Upgrading lenovo thinkpad t420

Okay I know the bear minimum about computers but im about to buy the t420. Its comes with 2gb of memory and a 320 hard drive and from what I can tell this is pretty pathetic.. The upgrade costs are ridiculous though so I was wondering if I could upgrade both by myself?

I was wondering if someone could give me a little rundown on what to get as I want to order these simultaneously with the laptop.

Also im from canada so if I buy online it needs to be able to accept payments from canadian credit cards. I can ship it to the us though as I live close to the border.

Thanks.

 

Unless you want to take apart the keyboard to upgrade both RAM modules, I would order it with a 4GB (single module) configuration.

The HDD I would be looking at is the WD Scorpio Black 750GB model (fastest that is currently available).


Looking at the online shop though:

See:
Lenovo - Laptop computers - ThinkPad T420s

There is a good sale happening now.

You can order the T420s with 8GB RAM, an Intel 160GB SSD and the upgrade to Win7x64 Pro, the Quadro NVS4200M and the upgraded 6300N wirless (3 antenna) for ~$200 less than the base model is normally sold for ($1336.22 savings from 3426.98).

Final price: $2090.76.

I don't know if these links will work:

See:
Lenovo - Shopping cart

Make sure you use the coupon: CAPCIVICHOLIDAY

Note that this is for the new/upgraded 's' model series too. Not the standard T420 (but I'm sure they're on sale too.

I'm not suggesting you waste the savings they're offering - but it is nice to get a system like a ThinkPAD delivered exactly the way you want, right from the manufacturer.

So, what was your budget, anyways?

Good luck.

 

Lol, I'm looking to spend ~$1000.00, not $2000.00

Also, I'm defintly not paying another $80 for a 4GB.

 

Okay, we know the budget!

So, you think you can take the keyboard apart (successfully) then?

Hope I helped a little.

 

I read there was two places you can insert the memory card and the other was easier?

Also where do i find the upgrades? I found a 4GB PC3-10600 DDR3-1333 Low-Halogen SODIMM Memory on the lenovo site for $50.00, is there anywhere else I can find one for cheaper? How do i know if it's compatible?

Also where can I find the other upgrades?

 

All you need to 'match' is this: 'PC3-10600 DDR3-1333'.

Other than the HDD upgrade? Probably only/mostly from Lenovo.

See:
Western Digital 750GB Scorpio Black 7200rpm SATA II w/ 16MB Cache at Memory Express Computers

See:
GSKILL 4GB PC3-10666 SODIMM for Notebooks at Memory Express Computers

 

Thankyou so much, getting the memory from that website will save me an addiitonal $25.

As for the SATA drive, what is it and what does it do? Also it looks difficult to install... Is it?

 

It's a hard drive (upgrade's your 320GB to 750GB capacity and one of the fastest HDD's available).

 

Okay so just bought my T420!!!

Should I go ahead and buy RAM now so they arrive at about the same time?

 

I've done a lot of research on upgrading the T420 today but I'm still a little confused.

I'm kind of okay with RAM, it seems easy enough, but I was hoping someone could send me a link to a page with the cheapest 4GB memory chip compatible with the Lenovo T420.

As for the SDD, I'm still kind of confused. Does it replace the HDD? How do I know if an SDD is compatible with the T420 or are they all? Where do I put it? If someone could also send me a link to the best deal on an SDD that would be great as well?

 

For RAM you can ask in the Lenovo forum, I've never bothered to learn a thing about RAM. Or you can go on corsair's site, they have a tool to find compatible ram.

I recommend you stick in intel SSDs. They are the most reliable. Read this post if you'd like to know why.

I recommend you avoid intel's 510 ssd. Read it's review on pcper.com or anandtech.com to see why.

That leaves the following intel SSDs.
x25-m series, comes in 2.5" or 1.8"
320 series, comes in 2.5" or 1.8"
310 series, a new mSATA design

Since your T420 uses 2.5" drives you don't want a 1.8" drive. There might be 1.8" to 2.5" adaptors, but better just to avoid 1.8" altogether since you don't need the smaller physical size.

The harddrive in your T420 is a 2.5" drive, to get it out you remove a cover, and slide the drive out. The drive sits in a little cradle (carrage I think it's called), you unscrew the harddrive from the carrage and screw the SSD right on. Then it just slides right in. Then replace the cover. Then you need to install windows (see below).

mSATA
stands for miniSATA, or microSATA, can't remember
These are fairly new, 6months or so, they are about 1/4 the size of a 2.5" drive. It does not replace the harddrive in the T420. It sits in a little port in a different spot. This is nice in that you get a 80GB ssd for speed, and still have a big harddrive for all your data, mp3s, vids and media files. Check out the hardware maintenance manual for the T420 and it will show you. The mSATA port on the T420 is also used for WWAN (data over cellular network), so you can't have both WWAN and a mSATA SSD. No big deal there. Check out the lenovo forum on notebookreview.com, there are lots of discussions about using intel's msata drive. Recommend you go with the 80GB intel mSATA, though some people choose to save money and go with the 60GB.

Intalling Windows to your SSD
There a couple different ways to do it.
(1) Get your laptop, burn recovery disks, install the SSD, use recovery disks to install the Lenovo factory disk image to the SSD.
Pro: quick and fairly easy.
Con: factory disk image takes up more room on SSD than a clean install.

(2) Do a clean install of windows7. Use the serial number that comes with T420 to activate windows.
Pro: takes up less space on SSD
Con: little more difficult, you have have to install drivers from Lenovo. IF you are patient and do a bit of reading in the lenovo forum this is very doable for you. You also need a windows disk to install windows. Somewhere there is a forum post on how to download win7 leagally. I've never tried this myself.

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Edit:
check out ssd and ram prices at newegg.ca they're pretty good.
check out redflagdeals.com for lenovo canada coupons.
somehow I signed up on Lenovo canada for coupon offers, can't remember how I did this tho.
There is also a visaperks.ca lenovo discount. I think the coupons might be better though.
Remember to burn your recovery disks as soon as you get your notebook.
Make sure you upgrade the intel SSD to the latest firmware. Read all of intel's instructions before doing this. It requires downloading an ISO file, using ImgBurn (free software) to burn that iso to optical disk, installing the SSD, then booting off the optical drive.

Just remembered another advantage of doing a clean install on a thinkpad, you can switch from BIOS to UEFI if you want. The advantage is it'll shave 4-10 seconds off your boot time, if you're into that sort of thing. Feel free to read this article if you want to know more http://forum.lenovo.com/t5/General-...s-it-introduced-on-Lenovo-systems/ta-p/466583

 

Wow thankyou very much for the detailed answer, it was a bit overwhelming but very helpful.

I'm assuming the mSATA is the best option for an SSD as it still allows me to keep my hard drive? I also don't really know what WWAN is but im assuming I wont be using it lol?

I'm still kind of confused as to installing windows to my SSD or doing a clean windows 7 install as I really haven't done anything like that.

As of now I'll be trying to find the best deal on the three SSD's you listed though. If anyone could post a link that would be great. I'm writing from Canada but shipping to a US adress shouldnt be a problem as I could always drive over to NY and pick it up as long as I can bill it to Canada.

 

no problem. nice to help people out with what little I know.

mSATA SSD is great if you want to have alot of data on your computer. If you have less than 80GB you might be better off getting the 120 intel 320 SSD.

With mSATA SSD + harddrive:
- The harddrive + ssd will use a bit more battery life than just 1 ssd by itself.
- You'll have windows and the major programs that you use most often, like microsoft office, installed on your SSD. Less used programs can be installed on the harddrive. You'll also have to decide where to put your data, on the SSD or the harddrive. These aren't major problems, they just add a bit of complexity.

Within the next year there will be notebooks with intel SRT (Smart Response Technology). This pairs a harddrive with a SSD, msata or some other small form factor, but it only appears as one drive to the user. This gives you 90% of the speed of just using an SSD. This is pretty neat but not something I'd consider you must wait for. Read this if you want to know more AnandTech - Intel Z68 Chipset & Smart Response Technology (SSD Caching) Review

WWAN
You pay money to a cellular carrier, they give you data over their wireless cellular network. Telus, Rogers, Bell, Windmobile, etc, all do this. They sell usb sticks which are handy if you have a compatible WWAN card inside your computer you don't need the usb stick.
Wireless WAN - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Here's a post of a dude asking about clean install on his Thinkpad x220 with mSATA
http://forum.notebookreview.com/lenovo-ibm/598987-what-i-will-need-use-msata-x220.html

You should read through of few off them. see what the major questions are. Remember you don't have to do a clean install. you can just burn recovery disks. But, if you have access to a windows7 disk, like through a friend, either full install disk or upgrade, you should give it a go. Remember, even though it is your friend's windows7 disk, you'd be using the windows serial that came with your computer to activate it. You friend would not but loosing anything. If you don't have a friend like that it gets a little more complicated. As I said before, I've never tried downloading the legal free version of windows7. I just paid the $200 for the windows7 upgrade disk family pack that is good for 3 computers. But I had 2 thinkpads running vista I wanted to upgrade so it worked out for me.

Here's a google search of the NBR Lenovo forum you should check out clean install site:http://forum.notebookreview.com/lenovo-ibm/ - Google Search

Compare the prices of intel SSDs on newegg.ca to newegg.com. They are pretty close, at least last time I checked. Recommend you just buy from newegg.ca.

Feel free to send me a private message through these forums if you start a thread in the Lenovo forum and I'll take a look at it, or you can message me on twitter (see my signature below). I recommend that you start reading the Lenovo forum. There are some in dept discussions there about everything thinkpad, keyboards and screens especially. Apparently some people preffer 1366x768 to 1600x900 on 15.6" screens, which I never would of expected.

If you have an interest in the latest developments in computers I recommend you check out these 2 podcats.
podcast | PC Perspective ignore the dated 80s music in the intro
The TWiT Netcast Network with Leo Laporte

Thisismynext.com podcast is also hilarious. but not focused on computers.

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Edit:
sign up here to get emails for lenovo coupons. they are pretty good.
http://www.pc.ibm.com/ca/econsent/p..._MobileFreedom_MC&RRID=203931669&esrc=REDFLAG