Re: T420 build quality. Is it good after all?
Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 2:47 pm
Can´t seem to find any real review on this particular dislpay, but Sony uses it on their Sony Vaio E Series - SVE14111ELW (E14)...
Let's discuss the issues:
1) Size.
Newer Thinkpads are ridiculously huge. They say the bezel around the screen is so big to route more antennas (WWAN, BT, WLAN). My opinion is that you don't need to route so many cables, they could perfectly make them flat but shielded and run them behind the screen.
I believe that the real reason is that they don't want to lose the touchpad. With 14" screens and lower, there is not enough vertical space to fit a keyboard, a trackpoint and a touchpad unless you add some artificial height.
Thickness increased to fit cheaper components such as 12.7mm optical drives. What annoys me is that they removed the battery connector from the Ultrabay. In my Dell days I used to have a D600 and the modular bay battery (12.7mm tall) had like 48 Wh or so. I'm pretty sure that with modern batteries they could easily allow you to double the run time without increasing the size at all.
2) Build construction
It's a tank. It's well built, no complaints. It's made of CFRP like someone said and that's the highest quality stuff readily available today (let's just hope nanotubes hit the market soon). The lid is plastic but it's a good thing (for wireless). It does have magnesium inside to reinforce it.
Overall, the T420 is a great machine. It's fast, it has long battery life, it is built very well and ports are plenty and useful. My only complain is size.