Y470 vs T420

I've been looking into buying a new laptop (going into college) and was wondering whether I should go for the Ideapad Y470 or the Thinkpad T420. I see that I can get better specs on the Ideapad for a lower price, but it seems to me that the thinkpad is much more reliable and well-constructed.

The ones I'm looking at:

IdeaPad Y470 - $950
i7-2630QM 2.0 Ghz
GeForce GT 550M 1GB
8 GB RAM
750 GB HD 5400 RPM

Thinkpad T420 - $1055
i7-2620M 2.7 Ghz
Intel HD Graphics 3000
6 GB RAM
500 GB HD 7200 RPM

Sorry if I left some important info out, I'm not totally computer literate, but I like to think I know enough of what's going on. I figure that a 14 inch laptop will be mobile enough for me to take around campus, so weight is not too big of an issue. I do however do some light-moderate gaming. I don't really need to be able to play the latest games in high settings, but I would like a laptop that can play some games from the last few years in low or maybe medium settings. Can anyone help me figure out which would be the better choice? Or even another option?

 

What's your budget like? And do you really need the 14" form factor, or will you suffice with a 15.6"? The size difference is probably about <1" on each side.

The T420 also has much better battery life than the Y470, or at least it should, with the 9 cell battery. If you skimp on the i7 2620M upgrade, and go for the i5 2520M, you can save quite a bit of money for just a 3 ~ 5% performance loss. If you skimp on the memory upgrade and upgrade aftermarket, not only will you save a lot of money, but you'll also get more RAM. The GT 550M isn't that amazingly powerful as it only has 96 CUDA cores, the Y570 costs roughly the same and has a GT 555M, but this really depends on your size preference.

 

My budget is around $1100, I would go a bit over only if I can get a really good deal on something, but so far I haven't seen one. As to the size question, I don't really want to go over 14", my current laptop is 15.6" and I feel that it is slightly on the large side for something that I will be keeping in my backpack on a daily basis. If I downgrade to 4 GB, is an after market upgrade even necessary at this point? Or will 4 GB of RAM be enough for whatever I need to do.

Also, in regards to the GT 550M, how much better is it than the Intel HD 3000. I realize that on the ideapad, the i7 2630QM combined with the gpu would be better for gaming, but would I be able to get by on the thinkpad as well?

 

The T420 can do a eGPU setup such as a $160/$210 GTS450/GTX460 for gaming. It's a business grade notebook so warranty and durability will exceed that of the Y470. It also has a 900P + NVS4200M option.

The same spec Y470 you have with an additional BD can be had for $854 here. Y470 might be capable of a $80 900P LCD swapout. That's a lot of performance for the $$.

Perhaps another system worth looking at is a 13" Asus U36SD from gentech? It comes with a quad-core i7 option, has a GT520M dGPU encased in a 3.7lbs 0.75" thick magnesium alloy chassis. GenTech PC - Customize System

 

My budget was about $1100 before taxes, and I went with a W520 because I didn't mind the 15.6" form factor. I think that the iGPU on the T420 should be able to get you through most modern-ish games at lower resolution and low to medium settings. I believe it is around a GT 310M in terms of processing power, or a Radeon HD 5450 or something. The GT 550M is slightly faster than a GT 540M, and a GT 540M can handle most games in around 1600x900 in medium to high settings, I believe.

Unless that 4GB is a free upgrade, just stick with the base 2GB, and buy 2 sticks of 4GB on Newegg or something for like $60 ~ 70.

 

Go with the ThinkPad, it is better built and more durable than an IdeaPad. Also going off to college, it might be a wise investment to look at ThinkPad Protection (accidental damage) or at least the on-site warranty so you don't go weeks without a machine.

The Intel HD 3000 GPU is a decent GPU for light, casual gaming. No way you'll do the latest and greatest. If you go for the T420, I would opt for the HD+ screen (1600x900).

 

I would also recommend getting the Thinkpad. Note that a lot of the upgrades that you are getting on the Thinkpad aren't necessarily worth it, or Lenovo charges too much for them.

A Core i5 is likely more than enough than your needs. Also the 6 gb ram upgrade probably cost quite a bit extra. I would recommend sticking with the stock 2 gb configuration and buying another 4 gb stick yourself (for ~30 bucks) and upgrading it yourself. For instance, I got the T420 in my signature for 930 after tax. The extra money saved can be put into something like an SSD for a really noticeable performance difference.

 

Go with the Thinkpad and get the 1600x900 display upgrade!

The screen upgrade makes a huge difference for multitasking because you can fit more onscreen at once. It will make far more of a difference than the processor, the RAM, or anything. Prioritize it first, and don't get any other upgrades until you have this one. 1366x768 is a rather low resolution for anything larger than 13 inches. It gimps your productivity, and the only reasons it's available are: 1) to make the base price appear lower, and 2) to provide a lower-density display option for people with poor eyesight who need big text.

Also Don't get the i7-2620M processor! It's literally 6% better than the 2520M, and around 5% better in benchmarks. It is not worth the upgrade unless you specifically need the extra cache. Buying the 2620M processor and not getting the 1600x900 screen is a waste of your money going where it shouldn't and not going where it should. (unless it's one of those sales where the i7 is cheaper)

 

the Y470 wins in configuration, but the T420 will win in the long run in terms of quality and reliability.

 

I actually got the y470 in the mail yesterday. same specs as teh one in ur list. It cant even run crysis on low I have no idea why

 

Crysis is a poorly coded game, even newest GPU struggle to play it at highest settings and resolution. GT555M is only one of the lowest tier high end GPU's. A GTX 260M beats it in most benchmarks.