Thinkpads Forum

Hello all,

I'm considering ordering either a T420 or T520, as to ensure getting a CTO machine before inventory of the old design dries up. I previously had a T520 with FHD/i5/HD3000, loved it, and am sorely tempted to repeat the order. My only problem with that machine was how large it was; the 16:9 15.6" screen forces the machine to be rather, well, wide. As such, I'm considering the T420 as well. Whichever machine I get will have an entry-level i5, HD3000 graphics, Intel 6205 wireless, Bluetooth, 6-cell battery, and webcam. Really, the only major differences will be the screen size/resolution, the physical size/weight of the unit, and price (current pricing lets me pick up a per-spec T420 for $675, while the T520 as desired comes in almost precisely $150 more. Cost is absolutely a consideration/concern, but won't be the deciding factor.

As I see it, the pros to the 520 are the screen resolution/quality and flush battery, while its detractors are price, weight, and size and no eSATA (on integrated graphics models). Meanwhile, the 420 offers a significantly smaller footprint, lighter weight, lesser cost, and eSATA, at the cost of a much lesser screen resolution and non-flush battery. Am I missing anything big?

(For what it's worth, the machine will be used for basic office use, MATLAB, etc. Will absolutely dual-boot Win7 and Scientific Linux)

I have a 420 running SL 6.2, which it does very well.
(The 520 would probably do so, too.) You have
to boot the kernel with the right parameters in
order to get decent power consumption with
integrated graphics.

I use the ultrabay to boot up W7 from time to time.
I must say, I am very impressed - W7 feels very "Linux-like,"
especially with a good virtual desktop pager.

I don't like to put W7 and Linux on the same drive because
I have the sneaking suspicion that W7 is going to clobber
my MBR when it updates itself.

The esata is also very nice. There was apparently a bug
at one time which prevented booting off the esata drive,
but that has been fixed, and it's a powered esata port.

My only regret is the lack of USB 3.0, I wish I had both.

sysiphus wrote:As I see it, the pros to the 520 are the screen resolution/quality and flush battery, while its detractors are price, weight, and size and no eSATA (on integrated graphics models). Meanwhile, the 420 offers a significantly smaller footprint, lighter weight, lesser cost, and eSATA, at the cost of a much lesser screen resolution and non-flush battery. Am I missing anything big?

I think that's a pretty good summation. I don't know how much someone here can help. You'll have decide what's more important based on your wants and/or needs, then make the best of it. At some point down the road you'll probably regret it, but that's usually what happens when spending a large sum of money.

Thanks for the replies I ran SL6.1 on the T520 no problem, so I anticipated a similarly-specced 420 would do just fine as well, but it never hurts to get another report

I've heard that the (1600x900) LCD on the T420 isn't particularly good--any thoughts on it? I've been spoiled by a FHD T520, but also managed just fine with the awful viewing angles on an SXGA+ T60 way back when...

ZaZ, I see your point. I mostly just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something glaringly obvious (I remember some previous 14 vs 15-inch models elicited strong feelings)

I work around with T420, T420s, T520, and W520.

I would have to say that the T420s is my favorite. The size, weight, features, and performance make it one of best machines on the market in my opinion. The T420 is a good machine too, as I own the older variation T410 myself, and it is my primary machine. The HD+ screens on the T420 are not that bad, especially if you already used to the viewing angle thing.

I agree that the T520 is just too big and wide. If I were considering a big T520, I would just go all the way with the W520 instead.

My opinion:
I personally prefer the T420. It is very powerful and portable! You can buy a cheap 34mm expressCard to USB 3.0 card if you want.. Only thing is the original HD+ display panel it shipped with was horrible quality. I bought a glossy 1600x900 panel at laptopscreen.com and I'm very satisfied with it! When I put the 6 cell battery from my t410 on the t420 it was fit perfectly...
Cons:
I have noticed that the T520 sells faster/higher than t420 on ebay, so think about that!
Screen resolution:
Also the screen resolution difference is not too noticeable:
1920 x 1080
-1600 x 900
320 x 180 pixel difference << on a screen that's about an inch smaller it's basically the same pixels, just smaller screen.. 

The beauty is, that they are all pretty good models.

SchlageR wrote: Screen resolution:
Also the screen resolution difference is not too noticeable:
1920 x 1080
-1600 x 900
320 x 180 pixel difference << on a screen that's about an inch smaller it's basically the same pixels, just smaller screen..

Actually...the difference between HD+ and FHD is significant, not "basically the same pixels" - that's not a correct math formula.

1920 x 1080 = 2,073,600 pixels
1600 x 900 = 1,440,000 pixels
Difference = 633,600 pixels

The FHD panel has 44% more pixels than an HD+ panel.

That being said, it may only be a couple extra lines of text in a Word document or website.

For what it's worth, I ended up going back to another T520--the FHD screen is gorgeous and offers too much of a resolution advantage to be ignored. Also, I'd imagine it'll likely run somewhat cooler than the more compact T420(s) will. If I travelled more, the 420 would have won, but in the mean time, I'm sure the 520 will keep me happy. I'm awfully glad I'm getting back on the wagon in time to get the classic keyboard!

Congrats. I have the FHD display in my work W520 and it's quite a nice display (if only it were 1920x1200, but hey, close). I hear you on the classic keyboard. My brother has an E420 and it's OK to type on, I was able to get used to it pretty quickly but didn't like some of the layout changes like the location of the page up / down keys, etc. I guess we'll all have to adapt eventually...

I got a T420 today and will start using this afternoon, being forced to make this decision based on the awful design the T430 not has, let's see how it compares to my 4 year old T61 SXGA+

Congrats on the T420 - would be curious your thoughts on the keyboard comparison.