[mrbill]

I said this in the other thread..

I just bought a "new to me" laptop.

Refurb Thinkpad T420s from 2011.

I added 16G RAM, two Intel SSDs, an Ultrabay battery, and an 802.12ac wifi card.

Grand total: less than $325.

This will be my primary portable for at least 2-3 years, and it's already four years old.

Just because I can afford Apple doesn't mean I can justify the 2x price premium, or that "old" hardware isn't capable.

[kamaal]

May I ask from where you bought it and how did you upgrade it. Looks like a very interested configuration.

[mrbill]

I tend to get my refurb Thinkpads from arrowdirect.com. You can use the code ARROW for 20% off.

I ordered this one as 4G/128SSD but already had the RAM on hand to upgrade it to 16G.

Part sources:

(if you want to upgrade from the 128G) Intel Pro 1500 180G: $55 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Pro-1500-180-GB-2-5-SSD-Intern...

(optional) Intel 310 80G mSATA SSD: $30 http://www.ebay.com/itm/INTEL-310-Series-80GB-mSATA-SSD-SSDM...

Ultrabay battery: $28 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lenovo-Thinkpad-Battery-43-3-Cell-Ba...

Intel 7260 802.11ac MiniPCIe wifi card: $28 http://www.amazon.com/Intel-7260-HMWG-R-Wireless-AC-Bluetoot...

An external USB3 enclosure for the Ultrabay DVDRW drive will run around $30 on Amazon.

To install the Intel 7260 card, you will need to install a modified "whitelist removed" BIOS, as Lenovo restricts what MiniPCIe cards can go in their systems by default. The system comes with an 802.11n card (mine was an Intel Centrino 6205).

My only complaint about ArrowDirect is that if they have a system model that could have different screen resolutions, you have no way of specifying / requesting certain specs; you get what they pull and send.

Every system I've ordered from them (close to ten now) has arrived in near-mint condition; this t420s would be amazingly perfect if not for a scuff of the rubberized paint/coating on the top lid (which doesn't matter to me one bit).

[e15ctr0n]

There's a lot of good stuff on eBay and Craigslist.