x220 or T420s

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Which laptop should I buy?

  • X220

  • T420s

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B

beginner99

Diamond Member
Jun 2, 2009
5,315
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This week I can get either one for cheap due to student rebates but can't decide. Both are AFAIK the top models with the i7 cpu.

Besides web surfing and the occasional movie when on the road I would use it for development work and office use.

The x220 has the IPS panel but crappy resolution especially for web and dev. use. For me brightness is rather important.

T420s weak battery life but I would replace dvd with an ultra-bay battery anyway. The fact it has a dvd drive just in case you need one can be a plus.
X220 ships with hdd which I will replace with an ssd. How easy is it to create a bootable USB stick to install windows? Anyway it will need some work done. T420s ships with an ssd.

x220 smaller, lighter better battery life (ships with 9-cell), cheaper but involves work to install ssd, better screen quality

T420s better screen resolution, ships with ssd, adaptable (ultra bay),
 
T

texasnightowl

Member
Jan 5, 2011
79
2
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I have an X200 which has been great...but the small screen size does get old. Since you specify development work and office use I would think the extra real estate of the larger screen would be important. So go for the T420s.
 
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beginner99

Diamond Member
Jun 2, 2009
5,315
1,760
136
My concern with the T420s is screen quality and brightness were as with the x220 my main concern is the resolution. if the x220 had a 14400x900 res xor :D the t420s an ips screen my decision would be so easy.
 
P

Puddle Jumper

Platinum Member
Nov 4, 2009
2,835
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I have a x220 and absolutely love it. The resolution isn't that bad, it is a 12.5" screen after all so the pixel density is perfectly acceptable at 1366x768. As far as a SSD upgrade is concerned you would need to either get a Intel X25-M G2, 320 series or some mSATA drive as the x220 uses 7mm thick drives vs the standard 9.5mm. You can get an optional Intel SSD preinstalled from lenovo if you want to avoid the hassle.

The built in recovery disk creator for the x220 allows you to create a recovery USB drive you can reinstall windows from. You will need a 8gb or larger drive if you go that route.
 
G

Gigantopithecus

Diamond Member
Dec 14, 2004
7,664
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71
I've used both extensively and they're both awesome machines. However, if it's going to be your sole/main computer, go with the T420 - the screen will be easier on your eyes during extended use.
 
A

aceO07

Diamond Member
Nov 6, 2000
4,491
0
76
If only the X220 inherited the X61t's 1400x1050 IPS display..

Since it didn't, I'd say go with the T420s. It's not that much heavier and you get faster processors and higher resolution.
 
B

beginner99

Diamond Member
Jun 2, 2009
5,315
1,760
136
i have a desktop at home so it would be more for on the road, coach surfing or if i want to work outside / on the balcony in summer.

both models ship with same i7 cpu. the T420s had the nvs4200 (which I don't really need).
x220 ships with 9-cell.
 
max347

max347

Platinum Member
Oct 16, 2007
2,335
6
81
You asked about installing windows 7 from a usb drive- it is really easy. With a Windows PC, it will take you about 10 minutes to set up the drive including file cpying.

CMD Admin
diskpart
list disk
select disk (usb drive number here)
clean
create partition primary
active
format fs=fat32 quick
assign

Then copy all files from windows disk onto usb drive

boom
 
ViviTheMage

ViviTheMage

Lifer
Dec 12, 2002
36,189
87
91
madgenius.com
I have 2x24" 1920x1200 screens for my main...and for the pass 2 weeks i've been using my x220 ONLY....played some LoL on it (got some 1866 memory), and all of my daily/lounging stuff, and it's been perfect.

I'd really like a higher res on it, but it's very suitable and snappy as hell.

Puddle Jumper said:
I have a x220 and absolutely love it. The resolution isn't that bad, it is a 12.5" screen after all so the pixel density is perfectly acceptable at 1366x768. As far as a SSD upgrade is concerned you would need to either get a Intel X25-M G2, 320 series or some mSATA drive as the x220 uses 7mm thick drives vs the standard 9.5mm. You can get an optional Intel SSD preinstalled from lenovo if you want to avoid the hassle.

The built in recovery disk creator for the x220 allows you to create a recovery USB drive you can reinstall windows from. You will need a 8gb or larger drive if you go that route.
Click to expand...

M4 works great in mine ... wrote a post on it here :

http://vivithemage.com/2011/05/crucial-m4-ct128m4ssd2-128gb-in-x220-modded-to-7mm/
 
P

paperwastage

Golden Member
May 25, 2010
1,848
2
76
beginner99 said:
This week I can get either one for cheap due to student rebates but can't decide. Both are AFAIK the top models with the i7 cpu.
Click to expand...

x220 with an external monitor on your desk would be the best option

haven't done any OS installation via CD/DVD in the past 4 years(installed like 30 times on various machines). all USB driven

max347 said:
You asked about installing windows 7 from a usb drive- it is really easy. With a Windows PC, it will take you about 10 minutes to set up the drive including file cpying.

boom
Click to expand...

I use Microsoft's own USB DVD installation tool. obviously need an existing windows machine to use the tool

http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/...usbdvd_dwnTool

I have a x220 and absolutely love it. The resolution isn't that bad, it is a 12.5" screen after all so the pixel density is perfectly acceptable at 1366x768. As far as a SSD upgrade is concerned you would need to either get a Intel X25-M G2, 320 series or some mSATA drive as the x220 uses 7mm thick drives vs the standard 9.5mm. You can get an optional Intel SSD preinstalled from lenovo if you want to avoid the hassle.
Click to expand...
heard you could remove the drive casing of some SSDs to make it fit the 7mm requirement. you lose the warranty of course of the SSD
 
Last edited:
J

JMahon

Golden Member
Mar 3, 2005
1,245
0
76
We had two loaners from Lenovo, a X220 and a T420s. The experiment was to give to our CEO and then he'd select which he liked the best, as he has an average user. We went with the T420s, as did he. Now we have a few T420s' deployed, some with SSDs and some with HDs but I do not regret choosing this for our company. We've went from T4x, T6x, T400, T410 to the T420s and I think we've made the right choice. This is my most favorite laptop of all the T-series I've ever tried.
 
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