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    T480 questions

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by nkaufman, Jul 17, 2018.

  1. nkaufman

    nkaufman Notebook Consultant

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    Hello,

    Nephew going to college and we were looking at various laptops for the next 4 years.

    Lenovo T480 came up as a well-balanced solution - price and features.

    However Lenovo's price for SSD is through the roof. So questions are:

    (1) Is T480 a good unit for a CS undergrad?

    (2) How difficult is it to open the back cover? Any tips? Some videos claim that it is quite difficult, taking off screws is fine, opening the cover through notches is where one can break stuff.

    (3) Unit comes with HDD. Should I just replace this HDD with SSD or NVMe or use the WAN spot for a NVMe? something about 2 lanes available etc. Any details here please?

    Thanks,
     
    nkaufman, Jul 17, 2018
    #1
  2. ZaZ

    ZaZ Super Model Super Moderator

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    Undergrad is sort of a wide path, so if you could define that a little more concretely, that would probably illicit some better responses. If you're just looking for an all-around notebook, then I would say the T480 is a solid choice.

    Back in the day, most manufacturers gave you the ability, with a few exceptions, to easily upgrade at least the memory and storage drive, but people's quest for ever thinner and lighter notebooks has made upgrading much difficult. Manufacturers know that only a small subset of buyers are willing to do it themselves, so they can charge more than the parts cost. I personally don't think it's that bad, but everyone's different. It would probably help if you bought a tool set with a tool that can unhitch the tabs, that would be useful.

    If you like faster boot times and snappier performance, then yes, consider upgrading to a SSD.
     
    ZaZ, Jul 17, 2018
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  3. nkaufman

    nkaufman Notebook Consultant

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    Hello,

    Thank you for your comments. He'll be studying Comp Science.

    What I'm most concerned was Heat. Seems a bunch of people have experienced unit to get hot even under minimal load.
    Second concern was the delicate back cover that is prone to getting damaged.
     
    nkaufman, Jul 19, 2018
    #3
  4. Max C

    Max C Newbie

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    T480 back cover is fine to remove, most like all the other T series ThinkPads, If you see an option for a HDD (don't think its possible due to "thinning") try and get the lowest capacity, you will be able to buy a larger capacity SSD and fit yourself. Same with RAM, if you have opened up a laptop before you will have no issues!
     
    Max C, Oct 5, 2018
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  5. Mobius 1

    Mobius 1 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Be sure you buy the 1440p screen and use Lenovo perks discount (37% off right now, PM me for the code), the FHD screen is laughably bad and is unsuitable for human usage.
     
    Mobius 1, Oct 9, 2018
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  6. jeremyshaw

    jeremyshaw Big time Idiot

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    I'm somewhat hijacking this conversion, but does the perks discount ever exceed 37%?

    Thanks :)
     
    jeremyshaw, Oct 9, 2018
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  7. Mobius 1

    Mobius 1 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    was 39 at some point
     
    Mobius 1, Oct 9, 2018
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  8. inffy

    inffy Notebook Enthusiast

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    Do those perks code work only for the US site?
     
    inffy, Dec 15, 2018
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  9. Mobius 1

    Mobius 1 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    US/CA

    Because in this world only 2 country exist
     
    Mobius 1, Dec 15, 2018
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