Thinkpad T420 Questions

So I want to buy the Thinkpad T420 from lenovo canada as they are having a sale and have some good coupons available out right now. I originally was going to get the ideapad but heard the thinkpads are where it's at. I need this laptop for school and had a few questions.

1. What upgrades should I be sure to get?
2. What is the battery life?
3. How is this laptop for gaming? I see it has a graphics card?
4. Is this better than the ideapad y470?
5. Have their been any serious issues or complaints regarding this laptop.

Thanks.

 

I use mine for school and I'm CDN as well

1.
The lowest i5 is more than enough, Windows 7 Home premium is fine, 2GB 1dimm and order more and install by yourself(its cheaper), depends on you if you want nVidia gfx card(I do I'm in Geophysics and need it), 1600x900 screen(without a doubt!!), 9cell battery

2.
With my 9cell I get around 8-9 hours, 10/15 brightness while being online, music, researching

3.
Even the Intel HD 3000 gfx is much better than the old Intel gfx. I upgraded to nVidia just for that extra kick when needed your choice depending if you need it or not

4.
No idea never looked at Ideapads

5.
Not that I know of, only thing might be fan being a little loud but hey depends on how your stressing your machine and ambient temps

 

The high resolution screen (HD+) is generally the one most people go for. The increase in real estate allows you to view more simultaneously (such as multiple windows/apps) and do less scrolling for things such as documents and websites.

If you're usually away from the mains then having a larger battery is a good idea, the 9 cell on conservative usage can last well over 7 hours easily.

ThinkPads are robust things but sometimes it can go wrong (nothing is perfect). It's not a bad idea to get warranty upgrade to at least 3 years or even better, having onsite warranty so should something go wrong an engineer will come over and fix your notebook there and then to minimise disruption.

Other upgrades such as RAMs or HDD are probably more better to get from a third party vendor as they're usually more cheaper than Lenovo's offering.

If you go for the 9 cell battery then you should easily be able to have up to 7 hours battery life or even more.

On some older titles the Intel HD 3000 should be quite capable, its performance exceeds that than some dedicated GPU's not so long ago. Though for the latest titles you probably still want a more beefier GPU so having the NVIDIA GPU option (that also comes with the Intel GPU) would probably be a more ideal option.

Construction on the T420 should be more stronger than the Ideapad due to materials such as the built in magnesium roll cage inside the chassis. Plus business notebooks are generally easier to service and maintain over time compared to consumer notebooks that change lineup frequently.

They're relatively minor...

- The T420 screens are adequate but not spectacular. Depending on which panel you get, one can be a bit griddy (LG) while the other is more grainy (AUO).

- Some users complain that they accidently keep ejecting the DVD drive from poor button placement.

- I do notice audio output (from headphones) is a bit quieter compared to my other ThinkPads (T61/R61e).

- Can freeze slightly on startup if paired up with an Intel 510 SSD on warm boot.

- Depending on Lenovo, they may send you 7mm HDD rubber rails which are too small if you want to upgrade to a regular sized 9.5mm HDD.

 

1) Upgrade the screen to the HD+, well worth the upgrade. To be honest an i3 is enough for most people, but I got the i5 since I also got the graphics card.

2) Battery life is very good. I get around 9-10 hours while browsing. Around 13 when editing word docs/reading. This is on 5 brightness. Also, I typically find the max brightness (15) is too bright for normal indoor use, I typically put it at 12 or 13.

3) You can get the graphics card if you want. All depends on what games/settings you want to play at. I opted for the Nvidia for the better game/driver support and for better power if I want it. I can run crysis 2 at gamer, 1366 x 768 perfectly fine on the card.

4) Depends on your definition of "better". It is constructed very nicely. It just feels like a solid laptop. On Ideapads, you can probably get better specs for your money, but you're paying for quality and solid construction with Thinkpads. Personally, I believe, yes it is better.

5) People complain about the screen a lot. I have the AUO HD+. I have had absolutely no issues with it and actually like it quite a bit. But perhaps that's because I came from a T400 screen (worse screen).

The DVD drive button is indeed placed a little awkwardly. Sometimes when I pick it up I do eject it. Just a little annoying, but not a dealbreaker.

 

Okay, from what I understand I should upgrade the screen which I definitly will and I'll probably go with the i5. I'll probably also get the added graphics card. Should I upgrade memory too? I mean 2g seems kind of weak...
I'm still kind of confused about the battery life, the people with the nine cell are saying about 8 while the other is saying 10+. I will only be getting the 6 cell, so if anyone can give some more clarity on that, it would be great.
I'm also still kind of weary about this laptop for gaming. Everyone made it out to seem pretty good but I did some further research and got the idea you can't game at all. I will probably want to play wow, starcraft, the new diablo when it comes out... Is the T420 suitable or should I opt for a laptop with a better graphics card?

Thankyou for all the help so far, its been greatly appreciated!!

 

Don't bother with upgrading the RAM through Lenovo, you can easily get a 4GB module for like $25.

The Intel HD 3000 is capable, but not that amazingly capable. With 8GB of DDR3 1333 MHz, I can play SCII at 1600x900 on medium settings, albeit it feels a little sluggish when scrolling, but fine otherwise. Though, I did that as a test run only and I normally play with the Quadro 1000M. You can probably run any modern game in low settings with it no problem (and SCII at around 1366x768 medium). The NVS 4200M is maybe 20% faster than the HD 3000, and as you can imagine, 1.2x not that capable = still not that capable. As for battery life, expect around 4.5 ~ 5.5 hours depending on what you are doing with the 6 cell.

 

ThinkPad T420 - 1 Yr Depot Topseller Warranty
Ships within 12 bus. days**
$1,905.00
$1,139.00

$1,905.00
$1,139.00


Intel Core i5-2520M Processor (2.50GHz, 3MB L3, 1333MHz FSB) with Intel Turbo Boost Technology up to 3.2GHz1
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bit)12
14.0" HD+ LED backlight Anti-Glare (1600 x 900), with Wireless WAN Antenna
NVIDIA Quadro NVS4200M Optimus technology (1GB)
2 GB PC3-10600 DDR3 (1 DIMM)8
UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad) without Fingerprint Reader
320GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm4
DVD Recordable5
9 Cell 2.8Ah Li-Ion Battery60
Broadcom Bluetooth 3.0 with antenna
Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205 AGN10
Integrated Mobile Broadband - Upgradable65
1 Year Depot/Express Warranty

I'm thinking of this setup right now, which is $1055, not a bad deal, but what do you think?

 

Same one I had, minus the bluetooth and I added the fingerprint reader(I hate remembering passwords).