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    t420 useful in 2016; What more can I do?

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by muad_dib77, Jun 6, 2015.

  1. muad_dib77

    muad_dib77 Newbie

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    I've recently purchased a t420 to be able to remote desktop into my work.
    A simple enough task that the t420 is able to fulfill in spades.. I've a long history with Lenovo machines, so I know a little about them already.

    I didn't know just how up-gradable the t420 was - and ever the "maxxer" I gone a done a few bits.
    mSata 500gb
    SSD 240gb
    16gb Ram
    Blu-Ray Drive

    I've also ordered a 2nd drivebay, for when I need to do some drive-cloning - but that's somewhere between my house and China at the moment.
    CPUwise I've opted for an i7-2820QM - I understand it's the larges CPU I'm likely to run with minimal thermal issues. It's winging it's way to me from the States as I'm typing this.

    The Laptop cost me pretty much sod-all - All in, with the SSDs, RAM, CPU and drive along I'm still at half or less of what a current laptop would have cost..
    And what's more I'd have had no fun modifying it myself :)
    I'm aware that I wont be able to upgrade some elements to current spec..but I'm ok with this..If I want a better screen Hook up a monitor. :)

    On the go this yoke will be amazeballs.

    I've still a few expansion possibilities - the express slot is clear and I've found what appears to be an empty slot below the keyboard that I hope you can help me identify.

    What can I do with this? (Click for bigger)
    [​IMG] - [​IMG]

    Any tips, insights, ideas, comments - most welcome.

    Best,
    Muad
     
    muad_dib77, Jun 6, 2015
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  2. nbrguy

    nbrguy Notebook Enthusiast

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    That looks like the spot for the modem.
     
    nbrguy, Jun 6, 2015
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  3. muad_dib77

    muad_dib77 Newbie

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    Cool - thanks.. I deffo dont need one of them :)
     
    muad_dib77, Jun 6, 2015
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  4. chx1975

    chx1975 Notebook Consultant

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    There are a few things you can do. A) you could look into hacking a quality eDP FHD display into the machine. After all, we have a DisplayPort. Or, you can try http://www.datadisplay-group.com/message/detail/interface-lvds-to-edp/ or http://www.iccfl.com/product_info.php?products_id=21406 to convert the LVDS signals. B) You can look into some serious BIOS hacking to get the machine work with the 16GB SODIMMs from Intelligent Memory. See http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1797721&page=2 for details.
     
    chx1975, Jun 30, 2015
    #4