Lenovo ThinkPad T480 (i7-8550U, MX150, FHD) Laptop Review

[Redaktion]

Not only for students. The new 14-inch ThinkPad T480 is being offered right now at a large discount through Lenovo's Campus Program. The business laptop is set to follow in the footsteps of its successful predecessor T470 (91 %). Our review device comes with an Intel Core i7-8550U CPU and an Nvidia GeForce MX150. We explore in this review whether the updated hardware can make the new ThinkPad a success and whether it can score some major points in the "soft" areas such as the temperature, volume, energy consumption and battery life.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Lenovo-ThinkPad-T480-i7-8550U-MX150-FHD-Laptop-Review.293682.0.html

[giuestte2310]

How thick is the laptop with the extended battery?

[AleZ]

It's confirmed the Thunderbolt port uses only 2 PCIe lanes? Thanks.

[Krs]

Is it known if the (optional) WQHD panel used in the T480 is the same as the one used in the T480s?

Thanks!

[Enos]

The photos of the right and left side are swapped.

[ARDA HATUNOGLU]

Placing the included SSD in the empty M.2 slot inside the T480 is out of the question, because the slot is intended for a WWAN module and therefore cannot accommodate an M.2-2280 SSD with a length of 80 mm. If you do decide to get a second SSD, you should look for one with a shorter length.

What does it mean intended instead of a WWAN module? If we want to place a second SSD do we need to take the WWAN module out?

[Quad]

Regarding the 65W and 45W options.

The article states that you could not pick a 45W adapter in Lenovo's configuratior and it seems to have been axed.

It's correct that you probably couldn't pick it, but it has not been axed.

If you buy the iGPU variant of the laptop, it comes with the 45W adapter and can be upgraded to the 65W adapter at a very low cost. However, if you're configuring a model with the MX150 GPU, you can only pick a 65W charger.

Which makes sense. Like you said, the 45W charger would be underpowered for your review unit. However that's not necessarily true for the models without a dedicated GPU. (But I recommend a 65W charger anyways, the price difference is super tiny)

[Anon]

The phrase, "that being said" appeared 11 times in this article. In one case, it appeared twice within three sentences (that's when it started to be noticeable.)

[Aerows]

It has thunderbolt-3.  That was supposed to allow us to plug a docking station with a video card into the unit when it was on a desk.

It seems weird to me that no one discusses that.  Take it on the go, plug in the GTX 1070 in the box.  That is PLENTY for gaming, and boosts video editing capabilities.  So, can it do it, or not?

[hfm]

It has thunderbolt-3.  That was supposed to allow us to plug a docking station with a video card into the unit when it was on a desk.

It seems weird to me that no one discusses that.  Take it on the go, plug in the GTX 1070 in the box.  That is PLENTY for gaming, and boosts video editing capabilities.  So, can it do it, or not?

Since the MX150 is using x4 PCIe lanes, I'm thinking the thunderbolt 3 port on this is only a 2-lane. Might hamper your gaming ability unless you use an external monitor.

[Ric]

Is there a way to unlock the full four lanes for 2280 SSD on T480 - without s?

[Toruss]

Unfortunately no. T480 has great battery life, keyboard and connectivity but the pros cut short and the rest are deal-breakers.

Lenovo needs to make a T-series 2 in 1 with 1050 graphics combining X-series features: vibrant screens, glass touchpad, tactile keys, richer speakers and such. Something like Asus ZenBook Pro 14, but with a Thinkpad convertible spin on it.

[asdfzxh]

no such thing as short or not, doesn't matter

[Thiago]

Hello,

My name is Thiago and I'm Brazilian, I own a Lenovo ThinkPad T480 (20L6S5TQ00) since 2018, that I've already made some modifications to and I'd like to share my experience here:

First upgrade was to add more RAM memory, it originally came with 8GB (1x slot only) and I increased it to 16GB (8GB + 8GB) putting the same brand and specifications (2400MHz DDR4) as the existing one. With twice the amount of RAM, I confess that using it, was smoother in certain office activities, I noticed a good difference when I made this modification.

Second upgrade, was to put a SSD M.2 2242 256GB PCIe nvme in place of FIBOCOM L830-EB. After some time using the T480, I noticed that I rarely used 4G mobile internet, there is wifi practically everywhere. Out of curiosity I researched and found a crazy person who had done what I was very tempted to do, replace the 4G with an SSD and put it as primary to run the operating system (Win 11 Pro). Of course, I did a very deep research on which models of ssd M.2 2242 are reliable, which would not overheat due to the large capacity (512GB, 1TB, for example), arriving at the verdict that the 256gb brought me the best cost benefit, and safity.

Third upgrade, was to eliminate HDD/Sata 256GB for a monstrous SSD SAMSUNG 870 QVO with 4TB capacity. Before making this modification, I had spent a few months with the configuration of the ssd m.2 2242 with the operating system and the HDD/SATA as a secondary. But I confess that the agility and fluidity of the operating system running on the ssd m.2 2242, was not so free, because of the HDD/Sata tying up some processes, mainly when I was going to load files that were on the HDD/Sata. Faced with this situation, I purchased a 4TB SAMSUNG 860 QVO SSD and replaced the HDD/Sata. WOW, the T480 literally turned into a rocket, I turn it on in seconds, I put all the big files on the secondary and practically leave the primary with just Win 11 Pro, and when I have the possibility, I install the programs on the secondary, so as not to compromise the 256GB of the SSD M.2 2242.

My recent experience was playing Forza Horizon 3 through the Microsoft Store using the XBOX App, and amazingly, the NVIDIA® GeForce® MX150 with 2 GB GDDR5, in terms of the game itself, was not meant to run at high graphics settings, however, for some reason, I don't know if on the part of the T480 or the Win 11 Pro, when opening the game and putting everything in the extreme, at the maximum, at the highest of the highest of the highest, the game works! Of course I'm not going to have a fluid game with 60FPS, it runs but depending on the part of the scenario it stays there between its 28FPS falling sometimes to 19FPS, KkkkkkkkKKkkkk... Anyway, I selected the lowest resolution that it accepts to stay in full screen (without black borders on the sides), 48hz and in the high quality option (with possibility two more options until you reach the extreme), and for me, it ran satisfactorily to be able to play well.

I searched the internet for something related about the video card using part of the RAM memory or the SSD, as being VRAM, and I tend to believe that in this specific case of the FH3, this is happening. I say this because in the Task Manager screen, in the GPU part 1 (NVIDIA GeForce MX150), dedicated GPU memory = 0.0/2.0GB / GPU memory = 0.0/9.9GB / GPU memory shared = 0.0/7.9GB , that is, I don't have the technical knowledge to explain why, but I'm super satisfied with my T480!

My T480 has the following settings:
i7-8650U CPU @ 1.90GHz 2.11GHz
RAM 16.0GB (15.8 GB usable)
Windows 11 Pro (22H2)
Primary SSD M.2 2242 256 GB (with Windows)
Secondary SSD 2.5" SAMSUNG 870 QVO 4TB

Regards

[Magic]

I'm super satisfied with my T480!

My T480 has the following settings:
i7-8650U CPU @ 1.90GHz 2.11GHz
RAM 16.0GB (15.8 GB usable)
Windows 11 Pro (22H2)
Primary SSD M.2 2242 256 GB (with Windows)
Secondary SSD 2.5" SAMSUNG 870 QVO 4TB


Hey Thiago, is the additional m2 port (win11) capable of full four lane transfer???