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It is possible to upgrade to IPS display in a T420. This is a starting point. It needs a special controller card and ofcourse an upgraded screen.

https://www.curlybrace.com/words/2020/11/24/thinkpad-t420-ip...

https://www.amazon.com/1080p-1920X1080-Upgrade-thinkpad-Cont...

How did you get a reliable new battery for a 10 year old laptop? Lenovo doesn't appear to make batteries for old laptops, and I've had bad experiences ordering from random sellers on Amazon.com.

Dunno about Lenovo, but once you get old enough, a laptop battery is just a pretty box for standard cylindrical shells.

Carefully shuck the old ones out and solder new ones in and voila.

Upgrade to a refurbished T450s or T460 and you get a very nice FHD IPS display.

but you lose on the keyboard...

X230 with a nitro mod https://nitrocaster.me/store/x220-x230-fhd-mod-kit.html and an x220 keybaord swap is my setup right now.

W530 with a keyboard mod.

IIRC, the cable needs to be modified, because the connectors are different, but I've seen it work.