Where to buy T420s USA/Canada?

Hi there.

Later today I won an ebay auction for a T420s, which showed up to be a T420.

Therefore I'm in the search for a T420s i7, once again.

Does any of you guys know where to get the best price? I have the family and friend EPP login for lenovo canada, but they have 20 business days shipping time, and I'm leaving the country on the 20th for a longer period.

Therefore I need to find some place where the computers are in stock.

When i do a regular google search the prices seems extreeemely high compared to the prices on the lenovo page.

I hope that some of you are able to help me out.

All the best
Niels

 

20 business days? Yikes. I placed my CTO order through the EPP portal on 8/22 and took delivery on 8/29. That was second day shipping to California (from China, no less). I doubt it should take much longer to ship in Canada unless you live in the wilderness.

 

You are probably right, I just can't take the risk.. If they just said 10 days, I would have ordered right away..

 

I like buying from online and ebay sellers, usually get better deals and save sales tax. X220 was the first I didn't because I bought it at release.

Bought a T400 from this seller back in the day, highly recommended for responsiveness and service. Price is one of the cheapest for a new machine and seems especially good for a T420s and the specs.

New Lenovo Thinkpad T420s Laptop, Core i5-2520M 2.5GHz, 6GB, 320GB HDD | eBay

This one is pretty good too, slightly cheaper, lower specs, better warranty:

LENOVO THINKPAD T420s i5-2520M 4170-32U,3.2Ghz,3Y MANUFACTURER WRTY! TAKE A LOOK | eBay

i7:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lenovo-Thin...24408403?pt=Laptops_Nov05&hash=item3f0e648553

 

The first link looks pretty cheap, but I really want the i7 version, which she doesn't seem to have in stock..

 

This one is pretty cheap for an i7/Nvidia:

Lenovo Thinkpad T420 T420s NVS Quadro 4200M/1GB i7-2620M 3.4GHz 8GB 320GB | eBay

 

I don't think you'll see a noticeable difference in the i5 vs i7.

 

That one is cheap, actually as cheap as the i5's. I have been looking at it for the past days, but it really annoys me that it doesn't have built in bluetooth and webcam.

I know that i will be using the computer for online conference calls, and I love my bluetooth mouse.

Also, it is not possible to contact the seller, i have tried in multiple ways, but I just can't find a way. Ebay wont let me...

Maybe I should look at the i5's, how are they compared? I'm a big photo-nerd too, so I will also be using the PC for photoshop, besides Excel and powerpoint.

I will be purchasing one tomorrow. If anybody has any inputs, they will be highly appreciated..

 

More expensive, but no guesswork... Search Results

 

Pre-config models are insanely expensive compared to CTO from Lenovo let alone what you can get from ebay sellers. On top of that CDW is almost always much more expensive than Provantage, Costcentral, etc.

nkbitsch, just get the i5. There's no discernible difference between the i5-2520 and higher i5's, and the i7. Sandy Bridge IGP is more than enough for Photoshop, discrete isn't needed. Just load up the ram and get an SSD. Plus if the current Optimus is anything like what was in T410/s you'll take a power consumption hit with it.

If you're serious about photo editing and don't use an external monitor the T420s probably isn't the right machine. People consistently complain about it's lousy screen. For Photoshop work using the thinkpad screen you should at minimum get the X220 IPS and best yet either W520 or T520 with FHD.

 

I trolled Lenovo Outlet - Home page - Discounted Laptops, Cheap Laptops, Refurbished Laptops, Discounted Desktops, Cheap Desktops, Refurbished Desktops for two weeks until a machine matching (or exceeding) my requirements popped up.
Scored a new T420s, I5-2540M, 6GB, 160GB SSD, HD Graphics 3000, Windows 7 ultimate, Advanced-N + WiMAX 6250, Bluetooth, Camera & Fingerprint reader for around 2/3 the price on the Lenovo site. As a bonus, the machine arrived with a licensed copy of Office 2010 Home & Business so I essentially another $200 off. 2 day shipping was free so I got it with in week (sine I bought it Friday evening).

Machines popup and vanish from the site all the time, so you need to constantly check it for updates.

Only downside is I had to pay sales tax, but even with tax it was cheaper than anywhere else (including refurbished machines on ebay).

 

Maybe you guys are right. A T420s i5 with an SSD and 8GB ram is the way to go. Regarding the screen, hopefully it won't be as bad as my old X61, besides that I do have a external IPS screen, but, I barely use it.

 

The T420s screen contrast and viewing angle is slightly better than most X61 i have ssen, but it is certainly not in the league of the X220 with IPS.