Buying a t410 or t420

[Jetsonic]

I am going to be ordering either a t420 or t410i Thinkpad one of these days, and therefore seek some advice.
I've read the nice t420 review in here which makes the t420 sound superior in many ways. The t410i cost slightly less, but my main focus is the hardware. Which would you recommend?

The t420 is:

Core i5 2,3 2410m
4g ram
wxga++ 1600x900
NVIDIA NVS 4200M / Intel HD Graphics 3000
500gb hd 7200rpm
1845.00 usd

the t410i is:

Core i5 2,66 480M
4g ram
wxga+ 1440x900
NVIDIA Quadro NVS 3100M / Intel HD Graphics
320gb hd 7200 rpm
1727.00 usd

[blackomegax]

sandy bridge is a vast upgrade.
as is the GPU.
if you got a 420, you'd only need the intel gpu to match the 3100m, the 4200 is roughly 2x as fast though.
that's a no brainer for the small cost difference.

[ZaZ]

Which would you recommend?

When you don't say much about what you want or need, it's hard to tell you much of anything. Sandy Bridge certainly offers performance improvements, but whether you notice them depends on what you do. Typical notebook usage is not very CPU intensive, but if you push the CPU frequently, Sandy Bridge may offer some benefits.

[Q-Ball]

And even if you don't push the CPU frequently you've still got better idle battery life.

Also the T420 is better built, and doesn't have a possible CPU whine.
Though it's 16:9 it's got a higher resolution than the T410 does, which is 16:10.

[blackomegax]

the T410 has depreciated more than the offer you got, as well.
you can find 3100m models for as low as 700 if you're good.
that kind of price difference would change the game. but as it is, get the 420 for barely extra cost.

[visionviper]

And even if you don't push the CPU frequently you've still got better idle battery life.

Also the T420 is better built, and doesn't have a possible CPU whine.
Though it's 16:9 it's got a higher resolution than the T410 does, which is 16:10.

Personally I think 16:10 resolutions are much better than 16:9. Also, The T410 was available with a higher resolution than the current T420.

[Q-Ball]

Personally I think 16:10 resolutions are much better than 16:9. Also, The T410 was available with a higher resolution than the current T420.

1600 x 900 (best on T420) > 1440 x 900 (best on T410)

Just to clear that up- there are more pixels on the T420 he mentioned than on the T410.
It's a bit wider and shorter, but the screen will also be clearer since those 900 vertical pixels are closer together than they would be on that 16:10 panel.


I like 16:10 more than I like 16:9 too but there are more pixels in the 16:9 panel (1 of 2 reasons I picked the T510 over the T410 last year, actually).



And the T420 is the better deal here- it's more expandable, has better battery life, has a bigger hard drive, and has a much better graphics card. To put that in perspective, the NVS 3100M in the T410 is about as good as the Intel HD Graphics 3000 in the T420.

[visionviper]

1600 x 900 (best on T420) > 1440 x 900 (best on T410)

I see the option now. For some reason I was thinking the T420 didn't have a display upgrade available.

[Jetsonic]

Thanks for all replies. I've ordered my 420, and am really looking forward to begin working with it.