T420s vs T510 or ??

I would be getting same resolution 1600x900 but I'd like to hear thoughts on comparisons between the two models.

Will both take a SSD upgrade and have room for a second drive?

Are there any other manufacturers that a have a model that can compare to Thinkpad quality and durability?

 

sorry, i meant T420s vs T510. I was just at the apple store and the mac book pro touchpad was really nice.

 

Your frame of reference was a glass touchpad?

What do you intend to use the machine for?

 

T420s and T510 are two different designs. The new refresh of the T510 is the T520. The T520 is heavier and is not designed to be slim in thickness and light in weight. Battery accommodations in T420s and T520 are also different. If you go with T420s (14"), you should select the panel with 1600x900 resolution. If you go with T520 (15"), you should pick the FHD 1920x1080 panel.

As always the case, you decision depends on your needs, priorities, preferences and budget. What are you buying the notebook for?

(If you happen to like Apple products, it is not helpful (to you) to bring that up in the Lenovo/ThinkPad subforum. After all, it's your money: enjoy it as you wish. )

 

Whoa someone got hit by a Mac when they were young. It was just a raNdom comment coming from the mall. I haven't experienced many nice touchpad anD I thought they were extremely functional.

I plan on using this for everyday browsing/email and more importantly some programming where I'd enjoy the extra resolution.

I'm not sure I'd pay $250 for a fhd upgrade. I want 10th battery life to work unplugged and I don't necessarily need more. Lastly I'd like to keep it about 5lbs. If it's too heavy to commute or travel occasionally with I see no point in getting a laptop over desktop.


My other point was that I've been primarily looking at thinkpads because of their reputation. I'm looking for a notebook that's durable, good keyboard/touchpad and definitely a screen/resolution above average at least. I'm going for a new sandy bridge chip so I'm expecting about 10 rated hours on a 6 cell

 

T420s then. (I would seriously consider the T420 if I were you. 5 lb. Less expensive. Option for 9-cell battery.)

On a 6-cell? T420(s)? In realistic situations, 8 hours max.

 

I figured around 10hrs rated gives u around 7-8 real-world which is fine for me....my last lenovo lasted like 2hrs.

So thinkpads are the way to go? I'm looking to spend about $1000 give or take

 

Go for the T420 with 9-cell, with the right settings you can get 10 hours. That will sit right around 5 lbs. I carry mine to school on my backpack while riding my bike and carry it around campus all day, it is very portable and comfortable to carry compared to a 15" desktop replacement.
The 1600x900 screen is nice and around 12/15 brightness is easy on the eyes to stare at for hours on end.
With the i5-2540 it has plenty of power to spare as well. It is whisper quiet while operating too.

 

The business line from Dell (Latitudes and Precisions) are, IMHO, around same standard as the Thinkpads. That is, excellent. But a computer is only as good as its warranty - and like Lenovo, Dell have outstanding warranty options. Hardware insurance over time is as important as the machine itself.

 

HP Elitebooks are the other alternative if you want a solid business notebook. Dell Latitudes are usually strong though I heard their recent E6420 model had polarized opinions in terms of build quality. My friend who bought one is already going a warranty issue with Dell less than 6 days of ownership due to a design flaw with the base not securing properly. His previous notebook, Latitude XT2 had over 4 call outs in less than 3 years!

In my experience i'm probably very lucky with ThinkPads as I’m currently using 2 second hand ThinkPads and neither need any warranty work at all as it just runs (I have a feeling something bad going to happen after I typed this *knocks wood*). While having a good warranty gives peace of mind, I’d be more satisfied with the machine if it doesn't need to be called up for warranty work at all during its life cycle!

 

Your budget rules out the Macs. And at $1000, it rules out many of the ThinkPads.

 

Not really...

 

Sure, you can buy a bottom of the stack T420 for $899 but for the options I would purchase it's well over $1000. If "give or take" will actually go to $1500 or higher, you can get a pretty killer machine.

The T410 is clearance priced right now.

 

The ThinkPad price shown above at the low end of $799.00 only has 2 GB of ram (Not enough, and yes one can buy elsewhere but that to adds to his price range), does not include taxes, that will up the price a bit.

Then you may want a better hard drive than the 5400 rpm offering for that price, not to mention if one wants the 720p camera, the better 1600x900 resolution screen, the fingerprint reader and a slightly better cpu. Yep, its going to cost more than the $1,000 mentioned by the OP.

He can wait just a bit, and I bet another sale/coupon will come out near Easter

 

You should always upgrade the ram/hdd yourself. The total upgrade will be around $100 for the screen and 720p, but with tax it will be slightly over $1000.

 

I'm torn btw 14" & 15" options. I think I would sacrifice weight for this config.
I'd be carrying this between rooms more than anything. I'm not sure if I could stomach the costs of a SSD upgrade later on but I may go for the 7200rpm bump.

15.6" 1920x1080
i5 CPU
4gb ram
Integrated graphics

 

If you're going to carry the notebook between rooms (and don't care much about all-day battery-sustained mobility), the 15" model does give you a larger visual workspace.

Were you talking about the T510? Now is a good time to take advantage of clearance prices for last year's models. In my toolbox is a T510 with FHD 1920x1080 (great panel by AU Optronics) and I like it a lot.

 

Just remember the fhd pixel density might be too high for some people.

 

Great point, too bad there is no way for me to see that for myself ahead of time.

 

To to find a laptop 15.6 with fhd and see if the pixel density is to high for you. I believe Fry Electronic have some 15.6 fhd monitor.