t420s Display

[puma]

Hey guys, I have a t420s... and I have to say the display is just god awful. For a laptop of this caliber.... wtf? when you put it next to another machine you notice just how awful it looks. Double so when you are using a monitor for extended desktop. What is the thinkpad with the nicest (glossy) type screen?

[ausmike]

yips.... I got SAME SHOCK .. when I first booted up my new T420s,,,,,, and yips its FAST, SLICK !! ..... and even though I have sw Graphics (think this is not avalible anymore) ,,,, the DISPLAY SUCKS big time. I was even game-enough to email the THINKPAD PRODUCT MANAGER about it ,,,,,, seems it wnt to deAF Ears! I am not even a GAMER with laptops so ext display makes no sence - mine often is work/travelling laptop
Due to this mess - I ended up getting a X220T ( a little better) ,,, but than had way to many issues ended up replacing both with a Sony Z2 Series with 1080P display +SSD_256..... blah blah.....

Lenovo laptop-Screen - Best Choices around = X220 with IPS panel
OR
- X1 with Infninity Glass ....... (to get this make sure you choose the option :
"" 12.5" Premium HD (1366x768) LED Backlit Display, Mobile Broadband Ready, 2x2 Antenna the "Premium HD Display""

2x2 = above will give you Webcam + Broadband card
3x3 = give you NO WEBCAM with BB wirless + extra (3rd)Anetnna for 'stronger singals"

Pls check with Lenovo Sales , as things often change in a drop of hat ,,,,,,,,
Hope this helps
Cheers

[sjthinkpader]

That display is made for low power. Brightness is low, color filter is thin making low color saturation. That's how the T420s can run 5-6 hours on a tinny battery. I use a T60p with UXGA IPS (Flexview) at home and it is at the other end of the spectrum. But it'll be lucky if it last more than 2 hours on a full charge.

I came to like the T420s' portability a lot but along with that something has to give. I tend to move windows to the desktop monitor too for better readability.

[ausmike]

That display is made for low power. Brightness is low, color filter is thin making low color saturation. ........I came to like the T420s' portability a lot but along with that something has to give. I tend to move windows to the desktop monitor too for better readability.

Seems you are saying LOWER POWER = means you get LOWEST QUALITY SCREEN

Am kidna confused at bit; so if you saying that screen gives "lowersaturation etc" to make the Battery last longer ..................ummmm I have a SONY Z2 series machine and it does pretty much easy on full HD (1080P) display with near 8 hrs ( normal use on flights from Europe to USA) ,,,,,, its easy !!

INMHO..Lenovo just chort changed a lot of T&Edge $20s users with lowest & crappy QUALITY SCREEN..... and thus using that as excuse for 'lowering the pwoer consumption"....... if this same lodic was applied , than MOST MAC PRO laptops would only last 1-2hrs in battery mode ...I had the T410s with SW graphics before , its a a solid machine with better VLUE for money vs light and SPEED of proc etc etc ,,,,,,in my view. sad day when I trade mine to what IO thought was better one to a T420s ,,,,,as T420s has that SAME crappy screen with PLUG IN POWER !!!

Sorry dont want to sound like sour-graps , sicne I already jumped ship ,,,,,, cannt deal with ENDLESS 'lame' explications from lenovo ! However I still have my T60 and T61 with FLEXviews ,#home ,,,

[sjthinkpader]

There are a lot of variables here. Your Sony Z2 8 hr experience was with a 6 cell or 12 cell battery? What was the lug around weight with the battery that did 8 hr?

Was it really 1080p? Sony Z2 screen spec that I can see is the same 1600x900 as T420s. Z2 is 13.1 vs T420s' 14.1. You don't like the larger dot pitch?

I paid $1000 on Lenovo.com for my i5 T420s. What did that Z2 cost? What did that Mac Pro cost?

And no, I don't work for Lenovo and what I said were from my understanding of LCD, not EXCUSE from Lenovo.

[underclocker]

There must be more than one T420s panel in use. I have recently helped four customers aquire T420s machines and the LCDs have been quite nice, not IPS nice, but very bright with good colors and reasonable viewing angles. I was pleasantly surprised, since they were my recommendations.

[visionviper]

I was pleasantly surprised, since they were my recommendations.

Hahaha. I love the whole "I was worried how it was going to turn out because I told them to buy the T420s"

I have been through a couple Thinkpads now. I've had a T40, X61, X301 and my current T420s. None of them had the benefit of a flexview, or any of the higher quality screen offerings from IBM/Lenovo. The screen on my T420s just isn't bad at all I think. Sure, it can't really compare to my Dell IPS widescreen that I use for my desktop, but I spend many hours on my laptop doing all kinds of things and I don't really have anything bad to say about it. I don't really have anything particularly good to say about it either, but it's good enough for me.

[sjthinkpader]

There must be more than one T420s panel in use...the LCDs have been quite nice, not IPS nice, ..

Yes, there is. I think the earlier ones came with 1440x900 WXGA+. I was surprised to get a 1600x900 HD+. My display is very nice too. Not as nice as a 22in monitor, but good enough to use for a few hours. This T420s is probably the longest battery life machine I've used. Frankly, I am very pleased with the weight reduction from a T61.

[ThinkRob]

Yes, there is. I think the earlier ones came with 1440x900 WXGA+.

All of the T420s models shipped with 1600x900 panels.

There are multiple manufacturers of the panel though -- I seem to remember AUO and LG, but don't quote me on that.

[sjthinkpader]

...
All of the T420s models shipped with 1600x900 panels.
....

Documentation say otherwise:

http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/product ... D=PD014489
but I have a 1600x900.

[pianowizard]

Documentation say otherwise:

http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/product ... D=PD014489
but I have a 1600x900.

This documentation is wrong. 1440x900 is 16:10 whereas the T420s is 16:9.

[sjthinkpader]

What does 16:10 has to do with 1440x900 in 14.1 format?
http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/TFT_display

[dr_st]

There cannot be a 16:9 display with 1440x900. The ratio is wrong. The documentation is wrong.

[pianowizard]

I know of only three Thinkpad models that were designed to use more than one aspect ratio, and the T420s isn't among them:

770X: 14.1" 1024x768 (4:3) and 13.7" 1280x1024 (5:4)

770Z: same as 770X

Z61t: 14.0" 1280x768 (15:9) and 14.1" 1280x800 or 1440x900 (16:10)

[ThinkRob]

If it says that 1440x900 was an option for the T420, it's wrong.

It might be possible to modify a T420 with some T410 parts to accept a 1440x900 panel, but to the best of my knowledge the T420 is not available with anything other than 16:9 screens.

[crashnburn]

So what are the reviews of the 1600 x 900 HD+ panels?

[ThinkRob]

So what are the reviews of the 1600 x 900 HD+ panels?

Not bad, not great.

It's "grainy" if you look up close and try to find stuff you don't like.