Thinkpads Forum

I got mine yesterday.. will post a quick review soon.

Question though for those who have one. Were you able to get the microphone to work while on skype or gchat? I've been having issues getting the sound card to work while video chatting and whatnot. Besides that, no issues whatsoever!

* Cleared: Double post

Got one last week. Here is my review

The Good:
Okay looking, thin, very good battery life (6-7hours) in Windows. Very powerful processor, and in theory a good discrete graphics card.

The Bad:
Integrated battery, not even any option to install extra battery in optical drive. Weird hardware in general, that will take a few months to get proper Linux support. No games actually work in Windows, they all crash or get confused by the switchable graphics. This will probably be resolved in a few months, but right now gaming does not even work in Windows.

The Ugly:
The screen. Beyond a doubt the worst screen I have ever seen on a laptop. Not only is it low-res, it has poor colors, uses power at an unbelievable rate, and is so glossy it is more mirror than monitor, the mirror effect is so pronounced is very hard to read except when in total darkness locked a cellar. My old thinkpad is has a fried GPU, so while returning this machine I am now using a 6 year old very cheap HP Pavillion, which has a screen very superior to this one.

The ****:
Battery life in Linux. Even after disabling the discrete graphics card in BIOS, and recompiling Linux to use the intel_idle driver, I have only been able to reach 2.5 hours, and that is at a brightness level where the screen was useless. Since the screen is only partially useful at maximum brightness, you will always need maximum brightness, and with that the battery-time on linux is slightly under 2 hours (this is with the machine no work, just disabling sleep, and letting it idling). Combined with the fact that battery is not replaceable makes this laptop close to useless as an portable computer if you a using linux.

Verdict:
For windows: Do not buy! While most things about the laptop work pretty well in Windows. The software situation is a bit immature, and the screen is no good at all.
For linux: DO NOT BUY!! For a Linux user this laptop will only cause you grief.

It sounds as if you have a E420 not an E420s!

pyther wrote:It sounds as if you have a E420 not an E420s!

It is an E420s, and the top model of that by processor and GPU, at full price om 900€.

Maybe my verdict was a little harsh for Windows users. Gaming is probably going to get resolved soon, and some people do appear to like glossy screens. I would just like to warn that this screen is not a normal glossy screen, it is extremely glossy. Useful for putting on makeup while surfing facebook, but not advisable for outdoor-use or even indoor if the room is naturally lit and the sun is shinning.

The problem on Linux too is not specific for this device. It seems Sandy Bridge has lot of new power-saving features that are not working in Linux yet. The problem here is just that the machine is so powerful, and the built-in battery so small (only 4 cell, believe it or not!), that these features has to be used for the machine to be truly mobile.

I should add that it is also very noisy. Not only in Linux, but also whenever you actually use it in Windows. The i5 processor is apparently generating more heat than the slim chassis can get rid off in a quiet fashion.

The smaller (E/X)220 models which otherwise has similar hardware are apparently better, though they are smaller they have larger batteries(!), and anti-glare screen as option.

My e420s has rather frequent fits of freezing with absolutely no chance of recovery, if there's any sound playing whilst it occurs, it'll go on a sound loop, the Fn keys wont work and the only thing that functions properly is the Thinklight........Anyone got an idea? Is it just the OS, or do I need to send this thing back?

Very frustrating buying a new machine then having to reformat out of the box. However, since it was shipped and not retail, I would go ahead and try a reinstall and see if the problems persist.

wonderlustre wrote:My e420s has rather frequent fits of freezing with absolutely no chance of recovery, if there's any sound playing whilst it occurs, it'll go on a sound loop, the Fn keys wont work and the only thing that functions properly is the Thinklight........Anyone got an idea? Is it just the OS, or do I need to send this thing back?

I never saw it die completely, but something very like it happened with a few of games which is why I wrote gaming didn't seem to work reliably yet. I could always CTRL+ALT+DEL to the job-list though and kill the game, the machine was never completely locked.

Neither this nor the Lenovo Forum have been able to provide an answer for me, this laptop is going back to the hell from whence it came, gonna get a new one, but from CDW this time so I don't have to wait another 3 months for the [censored] thing to start SHIPPING.

I replaced the E420s with a T420. I have written a comparison here: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=45&t=97056

With some time behind my bad experiences with the E420s the new comparison is probably more fair, and I also note the few things where the E420s is better than the T420.

BIOS updates always scare me until they've been out for a while. I'll probably just wait a few more days on this one. Sorry about what happened to you, but glad you are smarter than the tech's on the phone.