ThinkPad T450s Review

Introduction

The ThinkPad T450s is one of the best new ultrabooks. While it's not as thin as some, it's still quite compact, and much easier to service than thinner machines, and the Full HD IPS screen is a standout feature.

This review is based on a production ThinkPad T450s, Machine Type 20BX, Product ID 20BXCTO1WW.

• Intel Core i7-5600U Processor
• Windows 8.1 Pro 64
• 14.0" FHD (1920 x 1080)
• 720p HD Camera
• Intel HD Graphics 5500
• 4 GB DDR3L - SDRAM 1600MHz Base
• Fingerprint Reader
• 500GB Hard Disk Drive, 7200rpm, 2.5"
• ThinkPad Battery 3 cell Li-Polymer (23.2Whr) Front
• ThinkPad Battery 3 cell Li-Polymer (23.2Whr) Rear
• Country Pack 45W AC adapter United States (2pin)
• Intel 7265 AC/B/G/N Dual Band Wireless + Bluetooth Version 4.0

After receipt (because upgrading was less expensive than buying from Lenovo):

• 4 GB Samsung SO-DIMM was installed
• Hard disk was replaced with 1 TB Samsung 850 EVO SSD.

Construction

Quality of T450s construction is not up to old ThinkPad standards, with some obvious cheapening, but is still pretty good. Annoyances include the difficulty of prying off the bottom cover (after removing 8 screws) to get to the inside, and fingerprint-revealing textured plastic instead of the old rubberized finish. But it's quite solid, no flexing, and quite compact.

Connectivity

Port layout is reasonably good on both sides with nothing on the back. All USB ports are 3.0 with excellent performance. Standard Ethernet port. But Mini DisplayPort means you may have to buy and carry an easy-to-lose dongle.* Wi-Fi performance (Intel 802.11ac 2x2) seems better than earlier generation 802.11n Intel cards, even those with 3x3. Bluetooth connections are fast. Speakers are decent but nothing to write home about. Webcam quality is improved over earlier generations, but still struggles in low light. Fingerprint reader is a big improvement. (Thank you, Apple.)

Performance

The good news is that the Broadwell i7 in the T450s finally proves to be a bit faster than the Sandy Bridge i7 (T420s) on processor intensive tasks like video encoding, despite an ultra low voltage processor running a little slower. The machine is cool and silent most of the time, with only a soft blowing of air under heavy load.

Memory

4 GB of memory is soldered to the main board and there's only one SO-DIMM slot. While you can add an 8 GB SO-DIMM for 12 GB total, that would mean half the memory would work in single channel mode, which can have a pretty big impact on performance (as much as 20-30%) especially since the integrated graphics adapter uses part of main memory (reducing available memory). So if you care about performance you'll have to stick with 8 GB, which can be marginal for things like Ultra HD video editing. (The performance impact, of course, also applies to machines with only the base 4 GB memory. The promised NVIDIA 940M graphics option is not yet available.)

Screen

The 1920x1080 IPS screen may take some getting used to, but really is a good deal better than TN screens, and is pretty close to proper calibration out of the box. (Be sure to burn in the screen for at least 24 hours before making any judgements.)

Keyboard

The island keyboard is pretty good for what it is, but the layout still suffers as compared to the classic ThinkPad keyboard. Layout of Home End Insert Delete and PrtSc are poor, and other keys like Pause/Break are missing entirely, now only available as Fn key combinations (like Fn+B for Break) that are not marked on the keys. Also annoying is the lack of hardware status lights (hard disk, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, charging). You can rely on the Windows Task Bar for wireless and charging, but you'll need to install something like DiskLED (which works well) for disk activity. Keyboard backlight is usable (despite some annoying light bleed from the top row), but not as good as the classic ThinkLight.

Pointing

TrackPoint performs as expected. TouchPad is greatly improved over recent ThinkPad generation with the return of TrackPoint buttons, nice smooth surface, and good response. Bluetooth works quite well with the ThinkPad Bluetooth Laser Mouse (recommended).

Power

With just the standard 2nd battery, not the extended battery with big bulge on the bottom, the T450s can still be used on and off through an entire day without running out of battery power. The supplied power adapter is pretty small, but only 45W, so can't fast charge when the system is under load. If you care about fast charging you should get the optional Slim 65W Adapter.

Summary

A mostly welcome return to ThinkPad form, with a very good IPS screen, and finally enough ultra low voltage processor power to measure up to Sandy Bridge.

* Belkin Mini DisplayPort to HDMI Adapter is available at low cost from B&H.

 

I dont believe you suffer a 20-30% loss going with a 8GB stick with 12GB in total graphics wise.

If you check both these reviews

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Broadwell-vs-Haswell-Duel-of-the-ULV-Processors.138010.0.html

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Lenovo-ThinkPad-T450s-Ultrabook-Review.137248.0.html

the test config for the T450s has 12GB memory and has the same performance as dual channel in 3DMark11 - Performance GPU or for the games.

I believe the RAM runs in flex mode where the 8GB is in dual channel and the remaining 4GB is in single channel with 12GB.

 

I didn't say that. What I wrote was " as much as 20-30%". [emphasis added]

See RAM Performance Benchmark: Single-Channel vs. Dual-Channel - Does It Matter?

Yes, 4 GB is single channel and 8 GB is dual channel, but you have no real control over what part of memory you use. This isn't something optimized by the system, and if you really do need more than 8 GB of memory (else why expand to 12 GB in the first place), then you will inevitably be using some single channel memory, and taking some performance hit. How much is the only real question. And if you've spent a lot of money for the i7 processor, then presumably performance does matter.

My own take is that it's a dumb design decision for a premium machine like the T450s. 8 GB base (soldered) should be at least be offered as an option, in part because more than 12 GB can be needed for memory-intensive applications.

 

Well you did mention that there is a big impact on performance if you add 8GB which why I stated as not that much. Yes, the GPU performance drops by around 20% if you go single channel but adding a 8GB stick isnt going to drop it that much.

Anyhow, yeah I agree it is not the best way as Lenovo could have removed the soldered RAM to eliminate this.

Good review btw. Mine should be in tomorrow.

 

Thank you. What configuration did you get? And what are you upgrading from?

 

Got the base configuration with i5-5200u , 1080p, 4GB and 500GB 7200 rpm HDD. Planning on upgrading the RAM to 12GB and a 500 GB 850 EVO SSD.

Stripped out the smart card reader, 16gb M.2 SSD and the Finger print reader. Came to $650 + tax so ~$690 in total.

 

Sounds good. Good buy. Let us know what you think of it.
I likewise skipped the smart card reader and 16gb M.2 SSD.

 

Check out the i7-5557U:
Intel's Broadwell Puts The Performance Of A Full-Sized PC In The Palm Of Your Hand
It's what I really wanted in the T450s.

 

Yeah... that and 8GB of RAM on the motherboard.

 

Amen!

 

I wonder if Apple is the only one getting these (for now, at least).

 

You would think that Lenovo, largest PC manufacturer in the world, would have more clout with Intel than Apple.

 

These CPUs are very expensive niche products, not fitting for ThinkPads. Despite their 28 W TDP, they are not intended as a replacement for the discontinued 35 W Dual-Core CPU class. Rather, they put much more focus on the integrated iGPU (Intel Iris) - they also lack several features like vPro.

They are much more fitting for prosumer machines like Macbooks. If you want a real performance boost thats worth it, you would need to go with a HQ or MQ Quad-Core machine (like T440p).

 

I respectfully disagree. Core i7-5557U with Iris Graphics 6100 would make much more sense than the promised but not yet delivered NVIDIA 940M.