Lenovo T420 Windows 10 Drivers, Thinkpad T420 Laptop Upgrades

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Did you know that you can pick up a Lenovo T420 for next to nothing used? Now you may be wondering why you would want to pick up this old and clunky laptop! Here are my reasons for getting one.

I have always been an IBM fan; hence, I am still holding on to my IBM R40 laptop and use it for lab purposes. IBM made robust computers and laptops in the early 2000s. Although IBM sold off their business to Lenovo in 2005, their reputation and reliability are still well known among older computer geeks.

Lenovo T420 Upgrade

Being an older computer geek myself, and when I saw the listing for this Lenovo T420, I just had to have it. The price was too reasonable to pass up. Price wasn’t the only factor that made me get it. I also knew its potential. I knew I could throw out that spinning hard drive for an SSD (Solid State Drive). I knew it was just an all-around functional machine for work or school purposes.

Lenovo T420 Windows 10 Drivers

Ahh and the Keyboard! There is nothing out there, quite like it! I would say the Lenovo T420 Keyboard even beats out the Apple keyboards. Lenovo T420 laptops were the last line up to inherit the IBM version of the Keyboard. So if you want a taste of the IBM quality, this would be the laptop to purchase! The newer line-up of Lenovo laptops completely revamped the Keyboard for the worst!

lenovo laptop t420 review

Lenovo T420 Specifications & Variants

You can pick up the T420 in two different hardware configurations. The ones I have seen come in the following configurations.

Processor: 2.50 GHZ Intel Core i5-2520M

Memory: DDR3 PC3-12800/10700 (Maximum Supported DDR3 Memory is 16 GB)

Display: 14″ (1600X900 Maximum Resolution)

Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 3000

The second popular one includes the i7-2640M processor running at a slightly faster clock speed of 2.80 GHz. The T420 with the i7 processor is also the variant I own. Here is a quick screenshot I’ve taken from CPU-Z.

t420 i7 CPU

Some of them also come with the optional Nvidia NVS 4200M discrete graphics along with the Intel 3000 Graphics card. The “Optimus Mode” in the (BIOS) allows graphics switching when the extra power is needed. The performance difference between the two graphics cards is 20 percent.

Other Capabilities/Specs Include:

  • 1 Express Card 34mm, 5 USB 2.0, 1 VGA, 1 DisplayPort, Thinkpad Modem Adapter Modem, 1 Kensington Lock, 1 eSata, 1 Docking Station Port
  • Audio Connections – 1 audio – headphone/microphone – mini-phone 3.5mm
  • Card Reader – 4in1: SD, MM, SDHC, SDXC, 1 Fingerprint Reader
  • Gigabit Ethernet
  • Wireless NIC Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205
  • Weight: 3.75 LBs

T420 Laptop Upgrades

The reason why you would want to get this beautiful laptop is to bring it to today’s speed and standards quite affordably. Now don’t get me wrong, this laptop is quite speedy and functional even if you don’t upgrade a thing on it. But upgrades can really bring this laptop to face even the 21st Century.

Solid State Drive (SSD) Upgrade

So the first thing you would want to do is invest in an SSD (Solid State Drive).  Solid State hard drives have no moving parts and they substantially increase your laptops performance. They can literally breathe new life into an old machine.  SSD hard drives have dropped in price quite a bit, and you can pick one up for cheap on Amazon.

The above (SSD) is what I have purchased for my T420, and the installation was a breeze. I did not have to get any special adapters/caddy to mount it. I swapped the old hard drive for this new Solid State Drive & used the same mounting brackets.

Second Hard Drive Addition

Now that you have a Solid State Hard Drive (SSD), you may be wondering what to do with the old hard drive that came with the machine. Don’t throw it away or sell it! you can actually pick up an UltraBay hard drive caddy as shown below and mount your old hard drive in it! If you don’t want to do that, you can also add a second (SSD) to the laptop. (This is kind of a best-kept secret still, many don’t know that it even exists!)

It does not fit your 9.5mm high T420s, T430s laptop models.

Upgrade to an (IPS) Display Panel

As one of my readers pointed out in the comments below, you can also upgrade the T420 (TN) panel to an (IPS) panel which will give you awesome image quality from all viewing angles. Here is the display kit that you would need to purchase to make this happen.

FHD Upgrade Kit for Thinkpad T420/T430

Lenovo T420 Quad-Core Processor Upgrade

Unlike today’s slimline of (anorexic looking) laptops, the T420 (CPU)  is very upgradable. You could even today upgrade this T420 to a Quad-Core processor if you want.

Please remember, if you are upgrading Your T420 to a Quad-Core, you will also need to purchase a 90 Watt power adapter.

Some of the possible Quad-Core processor upgrades for your T420 are as follows: 2860qm, 2820qm, 2760qm, 2720qm and the 2630qm.

I will personally stick with the 2630qm version if you are concerned about thermals, with a suitable thermal compound it should keep you close to the stock processor temps.

Below is an excellent video showing the T420 Quad Core upgrade step by step, if you are interested.

Lenovo T420 Real World Usability

A laptop is only as good as the jobs it can handle. That being said, the T420 holds up pretty well in routine tasks, including any type of web browsing, financial management, school work, blogging, standard graphics work, etc. The T420 may not be for you if you are heavily into video editing, gaming and other graphic design work that takes a toll on the CPU. Even if the CPU can keep up, you may be limited by thermal throttling.

Lenovo T420 Windows 10 Drivers

If you already have the T420 and you have just upgraded to Windows 10, you may be missing a few drivers under device manager in Windows. I don’t know about you, but I hate seeing those missing device driver icons even if it is something I don’t even use. Here are the Lenovo T420 Windows 10 drivers you are most likely missing.

Latest T420 BIOS (if you need it)

Card Reader Drivers

Finger Print Software

PCI Port Drivers

The only upgrades I’ve made to my Lenovo T420 is the (SSD) upgrade as well the 2nd hard drive addition or a total of $70 in upgrades. I am quite happy with this machine so far hence I am typing up this article on it! If you own older ThinkPad/IBM models I would love to hear about it. Comment below with the model of the IBM/Lenovo laptop you own, details of your usage and what you like/dislike about them.

    1. Robert Smith August 18, 2019
      • Idle Eye'D August 18, 2019
      • Idle Eye'D August 18, 2019
        • Robert Smith August 18, 2019
          • Idle Eye'D August 18, 2019
    2. Dave February 21, 2020
    3. Michel Such April 20, 2020
      • Idle Eye'D April 20, 2020
    4. Numan June 1, 2020
      • Idle Eye'D June 2, 2020
    5. Andrew Clark September 5, 2020
      • Idle Eye'D September 5, 2020

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