HP's model with the smallest possible 3-cell battery comes to 2.07kg, the same as the Dell E6420 with a 4-cell battery. The standard model of Lenovo's T420 weighs in at 2.24kg, that is, with a 6-cell battery included. Taking another look at the competition (Lenovo T420, HP 8460p), we see that the other contenders for your money also weigh a similar amount. The fans and heat sinks, the processor, memory, PCI module and the CMOS battery are all ready to be tinkered with once the cover is off. The rest of the hardware can be accessed by removing a cover along the bottom of the base unit which is fastened with a few more screws. The hard drive is secured by four screws, after removing which it can slide out from the case sideways. Repairing or switching out hardware is quite easy. Instead, they've gone with a long rubber strip encompassing the entire screen, which should serve to protect the screen and keyboard from dust particles getting in when the laptop's closed. Like HP, Dell is stepping away from the approach of sticking individual rubber pads along the display to soften closing. The display lid takes a bit of effort to tilt back but barely bobs back and forth after being adjusted. According to Dell, the display lid hinges are composed of tough steel, which is however not visible on the surface-as is the case with Lenovo Thinkpads-but is rather covered up a by a layer of magnesium. This includes the display lid that won't budge even a millimeter under pressure. Our attempts to dent the surface had no effect whatsoever.