Thinkpad T420 Owner's Thread

Personally I'd return the one with the NVS4200M, it is a major weaksauce discreet GPU. Be advised that Lenovo Outlet warranties cannot be extended, you can only buy post warranty extensions which are very expensive.

 

Thanks for the input, Tsunade.

I was thinking the same.. I'll see what the conditions are when they arrive.

 

It's quite easy to install it yourself as i've done this myself before. If you follow the online hardware manuals available here you shouldn't really have any trouble accessing the CPU slot.

I don't think the T420 have native RAID support, only the W520 offers such option from what i'm aware of.

It depends on your needs Ryan, but to be honest the system with the Core i3 seems to be the most appealing to me. First it has the NVIDIA Quadro card with Optimus Technology so it can switch to the Intel HD 3000 GPU if you need to save power and secondly it has a 9 cell battery which the T420 really excels on - battery life. The specs on that site is quite modest as it states only 2.8 hrs battery life but I managed to get it to almost 7 hours with my 9 cell doing intensive stuff, you probably easily can get more with some light usage.

OK the RAM and the HDD specs are not that great but most people tend to upgrade them anyway since 8GB DDR3 RAM and a decent SSD drive are relatively affordable these days. Plus if you need a boost in processing power you shouldn't really have any problem upgrading the CPU, Quad Cores are even attainable if you want.

 

Thanks for the input.. I'm really on the fence now..

I'll see which one fits my usage better, or whichever one is in better condition, and to eBay or the NBR marketplace the other one goes!

Ryan

 

Well, the USB mouse problem was never resolved. It keeps cutting out every so often. I have to disable and enable the Intel 6 series/C200 series Chipset family USB Enhanced Host Controller (listed under the Universal Serial Bus Controllers category in Device Manager) to bring it back to life. I've tried all of the suggestions including Disabling the USB Suspend setting for all of the power modes - all to no avail. I'm now under the impression that this is either driver or hardware related.

 

Change hardware: try a different mouse.

 

I have. Many times. I have about 10 of them.

 

Happened in all the ports?

 

If you have a spare 2.5" HDD, I would remove your current drive and install the spare. Then I would install Windows 7. You will not need to activate Windows for this test.

After Windows is installed, plug in your favorite mouse. If you see it detected and drivers install, you know it's the previous Windows image and drivers.

If it still doesn't detect the mouse, it's likely hardware and you'll need to get the T420 serviced.

 

Alternatively, boot your T420 from a Linux live CD (eg Ubuntu) and see of the mouse works OK.

John

 

Has anyone tried to use eGPU on the internal screen? Does it work?

 

Yes it works but with a little less performance since it has to use the same bandwidth to transfer the display data back through the same bus.

 

Hi there - new to the forum, hoping someone can help me...

Firstly, apologies if I'm asking something that has already been answered - I used the search function for the thread but couldn't get it to work (even just searching for 'usb' with no other words and exact match deselected turned up no results)

Anyhow, the problem i'm having is with the USB ports of the t420 (4178).

I have a USB modem that i am trying to get to work - the modem works perfectly on my other laptop (a Lenovo G560), but I am having no luck on my t420.

Summary of problem.
- when I connect the modem directly in any of the three ports it appears and I can run the installation software. However, whilst the modem's LED flashes to indicate it can see the network, it comes up as disconnected/unavailable in the software. This occurs whether or not the laptop is plugged in
- when I connect the modem via a usb lead it either does not register at all or it fails to install
- when I have the t420 in a docking station I can plug the modem into the docking station ports and it works fine

The only thing I can think off that would fit this problem (and which is also supported by a similar experience wiht my g560) is that there is not quite enough power through the USB port to allow the modem to function properly. However, I have been into the power settings and disabled USB selective suspend, and also been into the control panel and deselected the 'allow pc to turn this device off to save power' option in the properties for the usb devices in device manager and it is still not working. (this is what solved the problem with my g560).

It's really got me stumped as I can't think of anything else that would be restricting power to the usb ports (especially when it is plugged in), and yet surely this must be the case as I can't imagine that the modem needs more than 500mA per port that the t420 delivers...

If it helps at all, the modem is a Huawei E170E USB modem

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

First, Google is the best way to search the forum (but I can't see anything that answers your problem).

Do you have a Y cable that allows you to take power from 2 USB ports? This should allow you to determine whether the underlying problem is insufficient power from one port.

John

 

On a t420s. Which one would you go with?
The i5 or the i7?

 

For your proposed usage would the extra speed of the i7 justify the extra cost? Bear in mind that an SSD will provide a far more noticeable performance boost than a slightly faster CPU (I have the i5 2520M with an SSD and there are few occasions when I feel that I need a faster CPU).

John

 

I have a 128 GB Samsung SSD.
Was just thinking what would be better for some graphic works.

 

I just replaced my accidentally-destroyed T400 (that had a pretty damned good 1440x900 panel) with a T420i with the HD+ option, and man, did the screen stink; pinkish cast and screen door out the wazoo. I checked the hardware ID, and it signaled it was the dreaded AUO panel.

I found the "good" FRUs here at NotebookReview, and bought the LG Panel off eBay. Got it in today, popped off the bezel with the aid of a credit card and removed the existing panel and boiiiiing, it was already an LG panel.

Two differences, though: the FRU on the original panel was 04W3708, and the model number was LP140WD2(TL)(B1). The new LG panel has an FRU of 93P5689 and the same model number.

On the new panel, the screen door effect is still visible, but is much, much less pronounced, and out of the box, gray is truer. It doesn't seem to be as bright, however, and whites are unfortunately still too bluish.

I have used ThinkPad T series laptops for a long time, but man, I hate when I see how great the panels are that Apple uses. They're still TN, but the grays are gray, the whites white, and I've personally never seen one with an (obvious) screen door effect. I might even try the Samsung panel for this T420 for the heck of it.

 

Yes, all the ports seem to exhibit the same behavior.

 

Yes, that should verify if it is indeed a hardware problem. I'll try it out. Thanks.

 

I think I may have a spare 2.5" HDD somewhere. If the Linux test passes then it's without a doubt the Lenovo Windows 7 installation. Perhaps a clean install will fix the problem. Thanks.

 

Yea, that would work. I was trying to think of some ways to sandbox the problem.

 

I can't really help with your problem, but I can say that the USRobotics USR5637 USB modem works fine with my T420.

 

Hi there all great T420 Owners,

I just installed a Cosair Force 3 SSD into my T420 notebook yesterday and it's only running at SATA2 speeds?
Any ideas? Or is that supposed to be the speed?

Cheers.

 

Based on what? How did you measure?

 

Hi Thor,

I ran Crystal Disk Mark and Crystal Disk Mark info.
I also ran the Disk Speed Test.

In other notebooks I was getting 430mb write and 480mb read; so I was mainly using that as a comparison.
In the T420 the SSD is barely hitting 200mb for both.

Is there anything else I can use to test to improve the SSD speeds in the T420?
Much Appreciated.

Cheers.

 

I figured out why my laptop wasn't coming out of standby, the memory was defective so I will be sending it back to amazon for a refund.

Does anyone have any recommendations for reliable 2 8 GB sticks of ram?

 

Take a look at AS SSD, ATTO Disk Benchmark, and possibly HD Tach or HD Tune. If you still think you have a problem chime back in here.

Usually after running AS SSD and ATTO Disk Benchmark a pattern emerges. I am not a big fan of the Crystal tool.

The folks at SSD Review do a nice job. Be sure and check there to see if your drive is reviewed.

 

Just checking on certain things:

- Are you using stock MS AHCI drivers or the Intel RST drivers? If it's the MS AHCI drivers you have try installing the latest set of RST drivers.

- Check the BIOS to make sure the SATA mode is set as AHCI.

- Check for firmware updates on the SSD if available.

I use 2x 8GB Corsair CMSO8GX3M1A1333C9 sticks in my T420 and have absolutely no problems with them. I also used the 4GB versions previously and didn't have any trouble with them either. Sure some may be apprehensive with Corsair but based on experience I have no qualms using Corsair RAM in my systems, like most RAM vendors they're all backed by lifetime warranty should things go wrong anyway.

 

Woh, chief! When did you get a T420? I'm waiting for mine to be delivered from the Lenovo outlet as well..

I think you're tech-savvy enough to update all the drivers and run in AHCI mode, it is indeed very disappointing if the T420 does not support SATA III.

When mine comes I will also be putting in a Plextor SATA III and run some benchmarks for you to compare.

Ryan

 

The T420, like all of the other ThinkPads of it's generation are SATA III.

 

Thanks for the info and links. I'll be sure to check them out.

Hey Hearst thanks for the reply.
Yup I've got everything up to date and I'm running on AHCI mode with the latest drivers and firmware. I'm thinking I should have just gotten the MX4 or Intel 520 SSD now lol!
Oh well its still nice to have SSD speeds but I would definitely like it better if it was using its full potential.

Hey Ryan man!

Hows Mod life treating you?

Yeh work decided to give me a T420. So I decided I would trick it out with an SSD to speed things up a little
I'm sure you'll like the T420. Its a nice little business type kind of lappy! The only extra thing I would of liked with it was a light up keyboard! I'm so used to the Aliens light up keyboards now

I am sure interested to see your SSD speed testing once you get the T420.
Do you have an SSD in mind or already on hand that you will be using in the T420? SSD name/brand?

Cheers.

 

Can't complain, more responsibilities and trying to be as unbiased as possible.

Back on topic, I have a Plextor M3S 128GB SSD, SATA III, Sync NAND, Marvell Controller.

My T420 hasn't shipped yet, and it has been almost 7 days since I ordered so I might go on Lenovo chat and rant about the shipping, I'll try the Plextor when the T420 arrives and post the results here, it might be the controller, it might be something else..

BTW, do you have the latest BIOS?

Ryan

 

Wow, a whole week since you ordered? I would tear them a new one!

Just kidding.

 

Yeah.. I don't understand why they are delaying shipping for a supposedly ready-to-ship outlet model...

The other ones shipped so I'm wondering if my order got lost somewhere.


Sent from my iPhone with Tapatalk

 

As a reference, when I had the Intel 510 SSD (that uses a Marvell controller) these were the speeds I was getting in my T420:



I had trouble with warm reboot freezes, sometimes it fails to even boot up at all which requires a hard reset to fix. But eventually I got fed up so i'm using a Samsung 830 SSD instead and these are my results:



Not only it's quicker than the Intel 510 but my reboot problems also went away too - lovely.

 

I hear the moderators there are quite strict!

 

Hey folks, first post here. I just want to say thanks for the great information you all take time to post, it has helped with my research immensely on buying a new notebook.

I'm a software engineer, so my main purpose for a notebook is to do some programming in front of the tv when i don't want to park myself in front of my mac pro monster. I have an acer aspire one 10" netbook with an older intel atom, so as you can imagine anything would be a huge upgrade (doing development on a 1024x600 screen with a mini keyboard is basically torture, not to mention i'm afraid my little atom processor will explode while compiling). I've 100% decided that a t-series is the way to go, and i had my mouse hovering over the buy button for a t420 but i chickened out, now the sales have changed and the t520 is actually cheaper with the same additions (i5 2450m, win7 pro, 1600x900) -- $741 for the t520 vs $840 for the t420 using that handy barnes and noble gold link.

I'm pretty much still set on the t420, i hate big laptops, and 15" has always been too big for me as far as laptop screens go (not to mention 5.5lbs is far too heavy). Basically, i just want someone to give me a reason, any reason, to just forget the t520 and go for the t420.

Not sure if this is the right place for it, but i'm 90% i'll end up with a t420, so what the hell. Thanks in advance!

 

Hi jwkeise, I think you're making the right choice to go with the T420. It seems a balance of portability for you is a key priority and the 14" size seems to be right on not being too big to carry around, but at the same time not too small to feel cramp on those long sessions. Plus if you're out of the mains for a while then the T420 excels quite nicely with good battery life options too.

I know software engineers needs the most of their hardware in terms of processing power (compiling) and ergonomics for coding (a good keyboard and a high res screen) and the T420 with HD+ screen and decent processor (with an open option to upgrade to a Quad Core if you want) will be appealing.

IMO it's only worth going for a T520 over a T420 if you opt for the Quad Cores and FHD screens but it's scarily close to W520 money which makes you wonder why bother in the first place unless you wanted a 15" notebook that isn't a beast to carry.

 

Thanks for the reply Hearst,

Yes those are my main reasons. Typing comfort and speed were at the top of my list, as well as the trackpoint (my best friend in college had a thinkpad from roughly 2002, i was always jealous at how much easier i was able to navigate around his laptop compared to my chintzy hp with a dreadful touchpad). Plus, virtually no other 14 inchish notebooks offer > 1366x768 screen. I entertained the idea of a w520 before i realized it was totally beyond what i needed and not worth the extra 300 or 400 dollar premium.

Thanks again for your response, i'm hoping to make a purchase soon, i'll post with my buying experience/initial impressions.

- Joe

 

So the HD+ is a option on a t420s?

 

Last time I looked HD+ (1600 x 900) was the only display option on the T420s.

John

 

Can anyone report on experiences with the HD (1366x768) panel? Please provide the FRU if at all possible, and if you swapped out the stock panel, please also provide model number, etc. and where you bought it.

I'm interested in finding at least one of the T420-compatible panels with no screen door effect, even if it's not the HD+. While the different FRU panel I replaced the stock one with, the screen door effect is just too distracting to my eyes.

The 1440x900 display on my old T400 had none of that. Oh, how I miss it so.

 

Is there something in the T420 that you absolutely need that you can't get in the T400? I had a T400 too, with the LG WXGA+ led screen. It was a great laptop (if a bit heavy) with a great screen (with the exception of normal TN viewing angles). Suggest you go back to a T400 instead of using a T420 with the low res screen. Or get a T400s which will be much slimmer and slighter than the T400. You can get great deals on all those machines these days.

Or since you're open to HD resolution, get an X220. Great size and battery life, and the IPS screen is fantastic.

Many better options than a 1366x768 T420..

 

Well, my T400 was broken quite beyond repair when I leapt from a 6-foot ladder onto it with my full weight, forgetting I had left it on the floor nearby.

 

When I said the T400, I meant that model, not yours specifically. There are many used ones floating around, or T400s. Was the lid close on yours? I can't imagine anything apart from the lid and lcd broke? Find a used lid and screen on ebay. Might not be so expensive considering that model's age now.

Really if you don't mind the lower resolution just get a X220. They're very very good.

 

How do I know that?

 

Look under the IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers at the Device Manager. If you have the Intel RST drivers it should report as the "Intel(R) Mobile Express Chipset SATA AHCI Controller". Otherwise it will report as "Standard AHCI 1.0 Serial ATA Controller" which is the default MS AHCI driver instead.

 

Hey Hearst,

I was just wondering if you have a quick link to both of the latest up to date drivers? Or anyone else?
I'm going to try both tomorrow when I get into work. Thanks.

@Ryan,
Yup I'm running on the latest System Bios.
Hopefully your T420 arrives soon!

Cheers.

 

I actually just got my T420..

Supposed to come with the 2350m, but as expected came with the 2310m.

But I looked up the warranty, this has NBD in-home warranty until 11/2014..?

Maybe this was a preconfigured topseller model and the warranty is still there.

Nice.... So did I get free NBD in-hone warranty?