T420 should I buy now or wait?

Hey guys, Lenovo's having a sale on their 14" Thinkpads until April 20th. T420 starts at $704 and T420s start at $1080. There's another 10% off coupon at the end of checkout as well, so the savings are pretty good.

Do you guys think we'll see a better sale during the summer? If not, I might as well buy it now, even though I won't need to use it until August~

I have some more questions too though.

1. Can I use a mSATA SSD (like Intel 320) w/ the T420? It's not listed officially on Lenovo's website and I can't find it in the tabook. Can someone verify this please?

2. Does the T420 use standard 2.5" 9.5mm hard drives? Also, if it can use the mSATA, does that mean I can potentially take out the DVD drive and have 3 HDDs??

3. Is the 9 cell battery compatible with the mini dock since it's not flush with the back of the laptop?

Still rocking b/t this and the x220, but I'm guessing we won't see as big of a sale for the 12".

 

1. Yes.

2. Yes. Yes!

3. Yes. Thinkpad Mini Dock Series 3 (433710U).

There will be discounts (even deeper ones) as the year progresses. If you won't need the T420 until August, save up and wait. Even upgrade components may be getting less expensive by then.

 

See above ^^

 

So that's the thing I'm thinking about.

Usually Thinkpad discounts I've seen are from 15%-30%, with maybe another 10-15% coupon that's stackable, plus your employee/student discount of 5%.

Right now I believe the discount is ~35% for the T420, plus a 10% discount coupon, and I have 5% discount from work. Not sure if it'll get better than this.

And the sad thing is the X220 won't be available until this sale ends But I guess for business school, the T420 is probably the better choice anyways huh?

 

Not knowing the details earlier, I have to say the total discount is a very attractive one.

If last year was any indication, I did take advantage of a 40% ThinkPad discount. And there were coupon offerings throughout the year.

The T420 gives you a larger visual workspace. Overall, it is a very practical tool.

 

April 19, 2011, release date for ThinkPad X220

I hope the X220 will be release on 19 as they mentioned. So.. We have 1 day before the sale end to make a decision.

 

As a fellow student, I really enjoy the extra work space 1600x900 brings to the table. My last laptop was the same resolution of the X220, it worked fine, but after switching I love it. I can now easily have two word documents side by side, couldn't do that comfortably w/ the smaller res.

Oh and what the hell do you need 3 HDs for on a laptop?

 

I ordered mine on tuesday with the 48 hour 10% off and now they do an even bigger discount? Do you think I can cancel my order and reorder to save more money? my ship date isn't until the 22nd of this month.

 

There are always coupon offerings. Check on whether those offerings can apply to one of Lenovo's special programs, as you can save more.

Lenovo has a "contractor" program, also meant for "friends and family" as they term it. There is no barrier to entry, it's just knowing the URL. Prices start out cheaper than the standard program, but coupons don't always apply.

I used a two-day only coupon last night which gave 10% off on top of the contractor program. If you qualify for a student discount, or have a family member in the Employee Purchase program (the best discount program) you may wish to compare those prices as well.

Right now, the T420 is shiny and new. It may come down a bit in price towards the time you need it --the question is, how patient can you be?

Lenovo has 21-day price protection. If you can manage to configure the exact same system for less within 21 days, they will credit you the difference (something I took advantage of on a previous purchase). Once you create the order, you need to convert it to a quote, so that you can give that quote number, and your original order number, to a Lenovo sales representative.

 

When contemplating a computer purchase, you should always wait until the issue of whether or not you should continue to do so ceases to be up for debate.

Computers almost invariably get cheaper and faster as time goes on, ergo to get the best value for your money it is best to wait until you absolutely, positively *need* a new machine.

 

The exact same thing happened to me yesterday. I contacted them but since I had used a coupon (48HOUR) and configured the system, they said they were unable to cancel or price match

 

Ordered mine on April 7th, shipped on 11th and just called Lenovo for the added promotional saving and it took only a few minutes with the rep. Told me it would take about 48 hrs for this to go through. Will call back then with a phone number proveded, but he said that he could not send an email to me comfirming this. The rep did not ask for a quote number, just the new price and my Order number. Forgot to ask about this. Still have a few more days to call back if it did not go through

 

Yes I just called and he asked for a quote which I did and he told me to e-mail him back when it is shipped. There worker was nice and very informative.

 

Here is how I decide if I need a new computer.... ...... ..... yes.... just like that... I just do it... JK

Seriously I agree if you can wait for a bit, the pricing will go down as always with technology...