T420- 6 cell or 9 cell?

I'm ordering the T420, but can't decide bt 6 or 9 cell, I dont have pictures even. Is the 9cell bulgy?

I will have it plugged in most of the time, so I'm not sure if 9 cell necessary, plus the laptop might look cleaner.

 

The 9-cell sticks out straight from the back a little bit less than 1 inch, in the same manner than the 9-cell batteries have stuck out from the T410 and T510 laptops.

But, I think you answered your own question above

 

THanks.
THis is my FIRST thinkpad purchase...any comments?
is i5 worth the money or shud I go for i3 (i want this computer to last for at least 3-4 years)...my current laptop is C2D 2.0 up and running for 4 years now.

 

If you're not working off battery power very much, there's no need for the 9-cell. Unless, of course, you're like me and think the protruding battery makes a great handle for carrying the laptop around in when the lid's open.

 

What do you use the laptop for and what is the price difference between the i3 and i5?

 

Is the overall specs good or do you have any comments?

should i go for i5 or i3?

whats the difference bt Thinkpad Wireless and Intel Centrino Wireless-N 100010?

General purpose, MS Office (Outlook, Excel, Access, PPT), Photoshop/Illustrator (not much), Visual Studio/SQL (not much at all), no games.

Price difference bt i5 and i3 is 100 USD.

 

If you order the t420i, you can configure it with 2410M, which is only $50 upgrade. That is the best choice, that processor has both turbo boost and are very reasonably priced.

 

If the difference between i5 and i3 is $100, it's definitely not worth it in my opinion. The performance difference is largely unnoticeable in day-to-day usage, and definitely won't be noticeable in your use.

 

Any difference bt the Thinkpad wireless and Intel Centrino 1000?

 

The Thinkpad wireless card is a Realtek card that works, but isn't all that great. I have it in my X120e now, and it gets noticeably less signal than my Intel WiFi 5300 ABGN card in my T500, and takes longer to connect. If the price difference is minimal, I would suggest upgrading to an Intel card.

 

it costs $0 to upgrade from Thinkpad to Intel Centrino Wireless-N 1000.

My new config:

$802 before taxes
Should I go for it blind folded?

 

That's a good deal, definitely go for the Intel card. Your configuration looks pretty good for the price. I would suggest opting for the i3 and saving yourself some money (and potentially putting the money into an SSD, which will give you a far more noticeable general performance boost) rather than the i5, but it's ultimately your choice. The price seems pretty darn good for a newly released computer.

 

I'll upgrade from the 1000 N to Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205 (2x2 AGN) for extra $16. I think it's a better option.

As for the i5 or i3, I'm still not sure....$50 difference bt the i5 and i3...

 

I would keep that $50 and save it for something like extra RAM or a SSD later on down the road.

 

I ended up ordering this:

$777 before tax, $830 after tax. Good deal..

 

I personally think the thinkpad with the 9 cell looks sexier....

 

Second that, 9 cell all the way

 

Anyone seen pictures of both on the back of the T420? The 6 cell is flush and the 9 cell has the usual butt?

Keeping my 9 cells away from Dan H.

 

Yes the 6 cell is flush and the 9 cell sticks out. I'm just thankful that it sticks out as much as the 6 cell on my T61, the 9 cell was huge on that thing.

 

Here is a pic of the 9-cell provided by sprtnbsblplya

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r269/loykastj/IMG_4578.jpg

 

The biggest problem with that one was that it prevented you from folding the lid all the way back. I still used it with my T61, since I needed the power, but really didn't like it.

 

No matter how bulky the 9 cell is more then worth it. But then again that would depend on your uses.

 

What do you mean? I have a 9 cell on my T410 and I can still fold my lid back 180 degrees. The T420 with a 9 cell shouldn't be any different.

 

He means on the T61, the 9 cell on T61 sticks out and up so you can't fold the display back the whole 180. The 6 cell just sticks out like the 9 cell on the T410 and T420.