Considering Buying Lenovo ThinkPad T480

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  N1NJ4W4RR10R on 01/11/2018 - 17:19

  +1

  I'd go for the A series (the new A485), it's the AMD equivalent for the T series.

  But that's me, Mr AMD fan boy.

  I don't believe the T series have the ability to come with a dGPU though, so make sure you aren't planning on doing stuff that would require any level of graphics power, intels UHD graphics suck Compared to ryzens vega.

  Disregarding the AMD vs Intel side, the T series appears to be a pretty good step up from the E series. I own an E series myself and can say the build quality is good, but that's from the perspective of someone who's never had a proper look at a quality laptop before the E, let alone owned one. The T series is absolutely a set up though.

  ThinkPad keyboards are superb, though have a stupid layout. You can get used to it, but an unfortunate thing nonetheless.

  Trackpads are a solid "cool". Not stand out, but good enough. Also have dedicated buttons…and admittedly I was surprised with how much I like them at the top.

  TL;DR, I'd say it's worth it. Though keep in mind the premium (about $400 over the E485 right now) is for extra ports, the extra battery, more build options and a better build quality. Arguably worthwhile if you use it a lot though.

  Oh, and keep an eye on Lenovo's own website. They've been having some great deals recently and they let you customise it on the site rather than just choosing between set versions.

  • 

    Changskies on 01/11/2018 - 18:33

    +1

    Other models has mx150

  • 

    videlity on 01/11/2018 - 18:54

    +1

    thanks for that. I'd never known about the A series, but I'll probably stick to the the T series!

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  HighAndDry on 01/11/2018 - 17:43

  +1

  I've been looking to get a new laptop for general purposes (not gaming).

  Unless you're a business user, the T480 is really going to cost you a premium for a lot of features which may not be worth that much to you. It's closest to being a true successor to the original Thinkpads (pre-Lenovo) which were a favourite for business users because of its reliability, versatility, etc. All things which are still good for general use, but usually not worth the price premium.

  For example: It has a USB-C docking connector which makes sense for hot-desking or mobile office workers, but for a normal consumer? Not so much. Same for the hot-swappable battery feature - useful if you're doing work or in meetings etc where you can't be interrupted, but again less vital for an ordinary consumer where it doesn't matter that your Youtubing or word document is interrupted for a minute or two. Same as the world-wide warranty - could be essential for business users, not so much where 24/7 uptime isn't as needed for the normal user.

  It's a great machine, but just be aware you're paying a premium for features that aren't necessarily worth that much to every user.

  • 

    videlity on 01/11/2018 - 18:47

    thanks for those insights, that's very helpful.
    I think I'm happy to pay a premium for those things as they could be somewhat useful to me.

    But with that said, would you have any recommendation for another laptop?

• 

  npc on 01/11/2018 - 17:54

  +1

  It's an excellent laptop and the nearest (only?) alternative from is from Dell - Latitude E7490, which will cost you much more brand new or slightly cheaper from the outlet. They currently have E7490 with I7+16Gb+512NVMe for ~$1300. Fair price for arguably the best laptops that can survive 3-4 years of heavy IT consulting work and abuse.