I have one as a secondary machine and it runs as well, if not better, than a much more modern Asus I own. I have the i7 model and I hope to expand my ram from 8 to 16 GB soon.

@LaptopRetrospective

Жыл бұрын

Awesome!

This is one of the cooler models that I totally overlooked. What we find here is essentially a regular T420 carbonized. Being the 3rd and last T400s model with the classic keyboard I'm sure there's people that would absolutely adore this unit. And that weight difference is HUGE if you want no compromises on screensize but a lighter classic thinkpad.

@LaptopRetrospective

Жыл бұрын

Lots to like, no question.

Such a well crafted video, as usual. I love that style of thinkpad, I'm still running my venerable T430, Nvidia GPU, M-sata for the OS, despite the gen 2 speeds, 1 TB sata for my files, 16GB of 1866 ddr 3, an i7-3632QM, and of course the 1vyrain bios, for the faster wifi card etc. It still gets the job done!

@LaptopRetrospective

Жыл бұрын

That's a beast of a machine!

T420s was the first thinkpad! I bought, back in 2014 for $250. Used it for 3 years of university, upgraded it to 16GB with the stock 128GB drive, later upgrading to a 500GB one. Crazy to think it has more memory and disk than my current laptop, a 8/256GB M1 Macbook Air.

@LaptopRetrospective

Жыл бұрын

Memory speeds and CPUs of course have come a long way. That being said, it sounds like yours has had a distinguished service life.

@ContraIsBased

3 ай бұрын

cual es la diferencia entre esta y una t420 normal? pregunto porque quisiera hacerle unas mejoras en cuanto a la tarjeta grafica y el hardware en general pero tengo entendido que la t420 es mejor para eso que esta

i swear think pads are so good literally when i got one in 2014 IT WAS PHENOMENAL i ran linux and i kid u not IM WRITING THIS FROM THAT SAME THINKPAD!!!

@LaptopRetrospective

Ай бұрын

They do last so easy to believe. 😎

Got this around a couple of years ago, upgraded with SSD and increased RAM to 16GB. It is now my server, running Plex. I love it to.

@LaptopRetrospective

Жыл бұрын

Fantastic!

One of my favorite ThinkPad models! Fantastic device.

@LaptopRetrospective

Жыл бұрын

It is pretty slick. What did/do you use it for?

You certainly make it sound tempting! Still chugging along with the T530 from four years ago. Still works a treat, although there was a month where it kept glitching and crashing. Turned out that it didn't need thermal paste or different RAM... it was just the friggin' Intel HD drivers! Augh!

@LaptopRetrospective

Жыл бұрын

Blasted drivers!

Had trouble with my T420s i7 which ran hot and the fan was loud and constantly running. On the other hand, I had a great experience with T430s i7, which I still daily drive. The keyboard is better on T420s, but it can be retrofit onto T430s with a little effort. Great video and thanks for ThinkPad coverage!

@LaptopRetrospective

Жыл бұрын

Interesting, I wonder what was the cause of the heat. Glad your T430s is going strong.

@AmonGus-hw6sp

9 ай бұрын

Might want to check the thermal paste on your T420. I've also heard of people transplanting later heatsinks into older thinkpads.

@carltoncotter2614

6 ай бұрын

Natehowe - I am obsessed with my T430s which I have not turned off since 2012 for as much as 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. I would like a better screen and love the deep dish keys (vs the chiclet keys) on the older model. Any idea where to go for parts to replace the CPU, SSD, old school keyboard and higher res screen for the T430s?

@LaptopRetrospective

6 ай бұрын

@carltoncotter2614 best place for parts is usually eBay.

What i love about Lenovo is they build laptops that are built to last unlike other manufacturers. I still use a T460s bought second hand a couple of years ago that still works perfectly with zero issues

@LaptopRetrospective

Жыл бұрын

ThinkPads continue to impress and last.

@FlyboyHelosim

Жыл бұрын

Dell would like to have a word with you, especially their machines from the same era.

@matthew6994

Жыл бұрын

@@FlyboyHelosim I would like a word with Dell too as several of their modern laptops we use at work are falling to bits unlike Lenovo. I have also experienced various hardware issues with the XPS range in the past

@FlyboyHelosim

Жыл бұрын

@@matthew6994 The modern ones from any manufacturer aren't as good as they used to be, even ThinkPads, but that's just the trend and nothing fundamentally to do with a company. Dell also do many lines of laptops, and not all are equal. This is one of the issues faced when people blindly compare a Dell to a ThinkPad.

I bought 2 T420 2 years ago for my sons running linux mint they never complained ,I have also a X220 still using daily.... I have also a T470s it will be the next laptop for the daily use..

@LaptopRetrospective

Жыл бұрын

Fantastic lineup!

I bought my T420s a few years back for about $150, mine has 8GB of RAM, put in an SSD and it is still running Windows 10 pretty nicely. Will be switching it to Linux at some point before Win10 support ends, and I expect this old tank to continue running for years to come. One minor issue with mine is I’m locked out of the BIOS with a password from the previous owner, requires some low-level chip work to bypass which is more than I’m willing to do atm.

@LaptopRetrospective

Жыл бұрын

Yeah supervisor passwords can be a real pain. Glad you have a software plan.

Just bought one yesterday with i7 and looking forward to it. Planning upgrades in msata storage and the bay battery.

@LaptopRetrospective

Ай бұрын

Hopefully you can find a bay battery in good condition. 👍

Have had 2 420's, the only reason I sold them was the smell but one of your recent videos explained the reason for that so I know how to cure it, will be looking on EBay for another one as I absolutely love them and love the 'old-style' keyboards.

@LaptopRetrospective

9 ай бұрын

Glad I was able to help solve that.

I have always been a fan of the T series and X series. Being a X fan, makes sense why I loved my T410s. Now running the modern successor, the X1 Carbon.

@LaptopRetrospective

Жыл бұрын

Excellent machines, the lot.

I've got four storage devices in my Dell laptop, plus one in the dock. As it's my main system it's perfectly reasonable to have that many storage options, and there's room for more than even what I've got.

@LaptopRetrospective

Жыл бұрын

That's awesome. It's fun to see how far these older machines can be pushed.

@FlyboyHelosim

Жыл бұрын

@@LaptopRetrospective They can be pushed much further than anything modern what with the number of, and different, ports and slots.

@MrKillswitch88

Жыл бұрын

Got 10.5TB worth in drives in my daily driver (Precision M6800) with one being an nvme in the expresscard slot and will eventually be installing an RTX mxm card at some point. Wish that there were modern laptops that are this upgradeable.

@FlyboyHelosim

Жыл бұрын

@@MrKillswitch88 Hello again. We talked before on another video. 😂

@MrKillswitch88

Жыл бұрын

@@FlyboyHelosim I forgot lol, the things a six day work week does to the mind.

Watched this on my T420S. I think I paid about $30 for it on eBay in early 2020. Mine is the i5 variant with 8 GB of RAM. Since I had a recovery CD on hand, I was able to put the OEM branded version of Windows 7 with all drivers back onto this machine like it was new from the factory. (I realize the risk of running Win 7 post 2020). One thing I find interesting is that the stickers on my palm rest are oriented differently than yours are. I wonder why, or if it has to do with when the machine was manufactured.

@LaptopRetrospective

10 ай бұрын

Nice purchase!

I'd like to put that keyboard on my T440

@LaptopRetrospective

Жыл бұрын

Yeah, haven't heard of a keyboard swap beyond the T430.

just want to contribute my 2 cents on the T420, as I personally have one T420 when it released back in 2011 and still rocking well.. and my T420 is a i7 but it definitely didn't come with a USB3.0 port.. not sure if they change that spec in the later version of the T420 as mine was one of the first batch

@LaptopRetrospective

Жыл бұрын

I know the X220 i7 came with a USB 3 port and the T420s did. I'll need to check on the T420 and what options it had.

I still enjoy using my regular T420 from time to time. Having the IO on the back to me feels more convenient in a way since my arms would touch any dongles or plugs that way, something not given with the regular T420 I have. My device could deserve a thermal paste replacement by now but I am too shy to do it myself :/ The caddy is one awesome feature tho, having additional SSD space that way or another OS is really easy to add.

@LaptopRetrospective

Жыл бұрын

Thankfully a thermal pad/paste replacement is pretty easy.

Great video as usual. Can you tell me the difference between this and a R500

@LaptopRetrospective

Жыл бұрын

I'd say there isn't a lot in common between the two. The R500 would be closer to the T500. This is several generations different.

Any thoughts on starting showing hp elitebooks? I am a thinkpad user, but to be honest they have very bad touchpads, at least the older ones, only this was the reason to learn how to use the nipple. And elitebooks 8th series definitely have better touchpads..glass touchpads, better screens...what do you think? :)

@LaptopRetrospective

Жыл бұрын

Elitebooks and HP machines in general rarely show up around here. They aren't very popular in my part of the world or I would. I'm limited to what I have around me most times when I make videos unless one is donated.

Thanks for the review but you didnt mention CPU or GPU upgradability. I was actually interested in the standard T420 model review but couldnt find a video about it on your channel.

@LaptopRetrospective

11 ай бұрын

On the s models they are soldered so nothing to upgrade.

@rogueninja185

11 ай бұрын

@@LaptopRetrospective alright, thank you.

This is a great machine. I have one. But I cracked the planar when it fell with a USB cable plugged in :( It still runs but I cannot pick it up while running.

@LaptopRetrospective

Жыл бұрын

Ah, sorry to hear about that. 😬

I want this laptop soo badly, but for some reason it was not released here in India

the perfect thinness of a laptop chassis with no compromises to cooling and key-travel. with modern screens this could be what everyone needs IMO. some fanboys will disagree

@LaptopRetrospective

Жыл бұрын

Business machine designs are largely dictated by the companies that buy them. It will be interesting to see what gets them to move back from thinness.

@oussama4629

Жыл бұрын

@@LaptopRetrospective yep. unfortunately it sucks that reviewers and light users consider thinness as a feature. to some extent it is but no to this point where it ruins the whole experience of using a laptop. and thinness does not equal lightness so i don't see a reason to make sub 15mm machines

@LaptopRetrospective

Жыл бұрын

I've talked to some key people and they think that that battle of thinness has more or less come to its conclusion for now.

BTW by doing some research, they say t430 is alright for university if upgraded enough, why do many change the screens of these machines?

@LaptopRetrospective

9 ай бұрын

That will depend on your expectations. Batteries are old, CPUs aren't super energy efficient. People change out the screens to avoid TN panels.

@cathoderay6826

9 ай бұрын

@@LaptopRetrospective oh now that's not practical enough

what is the difference between this and a t420? im asking brcause the t420 is very upgradable,can you upgrade a lot with this one too?

@LaptopRetrospective

3 ай бұрын

The s variant is not as upgradable.

Which Linux OS would you suggest for this model?

@LaptopRetrospective

Жыл бұрын

I'm a fan of Linux Mint. It's one of the more familiar distros for people coming from Windows for example.

I ve t420 the only problem is heat idle 50 workload 66 to 75c

@LaptopRetrospective

Жыл бұрын

I've got an X220 that can get a bit toasty.

4 drives may be a more useful option than u think, for example: 1 ssd + 1 hdd + 1 msata ssd + hdd, dual boot cheap small capacity ssds and larger hdd for storage! cheap way to expand ur storage on a dual boot system!

@LaptopRetrospective

Жыл бұрын

Lots of options, no doubt.

I got a few of these for $20 each from my school I work at the It help desk and get dibs on old hardware 😬

@LaptopRetrospective

Жыл бұрын

Very cool, what will you do with them?

Mate I have a question, is it worth to buy a t430 for $106.83,and that too for engineering (college use) 😅

@LaptopRetrospective

9 ай бұрын

If it were me, for university work the oldest I'd probably go now is the T480.

@cathoderay6826

9 ай бұрын

Gotta watch your t480 vid asap lol

@cathoderay6826

9 ай бұрын

@@LaptopRetrospective thanks for the instant reply mate

@LaptopRetrospective

9 ай бұрын

You're welcome!

I am watching this on a T420s :) I have an X301 - it's s-l-o-w ;)

@LaptopRetrospective

Жыл бұрын

What OS are you running on the X301?

@airborneranger-ret

Жыл бұрын

@@LaptopRetrospective Windows 7. I was expecting the X301 to be faster than an X201/X220. It isn't. :(

@LaptopRetrospective

Жыл бұрын

Yeah, the CPU isn't a heavy weight.

@airborneranger-ret

Жыл бұрын

@@LaptopRetrospective You're being kind. I'm typing this on a T61 (T9500) with Windows 7. It's OK, but the X301 was/is slow. I really don't understand it.

@LaptopRetrospective

Жыл бұрын

There are some things you can do like use a modern SSD with an adapter kit, flash a custom BIOS to get the speeds up to SATA II and a lightweight Linux distro.

显然我家里还有一台外观非常新的ThinkPad T410s（原装的），以及一台ThinkPad T400，平时也没怎么用，现在就更用不上了，因为硬件已经完全落伍了。😂😂😂

I upgraded mine to 16 gb ram 1tb msata ssd and two 1tb ssds in raid and a 1080p lcd to bad the nvs4200m sucks

@LaptopRetrospective

25 күн бұрын

Yeah, eventually you run into a limiting factor. Nice upgrades though!

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