Factory refurb T410 - anything to watch for?

I've been looking for a clean used T400 on ebay. They're going for around $400, but of course it's a gamble. Then I thought, for a bit more money a factory refurbished T410 with a warranty looks pretty hard to beat - a newer model, and a much safer bet.

Any catches here, or things to watch for? Any advantage to considering a T420 over this?

Specs:

Processor Intel® Core™ i5-560M (2.66GHz base; 3.20GHz Max Turbo, 3MB Cache)
Operating System Genuine Windows 7 Professional 32 - English
Total Memory 2GB PC3-8500 DDR3 1067MHz SDRAM SODIMM Memory
Hard Drive 320GB, 7200RPM Serial ATA 2.5" Hard Drive
Display 14.1” WXGA+ (1440 X 900) LED, W/ Camera
Graphics Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator HD
Optical Device DVD Recordable SATA
Keyboard/Pointing Device UltraNav (TrackPoint and TouchPad)
Battery 9 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (Up to 8.3 Hours Run Time)
Ethernet/Wireless Intel® Centrino Advanced-N 6200 (2x2 AGN)
Mobile Broadband Integrated Wireless Wide Area Network upgradable
Bluetooth Yes
Integrated Camera Yes
Color Black
Fingerprint Reader No
Form Factor Laptop
Preloaded Software No Software Included
Limited Warranty 1 Year Depot Warranty

thanks!
Dave

 

As long as it's not scratch and dent, it should look new and have a good battery. All outlet machines have one year depot warranties that can't be upgraded. This means no on-site or accidental coverage nor can it added later. IWS doesn't apply either. If you're OK with that, they can offer very good value. I bought my X200 from the outlet. It was excellent and you've got the warranty at least for the first year.

 

You can buy POST warranty upgrades, but they are fairly expensive, as I was looking for a refurbished X220 Tablet.

 

Watch out for awful battery life.

 

I wouldn't call it awful, it's no where near the X20 series, but I still get around 5 hours on a 9 cell battery on my T410 with the Nvidia GFX card.

 

It won't be awful, but I wouldn't expect anything like the T420's longevity.

 

Thanks guys. After reading some reviews of T410 and T420 (including ThinkRob's reviews) I'm thinking I might as well go with a refurb T420 instead.

There's one or two different options that may or may not matter, for instance between WXGA and 'HD+' displays(?) but just about everything else in my price range looks to have the features I want - i5 processor, 7200rpm hard drive, etc.

Any other options to be aware of in buying a refurb T420? (price range pref. under $650)

thanks
Dave

 

The T420 uses 16:9 screens compared to the 16:10 screens from the T410 so the specification of the screens will be between HD (1366x768) and HD+ (1600x900) resolutions instead of WXGA (1280x800) and WXGA+ (1440x900).

Having the higher resolution screen (in this case HD+) will be desirable as it equates to more real estate so you can see more things at once on the screen. Screen quality will be subjective though, generally it's OK for most tasks but its not exactly stellar compared to the X220 (IPS) and W520 (FHD).

 

Thanks Hearst. That's too bad, I always liked the taller aspect ratio of the older 14.1" diplay for most things. I've got a wide-screen and discrete graphics on another old laptop for movies, so I don't need it on this.

So, quality of display on a T420 is a bit of a moot point then - all passable, if somewhat mediocre. And no reason to go back to considering a T410, I take it? (I noticed the ones they have in stock all have a WXGA+ display.)

Just a last thought... are further discounts available, using codes or coupons, on top of the outlet prices?
thanks

 

Most enthusiasts prefer a 4:3 screens as it allows for more vertical resolution, which is more important.

Lenovo does have sales in their outlet from time to time, but not near as frequently as Dell does in theirs. Your guess is as good as mine as when the next will be.

 

I agree, I really don't want the height of the display cut(!) Is there another option with this model - I guess not, we just have to suck it up?

What of the T410? Were the criticisms valid? The ones at the outlet are pretty well-spec'd, if that would compensate some. Still, I didn't like the reports of weak keyboard and sub-par construction. The T420 solved all these problems, if I read the reviews correctly.

So far I have it down to a refurb 'T' model Thinkpad w/ i5 2.4 or 2.5MHz processor, 14" display, 7200rpm HD, 4GB RAM, and Win7 32 bit. Doesn't really leave much but a T410 or 420, does it? 8>)

I've got a week or so to decide, if I can keep my finger off the 'checkout' button(!)

cheers
Dave

 

I'm really not liking the idea of a T420 and the new 'enforced' 16:9 display ratio. Also I've read what seems like tons of T420 user complaints about other issues, in light of which I'm starting to wonder if the T410 was really as bad as initially reported. Well, let's say it was that bad, so what now? I really wanted a T series... 8>/

I actually dislike the idea of the 16:9 aspect ratio so much that I said to hell with it, and started looking for a refurb R61! Given the other potential quality issues with these newer Lenovos I swear if I could find an as-new top-line T61 refurb right now I would buy it instead of a T4xx.

Am I nuts or what? 8>)

 

Do you understand that there's no loss of vertical resolution with HD+, only gain horizontally.

 

Going with what was said above vinuneuro, realize that the 16:9 screen is squeezed into a 14'' chassis. Therefore, although you get the same vertical space, the screen DPI will be slightly higher.

 

If you're willing to look back at old forum threads from the T61 era, you'll find that there are just as many complaints about T61 quality (perhaps even more, if you include the Nvidia GPU failures). People have a tendency to remember past days with fond nostalgia, overlooking the big problems that existed back then.

The T420 screen isn't great, but it's either better than or on par with the 14" T61 screens. Plus, you'll get better resolution at 1600x900 (versus 1440x900), although some of the 4:3 Thinkpads did have 1400x1050 screens. But then, with the latter, the DPI difference is relatively minimal (125 versus 130 in the 1600x900 screen).

 

T61
14.1'' (4:3)
1400x1050
124.1 DPI

T400
14'' (16:10)
1440x900
121.3 DPI

T410
14.1'' (16:10)
1440x900
120.4 DPI

T420
14'' (16:9)
1600x900
131.1 DPI

 

I've owned several models in the T4x series, several T60s, all form-factors of T61, a T400, a T500, and I currently use a T410 at work and a T420 at home.

The T420 is one of my favorites. It's unquestionably better than the T410 in terms of performance, battery life, chassis strength, upgradeability, and design. It's inferior in terms of the texture of the lid and the placement of the CD eject button.

 

In 2008 I paid around $650 for the following new T61 from the Lenovo Outlet:

Today, you can pay $650 for the following new T410 from the Lenovo Outlet:

Because I bought the integrated graphics model, I have not had every possible T61 issue. But I've had most of them. I haven't cared, because it's a ThinkPad, it has the screen resolution I want, and it accepts a second hard drive. Those are the factors that are important to me. When it finally showed up, it had a hard drive password set (the company that had originally ordered it had specified one). I didn't care. I fired up my SystemRescueCd and used it that way until Lenovo shipped me a new hard drive. That was nice of them. I would have ordered one from Newegg myself, because it was my first ThinkPad and I wasn't returning it.

If I ordered a T410 today and it arrived with all the known issues, it wouldn't be going back, either. Because it would be only my second ThinkPad. I don't know what number ThinkPad I would consider returning. I hope to keep ordering them but not to find out.

 

@Kish21: Correct, except the T400 and T410 used the same 14.1" 16:10 screens.

 

As a T410 owner, I would suggest you get a T420. Better build quality and Sandy Bridge.

 

Upon further research, this does seem to be the case. The one article I read on NotebookReview gave me this incorrect figure. In this case, I recommend the T420 even more. The screen on my T400 is less than ideal; forget the colors/brightness, viewing angles are terrible even when head on.

 

T420 reminds me of the R400, it is certainly a worthwhile investment. Also you can upgrade the T420 to the quad core i7 SB CPU.