T420 standard (HD 1366x768) display - thoughts?

I've scanned the other threads and see lots of comments about the display but they all appear to be referencing the HD+ (1600x900) display.

I've been happy with XGA 1024x768 in my T43 and then T61. I'm in my early 50's and wear varifocal glasses, using the machine for Office apps and web browsing.

My thinking was to go for the lower res display so hopefully it'll be bearable in its native resolution, whereas a HD+ display will need the fonts resizing and past experience is that this in never very succesful.

Is my reasoning sound?

 

The T420 specifications manual lists all the same specs (aside from resolution) for the HD and HD+ displays, so presumably the quality would be the same.

HD+ in 14" is 130 pixels per inch though, so it's not as tiny as FHD in 15.6". The 13" Macbook Air and the 17" Macbook Pro also have this same pixel density, in case you want some real-life examples you can go check out in a store before deciding between HD and HD+. (assuming you have an Apple Store nearby).

HD in 14" is ~111 pixels per inch, and the 15.4" Macbook Pro w/ its standard screen is ~110 ppi, so that's also a good comparison.

 

Search the web on 'Pixel density',

T420 14" 1366 x 768 111.9 ppi versus
T43 14.1" 1024 x 768 90.8 ppi

My guess would be if you liked your T43 with 1024 x 768 res, don't go for the T420 1600x900 screen, pixel density will be even higher. Best thing you can do however is to compare both resolutions in real life (doesn't have to be a T420, any 14" with these resolutions will do)

More info can be found in this (non-Lenovo) topic: http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-envy-hdx/518971-1366x768-vrs-1600x900.html It even has a pretty good side by side picture.

 

If you were happy with a 1024x768 display, I'd be tempted to tell you to buy a T410 from the outlet (new price is unrealistically high at the moment) with the 1280 x 800 screen.

My reasoning for this is that you're going widescreen. No matter what choice you make (T410, T420) the screen's width will be expanded, and its height will be shortened. For many of us who work with documents and web pages, this is the most annoying part; none of us need width, we need height to see more of a document at once, or an image. Unfortunately, LCD makers who are more concerned with televisions than laptops, have given the laptop industry (and because of it, users who care about their display form factor) the shaft on this one; the newer T-Series ThinkPads (and other laptops have a 16:9 aspect ratio screen, cutting the display's height further than the previous 16:10 aspect T410.

With the T410, you'll get a 16:10 aspect ratio rather than the 16:9 of the T420, so you'll get a little more screen height. The 1280 x 800 resolution will be friendly on your eyes. Specs are slightly older, but if you're mainly working with documents and web pages, it will be beyond adequate for your needs.

If you know you want the latest generation of ThinkPad, or don't want to buy from the Outlet, then I'd ask how important portability is. Maybe a ThinkPad T520 with its larger 15.6" display is a better choice for you; at that point the 1600 x 900 resolution may work out as well. The display is also a bit higher in contrast than the T420. The T520 is portable, it's just not quite as portable as the T420 in everyday situations.

If you're set on a T420, the 1366 x 768 display has the same brightness according to Lenovo specs, and should work for the task; you'll just get a lot less screen height than you were used to on your T43 and T61.

 

I listed the Macbooks because they're some of the only laptops with these pixel densities you can actually go into a store and look at.

 

Yes, I am concerned about that.

I do have T420 on order - my T61 started playing up so I ordered what seemed the logical replacement in a bit of a panic. But I'm started to wonder whether paying £1200 for something that many people seem to think is compromised is a sensible thing to do.

 

I don't think of it as compromised --just different than you'll be used to.

The T61's LCD isn't anything incredible. I owned one. I think you'll find that after all the horror stories you're hearing, you'll get your T420 and find its display may be better than what you're used to, at least in brightness and contrast. I think the cut-down height may take a bit of getting used to, but don't get too worried until you've actually got it in your hands. There's a lot of hyperbole going around that I think is a little overblown.

 

did you consider buying from Lenovo US, using amazon payment and a mail forwarder. around £500 is what you should be paying for a base model T420.

 

I did look at the Lenovo US site, but by the time I've configured a machine and then paid the import duty and VAT (like sales tax but 20%) there isn't much in it. Also the machine is used for work and I wouldn't want to be without 3yr onsite warranty.

 

ahh good .. pleased you compared. in my country, there must be a higher import tax/duty-free threshold.

 

Well, I got notification last night that it's shipped from Hong Kong - as seems common, the initial 1-2 weeks estimate by Lenovo was actually only 3 days.

In the UK we get 7 days to return things bought online (Distance Selling Regulations, although they doesn't always apply to custom made items) so if it's awful then I guess it can go back.

 

Well, I've had it my hands for 24hrs and, yes, it is awful.

I know this is not a Lenovo specific thing, but the lack of height in the display for a business laptop is just ridicuous - take out the top and bottom toolbars in a typical application and it feels like you've got about 4.5" of working space, so the extra width is even more exaggerated. It's not just letterbox, it's a squashed letterbox!

In its native resolution the brightness and clarity is OK (no better than OK though).

Can't help feeling I've wasted £1200 here and that I could have got the same display for 1/3 of the price with the fact that it's a Thinkpad nowhere near making up for the difference in cost. My current thinking is that it's going back.

 

You could have gotten the same display, perhaps --but there are a number of other bits you wouldn't get at that 1/3 price. Whether that's a big deal or not is up to you.

You are right --the aspect ratio is not Lenovo-specific. That part of it means that with the exception of buying a discontinued model, or a Macbook Pro, you're going to get a 16:9 display. I'm disappointed with that myself, but it isn't like I have another option if I want a new Sandy-Bridge business laptop. In every other way, I really like my T420 so far.

Whatever choice you make, I hope you find a system that does what you need it to do.

 

I can see what you mean by the display. I've had it for 2 days now and I really like the display but this is what I was going for. I like "working" on dull non-glossy displays. It is not as vibrant as my macbook pro and the resolution isn't what I would like but the PPI is fantastic and I already know I can do some solid work on this machine.

I ordered it with bottom of the barrel specs and threw in 8gb ram and an SSD - it's seriously fast. The system boots up in 9 seconds. I didn't expect the performance to be this good. I wish it was a bit thinner on the bottom though and the casing materials used could have been higher quality IMO.

I would compare this screen to my old Dell Latitude D630 1280 x 800 but with better quality and brightness which for me I preferred to do serious typing work on vs my Dell XPS 1340 and Macbook Pro where I hate typing documents, emails, but enjoy it for anything multimedia related and working on images/videos.

 

I agree that 768 vertical pixels is cramped for doing serious work. Office 2010 has the ribbon auto-hide option, which reclaims some of the potentially lost vertical space while some applications allow the toolbars be moved to the site of the screen. Also either set the Windows Taskbar to autohide or move it to the side of the screen where there is plenty of unwanted space.

John

 

The 768 pixels is OK - same as I have on my T61. The snag is that they're squashed into a smaller space!

For instance, looking at Firefox, I've got 7.5" between the menus on the T61, on the T420 I've got 5.75".

I guess it's psychological - but I feel like I'm peering into a cave!

I wondering if I should go for the T520 but that only gives me another .75"height in the screen and I already think the body of the T420 is ridiculously wide, and the T520 would be significantly wider still.

 

Yes, it's welcome to the world of widescreen. If you want Sandy Bridge hardware and a 16:10 display then pop round to the Apple shop. If you can make do with the previous generation hardware then get a Dell E6410 from Dell Outlet or the resellers of the Outlet stock. (I'm not impressed by the Dell E6420 but the E6410 may be worth a look if you want more display height).

Or the other way to look at wide screens is that they can be more varifocal friendly because the focus mainly changes vertically (at least that's the way mine are set up, but there are different options0. [Have you noticed your head moving as you read down the screen in order to keep what you are reading in focus?]

John

 

I do wear varifocals but don't see any difference looking up and down the screen between the T61 and the T420.

What I have noticed is that it's almost an effort to look from side to side across the widescreen T420 - I certainly can't take in the whole screen in one glance. This is making me think that switching to a T520 isn't the answer.

 

Almost getting off-topic but... Previously, I had a wrongly formulated pair of varifocals where the focus did vary laterally. These caused eyestrain because, although the middle of the screen was in focus, the sides were not. Those lenses were replaced and my eyes were much happier.

Perhaps I should also note that my normal position for computer usage is slouched back so that the display is in focus in the middle of the lenses. You may find that a different formulation of the varifocals can make your computer usage easier. I didn't realise that there were many options until I had the problem mentioned above.

John

 

Well, I've asked for a RMA number now.

It's a long weekend in the UK, with the Royal wedding tomorrow and the May Day holiday on Monday so I had to call today to be sure of being able to return it. They won't collect it until next week so perhaps I'll learn to love it over the weekend.

 

I know this is seriously off topic, but this is of serious interest to me - particularly the section in bold. Should I open a new thread or something in the misc. thread?

 

I may be a little late to the game, but I agree with buying a t410s or t410 the screen is longer and has a 16:10 ratio and that really helps in this matter.

 

I can't decide whether this should go into the Off-topic or perhaps it counts as Accessories. Either way, from here you can see that the more you pay then the better the quality of the vision at the edges of the lenses.

John

 

@ John Ratsey....thanks. I will look into it.