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    Lenovo ThinkPad A485

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by 9ac3, Jul 14, 2018.

  1. 9ac3

    9ac3 Notebook Consultant

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    Any idea when it is going to be released? From Lenovo's website ( https://lnv.gy/2KSiK4V) it looks like it's going to be a big improvement over the disappointing A475. The ports of A485 is very identical to that of T480.

    At a clockspeed of 2.2 GHz, AMD's Ryzen 7 Pro 2700u processor seems very appealing. Here are the benchmark results: https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+Ryzen+7+PRO+2700U&id=3258.

    Also, any thoughts on how its price going to be? Will it be cheaper or more expensive than the T480?
     
    9ac3, Jul 14, 2018
    #1
  2. highlandsun

    highlandsun Notebook Evangelist

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    highlandsun, Jul 14, 2018
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  3. jeremyshaw

    jeremyshaw Big time Idiot

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    My best guess pins it somewhere around the T480 IGP pricepoint for the base model (4C/4T), and around the dGPU pricepoint for the top SKU (Vega 10, 4C/8T). Lenovo charged roughly the same price for the A475 vs the T470. What I want to know is if Lenovo will finally be the one to take advantage of the 25W TDP option (with appropriate cooling), or will we see yet another gimped Ryzen release?

    My other wild guess is Intel provides a lot of HW design support to integrators, and AMD doesn't (or doesn't have access to those same engineering channels). Nvidia probably has to do the same for most of their design wins. AMD has the same window to attack Intel's graphics weakness, which Intel itself created for whatever reason (there has only ever been one drop-in Iris SKU, and it was a desktop chip).

    EDIT: corrected false information about differing packages for Iris SKUs
     
    Last edited: Jan 17, 2019
    jeremyshaw, Jul 14, 2018
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  4. 9ac3

    9ac3 Notebook Consultant

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    I really hope that AMD has enough HW design support to ensure that Ryzen 7 2700U reaches its full potential in this Thinkpad model (AMD said they'll fix this issue). In Acer Swift 3, the Ryzen 7 2700U performed worse than Intel's Core i7-8550U and Core i5-8250U, but on paper it's supposed to beat them. It even performed worse than Ryzen 5 2500U (could be due to throttling in the review unit) according to Notebookcheck's review for Acer Swift 3 with Ryzen 7 2700U + Radeon RX Vega 10.
     
    Last edited: Jul 14, 2018
    9ac3, Jul 14, 2018
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  5. highlandsun

    highlandsun Notebook Evangelist

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    highlandsun, Jul 14, 2018
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  6. 9ac3

    9ac3 Notebook Consultant

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    9ac3, Jul 15, 2018
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  7. Mobius 1

    Mobius 1 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    only compare prices on perks store


    pm me for the access code (I don't profit off this)
     
    Mobius 1, Jul 15, 2018
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  8. 9ac3

    9ac3 Notebook Consultant

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    For sure! Thanks a lot :)
     
    9ac3, Jul 15, 2018
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  9. highlandsun

    highlandsun Notebook Evangelist

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    highlandsun, Jul 25, 2018
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  10. QuimaxW

    QuimaxW Notebook Enthusiast

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    @Mobius 1 - I'd definitlely be interested...

    I'm personally waiting for the A485 to hit as well. My T410 is starting to show it's age, though it is still quite usable yet.
     
    QuimaxW, Jul 31, 2018
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  11. Mobius 1

    Mobius 1 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    pm me then
     
    Mobius 1, Jul 31, 2018
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  12. QuimaxW

    QuimaxW Notebook Enthusiast

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    I chatted with Lenovo sales rep, they said the current expectation is mid-late September. Hopefully!
     
    QuimaxW, Aug 24, 2018
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  13. highlandsun

    highlandsun Notebook Evangelist

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    highlandsun, Aug 25, 2018
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  14. QuimaxW

    QuimaxW Notebook Enthusiast

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    QuimaxW, Aug 25, 2018
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  15. PatchySan

    PatchySan Om Noms Kit Kat

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    Decided to bite the bullet and ordered the A485 to replace my trusty T420 and slim T420s for mobile duties.

    - AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 2700U Processor (2MB Cache, up to 3.80 GHz)
    - Windows 10 Home 64
    - 14.0 FHD (1920x1080) IPS Non-Touch
    - 8GB DDR4 2400MHz SODIMM
    - Radeon Vega 10 Graphics
    - 720p HD Camera with Microphone and ThinkShutter
    - Keyboard Backlit - English UK
    - Hardware dTPM2.0 Enabled
    - 500GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm, 2.5", SATA3
    - 3 Cell Li-Ion 24Wh Front
    - 6 Cell Li-Ion Battery 72WH Cylindrical Rear
    - 65W AC Adapter (3pin) - UK (USB Type C)
    - RTL8822BE+BT 2x2
    - Think 3 Year On-site

    Set me back £843.28 (about $1085 USD) from Lenovo UK Rewards Store which includes employee perk discount, bank holiday discount, taxes and shipping.

    I deliberately went with the lowest RAM and HDD config as I have 2x 16GB Crucial DDR4 2400MHz modules (which I got crazy cheap on eBay a while back but got nothing to use it on until now) and a 2.5" Intel 2500 256GB SSD lying around so that will be my main boot drive - should be interesting to see how it fares against my T420.
     
    PatchySan, Aug 27, 2018
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  16. Mobius 1

    Mobius 1 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Only has 1 ram slot though?

    Also the heatsink looks really small, doubt that it's going to fully cool the ryzen cpu.

    HMM: https://usermanual.wiki/Lenovo/tpa485hmmen.102690528/view
     
    Mobius 1, Aug 28, 2018
    #16
  17. PatchySan

    PatchySan Om Noms Kit Kat

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    The A485 has 2 RAM slots supporting up to 32GB DDR4, the HMM demonstrates only one module as an example but you can just about see the second bank above it (see Specsheet for detailed info).

    I'll be monitoring the cooling solution as just like you I'm a bit skeptical on the single heatpipe solution. Hard to tell if there are different fan part numbers for different CPUs as the Service Parts List is not up for this model yet, we just have to wait and see.
     
    PatchySan, Aug 28, 2018
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  18. Mobius 1

    Mobius 1 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    that's a bit misleading, thanks for the info

    do tell us about the cooling solution, I'm curious too.

    do you plan to repaste?
     
    Mobius 1, Aug 28, 2018
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  19. Mobius 1

    Mobius 1 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    @Falkentyne
    @Danishblunt



    Is there a way to check if a ryzen laptop bios can be modified or not? Flashing can be done on hardware.
     
    Mobius 1, Sep 18, 2018
    #19
  20. Mobius 1

    Mobius 1 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    @PatchySan is your power consumption (SOC only) limited to 15w on A485?
     
    Mobius 1, Sep 18, 2018
    #20
  21. Falkentyne

    Falkentyne Notebook Prophet

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    i don't know :(
    Does it use an AMI Bios? can FPTW64 read the bios dump?
     
    Falkentyne, Sep 18, 2018
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  22. Danishblunt

    Danishblunt Guest

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    You can always mod a BIOS, the question is how hard or easy it's going to be.

    The real question is why would you want to mod the BIOS in the first place.
     
    Danishblunt, Sep 18, 2018
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  23. Mobius 1

    Mobius 1 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Since it's AMD with Vega 10, faster memory.

    Maybe the bios locks the memory speed by default, so the advanced options will unhide tweaking so we can get faster memory speeds.
     
    Mobius 1, Sep 18, 2018
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  24. Danishblunt

    Danishblunt Guest

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    Gotcha, since memory speed greatly affects video performance and CPU performance a little bit that would indeed be good to have.

    If you can get me a dump from somwhere I can then look at it.
     
    Danishblunt, Sep 18, 2018
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  25. Mobius 1

    Mobius 1 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    How do you want to dump it?
     
    Mobius 1, Sep 18, 2018
    #25
  26. Danishblunt

    Danishblunt Guest

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    When you start your notebook and go into the BIOS, it should tell you what type of BIOS it is (ami, phoenix, insyde) etc. Then download the respective tool for the BIOS to back it up.
     
    Danishblunt, Sep 18, 2018
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  27. highlandsun

    highlandsun Notebook Evangelist

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    Finally available for ordering/customizing on Lenovo US website...
     
    highlandsun, Sep 23, 2018
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  28. QuimaxW

    QuimaxW Notebook Enthusiast

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    It's not yet feature complete, but yea! It's there! Some things are missing from the CTO yet like WWAN options.
     
    QuimaxW, Sep 23, 2018
    #28
  29. Mobius 1

    Mobius 1 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    perks is 39% off normal prices
     
    Mobius 1, Sep 24, 2018
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  30. jeremyshaw

    jeremyshaw Big time Idiot

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    Right at launch? o.0
     
    jeremyshaw, Sep 24, 2018
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  31. Mobius 1

    Mobius 1 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    [​IMG]
     
    Mobius 1, Sep 24, 2018
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  32. 9ac3

    9ac3 Notebook Consultant

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    A485 is now available.

    PM @Mobius 1 or Me for access code to the perks store.
     
    Last edited: Sep 24, 2018
    9ac3, Sep 24, 2018
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  33. Mobius 1

    Mobius 1 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    too bad all the screens available are retarded though

    wqhd option where
     
    Mobius 1, Sep 24, 2018
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  34. 9ac3

    9ac3 Notebook Consultant

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    Ya lol Lenovo deliberately includes a crappy FHD display so that you pick their WQHD display for better sRGB and Adobe RGB coverage.

    Not sure why they don't have the WQHD option in A485 though.
     
    9ac3, Sep 24, 2018
    #34
  35. Mobius 1

    Mobius 1 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    can technically fit a B140HAN01.3 on the display but that LCD has a 5.9w power consumption which is almost double the original retarded down syndrome fhd/fhd touch panels
     
    Mobius 1, Sep 24, 2018
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  36. QuimaxW

    QuimaxW Notebook Enthusiast

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    I'm personally thinking that I'll get the FHD option now, which is still a significant improvement over the T410 screen. Two years in, the T480 systems should be coming off lease and hopefully I can find a 'donor' system to swap in a WQHD screen. It's too bad that Lenovo keeps all the "goodies" for the Intel lines.

    The WQHD screen would require the 40-pin cable where the HD/FHD has a 30 pin connector. Also according to the hardware manual for the T480, the bezel & lid are also slightly different as well. I'm thinking, sight unseen, that installing the WQHD display on the A485 would require the entire lid assembly from the T480.
     
    QuimaxW, Sep 27, 2018
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  37. Mobius 1

    Mobius 1 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    The A485 even have 40 pin in the edp lane?
     
    Mobius 1, Sep 27, 2018
    #37
  38. QuimaxW

    QuimaxW Notebook Enthusiast

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    I didn't get that far in the documentation....
     
    QuimaxW, Sep 27, 2018
    #38
  39. Mobius 1

    Mobius 1 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Discount is reduced.

    Pricing is a bit wonky on the A485. Switch the external battery to the 48wh and you actually get $5 off, the IPS touchscreen being cheaper etc.

    I'd wait until it goes back to 555usd


    [​IMG]
     
    Mobius 1, Sep 27, 2018
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  40. 9ac3

    9ac3 Notebook Consultant

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    Ya probably would be a good idea to wait. At US$555, I remember I maxed out for less than $1300. The current base price is too expensive.

     
    9ac3, Sep 28, 2018
    #40
  41. Mobius 1

    Mobius 1 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    I was thinking of getting one but realized that Ryzen APU is basically mix of 1st gen and 2nd gen Ryzen. Not 12nm cpu but it does have the improved IMC (probably useless since ram speed is locked on A485).
     
    Mobius 1, Sep 28, 2018
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  42. 9ac3

    9ac3 Notebook Consultant

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    9ac3, Sep 28, 2018
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