T420 or E420s

I'm just looking for opinions here (novel idea), I'm a graduating high school senior to be college freshman going into engineering. I'm torn between the T420 and E420s. The T420 has performance comparable to the edge once I upgrade it to four gigs of ram (which I can do for free if I buy with mastercard). It's also got the classic look, which I'm liking more and more as I spend time looking for laptops. The edge of course has a much more appealing look to your average man (not you thinkpad-connoisseurs) and has a lower price, potentially at the expense of a lower build quality, though that's nothing but presumption on my part.

My needs are pretty tame. Right now I'm on a intel core duo, 1 gb ram system that has been serving me decently well, though I am looking forward to a boost in speed. But I don't run really intense applications or anything so I don't need a ridiculous setup.

Also - is it worth the 60 bucks or so to upgrade to a 7200 rpm hard drive? Is their a big increase in speed/decrease in battery life.

Here are the two systems with specs-

T420i - $636.65 - the ram only takes up one slot, which'll be nice in case I want to expand (but will I ever?)

Processor: Intel Core i3-2310M Processor (2.10GHz, 3MB L3) Edit
Operating system: Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Edit
Operating system language: Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 US English
Display type: 14.0" HD (1366 x 768) LED Backlit Anti-Glare Display, Mobile Broadband Ready Edit
System graphics: Intel HD Graphics 3000 Edit
Total memory: 4 GB DDR3 - 1333MHz (1 DIMM) Edit
Keyboard: Keyboard US English
Hard drive: 320 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm Edit
Optical device: DVD recordable multiburner Edit
System expansion slots: Express Card Slot & 4 in 1 Card Reader Edit
Battery: 6 cell Li-Ion Battery - 55+ Edit
Power cord: Country Pack North America with Line cord & 65W AC adapter Edit
PCI adapter: IEEE 1394a port
Integrated WiFi wireless LAN adapters: ThinkPad b/g/n


E420s - 654.55 includes fingerprint reader for all my pretend-to-be-a-spy needs

Processor: Intel Core i3-2310M Processor (2.1GHz, 3MB L3) Edit
Operating system: Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Edit
Operating system language: Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 English
Display type: 14.0" W HD (1366 x 768) LED Backlight, Infinity Glass, Low-light sensitive HD Webcam Edit
System graphics: Intel HD Graphics 3000, Intel Core i3-2310M Processor Edit
Total memory: 4 GB PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM) Edit
Keyboard: Keyboard US English
Pointing device: UltraNav with TrackPoint and ClickPad plus Fingerprint Reader Edit
Hard drive: 320 GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm Edit
Optical device: Multi Recorder Optical Drive (12.7mm) Edit
Battery: Battery (LiPolymer 48.8Wh) Edit
Power cord: Country Pack North America with Line cord & 65W AC adapter Edit
Integrated WiFi wireless LAN adapters: ThinkPad b/g/n


Upon closer examination, the t420i actually has the price advantage. This is liable to change though, lenovo loves their sales, so on average the two are about the same price. I plan on buying in a month or two so I can probably finagle better prices then. Thanks for your responses!

 

If you want to keep using it long after the hardware is outdated, then go for the T420; it'll hold up better over time.

I'd probably bump the WiFi to something Intel; preferably a 6200 or 6300, especially in crowded lecture halls.

 

the only difference between the 2 systems are looks and price. it's your preference of which keyboard you like better, and what kind of chassis you want. generally the t series has a better build quality, so i'd get the t.

save your money and get a msata or ssd instead for a bit more. it's worth it.

 

Of the two I would get the T. The only reason IMO for the e420s is if you want the 6630 graphics card. Which you can't get in USA yet anyway... You are in the enviable position of only needing integrated graphics, so you have a huge range of choices.

Since it seems that you are not going to upgrade to the 900p screen, have you considered the X220? Maybe even the tablet, which would be nice for notetaking, especially circuit diagrams etc. If you end up doing a lot of equations etc as often occurs in undergraduate engineering courses, you will end up with reams of random bits of paper, which is annoying.

X220 + external monitor would be ideal IMO.

 

I would stick with the T420. If you can upgrade the screen, 1600x900 is totally worth the price. And being in college, I would suggest ThinkPad protection (accidental damage) or at least some extended warranty and on site service if you can afford it.

 

If you're going into engineering and getting the T420, get the upgraded the screen. The 1600x900 screen is a lot better in every way because it lets you fit more on it at once. Engineering programs greatly benefit from this as does general productivity.

I would recommend the T420, but you're going to want the HD+ screen, not the stock screen. It's the most important upgrade, prioritize it before RAM.

If you're getting the 1366x768 screen consider the X220 instead (and get the Premium HD IPS display, not the regular HD screen)

I've always used 7200RPM drives, but I don't know if there's really too much of a difference. Either way, the 1600x900 screen upgrade for $50 is way more important. Don't miss that upgrade.

 

I would advise to get the T420 over the E420s. I just received the E420s and the screen is not that good. I like most everything else about it but the "infinity glass" is not glass and kind of kills the whole graphical experience for me.

Is it permissible to post deals on these forums? There's a pretty sweet deal on the T420 with the HD+ screen, i5, and 7200 drive right now.

 

There's a Bargains forum. Post the deal there.

John

 

Thanks so much for your prompt responses guys. Especially about the wireless and the screen. I always wondered whether the intel wireless was any worse/better than the thinkpad b/g/n. As to the screen, I hardly gave it any thought. It's really good to know that that is something I should be looking for. I'll have to take a look at the x series, though their actual screen size is kind of a turn off for me. I guess that's why one of you suggested the external monitor. Again, thanks, this forum has been a godsend for me. And to think, I was leaning toward the edge!

Oh, and I don't think I'm going to get a solid state drive, chaose, at this point I don't think the price is worth the increase in performance. I'm just not that much of a speed demon. Though it kills me to know that in a year or two ssd's will probably have come down in price enough to be standard in laptops. Maybe then I can buy one and do some tinkering haha.

 

The real reason I advise people to get an SSD is not the performance, but the durability.

If you drop a conventional drive, you might wind up with a head crash or similar issues.

If you drop an SSD... well... it hits the ground and that's about it.

 

Well SSDs are more durable wise yes, but reliability as a whole has to be proven. If a hard drive physically dies, you can ship it out for data recovery. If you SSD suddenly conks out on you, you are unlikely to get data from it (or is significantly harder).

 

You've gotten good advice from people so far --I would continue to recommend the T420 myself, though the E420 isn't a bad system. I'd also recommend the HD+ display.

As for the hard drive, $60 can buy you a new 500GB 7200rpm hard drive at NewEgg with a five-year warranty, so I wouldn't pay the Lenovo tax on one.

 

I recommend the T420 as well. Get the upgraded screen. I think as a whole package its better than the E420s, whose screen is not that good. I know coz I just bought an E420s. You can read my review on it here in the forum if you want. There ae a couple other good reviews too.

 

Like LoneWolf15, I have a 500GB Scorpio Black, and it is indeed the fastest laptop platter drive you can get (except maybe the new 750GB Scorpio Black).

Keep it properly defragged and it should be plenty fast.

 

Lenovo is giving free upgrades to the T420 with a 500GB 7200rpm hdd + 4GB RAM until may 26.

I ordered a T420 from the barnes and nobles lenovo deal with the coupon and upgraded to the 1600x900 screen, i5 2410M, 4GB of RAM, 500GB 7200RPM HDD (hopefully its SATA-III) for $685.92.

Now the hard part is playing the WAITING game!

 

I actually did already read your review. The screen has been a pretty common complaint from what I've heard, especially the infinity "glass". Marketing, I guess. It is a pretty cool name, maybe they thought it could skate on that alone haha.

I did notice that deal, though I think I'm going to wait around until they offer a t- series specific discount. I can get the ram upgrade for free if I buy through mastercard or visa, and as several others mentioned, hard drives are pretty cheaply obtainable online. Congrats on the buy, I bet the anticipation is unbearable!

Sorry, I forgot to quote the guy/gal who is recommending the SSD. But this is directed at you - doesn't lenovo have an accelerometer built in that senses abrupt changes in velocity and stops reading the hard drive? From what I've heard, it's a pretty nifty feature and works rather well. I just really don't think, for me, the solid state is worth the premium, though I can see myself upgrading in a few years perhaps. And data safety is not huge for me. I'll probably have a back-up of all my important schtuff on an external drive or maybe even a cloud service. But I don't anticipate dropping my laptop very often (knock on wood).


And thanks everybody for your responses. I think it's safe to say that you guys have successfully converted me to the t-series. I'm glad too. The matte screen and the resolution will, I think,will be things that I really come to appreciate. And the more I look at these laptops, the more I'm digging the thinkpad look. I think it may be a tad too early to look seriously at the edges. I think lenovo is in heavy edit mode with them, and it'll take a bit for them to work out all the kinks.

Oh! If anybody reads this that is running linux on their system, could you let me know if you'd recommend it over windows 7? I just started dual booting ubuntu with vista and I've completely switched to ubuntu for my needs, but of course 7 is leagues beyond vista so if anyone has any input that'd be great

 

I never got used to Ubuntu for the little while I had it running when my hard drive was dead. First thing I did was swap out the skin for Windows Classic. Ultimately installed VirtualBox and Windows 7 inside to tide me over until I got a new drive.