Thinkpad T420?? is it worth it?

for anyone who has is, would you recommend it? i hear very very mixed reviews about the keyboard, display, trackpad, and overall build quality, Some tell me the keyboard is excellent, they get over 8 hours of battery life, and the display is stunning (1600 x 900 HD), while others tell me 4 hours of battery life, the display is terrible, and the build quality is very flimsy. I dont know what to expect when it comes to the trackpad and build quality but i am coming from a macbook pro (i suppose they are famous for the trackpad and build quality), will the transition be easy?


P.S. do you think it is worth it too wait for Ive Bridge?
thanks!

 

Except for the screen I can recommend the T420. It's a great machine, my keyboard is fine. Battery wise I get around 7-7,5 hours on the 9 cell battery. I haven't had any problems with it, and it's almost one year old now, and it has really been around the world, it's my travelmachine I have with me almost everywhere.

I also have a MBP which i also love, and it's trackpad is light years ahead of the one on the T420, so you're going to be disappointed in that department.

Ivy Bridge, hmmm, if you don't need a notebook right now wait, but it seems IB is delayed until july/august.

 

If you need top CPU performance, then Ivy may be worth the wait. However, for most users the answer to that question is no.

These forums do an overwhelming amount of good, but one of the problems with them is the information is often anecdotal without many hard facts. One person with an issue can make some negative posts, which skews the conversation. It makes things seem like a bigger problem than they are in reality. That's not to say there are not problems either.

My experience with recent ThinkPads is they're well built with good keyboards and average screens, except for the X220. TN screens in general come from a narrow quality bandwith anyway. It's not like the screens from a Dell or other manufacturers are much better or worse. Calibrating the screen can help some, but it's not going make it like the X220. Apple does use higher end TN panels, but my experience with the Air tells me it's a bit washed out at higher brightness levels and can't match the X220's angles.

 

In one case, they are identical in high quality.

Many people, including reviewers, praise the FHD glossy display panel on the Dell XPS 15 (L501X and L502X) while not being so appreciative of the FHD matte display panel on the T510, W510, T520 and W520. Even certain ThinkPad users, as seen on this forum, whine about their covet FHD 95% gamut screen.

Glossiness tends to make the screen look better than it is. (The Cupertino guys know this.)

As it turn out, the said "Dell" screen and "Lenovo" screen are of the same AUO part, with different finish codes: B156HW01 v7 (glossy) and B156HW01 v4 (matte). HWiNFO shows them as AUO14ED and LEN40B2.

Some XPS 15 users replace their screens with the "Lenovo" part because they prefer matte.

Bottom line: If you don't mind the larger size, consider the T520 or W520 with FHD 1920x1080. It is worth it.

 

The answer to the question "Should I buy a computer now or wait?" is *ALWAYS* "If you can, wait."

In the 3+ decade history of personal computing, computers have always gotten faster, cheaper, or both as time goes on -- so if you don't need a machine right now, it's pretty much always better to wait.

That said, I'm quite satisfied with my T420 and would highly recommend it to anyone in the market for a 14" business laptop. I've used most ThinkPads ever made, and I think it's one of the best that I've used.

 

Well i considered the w520, but the thing is, that i will be taking it too school, so it would be more convinient if it was less bulky, and a bit smaller, i have a 15 inch macbook pro right now and it is a little inconvinient to carry around.

 

If you want something with a good screen and portable, have you thought about the X220? The IPS screen on it is better than all but a few notebooks being sold today. It's durable and very light. You will have to give up the HD+ resolution, but in my opinion the difference between HD and HD+ is so small, it's hardly worth mentioning. Most of the extra space comes on the sides, which is not as valuable as typical notebook usage like Office and Internet is top to bottom oriented.

 

well not for something ultraportable, beccause i have an iPad, so i see no point in getting anything less then 13 inches, but i dont think i want the 15.6 inch size anymore, so i thought the 14 inch would be the best fit.

 

The T420 is a work horse. Good for what it is: reliable build for something not a ToughBook, acceptable weight for something not a ToughBook, so much cheaper and more extensible than a ToughBook (I am oh-so-secretly in love with Panasonic ToughBooks. pleasepleaseplease release a B11 with Thunderbolt.)