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L420 vs. E420s

Performance, hardware, software, general buying and gaming discussion..
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HansPNW
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L420 vs. E420s

#1 Post by HansPNW » Tue Mar 29, 2011 11:30 pm

I apologize if this is a newb question...

I am trying to determine the differences between the L420 and the E420s. As near as I can tell, both are aimed at small business/economy-minded enterprise; the Edge's physical design is a departure from the more iconic Lenovo Black Laptop and is perhaps not as physically robust as the L series??

Following is a screen cap from Lenovo's site (today) listing of two comparable machines. As you can see, the price difference is just $30:

Image

My question is this: Which one should I buy and why? Does one of these machines offer considerably more value than the other? Do I care about the screens? The chips?

Thanks for any advice or insight you'd care to share.

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Re: L420 vs. E420s

#2 Post by RealBlackStuff » Wed Mar 30, 2011 10:46 am

If you want/need to carry your laptop around, any T-model is better.
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Re: L420 vs. E420s

#3 Post by ThinkPad R » Wed Mar 30, 2011 12:23 pm

I'd say ThinkPad E420 because it has lithium polymer battery, which is better than lithium ion, at least in the long run.

I think L420 was designed essentially for the underlings of the corporate ladder, vs. T, W, and X series.

ThinkPad Edge on the other hand may include personal and home users who want a more stylized ThinkPad, so I'd think it'd have better options in terms of quality of components and performance
ThinkPad X230T Intel Core i5 3320M 2.6GHz 4GB 500GB HDD Intel HD Graphics 4000 with docking station
Dell Vostro 1420 Core 2 Duo 2.53 GHz 4GB 320GB HDD 256MB nVidia GeForce 8400m DVD RW

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Re: L420 vs. E420s

#4 Post by underclocker » Wed Mar 30, 2011 12:35 pm

This is an educated guess since I have not had the expected pleasure of holding an L-series machine yet. The L-series replaced the R-series, which was a notch below the T-series in finish materials.

I've had several Edge machines and their finish quality is several notches below the T-series, however, I do like their design and look.

I would expect the L-series to feel better and perhaps hold up better to general wear and abuse. Both will perform equally, since that is mostly a function of the specifications.

In order of quality, it's generally W or T or X > L > SL > Edge
T510, i7-620m, NVidia, HD+, 8GB, 512GB Intel 545s SSD, Webcam, BT, FPR Home
T400s, C2D SP9400, Intel 4500MHD, WXGA+, 8GB, 160GB Intel X18-M G2 SSD, Webcam, BT, FPR Travel
Edge 14 i5-540m, Intel HD Graphics, HD, 8GB, 180GB Intel Pro 1500 SSD, Webcam, BT, red cover Music

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Re: L420 vs. E420s

#5 Post by dr_st » Wed Mar 30, 2011 1:48 pm

underclocker wrote:In order of quality, it's generally W or T or X > L > SL > Edge
Don't know about the Edge, but generally L=SL in everything I saw (it's the same exact machine only that SL doesn't have a docking station connector).
Thinkpad 25 (20K7), T490 (20N3), Yoga 14 (20FY), T430s (IPS FHD + Classic Keyboard), X220 4291-4BG
X61 7673-V2V, T60 2007-QPG, T42 2373-F7G, X32 (IPS Screen), A31p w/ Ultrabay Numpad

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Re: L420 vs. E420s

#6 Post by underclocker » Wed Mar 30, 2011 3:47 pm

ThinkPad quality formula revised; W, T, X > L, SL > Edge (although, I'd say the X100e & X120e are more in the L, SL range)
T510, i7-620m, NVidia, HD+, 8GB, 512GB Intel 545s SSD, Webcam, BT, FPR Home
T400s, C2D SP9400, Intel 4500MHD, WXGA+, 8GB, 160GB Intel X18-M G2 SSD, Webcam, BT, FPR Travel
Edge 14 i5-540m, Intel HD Graphics, HD, 8GB, 180GB Intel Pro 1500 SSD, Webcam, BT, red cover Music

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Re: L420 vs. E420s

#7 Post by ThinkPad R » Wed Mar 30, 2011 3:55 pm

R50s and R60s were probably okay, near T series in terms of quality.
R40 that I had was several notches below... it made me want to get T or X series so bad, but they were unreasonably pricey for the models that include discrete graphics cards
ThinkPad X230T Intel Core i5 3320M 2.6GHz 4GB 500GB HDD Intel HD Graphics 4000 with docking station
Dell Vostro 1420 Core 2 Duo 2.53 GHz 4GB 320GB HDD 256MB nVidia GeForce 8400m DVD RW

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Re: L420 vs. E420s

#8 Post by sir_synthsalot » Thu Mar 31, 2011 10:24 pm

My question is this: Which one should I buy and why? Does one of these machines offer considerably more value than the other? Do I care about the screens? The chips?
My vote is for neither. At almost $800 a piece I don't think they are good value. If you want a Thinkpad I'd go with the T410i. On sale you can get it for almost that price.
I'M DONE WITH THINKPADS, JUST DONE!!!

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Re: L420 vs. E420s

#9 Post by HansPNW » Fri Apr 01, 2011 12:29 pm

Thanks to everyone for their responses. I decided that I needed a T420 instead. :D I stopped by a big-box store to put my hands on an Edge and found that I needed more durability (my current laptop has MB issues due to flex, and I don't want to deal with that again). By the time I'd spec'd out the T420, I'd spent more than I would've for an L420/E420s but I think I will be happier with the higher res. screen (looks like I can't run CS5 on a 1366x768 without occasional issues). Also, I get about 5-6 years per computer so the per-year cost difference isn't great.

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Re: L420 vs. E420s

#10 Post by underclocker » Fri Apr 01, 2011 7:57 pm

Great call. You should have no regrets with that one.

The Edge is a fine 7th or 8th ThinkPad, but for a primary, only a T (or an X or W) will do!

BTW, welcome to the forum!
T510, i7-620m, NVidia, HD+, 8GB, 512GB Intel 545s SSD, Webcam, BT, FPR Home
T400s, C2D SP9400, Intel 4500MHD, WXGA+, 8GB, 160GB Intel X18-M G2 SSD, Webcam, BT, FPR Travel
Edge 14 i5-540m, Intel HD Graphics, HD, 8GB, 180GB Intel Pro 1500 SSD, Webcam, BT, red cover Music

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Re: L420 vs. E420s

#11 Post by dr_st » Sat Apr 02, 2011 1:36 am

underclocker wrote:The Edge is a fine 7th or 8th ThinkPad, but for a primary, only a T (or an X or W) will do!
Or a Z! (until they were discontinued, LOL). :P
Thinkpad 25 (20K7), T490 (20N3), Yoga 14 (20FY), T430s (IPS FHD + Classic Keyboard), X220 4291-4BG
X61 7673-V2V, T60 2007-QPG, T42 2373-F7G, X32 (IPS Screen), A31p w/ Ultrabay Numpad

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