Thinkpad T420s Owners' Thread

So thinking in terms of kits

8gb (2x4gb) costs me $20.
12gb (1x4gb 1x8gb) asynchronous kit costs me $60
16gb (2x8gb) costs me $110 (assuming I net $10 for the old sodimm).

All are quite reasonable actually. (I remember similar thoughts about prices in mb not gb....)

If I compare 8gb and 16gb, it's not worth the $90 for the upgrade. (I'm unlikely to use the extra 8gb very soon, so I'm guessing $90 saved would let me upgrade to 16gb down the road if I wanted to.)

So I'm left comparing 8gb and 12gb. 8 is cheaper and synchronous. 12gb is more future proof but asynchronous. I'd be tempted if the asynchronous vs synchronous penalty is small.

Edit: I should add, I can imagine the application use that would use that much memory. I regularly run Stata and Mathematica. I have stata jobs that like 2 to 8gb, and a mathematica kernel can eat up 2 gb pretty easily. Right now I run those on some servers I access remotely. If I ever decide to bring those calculations with me (say, to use time when I don't have a low latency network connection for remote work), then I could easily use the ram.

 

By the way, the term "kit" refers to a box of two DIMMs of the same size and identical specifications, like this:



I like your reasoning. But, if you use your laptop 365 days a year for, say, 3 years, a few $20 bills get spread out quite effectively over that timeframe.

I would go with this:

 

Right. I'm making my own "kit". As long as the specs are equivalent, if I use two 4gb dimms from different manufacturers I'll still end up in synchronous mode, right?

One other (smallish) benefit of my own "kit" of either 8 or 12gb is that the lenovo warranty (including accidental coverage) should cover the original 4gb... (which, given past experience, is reasonably likely).

Doing some research - people seem to say that asynchronous mode runs synchronous on the matching capacity (the 8 of 12 gb in my example) and then single channel for the rest (the last 4 of 12). Though I can't seem to find a halfway authoritative source for this.

One downside of the 12gb is the bigger hibernate file on the ssd. I suppose I can always reduce the size reserved and hope that the hibernation compression works well. (I'm betting Stata memory usage would compress very well if that was what was in memory.) Which, of course, suggests the eventual addition of a mini pci-e ssd...

 

See the table I posted here. It doesn't go beyond 8GB but I would expect 12GB to behave much the same as 6GB (which is what I am using). In my case I need more than 4GB but found that 8GB gives noticeably longer hibernation / resume times (windows will gradually fill all the available RAM), so 6GB is the compromise. I wouldn't worry about the wear on the SSD.

John

 

Awesome.

Looking at the table - the only time 6gb is meaningfully slower/worse than 4gb (2x2) is sisoft memory bandwidth and pcmark 05, though there are fairly small differences in the others (it happens to be slightly faster in sisoft's video memory bandwidth). When three is a difference it seems that 6gb sees about half of the improvement that going from 1X4gb to 2X2GB gives.

I'm guessing the area of the memory that is dedicated to video gets dual channel access first, and the rest what's left.

I'm not worried about ssd wear from hibernation - I'm worried just about the space.

And that is probably the real answer - if I am going to have a legitimate use for the 12gb (not just windows needing a restart) it will be because I'm doing number crunching locally. And if I'm going to do number crunching locally, I'm going to need some sort of additional storage, not just ram. So I'll probably just go for 8gb, and save an upgrade to 12 or 16 until I make more changes.

 

Where can you find 8gb sodimms for $60 each? Are they name brand modules?

I have 8gb (4x4 Samsung) right now which work very well, but since I do a lot of RAW photo editing, the extra memory would not hurt...

 

Here's a newegg link for a 2x8 kit for 120 (after the promo code listed)
Newegg.com - CORSAIR 16GB (2 x 8G) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1333 Laptop Memory Model CMSO16GX3M2A1333C9

The single module price I was looking at was a deal of the day, but I expect that price will be occasionally available.

 

Lenovo have an official statement on it:
T420s not Booting - Page 3 - Lenovo Community
Dodgy EEPROMs

The new one i got is a Jan 12 build (dead one was an Oct 11 build), and one of the major differences is the DVD-ROM. On my previous one there was some vertical movement (but no lateral movement, and didn't rattle around like others have reported), but the new one has no movement at all. Its a good fit.

This one has a poorer cosmetic finish though - the black circle on the power button is not exactly round, and the edges of the ports on the back i.e. USB, power, fan outlet are not fully coloured black. Doesn't affect performance, but obvious every time i see them. The indentation on the palm rest to the right of the ultranav button is not as apparent though.

Also the WWAN got updated from Gobi 2000 to Gobi 3000

 

I would add, from that link "Lenovo has identified an issue which affects a portion of Think and Idea systems that were manufactured between September and December 2011." ie machines manufactured before September 2011 should not be affected by this problem.

John

 

Your link does not work.

 

Try it again:

 

Take the page 3 reference out of the link.
T420s not Booting - Lenovo Community

 

Hi everyone.
I need a laptop for my interior design course and my school is offering T420 at a very tempting academy price for students.
I will be using programs such as AutoCAD, 3D Studio Max, Photoshop and Illustrator regularly.

Such are the specs;

The resolution is a small 1366x768 as well..

Do you think this laptop will be enough for my academy needs?

Thank you!

 

AutoCAD, 3D Studio Max, Photoshop and Illustrator regularly? OK.

T420 with 1366x768, so-so-quality, low-contrast, lousy-color-reproduction screen? NOT OK.

(You double-posted. )

 

Conclusion; T420 is OUT!~
Right?

P.S mm, posting 1 @ this thread, the other @ W520 and one opened thread. Seeking opinions from users of different laptop as well as gathering an open opinion from all..

 

I recently noticed some problems with my screen:
White spots on my ThinkPad T420S LCD screen - YouTube

That was a LG screen.

Today I received a visit from Lenovo. By the way: I'm in Goiania, Brazil and they do have on-site service here!

The new screen is an AOU, which is reported here in the forum as the worst of all three options.

I just wanted to report that I do not find the new screen worse than the original LG panel. Gridness is just as bad and in my case, remains unnoticed unless I look for it, bringing my eye very close to the screen.

Viewing angles are equivalent too. Very poor! Particularly the vertical viewing angle, which in my opinion is the most critical one.

 

Thanks for the update.

My biggest white spot (on the right side) seems to be developing some additional bright areas above it. I'll have to consider contacting support when I'm next home.

John

 

Hi,

I just got the ultrabay battery for my t420s, (Thinkpad Battery 42 Part Number 57Y4536 ) and it seems the bezel doesn't match the laptop. The battery bezel has basically a square side profile. However, the side profile of the optical drive (which matches the laptop) has the bottom corner cut in.

The battery fits, but when I slide my finger along the laptop, the bay battery has a protruding corner. It looks and feels quite odd.

Did I somehow get an incorrect battery? (it latches and charges fine) Or is the battery just this poorly designed?

Thanks!

 

Now you mention it, I have checked my T420s bay batteries and see they are the same shape (one battery is 2008 and the other is 2011). So I think what you have is normal. I didn't notice it previously but I don't spend much time looking at the right side of my T420s. I suspect the squarish corner is easier for packing the cells in, but it may be a consequence of using the same bay battery form factor from years back that was originally designed to fit a computer with a flat side.

John

 

Odd. I'm pretty sure it's the second reason. I'm guessing the drives in older laptops had a square profile too.

Is the battery a little loose in the bay too? I can move mine up and down about a millimeter.

 

Yes. it's quite loose but this hasn't caused me any problems. It's easier to eject than the optical drive.

John

 

Hi
I have a new Thinkpad T420s purchased last month. Currently it has the 500GB 5200rpm hard disk. I have just purchase a Samsung 830 256GB SSD which I plan to install instead of the existing hard disk. Problem is when I connect the SSD using the provided SATA-USB cable, my notebook is not recognising the SSD and I am unable to clone the existing hard disk (which I would like to do before replacing). Any ideas why this is happening and how to fix it?

Many thanks
Dave

 

1. Did you try connecting to both the USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports? The BIOS can't handle USB 3.0.

2. Did you try connecting to the USB port in another computer to confirm that the cable is OK?

A work-around is to get an UltraBay HDD caddy. The previous generation caddies work OK and can be found reasonably priced on ebay.

John

 

Even if Windows did recognize the USB-connected SSD, it would not show a corresponding logical drive in Windows Explorer before you explicitly initialize the SSD in Disk Management (which you don't need to do in this case).

Try to run the cloning software and let it scan for the "destination" SSD via the SATA-USB adapter cable.

 

You could also try the opposite approach and put the SSD into the laptop and HDD into the external caddy. Then use a bootable disk imaging tool and clone them that way
You can even use an open source bootable tool like partedmagic to do it as well - http://partedmagic.com

 

I use Acronis TrueImage Home for this process. I backup the existing drive to a large external storage device. I remove the old drive and insert the new drive in the primary bay. I boot from the Acronis Recovery DVD and restore to the new drive. It's never failed to work on TrueImage Home version 2010 or 2012. 2011 is another story.

 

You can also decide to pickup an Ultrabay SATA adapter that supports (up to) SATA3. Cloning my old (modified) Intel 510 to my new Samsung 830 litterally took 5 minutes with Acronis. And it's always useful to have an Ultrabay SATA adapter within reach for backup purposes. You can find those on eBay and Chinese OEM usually are quite cheap.

 

Don't get over-excited about the SATA 3 bit. They are just a pass-through connector with no electronics. I can't vouch for SATA 3 support but the adaptor I bought on ebay says SATA 1 on the label but works fine at SATA 2.

John

 

can you change out the graphic card on the 420s?

 

I think that's very unlikely unless you swap the mainboard. One type has the Nvidia GPU and one does not (both have the Intel graphics which is integrated into the CPU). You are, however, welcome to search the hardware maintenance manual for clues that I am wrong.

John

 

I got the original Lenovo SATA tray which works fine on SATA1 and SATA3. SATA2 is mysteriously missing in action, but my at least my SATA3 SSDs work blindingly fast in the Ultrabay....

 

I have a T410s and want to upgrade. Is there a new version of the T420s expected in 2012? Anyone know of what will be new?

The X1 looks interested except I really like the larger keyboard and 14" screen of the T420s.

Thanks

Peter

 

Last time I looked in the thread about the new models the speculation was that the T420s would not be updated because of overlap with ultrabooks. Personally I'm keeping my eye on the 15" Samsung Series 9.

John

 

Don't worry 51nb just don't have all the facts There wil be a T430s, T430u and X1. I also know when and what they will look like but cannot disclose yet.

 

I really hope that there will be a T430s. T430u doesn't really appeal to me with that Edge-like feeling and/or crappier display/res.

 

The T420u will be nothing like an Edge. It will be true to form a genuine T-series, just aimed at another group of users than regular W, T or X-series. It's an Ultrabook, so it will have Ultrabook size and specs, but in a nice Thinkpad T-series kind of package. Just have a look at the CES videos that have been circulating already. I see nothing that even remotely looks like an Edge series there ....

 

As a previous X301 owner I seriously warn you to stay away from T420s because I hesitate a long time between X220 and T420s and ended up making the wrong choice.
The screen on T420s is worse than X301. Color is the same but it is darker, significantly darker.
And as a X301 owner you must be annoyed by its battery life and on T420s I see no improvement.
And the weight, it is noticeably heavier.
So go for X220 with a IPS, that will solve all your problem, lovely screen, lone battery life, maybe still a bit heavier but overall it is much better than T420s.

 

With the exception of the fact that if screen real estate is your driver, then the T420s remains the machine of choice. Having had the luxury of owning both, I actually found myself reaching for my T420s a lot more often simply because of the 1600x900 resolution. For my purposes, 14" beats 12.5" in that respect. The 6+3 cell combination together with an Ultraslim Combo adapter for me really is a perfect fit.

Personally, I'd create a list with requirements, divided into showstoppers and nice-to-haves. Set your priorities and let that guide you to a motivated choice.

 

What was the reason you decided to switch from the X301?

 

As a X301 owner, I disagree about the display comparison. I've got a T420s with the LG screen and, after some tweaking, it is very much superior to the X301 display which, apart from the resolution, is one of the worst I've used (mine has very poor contrast).

The battery life on the T420s is better, no doubt due to the better power management of the i5 CPU. I agree that the T420s is noticeably heavier than the X301, even after replacing the DVD drive with the travel bezel.

The X301 CPU is pretty slow these days, it gets hot pretty quick and the fan is noisy but the X301 does have better sound than the T420s and it feels a lot more solid.

I had the same decision to make (X220 or T420s) and in the end I thought the 1600x900 resolution would be more useful to me. I've since determined that I much prefer working with an external monitor so the lighter X220 probably would have been a better choice.

 

Dear syhead2,

Does this mean that they've changed your screen under warranty because of white sposts? My laptop was sent at the European Lenovo's support centre, and they claim that white spots are not covered under warranty. I opened a complaint ticket, and it might help if you could explicitly tell me that your display was changed under warranty by Lenovo.

Thanks very much,
Alessandro

PS: I tried sending a PM, but I couldn't find how to do it neither in the thread/user profile interfaces nor in the "Forum Guide" thread. Any hints?

 

Yes, my display was replaced under warranty because of the white spots shown on the youtube video. Those were large white spots and they were not pressure marks. It was a defect in the screen that compromised the overall usability of the machine.

 

Thanks very much, that will surely help to get my display fixed, since it has white spots similar to yours, albeit a little smaller.

 

Seems to be a problem common among Lenovo's LG screens. I've seen a number of X220 IPS users report the same problem. Mine is getting replaced next Wednesday.

 

Did the t420s come with any other graphic card but the Intel HD graphics 3000?
I am trying to build my t420s and want it to be as powerfull as possible.

 

Laptop computers - ThinkPad T420s

 

I dont get it.
Here in Iceland they say it comes with Intel HD graphics 3000
Then when I am building one on the site it sais it only has NVIDIA Quadro NVS4200M Optimus technology
What am I not getting?

 

Is there a Lenovo Iceland site, google turns up nothing. On the US site I linked, both are versions are listed there.

 

Here is the store. This is the main dealer for Iceland.
TP T420s i2540 4/160S 14HD+ Int 3G W76 - Netverslun Nýherja

I was configuring a t420s on the lenovo site and when putting a i5 or a i7 it only comes up with the nvidia.

 

Huh? Here's a screenshot of the Lenovo T420s page.