T420 configuration advice

Say I'm planning on getting a $900 to $950 T420.

For $800 (including 25% off B&N coupon) I can get this:

What last item(s) would you suggest to eek out a bit more performance? For $100 to $150 I can get some of these things:

Intel Core i5-2540M Processor (3M Cache, 2.60GHz) ~~$37

Intel Core i7-2640M Processor (4M Cache, 2.80GHz) ~~$142

mSATA III SSD card ~~$90

SSD and ultrabay caddy ~~$132

4 gig RAM ~~$22

Writing this out just made me realize that the processor is the only part that I can't upgrade at a later date. Derp. The i7 might be the obvious answer, as I can always add more RAM and an SSD later.
That said, how does the performance jump from an i5 to an i7 compare to the jump from a 7200rpm drive to an SSD? I know the SSD makes boot time crazy fast, but what about general snappiness and performance?

Criticize and advice welcome. If you would like to suggest a different part from the ones I linked to, then please do.

Thanks!

 

I'd recommend an integrated gfx version of the T430 over that. I don't think the NVS is worth it anymore, just a drain on the battery for little benefit vs hd 4000.

 

I would look at the T430 at this stage but if you really insist on the T420 (probably for keyboard reasons) then stick with the base Core i5 processor as it's plenty fast, the other processors tend to yield marginal gains for a higher premium in which most cases you probably will not notice. Contrary to what you believe you can upgrade the processor on the T420 at a later time but I would suspect the i5-2520M processor to be more than adequate for a while.

I would invest in the SSD as that would be the most significant upgrade you can do to any computer, there isn't much wrong for opting either the mSATA or standard SSD with caddy option as it's down to a matter of preference.

 

1. Yes, keyboard reasons. I just don't know... so much inner turmoil.
2. Upgrading processor: In my defense, it's getting late and I just read an article about Apple soldering a bunch of to the motherboard. I don't know what I was thinking.
3. SSD: Cool, I really didn't know if it had a significant impact on general performance.

I'm looking at the T430, but there's just not enough real information out yet. I guess I'll sit tight until people start actually getting machines to review.

 

2540m will give you virtualization features vt-x,vt-d. well worth it.

you can everything else after market. e.g. 16gb ram $90, ssds go on sale all the time. get the upgraded cpu.

 

The Core i5-2520M also offers these features as well, personally I find it hard to justify $37 for a mere 0.1GHz gain.