Vidock and various upgrades for T420

So I was thinking about selling off my T420 to go for a gaming laptop. But then I remembered about the Vidock, this would be a much cheaper solution for me. (Although a little more to carry around, still nothing like a desktop.)

So I'm thinking about going for the Vidock 4 with the 150 watt adapter. I was wondering what is the best video card to match up with this now? I heard that the newest T420 bios supported egpu nativly which makes everything much easier for me.

Also I think I saw that Nvidia GPU's allow me to switch back to the laptop screen I'm not sure if this is true or not...

Was also thinking about upgrading to an SSD, does anyone have any reccomendations for a 120gb version? I'm going to get the hard drive caddy for the DVD bay and stick my existing 320gb drive in there.

For the wireless cards I just stuck with the basic lenovo 1x1 adapter. I now want to upgrade to the intel 6300, I was wondering if the laptop would come with the antennas already or if I would need to install some?

I know this is a lot, and thanks in advance!

 

I have the ViDock 4 Plus with a HD5770 1 GB graphics card and I can play most of my games at high settings. The only game I have to tone down the graphics on is the The Witcher 2. With the ATI video card it allows me to switch back to my laptop screen.

A good ssd is the Samsung 830 SSD. I have the 512 GB version and that ssd flies. I'm sure the 128 gb version is a good SSD to have. I have heard the crucial M4 is a good SSD.

I couldn't tell you on the antenna's in the laptop.

 

The ViDock 4 Plus connects to your T420 across a 34mm ExpressCard?

 

I think jedisolo has a T400, rather than a T420 as per his sig?

I'm also looking into a Vidock 4 and am curious for more feedback from others who have used it.

 

I have a T400 and a t420 and yes my ViDock 4 plus works with my T420. I should really update my sig.

 

ExpressCard connection?

 

yes it's a express card connection on my t420.

 

What bios are you running on the T420?

 

latest version(1.37)

 

DIY eGPU is cheaper, isn't limited by 150W/225W adapters and has existing T420 examples. See

>> http://forum.notebookreview.com/gaming-software-graphics-cards/418851-diy-egpu-experiences.html <<

Worth noting some unfortunate experiences NBR users have had with their ViDock purchases:

1. Customers on here and on Villagetronic's facebook page have had very slow responses to hardware problems they encountered. Example http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/598920-z1-vidock-gtx-570-ftw-z2-pmd-killer-38.html#post8087603 .

2. If you do buy Villagetronic gear recommend doing so on your credit card. A NBR user recently wanted to return the gear but had to pay US$60 to ship the suspected faulty goods back to Villagetronic in China, cost not covered by any Paypal protection but would have been if purchased on a CC.

 

The DIY Is much more difficult to cart around due to being exposed and messy on a desk, I wanted a sleek systems that would hold everything.

 

I think I recall seeing on Villagetronic's FAQ:

"Q:Is the only way to output video from the ViDock is by using an external display?
A: All ViDocks need to connect to the External display, the Video can not be sent back to the internal display of the laptop. Our ViDock products provide a way of adding a PCIe graphics card to a laptop."

Seems pretty clear that they don't officially support running the display back through the internal LCD. Otherwise, I'd probably be looking at the Vidock 4 as well. However, I think it should theoretically be possible to put together a DIY eGPU in a "mobile" form factor, just like the Vidock (so long as you use a videocard that draws less than 120W, you could use a universal/generic laptop AC adapter to power it, right?). At least, that's what I'm considering at the moment...I think the hardest part would be making an enclosure.