X220 vs T420

Can anyone help me on this?

It seems to me the only benefit of the T420 is a larger screen. 12.5v vs 14
The x220 has better battery life and lighter..

Am i missing something here?

 

It has an optical drive and optional discrete graphics. Also, standard hard drive and socketed processor. But otherwise that's about it...

 

and better screen on x220

 

Battery life on x220 and t420 is very similar. The t420 has a higher resolution (optional), standard HD bay, optical drive, and IIRC processor is not soldered on. x220 has the IPS screen (optional) and is more portable.

 

It's really the vertical resolution that's more important. I find going from 768 to 900 vertical resolution to be not that much of bump. Most of the extra real estate for HD+ comes on the sides, which doesn't have much value.

I guess I'd vote for the X220 unless you want the optical drive. It's more mobile, can have two drives and has a much better screen. Perhaps the downside of the X220 is the touchpad is fair, but that's not a problem for me as I prefer the stick. In some ways this the Mac vs PC debate. There's no real right answer. Do what works for you.

 

I was asking the same question you're asking OP back in September and I went with the T420 for the larger screen. I carry mine from home to school everyday and use it as my main computer at home and I'm happy with my decision. Battery life is great on the T420 if you get the 9-cell so I don't think it's fair to give the X220 the advantage there. I'm only 5'9 and 120lbs myself so I'm far from well built and I don't have any problems with carrying the T420 around all day, so I wouldn't worry about it being too heavy.

 

It seems to me than the issue is screen size, so is the 14 in real viewing that much more than the 12.5?

1 /12 inch?

 

If wanted an optical drive, socketed processor, and standard 9.5mm harddrive then could also look at a 12.5" HP 2560P. Both the 2560P and T420 have had successful i7-quad core CPUs installed as user upgrades. A 2560P weighs more than a X220 but less than a T420 and imho looks better than both.

 

I vote X220 due to the above mentioned reasons....size/weight, battery life, IPS screen, etc.

With these business class notebooks that have propper docks available, I think it is worthwhile going with the smallest lightest machine that has great battery life and is comfortable to use. That way you have those aspects going for you when taking it on the go, and if you also use it on a desk quite a bit, you can throw it on the dock with a propper keyboard, mouse, much bigger LCD, etc and essentially have a full desktop computer setup. The key for on the go is which size is comfortable for you. Some people may not mind the penalty in weight, size, etc with a 14" vs a 12.5" which they may find a bit too small or cramped for their taste.

 

If I had to choose right now and both systems costed the same then Id pick up X220 for its lower weight, better battery life and better screen.
T420 is too heavy and thick, for real .
(Ive used R400 with 9 cell battery-2.6Kg and T410 with 9 cell battery was something like ~2.3kg. Im also using 12" TravelMate 6292 that weighs exactly 2.0Kg and even that isnt exactly feather weight to my liking, so the closer to 1Kg, the better )

However I dont like X220 design that much, not sure if it looks better in real life or not tho, but looking at the pictures its screen bezel with camera and thinklight design looks ugly and cheap, the same goes for left and right side, feet look too big/tall compared to chassis creating disproportional look when looking at it from left/right sides.