The Lenovo ThinkPad T450s Review: Bridging The Ultrabook
by Brett Howse on September 15, 2015 8:00 AM ESTLenovo’s ThinkPad lineup needs almost no introduction, being one of the most well known business lineups around. The T series has been around for what seems like forever, and it is the premium lined aimed at the business and enterprise segments. The lineup includes both 14 and 15-inch models, and today we have the ThinkPad T450s which is a 14-inch model. The “s” addendum designates that this is the slim version of the T450.
Lenovo calls this an Ultrabook, and although that definition has expanded over the years, the T450s is not your typical ultra-thin notebook. That is not always a bad thing either as we will see later in the review. The T series sits between the thin and light X series and the mobile workstation P series ThinkPads.
When discussing business notebooks, there are generally a few features added that are not available in your typical consumer grade notebook. These are going to be things like Smart Card readers, Intel’s vPro technology, docking connectors, Ethernet connectivity and a durable chassis. Lenovo offers all of this on even their slim model T450s, which is basically as thin as it can be to still include a RJ-45 Ethernet port.
Durability is something that business wants too, since these devices are going to be used as long as they can be before replacement. Lenovo includes a very strong magnesium chassis and uses carbon fibre on the lid with glass fibre used where the radios are to limit attenuation. The keyboard is spill-resistant, and the T450s has been tested against Mil-SPEC 810G testing on things like humidity, temperature, vibration, radiation, and both mechanical and temperature shock. Durability is of course something that we can’t test, but having passed these standardized tests should mean that the T450s will perform well for employees over the long haul.
Since this is classified as an Ultrabook, it should be no surprise then that it is powered by the Intel Core U series chips, and Lenovo offers the Core i5-5200U, i5-5300U, and i7-5600U models. Memory includes 4 GB of RAM soldered onto the motherboard and one DIMM slot which can handle up to 16 GB of DDR3L-1600 for a total of 20 GB available on this notebook. Display options are 1600x900, or 1920x1080 with either a matte coating or optional touch. A full list of the specifications are below.
Lenovo ThinkPad T450s | |||||
As Tested, Core i5-5300U, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, 1920x1080 IPS display with Touch | |||||
Processor | Intel Core i5-5200U (2C/4T, 2.2-2.7GHz, 3MB L3, 14nm, 15w) Intel Core i5-5300U (2C/4T, 2.3-2.9GHz, 3MB L3, 14nm, 15w) Intel Core i7-5600U (2C/4T, 2.6-3.2GHz, 4MB L3, 14nm, 15w) |
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Memory | 4GB onboard, 1 DIMM, 20GB max DDR3L-1600Mhz | ||||
Graphics | Intel HD 5500 (24 EU, 300-900 MHz on i5, 300-950 Mhz on i7) | ||||
Display | 14.0" 1600x900 TN Optional 1920x1080 IPS Optional Mult-touch |
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Storage | 500GB to 1TB HDD 128GB SATA SSD 180GB or 256GB SATA SSD with Opal 2 Support 512GB SSD SATA |
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Networking | Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7265 (802.11ac, 2x2:2, 866Mpbs Max, 2.4 and 5GHz) Intel Gigabit Ethernet I218-LM Optional Sierra Wireless EM7345 LTE |
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Audio | Stereo Speakers (downfiring) 1 watt x 2 Dual Array Microphone |
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Battery | 23 Wh Internal Battery Power Bridge Battery Options: 23 Wh 3 Cell 48 Wh 6 Cell 72 Wh 6 Cell Up to 95 Wh total 45 Watt charger |
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Right Side | USB 3.0 VGA Headset Jack SD Card Reader Ethernet |
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Left Side | 2 USB 3.0 Ports Mini-DisplayPort Smart Card Reader Slot Power Connector |
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Dimensions | 331 x 226 x 21.1mm (13.03 x 8.90 x 0.83 inches) | ||||
Weight | 1.59 kg (3.5 lbs) with 46Wh Battery | ||||
Extras | 720p Webcam Backlit Spill-Resistant Keyboard Fingerprint Reader |
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Pricing | $950 base $2200 Max (Core i7, 20GB RAM, 512GB SSD, 1080p w/Touch, LTE Modem) As Tested: $1500 |
The ThinkPad T450s is not yet offered with Windows 10, so this review was done with Windows 8.1 Pro installed. Lenovo has some interesting technology available in the T450s including their Power Bridge technology. This is a very smart setup and includes a 23 Wh battery integrated into the front of the laptop, and a removable battery at the rear. The default option is another 23 Wh battery, but Lenovo also offers both 48 Wh and 72 Wh battery options for the rear model as well, so the T450s can be used with a massive 95 Wh of capacity in one charge. The coolest part of the Power Bridge though is that the rear battery is discharged first, and it can be swapped out with the laptop still running so if you have a couple of extra batteries you would be able to work offline for a very long time.
Storage offerings start with mechanical drives, but you can of course opt for solid state storage as well which is always going to be a better experience. Lenovo also offers Opal2 offerings which is going to be popular with a lot of businesses.
The Thinkpad T450s is aimed right at the heart of business, with plenty of features that businesses look for, a well built chassis, and MIL-Spec tested components. Though it is not as thin and light as a lot of Ultrabooks, including Lenovo’s own ThinkPad X1 Carbon, there is a lot of laptop here which should be interesting to anyone looking for a 14-inch laptop. Let’s start with the design.
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fackamato - Thursday, September 17, 2015 - link
Would you actually use the touch screen?nerd1 - Thursday, September 17, 2015 - link
They are very useful when you use the laptop in bed...Human Bass - Tuesday, September 15, 2015 - link
Wait, there is no hdmi output? That is dumb. I love to connect my notebook to my tv to watch a movie or a stream.evilspoons - Tuesday, September 15, 2015 - link
It has a MiniDP output, which you can adapt to HDMI passively.gamesclub201 - Tuesday, September 15, 2015 - link
Doraemon Games: Play the best Doraemon Games online free for everyone! We update Nobita games, Doraemon Dress Up games, Doraemon Fisshing games, all Doraemon games online.evilspoons - Tuesday, September 15, 2015 - link
I have one of these (1080p non-touch, 5300U, 500GB hard drive + 16 GB cache SSD, Win 8.1), and I absolutely love it. Keyboard is excellent, the 1080p screen with Win8.1/Win10's display scaling gives you about the same "workspace" as 1440x900 but with nice crisp text when stuff is zoomed out for coding. It's also nice and light but still substantial enough that I don't feel like I'm going to break it in half all the time, like with most ultrabooks.nerd1 - Wednesday, September 16, 2015 - link
You can put a 42mm m2 SSD for boot drive, and I do recommend that.evilspoons - Wednesday, September 16, 2015 - link
Yeah, I got the model without a smart card reader or fingerprint reader so it has like 3 m.2 slots. I just can't find any 42mm m.2 drives locally :(Hulk - Wednesday, September 16, 2015 - link
I have a t450s and don't recommend using the M.2 slot for the boot drive. I set it up that way, fresh Windows install and after about 10 to 30 minutes of use it would lock up and only a hard restart would fix it. I'm pretty sure it was due to the M.2 being the boot drive and it's probably why Lenovo says NOT to use this drive for the boot drive. On the other hand the 2.5" Crucial BX100 500GB SSD I'm using for the boot drive works perfectly. And I cloned the M.2 to the BX100 so I don't know what else could have been the cause of the freezing I was experiencing? But as always most of the people around here are smarter than me so it could have been something else;)nerd1 - Wednesday, September 16, 2015 - link
I put mydigitalSSD 42mm drive on my thinkpad yoga 12" and it worked flawlessly. You may double check the BIOS settings?