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Since I could not find any reviews of this before I decided to buy one, I figured I would create a somewhat in-depth review of the E585 for anyone considering it. This is going to be structured like a Notebookcheck review, though not with the depth they go into, and will be fairly long. I will be comparing the E585 to the Acer Swift 3 many times throughout this review. I have a coworker with the Swift 3 and I have spent extensive time using it. I also looked at a few of other notebooks before buying the E585; specifically the Dell Inspiron 15, HP Pavilion 15, and Acer Aspire 5; so it will be compared to those as well. I am going to add images and update the review as often as I can, the changelog for the review will be at the bottom.
Specifications:
Lenovo Thinkpad E585
15.6" FHD (1920x1080) IPS, Anti-Glare Display
AMD Ryzen 7 2700U (4C/8T, 2.2GHz base/3.8GHz Turbo)
AMD Radeon Vega 10
8GB DDR4 2400MHz (1x8GB)
256GB Thinkpad NVME TLC OPAL M.2 SSD
Windows 10 Pro
14.53" x 9.92" x 0.78"
4.7lbs
3-Cell (45Wh) Battery
Price: $549 Refurbished
Case:
Things have obviously changed since the days of the T420, which is the last Lenovo I personally owned, but the nearly all-black coloring of the case screams Thinkpad, even without seeing the logo. The color scheme gives the appearance of an upscale, no-nonsense business laptop as Thinkpads have always aimed for, but I still thinks it looks stylish. The edges are a little less rounded than most competitors I have seen but the "cubic" look of the laptop helps it stand out from the crowd. One thing I do not like about the finish is that the lid does tend to pick up fingerprints. It isn't as bad as the glass finish of a cell phone, for example, but you can definitely smudge the lid even with normal levels of oil on your fingers.
One of the first things I thought when looking at the laptop was that it was bigger than the Swift 3 but after looking at the listed measurements for each laptop, 14.6"x10"x.7" for the Swift, I guess that is just my imagination. I think the laptop looks bigger because the edges are not as rounded and I honestly prefer the bigger-looking laptop. As a big man myself, I do not want something that looks small when I am using and carrying it. I like the ultrabook revolution to some extent but I still like to have a substantial laptop.
While build quality is very good, I would rate it slightly below the Swift 3. There is very little flex under reasonable amounts of pressure but the display can be contorted under extreme pressure and pushing down on the palmrests will result in some creaking noises I mean extreme pressure, though. If the Swift 3 scores 10/10 in terms of build strength, the E585 scores an 8/10. It is much better than the Inspiron 15 and Aspire 5 that I looked at and on-par with the Pavilion.
Input Devices:
One of my least favorite things about the Swift 3 is the keyboard. While key travels feels fine, the keys themselves felt mushy and I just could not get used to the layout. Everything on the Swift 3 felt like it was shifted too far to the left. Despite having a similar size and what looks to be a larger area dedicated to the number pad, that it not the case on the E585. I have had no trouble whatsoever with the keyboard. While it is not a mechanical keyboard, the clackiness of the keys, especially around the space bar, make for a very pleasant experience. My only issue would be that it is not a backlit keyboard, which seems like a standard feature on laptops today. The white font on black keys makes it very usable even in the dark but a backlit would be appreciated. The E580, which has a backlit keyboard option, allegedly uses the same keyboard so I am definitely going to attempt to swap it out.
The touchpad and trackpoint are nothing to write home about but both are adequate. The integrated touchpad buttoms are very firm and provide good tactile feedback. Gestures work well and I have found the touchpad perfectly functional in both very moist and very dry environments.
Display:
The display is neither a strong point nor a weak point on the E585. Brightness looks to be very average compared to the laptops I looked at and the Swift 3. It might not quite reach the brightness of the Swift 3 but it is still decent. The anti-glare nature of the screen helps considerably when trying to use the E585 outdoors or in bright light. I can still see the display well enough even in direct sunlight. I have no problems with the color space or contrast. Everything looks adequate. It definitely is not a high-end panel, but it will do the time. There is a little bit of backlight bleed on the top and sides of the display but it is nothing I have not seen in every other midrange display I have ever used.
Performance:
The processing performance of the 2700u puts it pretty much on-par with the i5-8250u in terms of single-core performance. My average single-core Cinebench R15 score is 135, which is pretty much exactly the average score for i5-8520u. The multi-core score averaging right around 640 is much more impressive as it performs closer to the i7-8550u. I did not experience any throttling while running Cinebench 10+ times. I always scored between 620-660 in multi and 125-140 in single. The benchmarks put this at least on-par with the i5-8250u and everything I have seen in daily use seems to support that.
Storage Devices:
While I plan to add a 970 Evo, I figured I would at least test the Lenovo drive that came with the system. Lenovo rates the performance at 2800/1100MB/s sequential and that is pretty much what I got in CrystalDiskMark. It isn't the fastest NVME on the market but it is adequate for normal use. There is also a 2.5" drive bay that is empty in this unit, which I will probably add a 1TB HDD at one point.
Graphics Performance:
I am amazed at the graphics performance of this laptop. The stock settings, with single channel RAM and a crappy thermal paste application, are already above any Intel IGP. With dual channel RAM, it isn't even close. This thing falls between the MX130 and MX150 in benchmarks, being closer to the MX150.
Emissions:
Noise is one the the strong points on the E585, and I am happy that it is because a quiet laptop was one of the main things I was looking for. At no point during any of the tests does the laptop seem too loud. I do not have the capabilities to give exact numbers but I would say the fan never exceeds 35dB. The Notebookcheck review of the Swift 3 configuration I have used, i5-8250u/MX150, lists the maximum volume a 35.6dB and I would say the Swift 3 is definitely slightly louder under load than the E585.
Another important aspect for my in a laptop is the heat it produces, because I still like to use my laptop on my lap. I have a desktop for my desk. I want my laptop to run cool when I am using it on my knees or on my lap. The E585 does. Even when running benchmarks, no part of the case heats up beyond usable levels.
While the outer part of the laptop remains very cool, the internals are a little disconcerting despite the lack of throttling. HWInfo shows the max temp of just under 85C after multiple runs of Cinebench and 3dMark and running the PassMark BurnInTest for 20 minutes. While that isn't too bad for modern chips, I would like it to be a little lower. I do plan to repaste and I am hoping that will have a large effect on that temperature.
Speakers:
Like the display, the speakers are very average. I do not like the current trend of laptops with down-firing speakers. The speakers on the Swift 3 are at the front edge of the laptop and they are very muffled when I put the computer on my knees. The E585 at least puts the speakers on the sides on the bottom of the front edge so they aren't completely muffled. Still, why manufacturers decided that speakers on the top of the laptop are a bad idea is beyond me.
Battery Life:
The one weakness of this laptop would be the battery life. While the Intel-based E580 easily gets 6 to 7 hours of regular websurfing, the AMD-based E585 gets 2/3 of that. I am averaging around 4 1/2 to 5 hours of battery life. Those numbers make sense based on the numbers that Lenovo gives. They list battery life for the E580 as 13 hours and battery life for the E585 as 8.5. 8.5/13 = ~0.65 and 0.65 times 420 minutes, the actually battery life of the E580, is 275 minutes, or 4.5 hours. I read over on the Lenovo forums that many users expect a BIOS update that dramatically improves battery life but with just a 45Wh battery, I wouldn't expect anything drastic. What gets me is that there is a ridiculous amount of room when you remove the back cover. Lenovo easily could have fit a 55Wh+ battery with no problems.
Final Thoughts:
One of the most important things I noticed in running benchmarks was that HWInfo never showed the TDP going higher than around 13W, even though the 2700u can go higher. Given the performance at the current TDP, I do definitely plan to try to increase the TDP through the method the users on the Reddit found. A repaste, dual-channel RAM, and an increased TDP could very likely push the processor and graphics to consistent i7-8550u/MX150 levels without the extra 25W TDP of the MX150. Even with below average battery life, that type of performance is crazy at this price point. A new E585 with the 2500u, which is not going to lag far behind the 2700u, and a FHD screen is under $500.
Even with the stock settings, this configuration performs great. The processor is on-par or better than the i5-8250u and the graphics performance, even with single-channel RAM, is near the MX130. The overall performance of the laptop is excellent, especially when you consider the thermal and noise emissions. AMD laptops, or products in general, have always had a reputation of running hot and loud in the past but that does not seem to be the case with Raven Ridge, though that is likely in part due to the lowered TDP.
Scores:
Design and Build Quality: 8/10
Input Devices: 9/10
Processor Performance: 9/10
Graphics Performance: 9/10
Battery: 6/10
Thermals and Noise: 9/10
Overall: 9/10
1/21/19 - Initial review posted
1/22/19 - Added case images and stock CB, 3dMark11, and CrystalDiskMark screenshots
1/26/19 - Added 3dMark11, Fire Strike/Sky Diver/Tim Spy screenshots with single and dual channel RAM
1/27/19 - Added battery life information
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So I just added another stick of RAM for dual channel and re-pasted the APU and I am even more impressed with this now. The pre-applied paste was spotty and dried out, it didn't seem very high quality to begin with. I put some well-applied MX-4 on there and I cannot even get the internal temperature to go past 78C thus far, and the fan seems even quieter than before. I also got a Fire Strike graphics score of 2993 and Time Spy graphics score of 798 with the dual channel RAM and new paste, compared the 1918 and 570 before. Those numbers are better than the MX130 and within shouting distance of the MX150, beating some of the lower-clocked versions of it. For the thermal performance and energy consumption, that is fairly amazing to me.
Last edited: Jan 27, 2019
Thinkpad E585 Review
Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by abaddon4180, Jan 21, 2019.
