Lenovo ThinkPad T14 G4 AMD Laptop Review: Ryzen power in the compact ThinkPad

[Neenyah]

Installed memory is actually 7500MHz, but run at 6400MHz due to platform limitation.

Lenovo marketers, as usual, lie:
www.amd.com/en/products/apu/amd-ryzen-7-7840u
Official support for 7500 has been announced.

As usual, another participant appears who is not in the subject of real hardware support.

Sleep wakeup problems of the SoC if the RAM runs at 7500. Not that you are aware of that, it's all a great conspiracy where Lenovo (and everyone else) is lying, lol.

[DougF]

And now what is your opinion on LAN ports?

My opinion they belong to USB docks.
Laptop has to be thick to accommodate it and you aren't going to need one anyway unless you are at the desk.

Just because you don't need a LAN port doesn't mean no one else does. I use the LAN port on my laptop constantly while working on site and would never cosider a laptop without one. Having to use a dock just to get ports that should already be on the laptop already is extreamly annoying. Also I do not understand this moronic obsession for making laptops as thin as possible at the expense of literally everything else. What exactly does making a laptop 2mm thick actually achieve other than worse battery life, worse keyborad, worse cooling, weaker construction and crap port selection? Some poeple do actually need a laptop for work and not as a fashion accessory. If you desperately want a thin Thinkpad then Lenovo have multiple other models already (T14s, X1 etc). No need to ruin the T14/P14s.

[A]

Just because you don't need a LAN port doesn't mean no one else does

Where did I say I don't need it. I said it belongs to USB dock.

Having to use a dock just to get ports that should already be on the laptop already is extreamly annoying

Vice versa, it's a proper way to use it. You sit at the table, plug everything in (display, mouse/keyboard receiver, LAN, etc.) at once, using one USB cable. You stand up, plug everything out at once. You don't need LAN port on the go, waste of space.

What exactly does making a laptop 2mm thick actually achieve other than worse battery life, worse keyborad, worse cooling

Are you saying this Lenovo is built better or has a better battery life than MBA? )

[DougF]

Having to use a dock just to get ports that should already be on the laptop already is extreamly annoying

Vice versa, it's a proper way to use it. You sit at the table, plug everything in (display, mouse/keyboard receiver, LAN, etc.) at once, using one USB cable. You stand up, plug everything out at once. You don't need LAN port on the go, waste of space.

Again YOU don't need a LAN port on the go. Stop assuming that your use case is the only one that exists. As I said, I use the LAN port on the go costantly. I don't use my laptop at a desk - I have a desktop for that. I use my laptop on site where I regularly need to plug into isolated networks.
If you don't need a LAN port then you are well catered for by the thousands of ultra-thin LAN port free models available. Go buy one of them and stop inisitng that every laptop on the market must be designed specifically for you and your requirements.

What exactly does making a laptop 2mm thick actually achieve other than worse battery life, worse keyborad, worse cooling

Are you saying this Lenovo is built better or has a better battery life than MBA? )
[/quote]
I don't care at all about Apple laptops. They are useless to me. They are also impossible to self repair and the support in the UK at least is rubbish compared to Lenovos on-site support.
This is beside the point anyway. Are you saying the MBP wouldn't have a better battery life and more durable build if it was thicker? You don't even need to answer the first one as the MBP has a far better battery life than the MBA.

[A]

I use my laptop on site where I regularly need to plug into isolated networks.

Get a dock.

I don't care at all about Apple laptops.

You've said thinner laptops are built worse and have better battery life. I opposed. Immediately you've lost interest.

Are you saying the MBP wouldn't have a better battery life and more durable build if it was thicker?

How is it even related. MBP is just more powerful and requires a bigger body. ) They both are simslarly durable.

You don't even need to answer the first one as the MBP has a far better battery life than the MBA.

Why, I can answer that. Battery life of M2 MBA is about the same as M3Max MBP. Sorry for ruining your theory.

[A]

I know REAL people who go about and plug in LAN here and there on their jobs, they use USB->LAN for durability. Trip over or pull LAN cable - and either you have a damaged port on laptop or you simply replace a dock. I myself had LAN cable pulled by robot vacuum too, port got damaged - replaced dock, easymode.

So yeah, my opinion is get a dock for LAN.

[DougF]

Get a dock.

Why they hell should I carry a dock just to give me functionality that should already be built into the laptop? Docks break, docks get lost, docks get "borrowed and not returned", docks get left behind - I hate them. They are an stupid solution to a stupid problem.

You've said thinner laptops are built worse and have better battery life. I opposed. Immediately you've lost interest.

I havn't lost interest. You started talking about Apple products that are not relevent here. This is a review on a Lenovo laptop. Lenovo's thinner laptops are not as durable and have worse battery lives. I Know - i've used and repaired them.

How is it even related. MBP is just more powerful and requires a bigger body. ) They both are simslarly durable.

I meant to put MBA there.

Why, I can answer that. Battery life of M2 MBA is about the same as M3Max MBP. Sorry for ruining your theory.

Your comparing differnet generations which is pointless. Also you are saying that a much more powerfull and newer MBP has comparable battery life to a slower, older MBA? I guess being thicker does help.

[DougF]

I know REAL people who go about and plug in LAN here and there on their jobs, they use USB->LAN for durability. Trip over or pull LAN cable - and either you have a damaged port on laptop or you simply replace a dock. I myself had LAN cable pulled by robot vacuum too, port got damaged - replaced dock, easymode.

So yeah, my opinion is get a dock for LAN.

Ive never had that problem and tripping over a LAN cable connected to a dock is more likley to damage the USB connector on the laptop the dock is plugged into. 8P8C connectors are far more durable than USB-C

[A]

Docks break...docks get lost, docks get "borrowed and not returned", docks get left behind

Don't push on drama, the story becomes too unrealistic. ) "Dock can drop out of your shirt pocket and roll all the way to the road right under someone's car!" Dock is convenient, you can only bring it when you really need ports - and carry smaller/lighter laptop if you don't. Convenient? Yep.

Your comparing differnet generations which is pointless.

I'm comparing the latest generations. There's no M3 MBA.

Also you are saying that a much more powerfull and newer MBP has comparable battery life to a slower, older MBA?

I am saying there's no direct correlation between body size and battery life/build quality/keyboard quality.

Ive never had that problem

Now you know it is a thing. Google up "broken LAN port" if you don't believe me.

to damage the USB connector on the laptop the dock is plugged into

Nah, LAN ports are quite fragile, USB-C are sturdy, hard to break it by pulling the cable out.

[DougF]

Don't push on drama, the story becomes too unrealistic. ) "Dock can drop out of your shirt pocket and roll all the way to the road right under someone's car!" Dock is convenient, you can only bring it when you really need ports - and carry smaller/lighter laptop if you don't. Convenient? Yep.

Literally every single one of the things I have mentioned has happened to me or someone I work with multiple times. If you don't think these things happen you should maybe go out into the real world ocassioanly.
This laptop is already small and thin. I don't see any advantage in making it thinner. I put it in a backpack that could carry about 10 of them so making it thinner or light gives me no benefit whatsoever and loads of downsides. If you want a laptop thats 1mm thin fine I don't care. Just don't assume everyone else does.

I am saying there's no direct correlation between body size and battery life/build quality/keyboard quality.

For a given laptop, being thicker will allow for more material and therefore be stronger. That is basic mechanical engineering. Also for a given laptop, being thicker will allow for a larger battery and therefore more battery life. It will also allow for a better cooling solution and longer travel keyboard. If you don't care about performance or keyboard quality fine but and other people do.

Now you know it is a thing. Google up "broken LAN port" if you don't believe me.

If you google "Broken anything" you will find stuff. Literally everything can be broken so i'm not sure what you point is here. Searching for "Broken USBC port" brought up twice as many results as LAN ports despite 8P8C connectors being around for nearly 40 years.

Nah, LAN ports are quite fragile, USB-C are sturdy, hard to break it by pulling the cable out.

Yeah just no. I rarely see broken 8P8C ports but see loads of broken USB-C ports. In 15 years I have never broken a LAN port or known anyone else to either so it does not concern me.

[Benjamin Herzig]

I find this discussion really unnecessary. Lenovo has a dedicated variant of this laptop - the ThinkPad T14s G4 - without a LAN port and a thinner chassis in return. I don't see how the T14 would be any better without the RJ45. It is already a pretty lightweight and reasonably thin laptop, and I doubt you can make it much thinner with the given materials and cost limits of this design. The T14s uses a more expensive metal base design to allow for the thinner profile and just by removing the RJ45, the laptop does not get magically thinner.

In the end, I am sure if no one needed an RJ45 on a laptop anymore, Lenovo would not offer it any longer. Having this port on the go is just a very different use case vs. having it on a dock at the desk.

[A]

every single one of the things I have mentioned has happened to me or someone I work with multiple times. If you don't think these things happen you should maybe go out into the real world ocassioanly.

"Multiple times"... So you and your colleagues never learn? ) Maybe you have to leave imaginary world, idk.

being thicker will allow for more material and therefore be stronger. That is basic mechanical engineering.

More creaky plastic is stronger than less aluminum? ) Okaaaay, mechanical engineering of alternate universe is tight.

For a given laptop, being thicker will allow for more material and therefore be stronger. That is basic mechanical engineering. Also for a given laptop, being thicker will allow for a larger battery and therefore more battery life.

"Given laptop" already has its size and form. You can only compare laptop to laptop, just like you suggested comparing MBP and MBA yourself, when you considered it's convenient and an easy win ))). So again, there's no direct correlation between laptop size and build quality/battery life/keyboard quality.

If you google "Broken anything" you will find stuff. Literally everything can be broken so i'm not sure what you point is here. Searching for "Broken USBC port" brought up twice as many results as LAN ports despite 8P8C connectors being around for nearly 40 years.

You had one thing to do: check if pulling out LAN cable really easily damages the port. Instead you just counted results on unrelated search request. Okaaay.

but see loads of broken USB-C ports

Okay, yeah, I've seen enough, it's your imaginary world. Colleagues constantly losing and stealing hubs multiple times, tons of USB-C ports broken by pulling out the cable... Further conversation has no sense, you will simply pull out more of these made up arguments from your hat, whatever I say. Have a good one.

[A]

Having this port on the go is just a very different use case vs. having it on a dock at the desk.

Don't really have to be "dock at the desk", USB->LAN are the size of half of a match box + short cable.

[Toortle]

Having this port on the go is just a very different use case vs. having it on a dock at the desk.

Don't really have to be "dock at the desk", USB->LAN are the size of half of a match box + short cable.

So carry more things with more weight overall instead of having a 0.85 mm thicker laptop with less total weight? Genius. Apple evangelists in their true form 😁

[A]

more things with more weight

dlink.com/en/products/dub-e250-usb-c-to-25g-ethernet-adapter
Yeah, you'll have to do some push ups to carry this for sure.

Genius

Nah, just a reasonable person, who doesn't make up stories about needing LAN port on laptop all the time.

having a 0.85 mm thicker

Or x1.5 thicker? As an "Apple evangelist", I am comparing everything to MBA. )) Actually I'm just comparing roughly based on CPU power.