Thinkpad T420 Owner's Thread

I believe it's around 50 seconds or so to get to the login (haven't formally timed it but I will tonight). Probably a little over a minute overall after I login and the desktop is completely up. Again I am coming from an old R61 that would take forever to boot up (almost 3 minutes before I could even use it) so it is a big difference to me at least. I know an SSD would cut that almost in half most likely. Faster boot times are not that big of a deal to me at least in regards to an SSD. I am patient and can wait an extra 20-30 seconds for it to boot up. I can understand the benefit in having an SSD though.

SSD's also open programs quite a bit faster. So a program on your desktop that normally takes 4-5 seconds to fully open will only take a second (or two at most) with an SSD. That is definitely quicker but I have had a hard time justifying the extra $400 upgrade to an SSD. If my patience runs out, I will definitely look into it though .

 

So I am curious if anyone with the T420 i5-2540M 1600x900 display WITHOUT the discrete card has tried to play World of Warcraft. This is the most intensive game I play, the rest of the time I doing work.

the performance on the Macbook Air 13" with 1440x900 and a slightly weaker i5 looks promising but some reviews of the T420 seem negative.

-DO

 

It can play Starcraft2 on the i5-2520m smoothly on low and the game has a higher minimum requirements than wow so I don't see why it couldn't.

So a few minutes ago, I accidentally knocked by thinkpad off the arm rest of a couch and landed lid first on its back. Absolutely no problems. <3

 

Hi guys!
First of all: sorry for my bad english in advance. I´m still learning the language.
So... I received my new T420 last thursday. I have already installed an SSD (Samsung 470) as well. Everything is fine, I really like this notebook.
BUT today I have noticed something, that avoided my attention when I unboxed the device. There is a scratch on the right side of the computer (next to the phone output). I don´t know how, but I didn´t notice it until now. Can something like this happen during the production of the computer? I didn´t do it, and the box and everything was factory sealed (seemed so). What your opinion? Shall I be very angry and send this "sh#t" D) back (actually I´m pretty lazy), or just accept this small flaw as a special "feature"? What would YOU guys do? Thanks for the answer(s)!

 

Actually... it´s not just a scratch. It´s deformed a bit.

 

I doubt they're going to give a replacement for that. Tough luck I guess. There's not much you can do about it.

 

That is unfortunate!
But at least you can identify it as yours in case anything happens.
Mine departed from China on the 8th and there hasn't been any news since.
I can't wait to abandon my ty toshiba!

 

hey i have a problem. Each time the machine wake up from sleep, the touchpad and trackpoint not working and i have to reboot to use it again.

 

Make sure that you you are running the latest BIOS and drivers which you can get from Lenovo support.

John

 

Omg I had another scare with my Thinkpad today. I was pushing the keyboard down just randomly making sure the keyboard was secure in place and then POP! My W key comes off. I was literally O.O Thankfully nothing broke! It was a little complicated to figure out at first, but I just had to lift the scissor switch on the base and place the scissor switch on the key under these metal hooks and then you just need to push down. Everything just seemed to snap in place.

Because the hooks are facing down towards the touchpad, if you want to safely pull a key (even though I dont really recommend it), pull it slightly up then straight towards the touchpad.

 

an other "issue":
i have just updated the Samsung Magician software (for my SSD) and optimized the drive with it. after that, the software run a benchmark test. during this, i heard some strange static noise from the laptop´s speakers. what was that? any idea?

 

Just got my T420 an hour ago!
I absolutely love the build on this thing! I don't feel any flex anywhere and the keyboard is absolutely amazing! I'm gonna need more time with the ultranav though, it seems a little odd for a first time user. I only got a 2GB of RAM right now, so it is a little slow, I'm going to head out later today to get one or two 4GB sticks to boost it up.

I didn't try any gaming yet, so I don't know much right now, but I'm going to hold back until I get the extra RAM.

It just feels solid in my hands right now, and I love it! Also I just found out about a neat little flashlight on top of the web cam that shines light down to the keyboard. unexpected, but neat!

Gonna play around a little more, anything that should be done before I do anything else?

 

You got yours already?!?

Damn, according to UPS mine isn't going to arrive until Monday. Do you mind sharing where you live because we both ordered ours at the same time so I'm interested if I may get mine sooner? What did UPS have as your scheduled delivery date?

 

After using the Thinkpad with a 9 cell battery for over a month, I am only getting 4.25 hours of battery life in the Power Optimized Settings located in the Power Manager application. I was expecting a battery life of at least 7 hours. Is this normal?

I have attached my customized settings via the attached snapshots. Can someone please share their recommended Power Settings screens and their battery life?

 

Battery life is strongly influenced by what is running. For example, an open web browser with an animated Flash advert running in the background will hit the battery. Use Task Manager to see the CPU activity of your processes.

John

 

I'm having some trouble putting in my new Kingston 4GB RAM stick. the notches on the side do not match up to the side grippers.

 

Tilt the module (approx 45°) when you're putting them in the slot. Ensure the module connector is firmly into place then press it down and it should click into place. As long the system boots up and recognises the module (check the BIOS for the RAM amount using F1 on startup) then its all fine.

 

Wow that's weird. I just tried again after reading your post and it just slid in perfectly! Thanks for the help!

 

I'd wonder about your spin-down time for the hard drive. If it's a regular hard drive you're burning a lot of current by stop/starting it all the time. I don't know a better value, but 30 seconds seems a bit short. I'd guess the same might be true of the time to dim the display.

Then there's the question of what else is running and what you're doing. What apps or services are you using on it?

 

Hmm, I had the exact same problem. I'm going to try again. Hope it works!

 

Wow! I tried to get that piece in for an hour and all it took was putting it in at a 45 degree angle. Thank you so much!

 

Hey guys,

One more question about the keyboard.

The left side of my keyboard is significantly louder than the right side. I think I type pretty loudly in general, but the left side is so loud that it makes typing in places like libraries a little awkward for me because I think I'm disturbing those around me. I've tried remounting the keyboard and the problem is still there. The difference in sound between the left and right side of the keyboard is really distinct. One sounds like a regular keyboard click and the other sounds like I'm drumming my finger against a hollow case or something

Does this exist on all models, or should I ask Lenovo for a keyboard replacement?

Thanks!

 

Can anyone comment if this RAM is compatible with the T420

G.SKILL SQ Series DDR3 1333MHz (PC3-10666) 4GB (1x4GB) SODIMM Memory (F3-10666CL9S-4GBSQ) | Canada Computers

Also is it any good? Is there anything better for a better price?

 

That should work fine, G.Skill is a reputed brand in their field so there isn't much you should worry about.

 

Holy bejeebus. I just tried to play a game, but it kept on freezing on me, so I was thinking it was something with the driver, so when I went to the driver site I realized that a lot of my drivers are outdated, is there a simpler version than going through the entire list downloading the stuff I need?

EDIT: nevermind, I found the system update tool.

 

The System Update tool itself relies on Lenovo's drivers, some of which are outdated themselves--you're better off downloading the generic drivers.

 

There's just less reinforcement behind the left side of the keyboard than the right. If you push down around the 's' key, you'll see it flexes slightly unlike the right side where there is none. Although, for me I've experienced no significant sound differences.

 

Sometimes when I try to update manually (in device manager, right click on the item), windows says my current driver is the latest, eventhough it's not. But lenovo system update has more recent drivers. So I believe lenovo's tool not always faulty?

 

Hello guys.

I just have a T420 for a month, everything goes fine until yesterday:

It seems like the CPU has been locked on two speeds: 797 Mhz and 2497 Mhz.Even when I adjust the performance from maximum to lowest in the power manager, the CPU speed doesn't change as it should be. That means, CPU runs on 2497 mhz or 797 mhz either under maximum performance mode or maximum battery mode.

This problem happened after I found out that the CPU speed had been lock on 797 Mhz. I found out the performance sucks and the machine became hotter than before. Then I used Cpuz to monitor the CPU speed and found out the speed has been locked. I was using the battery then and did not attach AC adopter on the machine, and the power manager has been setting as medium performance.

I remembered this machine had gone really wired after I installed an anti virus software (bitdefender). So I uninstalled that software, the cpu speed was still locked. Then I uninstalled power manager driver and power manager and reinstalled them, the Cpu speed was not locked under 800 mhz any more but it turned out what I just described above.

By the way, my cpu is i5 2520m. Please note, I've already attached 90W AC adopter on the machine and set as maximum performance but the core speed is still 2497 mhz or 2.5 Ghz, the speed NEVER reached 3.3 Ghz as the turbo boost turned on.

This problem really drives me crazy....

 

The Windows one is generally used a) as a last resort, or b) right after a fresh install to grab network drivers so you can download proper drivers.

 

My i5-2520M will run continuously at 3GHz if only one core is loaded (drops to 2.8GHz if there is more sustained load) but it's rare to see it above 3GHz.

Make sure that your BIOS, Power Manager driver and Power Manager software are all up-to-date.

And how are you monitoring the CPU speed? I use HWiNFO32 which has a nice graphical display.

John

 

Problem solved! The reason is that I set the processor with only one core loaded. (msconfig==>boot==>advance setting==>number of cores)

I don't know what exactly causes this problem, so I guess it is just because I set processor boot with one core and therefore turbo boost and step speed function have been disabled, and it also explained the heat problem.(more works for a single core)

Thank you very much!

 

Thanks for the update. Fiddling with settings sometimes has unexpected side-effects.

John

 

Then the best option for updating drivers is using Thinkvantage System Update?

 

In my experience ThinkVantage System Update is slow to find out about updated downloads. Personally I rummage through the list one gets at Lenovo support after entering the computer model number.

John

 

Hey guys! I think I may have a problem here. I've been playing some light games (LoL and TF2) but I find that I am lagging quite a lot. I think the entire time I have been playing, I haven't used the NVS 4200M at all. Is there any way to check whether the graphics card is being used or not?

I didn't find anything downloadable in the nvidia home page, so I'm in a ruck.

Thanks for the help!

 

As far as GPU monitoring, http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/ works for some cards.

Anyone have a Crucial M4 in their T420? Someone in another thread mentioned issues with the connector, was wondering if it would fit properly.

 

Thanks! According to this, the graphics card isn't being used at all.
any way to fix this?

Chaud: Sorry, I have no clue.

 

Use the nvidia control panel 3D settings to specifically setup the program's .EXE as using either Integrated to Nvdia 4200.

You can also do this when you run a program from the Explorer window. Just right-click on the file and select which one. Bear in mind you'd only use this when you want to manually change the GPU choice. To permanently change the choice for that .EXE use the control panel.

Being able to control it in the Explorer gives you a way to test it without having to go through the added steps in the control panel.

 

Thanks. What about Steam games?

EDIT: never mind. I just put Steam.exe to dedicated graphics only and plan to only log on when gaming.

 

Okay, just got my T420 and actually using it to type this. I've been using it for about 5 minutes but so far I'm pretty impressed. The keyboard and build feel amazing. I'll comment more on the machine once I get used to it but for now I'm impressed.

I have a few questions though.

What should I be doing to make sure my laptop is up to date? So far all I've done is run through the setup (installed MS, put in fingerprints, installed the free Norten Antivirus). What else should I be doing?

Also i want to install memory.I think I wanted to get something else but the guy gave me this one.

G.SKILL SQ Series DDR3 1066MHz (PC3-8500) 4GB (1x4GB) SODIMM Memory (F3-8500CL7S-4GBSQ) | Canada Computers

Will it work? Do I just turn off the computer and plug it in?

 

Yup, I bought a CL9 stick that is almost exactly the same, works fine.

 

It's better to go through the Lenovo site and find all the drivers and make sure that yours is all up to date. just gotta check the readme files to find your version and download the driver if you're behind.

 

I just downloaded a bunch of updates from that Thinkvantage Toolbox that restarted laptop 3 times I believe. I'm not even sure exactly as to what it updates.

And can anyone confirm if that RAM will work?

 

I think you should be looking for PC3-10600 (1333MHz) RAM modules as the minimum for the T420.

 

DDR3 SODIMM will work in the T420 (I haven't read of any instances of this type of RAM not working), although personally I would get 1333 MHz RAM.

John

 

Hello. First of all thanks to Hearst for setting up this thread and everyone posting here! I just got my t420 a few days ago and I love it, however I have a few concerns.

So I've been toying around with the thinkvantage tools, mostly the power manager. I'm very wary of that performance bar. So if it is set in the middle (or just not maxed) am I not getting the full potential of my processor? I do some recording with lots of midi/vst effects and stuff so I don't want it to be limited or something. I got the 9 cell so I'm not terribly worried about battery life or anything, but there's almost too many options, I might just use the windows manager.

Has anyone toyed around with undervolting this? I was perusing a guide but realized people haven't really done that with sandybridge yet...

 

I realize that this has probably been said MANY MANY times before...

But what should I do to optimize the performance of my laptop? What should I do to get the best out of my screen? What should I do to ensure my laptop's longevity? Etc? Etc?

I have done the basic set-up and installed an anti-virus software, etc.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!!

 

My Power Manager performance settings are below:



You can use HWiNFO32 to watch what happens when you adjust the settings and run a benchmark such as wPrime. The Maximum Turbo option seems to stop the CPU idling but doesn't give any significant performance boost.

The undervolting programs such as RMclock don't work with the Core i series CPUs. If the fan starts to get noisy then look into TPFanControl.

John

 

Hi All,

I just bought a T420 (UK) and managed to combine the £100 off SSD's deal with a 10% off coupon... a nice little saving!

As with my old desktop, I have several boot drives that I swap around (using caddies) so the idea is to buy a couple of Ultrabay SSD caddies and achieve this the same way.

I've read through (all) 84 pages of this thread and it seems the cheaper 12.7mm caddy is just as good as the more expensive Digizone one. Any further opinions on this?

Also, to save me buying an external DVD writer (when I'll have a perfectly good one that I remove from the T420) does anyone know of a caddy that I can put that drive into and use it via eSATA or USB?

Cheers
LOXjet

Update: I found an external caddy for the DVD drive...

http://www.misco.co.uk/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=503344

Akasa has one as well, but it looks like it's been discontinued. Shame as it wasn't covered in logos!