quadro NVS4200M Optimus or Intel (the Optimus T420s hasn't been released yet)

Basically, the T420 is the standard mainline ThinkPad. The T420s has similar specs, shares some parts, and looks similar, but inside it's a completely different machine. Everything in the T420s is optimized to shave off that extra bit of weight and thickness. Having the CPU soldered on saves weight and thickness. Thinner hard drives save thickness. The smaller battery is thinner. The display casing is carbon fiber reinforced plastic, which is thinner.

If you want a durable, reasonable size/weight laptop with a lot of power, the T420 is the machine for you. The T420s is for those who are willing to pay a bit more for machine that's lighter and thinner, and who are willing to give up a bit of battery life to get it.

For me the deciding factors that made me choose the T420s were USB 3.0 and the bay battery option. I love the bay battery on my T400 since I can give up something I don't use very often (the optical drive) for something I do want (extra battery life). The T410/T420 don't support the bay battery anymore, which is a shame because the other options (9-cell, battery slice) for extending battery life on the T410/T420 all stick out of the laptop.

 

A very informative answer, thank you.

Light weight and battery life are my priorities - I've done the big heavy powerful laptop thing for long enough, and when I'm on the datafloor that weight and shorter battery life are nothing but a hinderance. I'm surprised that

The Intel 320 is the one I'm looking at - I'm just wondering if there's any special parts I need to fit an SSD when it's supplied with a HDD.

Do you already have the T420s? If so, what's the actual weight of it when bay battery is fitted? Do you have any information on actual battery life with/without bay battery?

Honestly, I wish they would do a replacement for the X301 - that's the perfect laptop for me, just outdated now. The X220 simply doesn't have enough vertical resolution for my requirements.

 

The Intel 320 should fit fine in the standard rubber HDD bumpers once you unscrew the plastic spacers. There are special plastic SSD bumpers that come if you order the T420s (and you could probably order the part separately), but my guess is that it's for cost savings since SSDs don't need to be shock mounted anyway.

I don't have my T420s yet, probably sometime next week. I would assume ~4.5 hours without the bay battery and ~7.5 hours with. That's at 10W which is a reasonable figure for web browsing and other light tasks with moderate brightness. My T400 can do 10W pretty easily, so the two-generation-newer Intel platform on the T420s might do even better.

I haven't measured the exact weight of the T420s but according to the Tabook it's ~4.2lbs with the 6-cell and the bay battery. The T420 (non-S) is 4.3lbs with the 6-cell and no optical. So if you don't want an optical drive you definitely get more capacity (about 35% more - 76Wh vs 56Wh) and less weight (by 0.1lbs) vs the T420.

Keep in mind that the UltraBay batteries get worn pretty fast, or at least the 29Wh one I have does. The newer 32Wh UltraBay battery might do better.

I avoided the X220 for exactly the same reason as you. My coding workflow does a lot better with 900 vertical pixels than it does with 768, and the horizontal resolution doesn't hurt either. Plus the X220 also has one of those annoying clickpads which I absolutely despise.

 

Speaking kindly, I give an estimate of 6 hrs for both main and bay. I want to be proved wrong.

Same story: the bay battery gets worn fast as it gets drained empty all the time. (I did use a T410s for a couple of months.)

In any event, I'm sure the new T420s will serve you well otherwise.

 

I couldn't find it when you configure, but is there a light weight spacer we can buy for the ultra bay when we don't want to use the battery or optical drive?

 

Will intel 310 msata ssd work on t420s? I hope the msata ssd for t420s doesn't have to be in a thin profile...

 

The optical drive is "lightweight" enough, don't you think? The piece of plastic that covers the opening and fills the gap inside is not weightless. Unless you're really desperate to justify for the higher price of the T420s, you can pay (cost and shipping) for something called, misḷeadingly, "Travel Cover" (FRU 45M2657).

 

Yes, you can use the Intel 310 drive in both the T420 and T420s. It will save significant weight if you don't need more than 40 or 80GB. If you need a lot of space, you can always fill the 7mm primary bay with the Hitachi 500GB HDD.

 

^^^ You can potentially have 3 drives: mSATA, main, ultrabay.

 

Thank you! I am trying to decide between msata SSD+HDD and one SSD

 

IMO the Intel 310 40 or 80GB drive with the 500GB would always be the better choice vs. one good SSD since you get the capacity and speed at a cheaper price and minimal weight difference.

 

will msata+HDD consume much more power than one SSD?

 

I don't think it will draw significantly more power. Since you do not access the HDD all the time, the SSD would save you some power. Realistically I would think it would be only 1/2 - 1 hrs difference if running on battery.

 

My old T60 runs "significantly" (that's how I feel) longer on battery with an Intel SSD, compared to the original HDD. The difference is about ~3 hours v.s. 1.x hours. Of course, with OS on msata, it may not need to access HDD that often, so the difference may be less significant. A T60 with SDD only is a complete quiet machine.