T420/T420s

Sorry if this has been posted before. I'm so close to pulling the trigger but just can't decide on the T420 or T420s. I'm really liking the lighter and thinner design of the T420s. The battery though, concerns me.

I think the T420 can pull off 6 hours on the 6-cell no problem. But I'm not so sure about the T420s. Anyone know battery life of the T420s?

 

On this video, the reviewer state that the battery life of the T420s is around 3 1/2 hrs, that is an real world usage scenario and high brightness setting.

YouTube - Lenovo ThinkPad T420s Review

 

If you like the T420s so much, get it and bring both the notebook and the power adapter with you in your bag. I'm being totally serious.

Realistically, on average, T420s 6-cell pulls 4 hours. T420s 6-cell plus 3-cell pulls 6 hours, T420 6-cell pulls 6 hours, T420 9-cell pulls 9 hours.

 

If battery life is your deciding factor, it seems the decision is made if the T420s doesn't support the battery life you need.

The T420 is a mainstream machine and from all of the reviews so far it well built and a smart choice.

 

Simplest solution is to buy an extra 6-cell battery and throw that in your bag. Those batteries hardly weigh anything. The T420s though doesn't nearly have an edge on the T420 in weight (and maybe also thickness) like the T410s did against the T410.

 

^^^ Nah, as I said, bring the 65W adapter if one lusts after the look of the T420s. The 65W hardly weighs anything.

 

I've been in the same situation for the past week or so, and the argument that finally persuaded me to go with the T420 (though I've yet to actually place the order) was this. Low weight (i.e. T420s) wins if what you typically do is carry the computer around between a number of fixed locations (e.g. home, office, client's office) where you can strategically place chargers. Long battery life (i.e. T420) wins if what you typically do is carry the computer around between different locations where you may or may not have access to a power outlet, including places like airports and trains. My use profile is more along the lines of the latter.

It should be said, though, that it is with a tinge of regret that I turn away from the T420s. It is one sexy machine...

 

I've done the power adapter deal before with other machines. It's disadvantage is two fold:

-It's a hassle dealing with the long cord and takes about a lot of space compared to a slim T420s battery.
-Once the battery is dead you're tied to an outlet until it charges. With a second battery you just put that in are good to go.

 

^^^ OK, then, take both an extra (slim) battery and the (not so slim) power adapter with the (slim and sexy) T420s.

 

You don't need any power adapter if you have an extra battery.

 

The idea is that you'll get 7hrs+ out of two batteries in T420s, which should be enough till you return to your home/work. If even that long isn't enough, the T420s truly isn't the machine for you; get a T420 instead.

And as I said earlier, the size/weight difference is pretty small between the T420s and T420. If I needed that much battery life I'd just get a T420 which will do it with ease on one battery.

 

Now we're talkin'.

 

I pulled the trigger yesterday - same scenario (with a full hd t520/w520 in the mix)

I decided I wanted:
Portability over the large screen (+1 T4xxx series)
Option to install sandforce SSDs (+1 T420 - the T420s drive bay is 7mm; 2mm short of the 9mm required for standard SSDs)
Battery life (+1 T420 - 9 cell with 9 hours is fantastic)
Dockable with 3+ monitors (+1 T420 - the T420s is not currently configurable with discrete graphics)

The T420s has usb 3.0 I believe but that and the tiny height difference and 1 pound are not worth sacrificing everything else... especially the 9mm bay for a new Vertex 3

EDIT: There is currently a 48 hour promo going on for most thinkpads.. use the code 48HOUR which stacks with company discounts! That's what got me to pull the trigger

 

^^^ Bravo, jschwartzbeck! Your first forum post was a hit! Now we're really talkin' sense. I'd rather put the $450~500 difference into an SSD upgrade, which you wisely did.

Congrats on your new T420. May it serve you well.

 

Yea, I think the 7mm drive bay is a strategic blunder. They should have stuck with the 1.8" drives instead of creating yet another category of devices for people to worry about.

It's one of the reasons I bought a Crucial C300 128GB 1.8" drive that is sitting on my shelf. I have no idea if those drives will be on the market if I ever decided to sell my T410s. They're almost gone now and I haven't had the machine for a year yet.

 

For identical specs it's ~$250 price difference. Nowhere close to the $450-500 that has been quoted here. Unless you start getting into RAM/HD upgrades and the Lenovo markup on those.

 

Hey Guys.
So now the point has come that i have a problem of comfort:
I can get a T420 for €1035,3 or a T420s for €1130,5:
Campus Point
If i got a T420, I would configure it with the 9-Cell battery, buy a SSD and Swap the HDD to the Ultrabay installing the System on the SSD and moving /home to the HDD.
If i got a T420s, I would configure it with the 80GB Imtel mSata, leave the HDD how it is and stick an Ultrabay battery in it.
As the Intel mSata is nearly as pricy (or expensive) as a normal SSD the only Additional difference would be the extra money for a 9-Cell + Ultrabay Adapter (T420) vs Ultrabay Battery (T420s) What will not make a big difference in Price i guess. So there are only some Questions to be answered before I buy the T420s.

1st: I read through some revies that say the mSata performs well but other SSD's (that are although not pricier) perform better. Will i recognize that or is it just a difference in benchmarks?

2nd: How much lighter would "my" T420s be compare to "my" T420s? Someone wrote the Battery life for the T420s would be around 7Hrs with the Bay Battery. Is that right?

3rd: In a german Forum i read that the Screen of the T420 is even worse than the T410's one. In Germany the T420s are not yet shipped so is it the same Display in the T420 and in the T420s? I guess in T410 and T410s there were different screens.

So, is there Anything i forgot. Thank you in advance and sorry for my bad english, but I do my best

 

Hi there,

I am planning to buy a t420 or t420s... after some research, i found my self in the same situation you are into. One thing you forgot to mention and, that particularly pisses me off, is that ultrabay slim sata adapater dont fit well on t420 ultrabay =/ There will be a open space(ok small, but is there) if you install it on your ultrabay. Sincerely, it's one of the reasons that im almost choosing t420s, despite the poor battery life.

bye

 

No reason to get pissed. I've been using the HDD adaptor in the ultrabay bay of my w510 for almost a year with no issues. Think of the gap as a cooling vent.

It's lame Lenovo did this I agree, but it isn't that big a deal. If you really want the T420 I wouldn't let this stop you.

 

Guys what about durability of t420 and t420s? Which perform better? I know that t420s has been engineered to be slim, so are there any loss of durability there?

And cooling? I think t420 is cooler afterall, am i right?

 

I know for sure that the T420s has a magnesium bottom where as the T420 doesn't.

 

Correct. The lightweight ThinkPads traditionally have used Magnesium-alloy bottom chassis assemblies while the larger ones have used various composite materials.

 

I'm customizing a T420 on Lenovo's site, but can't find the Ultra Bay for hdd, where's that?

 

You have to order the Ultrabay Hard Drive Adapter separately. It is not an item that may be added to your CTO.

ThinkPad Serial ATA Hard Drive Bay Adapter III (43N3412) - $59.95

ThinkPad Serial ATA Hard Drive Bay Adapter III - Overview

 

Hi all,

I am trying to customise T420s with 80G flash memory and install OS for faster perfomance, and to keep 320G HDD for data storage. Can I do that via Lenovo website or do I have to do it later?
I understood that it has to be installed at WWAN slot. Am I right? Any recomendation?

TQ!

 

Good day. I have a Samsung SSD PB22-JS3 FDE 2.5" 256GB from an older Dell. It is now in my x201. Does anyone know, based on this, if this SSD will fit in the T420s? I can't find any data on the SSD, I suspect it's old. Regards, Steve

 

1. Personally, I believe the msata 310 will not be significantly slower than sata 320 or x25 in real-world use.

2. t420s is 0.8-0.9lbs lighter than t420 when both have 6-cells. The battery life on t420s is shorter, theoretically about 77% of t420. No one has done the battery life same test on both machines.

3. Some complains about the screen of t420s. Don't know whether t420 and t420s share the same screem.

 

you can't do it now. what i did is buy the 320gb 5400rpm harddrive, and go to other places like newegg to get a msata, then install it yourself.

 

The T420s takes 7mm thick HDD / SSD in the main bay while the PB22-J is a 9.5mm thick drive. So, on paper, it won't fit. However, there's a chance that you may be able to make it fit if you take the cover off (I've just checked mine) when the thickness reduces to about 8mm. Allowing for the drive actually being mounted in some rubber / plastic runners then there's the possibility that it might just fit. Alternatively, you can put the SSD in the media bay using the appropriate adaptor but you would then lose use of the optical drive.

John

 

Lyrebird, thanks for your reply.

 

A relative of mine wants to buy a business laptop. Money is no issue, but he wants the latest features, such as SSD's, fast processor, good graphics. He will be using 2 external monitor in a home setup, and travels with it for business.
It boils down to T420/420s or the still unavailable E420s. Lenovo web site does not do a feature comparison. Maybe you experts here can advice us of the difference between T420s and E420s.

TIA

 

At the risk of being a little curt, the difference between the Edge series and the T-series notebooks is simple:

The T420 is a business notebook.

The Edge series are consumer notebooks.

Given your relative's stated requirements (business notebook), I think that pretty much sums it up.

 

The regular thinkpad laptop are compatible with the dock, since he will be powering two external monitor at home the T420 and T420s is the logical choice. The difference between T420 and T420s is the thickness and weight. Another difference is the T420 have esata but not usb 3.0, while the T420s have usb 3.0 but not esata.

 

I agree that T420s will be the best for your relative. if money is not an issue and travel is needed, then configure a t420s system with the intel 160 gb ssd, and go buy a msata drive like intel 310, and a ultrabay battery, the best option i can think of as of now!

the original intel 160 gb ssd stays in the harddrive bay, no need to change or move.
the newly purchased intel msata 310 can be installed easily to the msata port. 10 mins work is required.
the ultrabay battery can be configured through lenovo.com.

it gives the lightest and most reliable solution -- no worry about travel glitches, and very good battery time. the graphic capability comes with the processor is good enough.

having two ssd is good since you don't need to partition the drives any more, which is good for ssd drives.

 

In addition to what they said, since he will be traveling, add accident protection.

 

Even with the poor battery life review after review reports? How do you solve that problem?

 

i just saw this bootup video of the T420s and was wondering if any other owners can replicate such a fast bootup.

YouTube - ThinkPad T420s boots up very quickly

even for ssd standards, thats a very fast bootup.

 

I agree that the T420 deserves an equally good look.

 

Where is the extra mSATA port that you can install the second SSD? Is it available at T420S?

 

It's a PCI express mini card slot. On the T420s there is easy access on the bottom where the RAM slots are.

See page 83 in Lenovo Support - Hardware Maintenance Manual - ThinkPad T420s and T420si

 

Sorry, new to all of this and I just ordered a T420s. How hard is it to install a mSATA drive? I'm thinking about ordering this:

Newegg.com - Intel 310 Series (Soda Creek) SSDMAEMC080G2C1 mSATA 80GB mSATA (mini PCIe form factor) MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - SSD

Now from my understanding, most people would install the OS and other essential programs on the mSATA drive. Is this correct?

Also, can someone please walk me through the process of installing this once I receive my T420s, assuming I keep the 250gb stock HD for saving other things on my laptop? For example, how do I "clear" Windows 7 from the 250gb HD and transfer the boot-up to the mSATA?

Thanks in advance!

 

No walkthrough.. But, this question has been asked 122,543 times before (I do agree searching these forums is a hassle) Have a look at these topics:

Best approach to swap HDD for SSD in T420
IdeaPad Y460p Windows 7 clean install best practices?
win7 clean install: system update first or windows update?

 

Thanks for the links. But those are regarding swapping out the HDs, which I am currently knowledgeable on. Wouldn't the process be different since I'm adding a mSATA HD?

Would I just follow the guide on swapping HDs and then nuke/clear the 250gb stock HD?

 

They are about swapping HD for SSD, which is basically the same thing you want to do, only difference, you are adding a SSD instead of replacing.

Still need to get the OS from HD to SSD, so I would say cloning is an option or reinstall using R&R discs. I have never heard of an option to install on SSD from HD while both are in the same machine (should be technically possible though)