T420 vs T420s size comparison?

Can't seem to find any photos highlighting the difference in size between the two.

This is for my dad and he wants something thinner than my T400. It'll be docked on a port replicator the majority of the time, however, so I'm trying to prove that the smaller size of the S isnt that important.

Lastly, and most important here is fan noise. I get none with my T400 unless I'm viewing HD content. Can anyone confirm that the T420 is the same in that regard? He's returning his new Envy 17 due to excessive fan noise as that's an issue that's plagued our family computers for quite some time.

Thanks

 

The T420 vs T420s debate comes up almost weekly. For people that can afford the premium, get the T420s. It just feels better.

If you are on a budget, get the T420. It's more configurable and flexible and only weighs a little over a pound more than the T420s.

Fair warning though, some of the T420 and T420s machines have a noise and fan problem. The T420s I had didn't have any issues but there's a pretty monstrous thread at T420s Fan noise Issue - Lenovo Community

I don't believe a root cause and solution has been identified.

 

I had the older T410s, and I can tell you the cooling system was rubbish. Unless I had tpfancontrol on like 0/1, the fan would run 24/7 and it was loud. The battery life is also significantly lower, 44 WHr I believe from the T420's standard 56 WHr battery (20% less). T420s also uses 7mm drives, while the T420 takes standard 9.5mm drives. Though now the price difference is far less, it's still easily over 1000 for a base T420s, while a base T420 starts at 700.

Upside is it IS thinner and somewhat lighter. I honestly felt the LCD portion was kinda too thin for comfort.

 

The difference in plan area is not significant, the difference in thickness is noticeable (particularly at the front) and the difference in weight is very significant.

the T420s cooling system is adequate, not generous. The noise is only very obtrusive when the computer is under full load but is noticeable at lower speeds in a quiet room. However, I use TPFanControl on my T420s to turn my fan off at 55C because it otherwise runs continuously, albeit not very fast.

If portability when not docked is a concern then the T420s wins. Also, while the internal battery isn't very big, one can put a second battery in the UltraBay to add another 3 hours without adding to size or weight.

John

 

That's strange because my brothers t410s operates almost silently.
With HD content/games, fans on any thinkpad will spin up. That I can understand.

And okay. If there aren't any photos let me ask this.
Is the t420s basically the same size as the t410s?
And is the t420 basically the same size as a t400?

Lastly, if the t420s has known fan issues it can basically be eliminated from the running unless someone can convince me otherwise.

Edit: this is in reference to the first two reponses. I missed your post john as I'm on my phone. Thanks for the comments though.

 

I can try to get a few size comparison pictures of my T420s with a T400 if you'd like. But I'd have to wait till my dad gets back from work with his T400.

 

When I had my T400 I took it to the showroom to compare with the T410s. Pictures and weight and size specs don't reflect the size difference between the T4xx and T4xxs. The T420s' weight/thinness advantage is pretty significant when you handle both and pretty impressive considering the screen size and resolution you get. The 's' machines also felt more solid.

If the X220 doesn't have any issues with cooling for day to day use I doubt there are any serious problems with the T420s.

 

I will expand my previous comment on the fan noise: The T420s fan is noticeable when on full load, but this is not a typical usage situation. Even when the fan is on full speed it is a loud purr, not an obtrusive whine (as happens with my Toshiba R500 and R700).

John

 

The fan on my T420s used to be constantly on but the proper TPfancontrol configuration made it completely inaudible.

 

yeap, the problem of the fan noise is particular noticeable on the T420s with the Toshiba fan.

 

alright thanks for all the responses.

will pass some of this info along to him so that he hopefully makes a better decision.