T420 Arrived - First Impressions

I have you tried a fresh install of Windows, maybe that will fix the screen problem?

What's the mSata drive people are talking about?

 

I will do a clean install. I have no use for the ThinkVantage tools anyway.

The mStat is a tiny SSD that goes into the WWAN slot under the laptop and can supplement your hard drive. I will use the mSata as a boot/app drive and the new HDD as a storage drive. Thus, you get the speed of an SSD without compromising the storage size.

 

I have the Acer Aspire 1410 sitting right next to my T420 right now. Both are running Ubuntu Linux and I'm comparing the same applications, photos, etc. from display to display. The displays are nearly equal in quality. The T420 might have a slightly higher black level on the display, but it's nearly indiscernible. Viewing angles are nearly equal. Color saturation is nearly equal. The Acer's display is 135ppi versus 131ppi on the ThinkPad, which is essentially equal. The only difference of note is that the Acer has a glossy display, which improves the apparent contrast of the display at a cost of increased glare. On a TN display like this, glare is more of a problem because the viewing angle options are limited.

In short, this ThinkPad T420 HD+ display is essentially the equal of the Acer Aspire 1410. I would not choose one or the other on the basis of display quality. The T420 is also about equal to a 20" LG LED-backlit TN monitor that I have in terms of display quality (though not DPI). It's noticeably worse to my 15" LED-backlit MacBook Pro (Santa Rosa) in terms of color saturation and contrast, but viewing angles are about equal. It's also noticeably inferior to my Dell UltraSharp 2408WFP, which is a PVA panel that's quite a bit better than any laptop display I've ever seen. All of these panels are just fine for productivity applications. For graphics work I'd choose the Dell monitor over anything else.

It sounds like the problem many users are seeing is a software issue. Before I blew away the Windows installation I noticed that Windows Update offered me a display driver update for the LCD. Does that install a new color profile? Could installing that update help; alternatively, does installing that update cause the problem in the first place?

 

Intel makes an SSD (see the above picture) in a 40GB or 80GB capacity that can fit in the WWAN slot of the new Sandy Bridge ThinkPads. You can use it as your boot drive, and still have a large hard drive for storing all your data. You get fast response and good storage in one notebook, without an increase in the unit's physical size.

 

where's the wwan slot in the T420?

 

It is on the bottom of the laptop. The WWAn slot is shared with the 2nd RAM slot.

 

I i am trying to follow your advice and install the latest graphics driver from the Intel website on my new T420 but the driver package will not install as it "is not validated for this machine." I am using the stock lenovo operating system (professional 64bit) but it looks as if I can only install the drivers from the Lenovo website. The graphics driver there is the one that I have know which gives the lower Windows Experience Score

 

I also want to chime in on my experience with the T420. I too was worried about the T420 screen having come from a X201T. My X201T was stolen so I decided on a T420. I was turned away by the lower vertical pixel count and 7mm HD of the X220.

HD+ Screen:
I don't know which panel I have (how to check?) but I find it to be bright and useable. I have no dead pixels. I am a software developer so I appreciate the higher resolution compared to the X201T. I found the X201T screen to be a little grainy due to the touch screen, so my standards are not too high. I have definitely seen better screens (e.g. on Powerbooks) but I think it's due to the glossy screen factor. The screen, IMO, is not all that bad as people make it to be. Again, I am a software weeny and not a photoshop junky so take it for what it's worth.

Original As Purchased Specs:
I got the faster processor available with the i7 dual core 2620 and NVS 4200 Optimus. Got the bluetooth, 6300 wireless, and 9-cell battery. RAM and hard drive I left to the base config with 2 gig and 250 gig respectively.

User upgrades:
I installed the Intel 310 80 gig msata. Replaced the 250 gig HD with a WD 750 gig scorpio black 7200 RPM. Installed 8 gigs of RAM. I had no problems upgrading any of these parts. I do wish that they have both DIMMS on the bottom. But I had no problems removing the keyboard to get to the DIMM.

It was a little bit of a pain to get the factory OS installed on the msata. A quick search on the forums will provide the steps. Basically, 1) Create recovery DVDs, 2) Remove HD and use R&R DVDs to restore to msata drive, 3) Put in new HD. Works like a charm, but wished there was an option to restore straight from the OEM HD to the msata.

After restoring to msata, I had about 30 gigs of space free. I use many software development tools and they take up quite a bit of space. Here is a tip that will help alot of people conserve space on the msata. I moved the "Users" folder from the msata the Scorpio HD. To do that follow the instructions here: Move the Users Directory in Windows 7

Basically, you boot into Windows recovery mode and start the command prompt. Robocopy the User folder to the spinning HD. Delete original User folder. Create a NTFS junction/symlink of the same name on the msata and point it to the User folder on the spinning HD.

I did the same to the SWTOOLS folder and freed up alot of space on the msata. Works like a charm! Thanks to the author of the lifehacker article.

I must also give credit to Lenovo for the basic OS install without bloatware. No junk to uninstall from a new laptop.

Boot time:
I don't know how others have timed the boot time. I did quick test of the boot time with a stop watch. Push the power button and start stop watch. It took about 30 seconds to get to desktop. I did have to quickly swipe the fingerprint reader to log in. So my test isn't exact, but the boot speed is fast enough for me.

Summary:
I paid $1500 (after tax) for the T420. Another $500 for the Intel 310, 8 Gig RAM kit, and 750 gig WD Scorpio drive (newegg). I also bought the mini dock series 3 from ebay for $100. All in all I am happy with my purchase.

 

Go to the Monitor properties in Device Manager, then pull down the list on the Details tab. There should be a code against Hardware ID. The panel type is the string after the \.

John

 

Thanks for this link to the lifehacker article....but, i have a naive question...how does one boot into Windows recovery mode with just the Lenovo recovery discs? I understand how to boot into recovery mode when using a retail (full or upgrade) version of the Win 7 DVD. Would appreciate help, since I am waiting the mSata 80GB to arrive and will pop it in as soon as it gets here.

Edited: 1128 PM. Sorry, just figured it out...

 

Damn. I'm returning the T420.

Turns out that my prediction was partially true. My typing speed on that Lenovo is indeed potentially faster than it is on my HP's chiclet. On my first try, I got 60wpm which is pathetically slow but understandable seeing how it was my first time typing on it. On my 2nd try, I got 85 wpm, which is very close to my current record of 106wpm on my HP.

But what I also found is that my wrist was starting to get worn out after typing for 2 minutes straight on that keyboard. It seems to me that typing on my HP's chiclet has a kind of a relaxing effect on my wrists in that it forces me to type slowly and to extend and retract my my fingers. I don't feel my wrists getting tired nearly as often.

Returning won't be cheap, but it's probably better than trying to fleabay it.

 

I'm shocked.

 

Me too! O.O

 

It's a very good business notebook. Surprisingly light for a 14" notebook and well-built. My display was grainy. I don't think it's the software that causes it to be like that. My 24" HP IPS monitor is noticeably grainy when showing light colors.

 

Have you considered the thought that after a week of consistent use, it might work out?

I often find that immediate impressions of a product aren't as well-measured as ones that come after a little time. The T420's palm rest, for example, is different than my previous T400. So the first and second nights, it didn't quite feel the same. On the other hand, it's more solid than the T400, and after a couple of days, I'm used to it. In fact, I'm really enjoying my T420.

Sometimes we get so used to one way of doing something (i.e., your HP chiclet keyboard) that a change feels uncomfortable at first. I'd give it another few days before returning it, but that's just my .02.

 

Maybe, but I'm somewhat inclined to admit this may have just been not much more than an impulse purchase. My HP Envy does the job fine. It has a warranty that lasts through July of 2013. It's thin/light, has a nice display albeit with some reflective glare. Battery life is still pretty good even though it's been a year since I bought it. The touchpad thirdparty software enhancements available on the E14 thread have made the touchpad into a pretty good one to use in spite of the few bugs here and there.


The Lenovo doesn't outdo the E14 in any index by a large margin unless you count the screen glare which IMO isn't worth switching for.