Friday, September 30, 2011

Lenovo ThinkPad T420 Notebook Review

14-inch ThinkPad T420 business notebook is a great monitor, keyboard and drums. We explain why this "business rugged" notebook is the ideal choice for customers consuming.

Ordinateur portable de 14 pouces The ThinkPad T420 UN écran d'affaires an excellent, un clavier, la vie et de la batteries. Nous pourquoi cette expliquons "activité robust" portable est un excellent Choix travaillent dur pour les clients here.

Our review unit has a few options, particularly for high-resolution display 900p, slightly faster Core i5-2520m dual-core processor, Nvidia graphics card, 500GB 7200RPM hard drive, and muscular, 9-cell battery. Overall, this configuration is more than enough power for office productivity, and is a good value.

Hard Drive Our T420 is a champion high-speed Hitachi Travelstar Star model, which greatly helps the performance - hard drives / storage system is the slowest part of a modern computer. To this end, the main reason that Business Notebook others like the Dell Latitude E6420 ATG and HP EliteBook 8560p has produced a significantly higher PCMark the results are as king for money unit was equipped with a faster solid state drives ( SSD) ... which is also the option to T420.

Specification Lenovo ThinkPad T420 :
  • 14-inch anti-glare 900p display (1600x900 resolution, 320 nits brightness)
  • Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
  • Intel Core i5-2520M dual-core processor (2.5GHz, up to 3.2GHz Turbo Boost, 3MB cache, 35W TDP)
  • Intel QM67 chipset
  • Nvidia NVS 4200M 1GB dedicated graphics card
  • Automatically switchable to integrated Intel HD graphics via Nvidia Optimus graphics-switching technology
  • 4GB DDR3-1333 RAM (1x 4GB; supports up to 8GB - 2x 4GB)
  • 500GB 7200RPM Hitachi hard drive (HTS725050A9A364)
  • Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205 wireless card
  • No internal Bluetooth
  • Integrated 720p HD webcam
  • Modular DVD burner
  • One-year limited warranty
  • 9-cell battery (11.1V, 94Wh, 8.4Ah)
  • Weight: 5.34 lbs. w/ 9-cell battery (4.84 w/ 6-cell)
  • Dimensions: 13.4 x 9.05 x 1.18~1.20 inches.
  • Starting price: $849
  • Price as configured: $1,229
Building and Design
T420 seems, more or less like what they have always seemed the ThinkPad. This is a classic design that puts function over form. Take for example, the outer plastic. They Matte Texture is a scratch-resistant and does not show fingerprints / dust (unlike the shiny plastic).

Plastics are high quality and do not rattle when you use the nail. Fit and finish is responsible for about - and there are no sharp differences between the different pieces are the same.

The strength of the chassis is excellent; T Series ThinkPads have a strong internal structure that prevents flex. It's good for the internal circuitry - the less they flex more in the long term. The lid is securely attached to the chassis by two metal hinges. The cover itself does not display good protection against shock and pressure, but lack of support from magnesium alloy notebooks like the Dell Latitude E6420 or the HP EliteBook 8460p.

Overall quality and construction are excellent. Note the T series notebooks are very popular for use in business fleets, should handle years of abuse by employees of the not-so-careful to provide a good return on investment for the company. They are made to last and it shows.

Updating the T420 is a simple task, one under the chassis cover has the memory and hard disk slides on the left side of the chassis.

Ports and Features
The T420 has a range of solid ports of entry and exit. It is also interesting to note that the T420 has a docking station port on the bottom - Lenovo sells several different models, each offering plug-and-play compatibility and links to many more ports. This feature is a characteristic of a true business notebook, the lower-end "business" books have not, or consumption patterns. All descriptions of the image from left to right.

Screen and speakers
The T420 has a 14-inch screen with anti-reflective coating. It is available in two resolutions: 720p (1366x768) and 900p (1600x900), ours was the last and is a good thing to do, if I complain. 1600x900 display has an area of ​​almost 30% higher compared to 1366x768 - which means less scrolling through lines of text can be displayed at once (or in more detail in a high-resolution image). It also allows the use of two windows side by side.

The display has 15 levels of brightness and contrast enough, the command prompt appears infamous black with just a hint of gray. Viewing angle typical of a TN panel, like that, fine horizontal, but with a significant color distortion vertically. Almost all laptops come with TN panels.

The anti-glare coating is more proof of this laptop is designed for productivity - not a mirror as a blank screen and therefore does not have annoying reflections. It is easy to clean as a bonus.

The T420 sports two stereo speakers on either side of the keyboard. They are sufficient to see the occasional clip, but lacks volume and bass to enjoy the music. I appreciate the dedicated volume control (up / down / mute) buttons above the keyboard - it is practical.

The keyboard and touchpad
Since the design, the T420 has a keyboard ... a bit like ThinkPads have always had - a big one. While Lenovo is introducing controversial "Chiclet" keyboard or style of "island" on some lines and more consumers ThinkPad T-series style stays true to the form of a standard keyboard (perhaps should be called an old "school "because apparently the keyboard" keyboard "is not enough).

Tactile feedback - which means to press the keys - the race begins with the keys, or the distance between the position of pressed and unpressed. T420 keys have exactly the right amount of travel for the muscles to perform a key is pressed a finger, which is essential to write fast and accurate.

In addition, the spring mechanism (not really a source, but a chisel dome switch / rubber, but that's for another article) extracts the keys away, but is rigid enough so you can rest your fingers on the keys.

I could go on the keyboard all day, but limit myself to two points above. First, the keyboard layout is fantastic, has the [FX] button at the top were divided into groups of four as expected and the page start / end / up / down / delete cluster separate keys. Finally, the keyboard is quiet and submitted for use in meetings and classrooms alike - no pressure or click, just pleasant noise eighth.

The T420 has a "UltraNav" alternative of the touch screen and rubber red trackpoint in the middle of the keyboard. The touchpad looks a textured anti-glare surface is actually a bit uneven for my taste, from a gentle touch panel.

On the positive side, the rougher surface, which is very accurate. The trackpoint is the best in the business, sensitive and with excellent leadership. I prefer this because it is not necessary to remove hands from the keyboard to do so. Finally, the buttons are quiet and have sufficient depth to provide sound feedback. They are easy to find by touch.

Overall, there are not enough good things I can say power supplies, are the gold standard. If you want to buy a laptop with a good keyboard / touchpad not see it in person, the ThinkPad may be the best bet.

Heat and noise
There is a fan exhausting the air back towards the bottom left corner of the platform. Minimum, is virtually silent, load develops a little squeak, but it's still quiet enough to be taken into account (in a quiet office). It 'nice that the fan is located in the rear, so that does not blow hot air is left-handed. The same notebook stays cool throughout intensive sessions also benchmarking.

Battery Life
Our T420 has the option of 9-cell battery with a rating of 94Wh enormous. I measured about 10 hours, 100% to 0% in our standard battery of tests summary (Windows 7 the profile of the diet, screen brightness 70%, wireless and update a web page every minute).

This makes the T420 one of the toughest laptops out there, even compared to netbooks. Unrealistic to expect a range between 8 and 10 hours for daily use or if you have a solid state drive (SSD) and turn the screen brightness to a minimum.

The battery has certainly helped the Nvidia Optimus, which shuts off automatically when the Nvidia graphics card dedicated 3D processing power is needed (95% + is the time for the "typical" for business users).

Conclusion
Lenovo ThinkPad T420 is a well-designed 14 business notebooks. "ThinkPad is the brand qualities, including a high quality construction and a superior keyboard. I liked almost everything about it. Anti-glare prevents glare screen with a resolution of 1600x900 and gives a lot of work. The keyboard has a layout very functional and trackpoint and touchpad is easy to use. All these features can be taken to the road with the battery in 10 hours from the 9-cell option.

Other advantages of the laptop includes a good selection of input / output ports, and dedicated volume buttons, a port docking station and a swappable modular bay battery (ours was occupied by a DVD burner).

Complaints? Yes - the speakers are poor, the design does not appeal to those looking for something tangible, and ... that's all. Oh, it's a bit thick and heavy for a 14 "model, but also offers the Lenovo T420 model, which is thinner.

In short, the ThinkPad T420 is not only a good business laptop ... The T420 is an excellent choice for home professionals and students.

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