What is the best path forward from a T420?
What is the best path forward from a T420?
My beloved T420's bezels are coming apart at the hinge. This has already happened once---I glued the plastic back together---but now is a very inconvenient time for it to happen again. So I'm thinking of upgrading.
For me, the most important factors are:
- Portability - I have to carry my laptop with me on a nearly daily basis.
- Linux support.
- A good keyboard, preferably without the numpad.
- An HDMI port.
- Good battery life (~5 hours with active use should be plenty but more is welcome).
I'm thinking of going with the 8th generation X1 carbon but I'd like to hear your opinion.
i think a lot of people like the t480 and it even has libreboot now
first off, the bezel is like $10 wherever you are, so if that's the only reason to upgrade that's easily fixed. if it's just a final push, then look no further than T480/T490/T495/T14, whichever you can get the cheapest. excellent linux support (spotty fingerprint support though; shouldn't use that anyway), infinitely ugradeable and repairable and absolute stellar performance compared to what you got. make sure you get a good, original battery as aftermarket ones are hit/miss.
I made the same upgrade years ago. skip the carbons and the S-suffix models as they're only marginally slimmer but way more limited in terms of upgrade and repair.
The T14/P14s is so flimsy in build quality that I would skip the entire line. I would rather go through the annoying repair process to replace the keyboard on a T14s than actually own a T14 which flexes in your lap and in your hands.
X13/T14s are actually decent options due to choice of material. They’re hard to find because you have to find a configuration with a good display and 32GB. I still love my T480 though. I just can’t see why they chose such a light build with plastic to appeal to anyone besides their business customers.
Another T420 could be a good choice. They are fairly easy to find cheap and they are the last generation with the 7 row keyboard and non-chipped battery, iirc.
They are not cheap and the 7 row keyboard is quite overrated. Literally any second hand computer for the same price would outperform it in every metric. You also have the problem of choosing between a 13 year old battery or a 3rd party battery.
I've been fine with 3rd party batteries, especially without the auth chip of later models. I used an x220 til it finally gave up recently, and currently use a t520 and a t530. I do prefer the 7 row keyboard though it's not a huge deal. Sure, newer laptops are faster but so what? It's extra expenditure for performance that I don't need. When I want more CPU, I use a server or cluster.