I just upgraded from my t480 last month after using it as a daily production machine for the past year+. My machine was the i5-8250U model without a dGPU, but I used it nightly for encoding a nightly broadcast on Twitch as well as regular browsing and productivity during the day. These 8th-gen CPU's are *very* good for undervolting - I was able to control the thermal and performance characteristics well enough to let the CPU run all 8 threads at 3.1Ghz (~25W) indefinitely without going over around 80C. Like many other good ThinkPad models, there's a host of tweaks and upgrades you can make - and I had fun swapping in quite a few on my machine. Here's most of the ones I upgraded my t480 with: - Swapped in the 1080p, 400-nit "low power" IGZO panel from the t490 generation for its improved color, brightness, and power efficiency - Swapped in a glass trackpad from the X1 Extreme - Swapped in the Fan+Heatsink assembly from the dGPU t480 model for increased thermal mass (this dropped temps by 10C+) - Added a second, NVMe SSD in the WWAN slot for dual-booting and additional storage - Picked up that sweet 72Wh external battery for runtimes in the 14-hour range with mixed usage :) In the end, I grew into needing more horsepower for my production than just an ULV quad-core could provide and ended up upgrading to a machine from ASUS (Zephyrus M16.) But I recently cleaned the t480 up extremely well to pass onto my wife for use at school, I hope she'll enjoy her time with it as much as I did. Thanks for covering it on your channel, and Cheers! ~M
64 GB memory works on all T480 configurations. The reason for the official limit is simple: 32 GB modules came out after the T480 as well as Kaby Lake Refresh CPUs were released. So neither Lenovo nor Intel tested these with 32 GB modules - so officially, they can only say "32 GB max". However, it has been confirmed many times that this works on all T480 models.
This is so bizarre. I upgraded to 32GB and thought it was great. Though, even with heavy dev work I rarely get above 75% of that. But knowing I can throw more in there if I ever need it is interesting.
64 GB RAM on T480 with Intel Core i7-8650U!!! Yesterday, I upgraded my T480 from 32 GB to 64 GB using 2 sticks of Crucial 32GB SODIMM DDR4 3200 PC4-25600 CL22 1.2V memory. Today, so far, so good. The BIOS and Windows OS both recognize all 64 GB of memory.
@@LaptopRetrospective thank you NO OS, NO SSD, NO External battery though. So, I am gonna be swapping whatever I can from my T430. I hope it won’t cost me a lot more 🤞 Your videos are great for upgrading Thinkpad. Keep up the great work man 👌
Thanks for the kind words. I don't think you'll be reusing much if anything between those models by the way but it's nice to have a clean slate. An SSD and battery won't break the bank. The OS should have its digital key paired to the motherboard so it's just a matter of making a Windows USB.
@@MaheshPoreddy That is a bit expensive for such a barebones t480 I got my i7-8650u t480 for 160$ Came with a genuine copy of windows 10 pro as well as 16gb of ram and 256gb of storage (m.2 SSD) Almost pristine condition
Still loving my heavily upgraded T440p. Would be nice to have a more modern machine like this T480, but I'm holding out for a Framework laptop now as the next upgrade.
Same actually, got a riced T440p last year as a stop gap machine but wanted to switch to something that runs off usb-c charger for less clutter. And now with Framework laptop for office and SteamDeck for gaming, I see no reason to pick up *last of the V8s* Thinkpad presented her. Still want one thou, this thing is slick.
Currently having HP 14s with Ryzen 5625U as my main laptop, but I still want to buy ThinkPad T480 as secondary machine. The hotswappable battery are still a big win for long outdoor work or living with frequent power outages, as you can buy as many of those batteries, charge them all when power is available and freely swap it when one battery is running out of power. It's very versatile!
I have the thinner version T480S for work laptop with LTE and Thunderbolt Dock. Been working from home for almost 2 years, hooking up to 2 large monitors and it's on non stop from 6am till 7pm almost everyday without issues. A very robust machine indeed.
Hey Navi, I wanted to ask since you've used a TB3 dock for a while - is the cable or port loose? I.e. if you wiggle the TB3 cable while it's plugged in and docked, how far does it wiggle and does it have any disconnecting issues?
@@RanenPo Hi Ranen, Personally I don't have issues with my Thunderbolt connection, although my laptop is sitting on the laptop stand but I use all external keyboard and mouse so it's more or less semi permanent connection most of the time. But I do need to reposition the laptop a fair bit when I'm on MS Teams video conf but I did not notice any connectivity or port loosening issues while the cable is moving around. I've used both the TB3 cable comes with the dock and also a new longer 2m cable with no problems. So overall I'd say the TB3 port and connectivity is pretty solid.
Worth mentioning, I think, is that the FHD panels are, in fact, different depending on whether you get the touch or non-touch version, because the touch functionality is embedded in the panel and not a module "glued" to it, as was the case back in the day. My T480 (FHD touch) is equipped with an IVO R140NWF5 R6 panel, which differs from the FHD non-touch panel(s) in three ways: first, obviously it has touch capabilities, secondly: it has a dreadful color gamut of 45% NTSC, and thirdly: it passively consumes a large amount of power because it has to drive the digitizer circuitry, leading to an overall battery life hit of (allegedly) around 20%. For these reasons, unless one really needs touch capability, I think FHD non-touch or even WQHD is the way to go, though the WQHD panel(s) do (allegedly) cause a battery life hit similar to the touch panel.
Just ordered my T480 online after several days of research, and I am eager for it to arrive! I went for the i5 8350U model with 16gb, 1080p screen, and a 256gb sata ssd I have a spare 1tb hard drive that will be going in the drive bay until i later upgrade to a larger SSD Will be using it mainly for music production and for web development in Garuda Linux!
The thinkpad T480 I feel is symbolic to what people remember of the Thinkpad T series in many ways. The T series bridges the gap between the X series and the W/P series and is generally considered an "all around" laptop with a bunch of fun features in a still somewhat portable machine. The T480 is just that. You get your thunderbolt and powerbridge and a few other upgrades here and there. It isn't the thinnest. lightest. most powerful, or the most "feature rich" Thinkpad. But it's a great machine just because of how well rounded it is. It isn't heavy and it isn't insanely thick and it's still plenty powerful with a gpu option if you do need some horsepower. Good ol thinkpad T series. Doesn't do anything "best" but very well rounded machines that check a lot of boxes for many people.
The WORST part of thinkpads is getting rid of the click buttons below the mousepad. It is a fact it slows productivity down a lot. Having a slightly better performing CPU doesn't compensate for it or more RAM. If you goto Lenovo forums you will see complaints from thinkpad owners saying how when they click the clickpad the cursor moves a bit and it is driving them crazy. For example I play Lichess blitz games and clicking and moving pieces on the board at high speed is very important. It is very slow without the click buttons. There is a lot of other software where productivity slows down alot for example Adobe Illustrator, CAD, 3D Studio, etc, where clicking and moving objects fast constantly is important. I moved over to laptops with quality click buttons. T480 does have the good feature of the powerbridge and two ram slots however unless you really need the powerbridge or/and the thinkpad keyboard I suggest sticking with thinkpads. However I moved over to Dell 7390 with click mouse buttons. Dells have better interfacing and the keyboard is good. Yet I believe the last of the true business machines remains with Fujitsu. Fujitsu has a lot of ports and click mouse buttons. However their battery life isn't great. I
@@LaptopRetrospective A lot of people have just settled for laptops without bottom mouse buttons. Without exactly knowing it's implications. I'm not a Lenovo hater, I always used them and have many models of them. In fact the T440 clickpad version was quicker than the T450 clickpad version and on. Because the new clickpad is at awkward angle and lumpy height at the bottom. The T440 if you combine it with special registry modificaitons and autohot key you get something better the Microsoft Precision hand gestures. I was able to surf the internet with, "enter", "copy", "paste", "two finger press", "detete" etc without ever touching the keyboard it was very comfortable just having one hand on the laptop all the time copying and pasting links i wanted to goto etc and text I wanted to save into notepad. There is a mod for lenovo T450 and new models to make the clickpads cursor stop moving at the bottom when you press down. You need to load the older Synaptics driver on a fresh windows install and block windows from updating that driver. Also change reg option "suppressmousebuttonzone" or something. But noone knows this. Japanese laptops still have bottom mouse buttons they are more traditional in mindset.
Very cool video! This just confirmed my suspicions regarding my new to me t480 being very close to top spec. Other than having the i7-8550u and the 1080p panel, it is fully maxed out otherwise. As it is out of warranty and was heavily used by a colleague at my company, the left hand rest corner is missing a bit of plastic and the trackpad surface is peeling off. Can't complain though, the price was really good at just under 250€.
I strongly recommend upgrade ram 16 to 32gb. After install win11, it is so heavy and when i run some apps, memory usages is almost 14gb.. so I upgrade DDR4 PC3200. (spec is Pc2400, but PC3200 is working well)
Aah, miss the good old days when removing a back cover (at the max) was enough to upgrade RAM/ HDD! Bought one for around $250 (21K Indian Rupees). i5 8350U/8GB/256 GB in 2023. I don't need the latest and greatest for my work, so it is a good upgrade from L430 which I have been using for a really long time!
I remember buying the highest end model that was available at the time. Which had the 8650U, MX150 and the WQHD display. One of the best machines I had ever had, unfortunately had to sell it due to some financial difficulties but seeing as the machines are starting to hit the used market I might try and snag one again. Unfortunately no extended warranty like I had from Lenovo (which was until next year IIRC) but working on it isn't any more difficult than my old T420 that I still have.
I have recently got myself Thinkpad A485 which is pretty much amd version of T480, and i am quitr pleased with it, its good enough for some light gaming with say Valve games from 2013 and prior at ver comfortable framerates when set up right. And can do all the work needed with ease
Considering x270 for its portability, but I think t480 with 72wh battery weight is a slight sacrifice to the benefits such as power and possibly longevity it can give. (x270 w/ 72wh = 3.3lbs; t480 w/ 72wh = 4.03lbs)
I only buy thinkpad laptops since X41 came out. Recently bought T480 (nvme, IPS display) with 1 yr factory warranty remained for 330 dollars on ebay. I added ultra dock(50 bucks on ebay.. I think I got lucky), 8gb ram (total 16) and 1TB SK Hynix P31. I prefer s version (owned T430s T450s T460s(for my wife)). T480's built quality is less than s...but overall I really enjoy with it. I like your video.
@@LaptopRetrospective it arrived in perfect condition. only issue is, its not the exact model advertised. they advertised a T580 with Fingerprint Reader and Backlit Keyboard. But got the normal keyboard and no fingerprint reader. but nice trade in was the SIM Card Slot hehe (idk if all of them have it but I take this any day over a fingerprint reader heh)
I just got one used unit of this with the core i5 8350U , 8GB of RAM, 256 NVME, window hello camera, 1080P touch display, backlit keyboard and finger print scanner. It doesn't have any scratches, it only have scratches on the removable battery for some reason. it came with it's original charger and everything are working. I only got it for $380 USD and still have a few months warranty from Lenovo. I'm glad that I chose this over a brand new Huawei D14 with core i5 10th Gen that costs over $650 USD, the build of this thing is way better and I'm sure that this will last longer than the Huawei
hardly a 'retro' laptop as it's from March 2018 (3.5 years since launch) What to look out for: 1)NVMe drive is stuck at PCI 3.0 x2 (rather than full speed x4) 2)thunderbolt firmware issue that fried motherboards and even patched motherboards that may have been damaged are failing (they show up on reddit with some regularity) 3)1366x768 and 1920x1080 panels on these truly SUCK and will make your eyes bleed 4)iGPU models (no dGPU) had the pathetic single heatpipe cooler, which cripples CPU performance. Even the dual heatpipe cooler is insufficient to cool an i7, and you will get identical performance from an i5 and i7 8th gen CPU 5)plundervolt vulnerability has been patched at BIOS level, so you're no longer able to undervolt or overclock at all :( 6)fingerprint readers kind of sucked on this model, with a 50/50 chance of it working If you're going with something around this age, go for the far superior T480s that solves issues 1 and 4, but even base FHD panels still sucked and you will want to upgrade to QHD or better. The T480s is also made with carbon fibre reinforced lid, magnesium bottom shell, and are overall better built. IMHO don't even consider a T480 or T470 series without warranty, as the motherboard is at a higher risk than other models of failing on you without warning -owned and used T480s since March 2018, upgraded to P14s gen 2 recently
Another fellow happy T480s customer here, I bought mine new two years ago when Lenovo sold off the last batch of them before they discontinued them. Originally intended to buy a refurbished T480 off Lenovo's Outlet, but it never came back into stock so I cancelled my order. Bought the T480s new instead and then later found it to be the superior machine (imo).
I am still on my t480 i5 8350u with mx150. Still very much usable. I am planning on upgrading it to 64gb ram, replacing the internal battery, and repast the cpu when the parts get here. I had so many memories with this laptop. I am planning on keeping it as a collector item.
I'm just wondering... do you have an x280 and how is the keyboard on it? I have an L13 yoga, but the keys are very hard to actuate compared to older Thinkpad keyboards with 1.8mm or more travel, from around 2013-2018. Travel isn't the issue(it is 1.69mm), but I saw that the x280 keyboard has more travel(1.8mm) and an easier actuation force(which is the main issue) while also being able to connect to the l13 yoga.
I don't have an X280 but the L series likely won't feel quite as good as an X or X1 series. My Nano for example has very little key travel for a ThinkPad but feels great because the switch mechanism is high quality.
Just bought an E480 with an i7 and the RX550 for only 180usd I have a pretty good desktop but i wanted to try a laptop for more basic tasks and lighter games and the thinkpad seems to be the best option for laptops in that price range :)
Powerbridge is awesome. I mean, in addition to hot swapping batts without turning the computer off, you also got extra battery life. Just quite handy and nice to have.
currently on the hunt for a used t480 with an Nvidia GPU. The few that aren't hideously overpriced get sold to the highest bidder that jacks up the price anyway- and while I look for a good deal your videos on the model are a great way to familiarize myself with the specs! Thank you for all the information you've given!
I would reconsider getting the nvidia gpu. It sounds nice in theory but in practice it will slow down performance due to cpu throttling when the gpu gets hot. And it will.
@@LaptopRetrospective Ehh no, lets clarify that. Not experienced on this model. I have experienced it on other models and the less space for heat to go, the worse it gets. Often the heatsink for the gpu is shared with the cpu which will obviously impact the cpu temperature when the gpu gets hot. I have ordered this model without the nvidia card for this specific reason.. It's a theory which i think is valid. Also note that it will most likely cause a drain on the battery as well.
Only the discrete GPU model, supposedly the integrated GPU model uses 4 full PCIE lanes. The iGPU model also only has a single heatpipe and thus can thermal throttle. All configurations of the T480s utilize four full PCIE lanes and dual heatpipes. However, although the discrete model T480s and T480 use the same Nvidia MX150 GPU, performance is worse on the T480s.
@@darthgamer6080 T480 and 480S do not use the same GPU, T480 uses MX150-0 while the S has MX150-2 which is binned down. Also, iirc the iGPU models still just get 2 NVME lanes to the SSD.
I'm horrified that Lenovo still had the awful 1366x768 screen when the T480 came out, must have had a huge job lot of them to get rid of😂😂Were the power ports still socketed or did Lenovo go for soldering them to the MB?
@wombat1238-marsupial: In another UA-cam video ua-cam.com/video/A15FfeJq6pQ/v-deo.html they stated that unfortunately the Power-port is welded onto the motherboard, and that on the T470 was the last T-series to have a user-replaceable (ie. socketed) Power-port. I also like the T470P (in addition to the T420, X220, T430, and X230) because they do-not-have that "PowerBridge" thing. When you're replacing computer-components (examples: the hard-drive/SSD, and the RAM-memory-modules) you are told that you should NOT have ANY electrical-power running through the computer, and that the way to do that (in laptops) is to physically-disconnect the AC-adapter from the wall-socket AND physically-unplug the AC-adapter from the computer AND remove the battery from the computer. The reason for this is that (according to what I've read in various [and dozens-of-dozens of] computer-magazine articles over the years) if there is electricity still-running through the computer when you plug-in the new RAM modules and/or the new hard-drive/SSD you could short-circuit the new RAM modules / hard-drive / SSD. Unfortunately however, the "PowerBridge" thing does-not allow this, because there is still the-matter of the internal battery (which in the case of the "PowerBridge" system is -- from what I've read when doing research about it -- VERY-difficult to remove by the computer-user (because it is welded-and/or-glued into the motherboard), and that the only way to "disconnect it" is by going to a Bios setting. Unfortunately, that is a SOFTWARE setting. There is no guarantee [and/or actual guarantee] that it will actually work. The only way to be sure that it will work ("that it will work" as-in "that the battery is physically-disconnected") is by physically--disconnecting-it yourself). And there are other hassles (like the complaints I've read all over (again, when doing research about the PowerBridge system and trying-to-find-out more information about it) about that the PowerBridge system doesn't work as intended, and that the external battery is-NOT the first one to deplete, etcetera etcetera). So personally?, I rather have a laptop that DOESN'T have the "PowerBridge" battery, and save myself the aggravation-and/or-hassle in the future.
I'm not sure where you've heard half of what you said about PowerBridge but there are several inaccuracies. PowerBridge internal batteries are easy to remove and to my knowledge were NEVER glued in place.
I bought the t460s for a good price with 12gb of ram & NVMe SSD from an Ebay trader and continue to use this as an everyday laptop and haven't looked back. I wouldn't hesitate buying another later model Lenovo even reconditioned as these are built to last
The funniest thing is everyone mentioning the shutter for the cameras but nobody are mentioning or complaining about the lack of hardware switches for the microphones....
It used to sort of exist but it got moved to a keyboard shortcut. ThinkPad might have been the first to have dedicated buttons for that sort of thing. Could be wrong but I know it was important to David Hill.
@@LaptopRetrospective especially 4 core ones with 8th gen processors. I sold my pc with AMD 8 core fx8300 and it got beaten up by fella i5 8th gen 😂 I wonder if mx150 worth the money. Yes, it has better cooling but a lot more power consumption
For me, as an music artist t480 is great. It's power bridge tech gives me a lot of time outside of my home to spend on music production. Take some inspiration outside was always great! And i5 performs well, easily getting some beefy audio projects done
@@LaptopRetrospective Holy Crap! Even by the T480 they were still offering the I3? Could that only be possible in Canada? I noticed the seller was located there?
It was international. That sample being in Canada has to do with my search preferences. If you check the PSREF for the T series you'll see lots of i3 models.
My T480 is on the way. Prices seem to be rising, but I did get mine at what I think was a reasonable price ($649 CDN) given the config. We'll have to see.
I need a laptop can I have for the next 2 years, you recommend me T480 with Intel core I7 Vpro and Nvidia GeForce MX150? or exist better options in T480s family? Thank you :)
Does anyone know if it is hard to upgrade form a non-backlit keyboard to a backlit one? Is it just matter of changing it or do you need to make some modifications?
If that's the last then what is the T495? I just saw one listing in an online shop, comes with ryzen 5 pro 3500u for 350 dollars or 19000 pesos in my country's currency.
Hey man, I'm planning to buy this laptop for programming and stuff. What model should I choose? I heard that the core i7 model is overheating and throttling. But someone recommend me to chose the i⁷ model.
Consider where the recommendations come from and how close they fit your own use case. It may be that you aren't going to risk overheating it often and it's a non issue.
@@LaptopRetrospective No, it`s corporate laptop so i didnt bother, ordered HP EB 845 G8 R5-5650U 14 16GB/512 to replace it. Any tips to how to check battery health ?
I have an e585, an e530, and an x250. The e530 is too heavy for my back at this point. The x250. My eye sight has trouble with the small screen. So, I am getting a T480. 1080p screen should be much better for my eyes. Looks to be a good pickup.
@@LaptopRetrospective i hate the ones with soldered RAM, i think they are a waste of money and posibilities...What would be the today's equivalent of t480 in the L lineup, if you don't mind me asking.
Hello dude, I love your content, I'm pretending to get a x260 or t480, which one have the best battery? And what about the performance, is this t480 noticeably superior to the x260? I'm pretending to use it to design stuff, not too heavy, what do you think about it?
Hey, do you know if T480 i5 8350U 16gb Intel UHD 620 is okay for light gaming and occasional photoshop use, nothing to complicated. I would mainly use it for MS Office and Wordpress in browser for work, but I was wondering if it could be used also for some light gaming in free time.
Very much of a product of its era where companies would sooner replace or upgrade. I hope that with right to repair and other initiatives that companies will swing back to value modular components.
Great video, thanks! Loving my T480. Can you tell me what make and model screwdriver and Phillips head bit(s) you used to open the back case and keyboard screws? Many thanks!
Hi , i ordered t480 8250u i5 addition , i mostly use it for coding . Using vscode. How much difference is there between 8350u vs 8250u ? It is having only 16gb. May i upgrade this 8250 u to 32gb ? ram ??
While I have a T450 I have realized through use that processing power is my biggest hurdle for using for heavier applications. The T480 even with the i5 options look a lot better. I've checked the 2nd hand market locally and saw a T480 with the i5 8350u, 16gb ram, 256gb ssd, and 1366x768 screen (this one is sad) and it costs about the equivalent of 287 USD. Kinda close to the end cost of my current T450 after the ram and storage upgrade I did. But I wonder if the price is good enough, what do you think? or Should I wait longer for prices to drop like they did for the 4th - 6th gen ThinkPads?
Still currently debating whether to get said ThinkPad T480 or one of the tiny business PCs such as the Optiplex 3060 Micro with an i5 8500, 8gb ddr4 ram, 256gb ssd that I see for about 144 USD typically and 125 USD on sale.
@@LaptopRetrospective Honestly I agree with that considering how painful 1366x768 is becoming haha. I'd probably just get the Optiplex 3060 Micro since after assessing my needs more processing power seems to have won out and its easy to transport considering the size. Even the price is fine compared to the 6th and 7th gen tiny PCs that are almost the same price and still lower than even getting a T430 funnily. And I'll still have the T450 to rely on for portability.
Programming and coding don't have a set series of standards, that's why I suggest you research what will be the most demanding process you can expect and double check those system requirements against whatever model you are looking to purchase.
I have a dell t470, I hate all the clips and screws on the bottom to dissemble, I worry about breaking a clip which is common. My dell e6440 has only 3 screws and no screws to break. My mom had an hp business class laptop with only 1 screw to remove the bottom and again no clips.
@@LaptopRetrospective oh my that wud be lush! Especially with that 32gb ddr4! With a thunderbolt eGPU it cud be a beast in so many scenarios! Had my eye on one of these for a while, now there's windows 11 on the horizon those 8th gen i7s are gonna play nice too!
Remember, TB3 on it has 2x PCIe, so it's not a powerhouse for an egpu. If you looking up to some egpu stuff, find other laptops that have PCIe x4 on their TB3 and u'll be good
@@LaptopRetrospective thanks :-) . P.S. your videos are AWESOME, and thanks to you I learned-about the T420 and X220 and T430 and X230*. (And I'm trying to save-up money to get them). Now, if only they could (or should I say would) make a T420 that the USB-ports are USB-3 instead-of USB-2, and the processor was a socketed-version (not soldered) of the Intel 12th-generation version of processors, (and the Ram CONTINUED to NOT be soldered (as is the case with the most-recent Thinkpads; the Ram's soldered), and the internal-storage continued to NOT be soldered and continued to be EASILY-REMOVABLE and easily-USER-REPLACEABLE) that'd be peachy :-) . *(as well as the other models you've done reviews of)
There are some enthusiastic modders out there that put newer tech into these machines but the prices are premium. Socketed CPUs are a thing of the past thanks to Intel primarily.
@@LaptopRetrospective to take a quote from Ian Malcolm [in the movie "Jurassic Park: The Lost World"] (slightly-modified, of course), soldered processors (and soldered-Ram. and soldered internal-storage, for that matter) is one of the worst ideas in the long sad history of bad ideas.
only a week ago ive bought a t470 16gb ram i5 7300u for £300 literally as good as new and its perfect, ive only just realised the t480 is better due to its quad core, should i buy a t480 i5 8350u 16gb ram for £400 (is it worth the hassle refunding my t470 for the t480)?
@Chubzo: Me-personally I would suggest that you stay with the T470 because the power-port is-not soldered onto the motherboard like the power-port on the T480. If for whatever reason the power-port stops working, you can buy a replacement power-port and change it. (You don't end-up with a expensive paperweight if the power-port stops working, like you would do if you end-up with a not-working power-port on the T480). However, like @Laptop-Retrospective said, the T470 comes-with 7th-generation Intel Core processors, whereas the T480 comes-with 8th-generation Intel Core processors. So it's up to you what you want to do.
not just the thunderbolt port... the USB C charging was also permanently disabled. Only fix was a complete mobo swap because Lenovo stupidly didn't put the USB C PD port on a daughter board
Thanks for pointing out that these are coming off warranty, so hopefully a flood in the used market. It's also the last of the 2.5" bay, and I still like the option for an HDD. I also didn't know there was an option for QHD. Not that I necessarily want QHD on a 14", but since the FHD panels are so bad (60% sRGB) on these, I may opt for the QHD. Or I may buy one of the nice AU Optronics FHD panels if I ever buy a T480.
I disagree, I'm glad that the 2.5" bay is gone because hard drives are slow, obsolete, and need to go away . The gap in cost between hard and solid state drives are no longer astronomical, not to mention ssds are far more power efficient and reliable.
You're right that the cost between the two aren't so high. I would pop a 2242 SSD in these if I installed an HDD. I don't know. I'm still wary about SSDs because if it fails, you lose everything. With HDD, as least there's still a chance. If they have two m.2 2280 slots in there, then we're talking :-D . It's unfortunate, but I think development on 2.5" HDDs have stopped, which is why we haven't seen >2TB capacities in 7mm height drives. While you may not like HDDs, it's always nice to have options. If you don't want the 2.5" bay, you don't have to buy a notebook that has one. It is that simple. I have debated on whether or not to keep looking for a T480, though, especially since asking prices in Vancouver are still way too high. There's a certain point when it's better off to spend the bucks to buy a brand new machine. PS. 2.5" bay doesn't mean it has to be HDD ;-) .
@@LaptopRetrospective Daily reading/youtube, and since I am also field tech for cable I use it for troubleshooting. Those two lights that you get when you plug in ethernet as indicators for contact save a TON of time. Also very durable and I can firmly hold it in one hand with the big battery handle.
I've heard stories but sadly I don't own anything that takes full advantage. That and this unit was only around a few days before going to its new home. Couldn't hold on to it long enough. What do you know about the bug? I'd love to learn more.
@@LaptopRetrospective From what I've learned on The Internet, units without Bios patch suffer from premature wear of chips governing Thunderbolt port. This was main reason why I've chosen t440p instead last year. The issue was there is no real way to check how many read-write cycles those chips suffered before getting the laptop in my hand, so I've went with the ol' faithful, mostly thanks to your and Wolfgang's videos on the all matters Thinkpad.
thunderbolt bug was patched but permanent damage could have been done... they seem to pop up on the thinkpad forums (reddit especially) with alarming regularity imho avoid for that reason alone
Great video, could you take a look at a t580? Getting one in the next few days for 500€ with a dock (here they are ussualy 800€ without) and its a nice spec: i5 8250u, 16GB, MX150 and HD 620, 500GB nvme, warranty.
@@LaptopRetrospective also does it have a simcard slot? Im planning to buy one and use it in school and since our school have a poor internet connection I can't rely on it.
Different people over the years have said statements like this about several models, IBM and Lenovo generations both. I'm writing an article on this very topic. I think there is something true in every model people pick to say this about and I think there may exist a common thread.
@@LaptopRetrospective Dell, HP, and Lenovo had this as an option though some have gotten to be pretty expensive over the years while others are down to little as $9 before shipping. The common cost new would have been like $60 back in the day give or take. Anyway I am surprised that more people are not aware of this while claiming to like older designs.
I just upgraded from my t480 last month after using it as a daily production machine for the past year+. My machine was the i5-8250U model without a dGPU, but I used it nightly for encoding a nightly broadcast on Twitch as well as regular browsing and productivity during the day. These 8th-gen CPU's are *very* good for undervolting - I was able to control the thermal and performance characteristics well enough to let the CPU run all 8 threads at 3.1Ghz (~25W) indefinitely without going over around 80C.
Like many other good ThinkPad models, there's a host of tweaks and upgrades you can make - and I had fun swapping in quite a few on my machine. Here's most of the ones I upgraded my t480 with:
- Swapped in the 1080p, 400-nit "low power" IGZO panel from the t490 generation for its improved color, brightness, and power efficiency
- Swapped in a glass trackpad from the X1 Extreme
- Swapped in the Fan+Heatsink assembly from the dGPU t480 model for increased thermal mass (this dropped temps by 10C+)
- Added a second, NVMe SSD in the WWAN slot for dual-booting and additional storage
- Picked up that sweet 72Wh external battery for runtimes in the 14-hour range with mixed usage :)
In the end, I grew into needing more horsepower for my production than just an ULV quad-core could provide and ended up upgrading to a machine from ASUS (Zephyrus M16.) But I recently cleaned the t480 up extremely well to pass onto my wife for use at school, I hope she'll enjoy her time with it as much as I did.
Thanks for covering it on your channel, and Cheers!
~M
What a fantastic upgrade guide! Thanks for sharing.
would you mind sharing the undervolting steps you did to your machine, please?
@@anaszaiter5933 +1
That Glass Trackpad upgrade is what I want to know how you did. What part number did you have to use for that?
F
64 GB memory works on all T480 configurations.
The reason for the official limit is simple: 32 GB modules came out after the T480 as well as Kaby Lake Refresh CPUs were released. So neither Lenovo nor Intel tested these with 32 GB modules - so officially, they can only say "32 GB max". However, it has been confirmed many times that this works on all T480 models.
Thanks for commenting on this, I was getting scattered reports so the more information we have to confirm the better. Much appreciated.
However for most, they would be better served by using 32gb ram with tighter timings
This is so bizarre. I upgraded to 32GB and thought it was great. Though, even with heavy dev work I rarely get above 75% of that. But knowing I can throw more in there if I ever need it is interesting.
Wow nice info, on my way searching for second cheap laptop that support 64 gigs ram
64 GB RAM on T480 with Intel Core i7-8650U!!! Yesterday, I upgraded my T480 from 32 GB to 64 GB using 2 sticks of Crucial 32GB SODIMM DDR4 3200 PC4-25600 CL22 1.2V memory. Today, so far, so good. The BIOS and Windows OS both recognize all 64 GB of memory.
Woah, what a beast!
How? 32 GB is the maximum for I7-8650u according to ark.intel
No body is every going to use 64gigs ram...
Your not even going to use 16... Ever....
64 is absolutely absurd
But what if they want to use Chrome and another application? 😂
@@user-xg2or5pz6ynever is enough talking in Ram, always bigger is better, no matter what u do!
Using my I7 T480 with 32Gb ram and ssd in 2023. Its flying like the space shuttle! So quick no issues or lagging. Perfecto
Excellent!
I got my first T480 on eBay for $155 and about to retire my T430 finally
Thanks for the great video
Great buy, hope you enjoy it!
@@LaptopRetrospective thank you
NO OS, NO SSD, NO External battery though. So, I am gonna be swapping whatever I can from my T430. I hope it won’t cost me a lot more 🤞
Your videos are great for upgrading Thinkpad. Keep up the great work man 👌
Thanks for the kind words. I don't think you'll be reusing much if anything between those models by the way but it's nice to have a clean slate. An SSD and battery won't break the bank. The OS should have its digital key paired to the motherboard so it's just a matter of making a Windows USB.
@@MaheshPoreddy That is a bit expensive for such a barebones t480
I got my i7-8650u t480 for 160$
Came with a genuine copy of windows 10 pro as well as 16gb of ram and 256gb of storage (m.2 SSD)
Almost pristine condition
Thriugh this laptop im finding a goldmine of really good tech UA-camrs like yourself
Subbed
Thanks for your support!
Still loving my heavily upgraded T440p. Would be nice to have a more modern machine like this T480, but I'm holding out for a Framework laptop now as the next upgrade.
If you love your T440p then I have some machines for you coming ;-)
Same actually, got a riced T440p last year as a stop gap machine but wanted to switch to something that runs off usb-c charger for less clutter. And now with Framework laptop for office and SteamDeck for gaming, I see no reason to pick up *last of the V8s* Thinkpad presented her. Still want one thou, this thing is slick.
Great to hear that!
I have just bought T440p. It should arrive to me at monday!
Nice!
I wish there was a trackpad like the t440s for the t480, I much prefer the clean look of the t440s trackpad
I love my T480. With the larger battery and KDE Neon, it is very nice to use.
Cool distro choice!
Currently having HP 14s with Ryzen 5625U as my main laptop, but I still want to buy ThinkPad T480 as secondary machine. The hotswappable battery are still a big win for long outdoor work or living with frequent power outages, as you can buy as many of those batteries, charge them all when power is available and freely swap it when one battery is running out of power. It's very versatile!
PowerBridge ftw.
I have the thinner version T480S for work laptop with LTE and Thunderbolt Dock. Been working from home for almost 2 years, hooking up to 2 large monitors and it's on non stop from 6am till 7pm almost everyday without issues. A very robust machine indeed.
That's an awesome service record. May there be many more like it.
Hey Navi, I wanted to ask since you've used a TB3 dock for a while - is the cable or port loose? I.e. if you wiggle the TB3 cable while it's plugged in and docked, how far does it wiggle and does it have any disconnecting issues?
@@RanenPo Hi Ranen, Personally I don't have issues with my Thunderbolt connection, although my laptop is sitting on the laptop stand but I use all external keyboard and mouse so it's more or less semi permanent connection most of the time. But I do need to reposition the laptop a fair bit when I'm on MS Teams video conf but I did not notice any connectivity or port loosening issues while the cable is moving around. I've used both the TB3 cable comes with the dock and also a new longer 2m cable with no problems. So overall I'd say the TB3 port and connectivity is pretty solid.
@@RanenPo if the cable or port loose, is it gonna be a problem in the future?
mine are loose but doesnt have disconnecting issues,
but im using x260
@@arikowidtrash7074 Yeah I mean if it's loose now then as you keep using it, it gets looser
Just got a i7 t480 , ordered 16 extra RAM and 72Wh battery. Thanks for the review!
Awesome. Hope you enjoy it and get lots of use out of it.
Just bought one after watching a bunch of your videos, now I will rewatch this video a bunch of times 😂
Got it for 220 euros here in Italy
Awesome! I hope you enjoy it.
220 sounds very fair, would not have payed 500 for used… (maybe refurbished w/ gurantee)
Watching this on my T480. Currently my main machine.
Awesome stuff!
Worth mentioning, I think, is that the FHD panels are, in fact, different depending on whether you get the touch or non-touch version, because the touch functionality is embedded in the panel and not a module "glued" to it, as was the case back in the day. My T480 (FHD touch) is equipped with an IVO R140NWF5 R6 panel, which differs from the FHD non-touch panel(s) in three ways: first, obviously it has touch capabilities, secondly: it has a dreadful color gamut of 45% NTSC, and thirdly: it passively consumes a large amount of power because it has to drive the digitizer circuitry, leading to an overall battery life hit of (allegedly) around 20%. For these reasons, unless one really needs touch capability, I think FHD non-touch or even WQHD is the way to go, though the WQHD panel(s) do (allegedly) cause a battery life hit similar to the touch panel.
Great points. Thanks for sharing.
Wow, I had no idea. That sucks since I really like touchscreens.
Just ordered my T480 online after several days of research, and I am eager for it to arrive!
I went for the i5 8350U model with 16gb, 1080p screen, and a 256gb sata ssd
I have a spare 1tb hard drive that will be going in the drive bay until i later upgrade to a larger SSD
Will be using it mainly for music production and for web development in Garuda Linux!
Awesome, let us know how it goes.
The thinkpad T480 I feel is symbolic to what people remember of the Thinkpad T series in many ways.
The T series bridges the gap between the X series and the W/P series and is generally considered an "all around" laptop with a bunch of fun features in a still somewhat portable machine.
The T480 is just that. You get your thunderbolt and powerbridge and a few other upgrades here and there. It isn't the thinnest. lightest. most powerful, or the most "feature rich" Thinkpad. But it's a great machine just because of how well rounded it is. It isn't heavy and it isn't insanely thick and it's still plenty powerful with a gpu option if you do need some horsepower. Good ol thinkpad T series. Doesn't do anything "best" but very well rounded machines that check a lot of boxes for many people.
Well said. As the tech moves forward, it can be sometimes difficult to distinguish clear advantages between models.
@@LaptopRetrospective Indeed. Maybe one day we'll just have x1 carbons 😂
One has to wonder.
The WORST part of thinkpads is getting rid of the click buttons below the mousepad. It is a fact it slows productivity down a lot. Having a slightly better performing CPU doesn't compensate for it or more RAM. If you goto Lenovo forums you will see complaints from thinkpad owners saying how when they click the clickpad the cursor moves a bit and it is driving them crazy. For example I play Lichess blitz games and clicking and moving pieces on the board at high speed is very important. It is very slow without the click buttons. There is a lot of other software where productivity slows down alot for example Adobe Illustrator, CAD, 3D Studio, etc, where clicking and moving objects fast constantly is important. I moved over to laptops with quality click buttons. T480 does have the good feature of the powerbridge and two ram slots however unless you really need the powerbridge or/and the thinkpad keyboard I suggest sticking with thinkpads. However I moved over to Dell 7390 with click mouse buttons. Dells have better interfacing and the keyboard is good. Yet I believe the last of the true business machines remains with Fujitsu. Fujitsu has a lot of ports and click mouse buttons. However their battery life isn't great. I
I think those people wanting that level of precision wouldn't be using a trackpad for long.
@@LaptopRetrospective A lot of people have just settled for laptops without bottom mouse buttons. Without exactly knowing it's implications. I'm not a Lenovo hater, I always used them and have many models of them. In fact the T440 clickpad version was quicker than the T450 clickpad version and on. Because the new clickpad is at awkward angle and lumpy height at the bottom. The T440 if you combine it with special registry modificaitons and autohot key you get something better the Microsoft Precision hand gestures. I was able to surf the internet with, "enter", "copy", "paste", "two finger press", "detete" etc without ever touching the keyboard it was very comfortable just having one hand on the laptop all the time copying and pasting links i wanted to goto etc and text I wanted to save into notepad.
There is a mod for lenovo T450 and new models to make the clickpads cursor stop moving at the bottom when you press down. You need to load the older Synaptics driver on a fresh windows install and block windows from updating that driver. Also change reg option "suppressmousebuttonzone" or something. But noone knows this.
Japanese laptops still have bottom mouse buttons they are more traditional in mindset.
Very cool video! This just confirmed my suspicions regarding my new to me t480 being very close to top spec. Other than having the i7-8550u and the 1080p panel, it is fully maxed out otherwise. As it is out of warranty and was heavily used by a colleague at my company, the left hand rest corner is missing a bit of plastic and the trackpad surface is peeling off. Can't complain though, the price was really good at just under 250€.
Glad it is serving you well. Most ThinkPads will have many owners.
Thanks. Just ordered one for £209
Nice! Enjoy.
I bought one today for $40...a blessing.
Wow, no kidding!
Best windows laptop I’ve had so far.
What do you use it for?
I cant complaint about T480... Good job Lenovo. i am running with windows 11.. it is very smooth...Good job Lenovo
Nice, what do you use it for?
@@LaptopRetrospective I am using my one for programming.
I strongly recommend upgrade ram 16 to 32gb. After install win11, it is so heavy and when i run some apps, memory usages is almost 14gb.. so I upgrade DDR4 PC3200. (spec is Pc2400, but PC3200 is working well)
One day I'll own a machine with 32GB of RAM. 😂
@@LaptopRetrospective now it is very cheap... C$40 (2X16gb)
Aah, miss the good old days when removing a back cover (at the max) was enough to upgrade RAM/ HDD!
Bought one for around $250 (21K Indian Rupees). i5 8350U/8GB/256 GB in 2023. I don't need the latest and greatest for my work, so it is a good upgrade from L430 which I have been using for a really long time!
Nice specs! I hope it serves you well.
Are you using the default battery or the 72 Wh one?
Where can i buy the same in india? As ebay doesn’t operate in india
I remember buying the highest end model that was available at the time. Which had the 8650U, MX150 and the WQHD display. One of the best machines I had ever had, unfortunately had to sell it due to some financial difficulties but seeing as the machines are starting to hit the used market I might try and snag one again. Unfortunately no extended warranty like I had from Lenovo (which was until next year IIRC) but working on it isn't any more difficult than my old T420 that I still have.
Good luck on your search.
I have recently got myself Thinkpad A485 which is pretty much amd version of T480, and i am quitr pleased with it, its good enough for some light gaming with say Valve games from 2013 and prior at ver comfortable framerates when set up right. And can do all the work needed with ease
That's awesome. Glad you're enjoying it!
Considering x270 for its portability, but I think t480 with 72wh battery weight is a slight sacrifice to the benefits such as power and possibly longevity it can give. (x270 w/ 72wh = 3.3lbs; t480 w/ 72wh = 4.03lbs)
Either choice is a winner. Let us know what you decide.
T480 much more performance :) me already using x250 and x260 daily and when i needed to upgrade i will buy T480 its last of "thinkpad"
Awesome overview. Thanks!
Glad you found it helpful.
I only buy thinkpad laptops since X41 came out. Recently bought T480 (nvme, IPS display) with 1 yr factory warranty remained for 330 dollars on ebay. I added ultra dock(50 bucks on ebay.. I think I got lucky), 8gb ram (total 16) and 1TB SK Hynix P31. I prefer s version (owned T430s T450s T460s(for my wife)). T480's built quality is less than s...but overall I really enjoy with it. I like your video.
Thanks for watching and sharing your experiences!
i just got myself a T580 for 300 bucks refurbished. can't wait for it to arrive
Hope it arrives safely.
@@LaptopRetrospective same. It's from ebay but not international so it *should* be good
Keep us posted!
@@LaptopRetrospective will do!
@@LaptopRetrospective it arrived in perfect condition. only issue is, its not the exact model advertised. they advertised a T580 with Fingerprint Reader and Backlit Keyboard. But got the normal keyboard and no fingerprint reader. but nice trade in was the SIM Card Slot hehe (idk if all of them have it but I take this any day over a fingerprint reader heh)
I just got one used unit of this with the core i5 8350U , 8GB of RAM, 256 NVME, window hello camera, 1080P touch display, backlit keyboard and finger print scanner. It doesn't have any scratches, it only have scratches on the removable battery for some reason. it came with it's original charger and everything are working. I only got it for $380 USD and still have a few months warranty from Lenovo. I'm glad that I chose this over a brand new Huawei D14 with core i5 10th Gen that costs over $650 USD, the build of this thing is way better and I'm sure that this will last longer than the Huawei
The value of buying a ThinkPad, especially used is pretty nice. Congrats on your buy.
hardly a 'retro' laptop as it's from March 2018 (3.5 years since launch)
What to look out for:
1)NVMe drive is stuck at PCI 3.0 x2 (rather than full speed x4)
2)thunderbolt firmware issue that fried motherboards and even patched motherboards that may have been damaged are failing (they show up on reddit with some regularity)
3)1366x768 and 1920x1080 panels on these truly SUCK and will make your eyes bleed
4)iGPU models (no dGPU) had the pathetic single heatpipe cooler, which cripples CPU performance. Even the dual heatpipe cooler is insufficient to cool an i7, and you will get identical performance from an i5 and i7 8th gen CPU
5)plundervolt vulnerability has been patched at BIOS level, so you're no longer able to undervolt or overclock at all :(
6)fingerprint readers kind of sucked on this model, with a 50/50 chance of it working
If you're going with something around this age, go for the far superior T480s that solves issues 1 and 4, but even base FHD panels still sucked and you will want to upgrade to QHD or better. The T480s is also made with carbon fibre reinforced lid, magnesium bottom shell, and are overall better built. IMHO don't even consider a T480 or T470 series without warranty, as the motherboard is at a higher risk than other models of failing on you without warning
-owned and used T480s since March 2018, upgraded to P14s gen 2 recently
Yep, not retro yet but still wanted to feature it regardless. Thanks for your advice/comment on things to look for!
Another fellow happy T480s customer here, I bought mine new two years ago when Lenovo sold off the last batch of them before they discontinued them. Originally intended to buy a refurbished T480 off Lenovo's Outlet, but it never came back into stock so I cancelled my order. Bought the T480s new instead and then later found it to be the superior machine (imo).
I am still on my t480 i5 8350u with mx150.
Still very much usable.
I am planning on upgrading it to 64gb ram, replacing the internal battery, and repast the cpu when the parts get here.
I had so many memories with this laptop. I am planning on keeping it as a collector item.
Fantastic!
How about your experience with the T14?
I'm just wondering... do you have an x280 and how is the keyboard on it? I have an L13 yoga, but the keys are very hard to actuate compared to older Thinkpad keyboards with 1.8mm or more travel, from around 2013-2018. Travel isn't the issue(it is 1.69mm), but I saw that the x280 keyboard has more travel(1.8mm) and an easier actuation force(which is the main issue) while also being able to connect to the l13 yoga.
I don't have an X280 but the L series likely won't feel quite as good as an X or X1 series. My Nano for example has very little key travel for a ThinkPad but feels great because the switch mechanism is high quality.
This is the first generation of ThinkPads to officially support Windows 11 if you get it with an 8th gen Intel CPU.
Crazy to think that since so many before it could easily run it.
Windows 10 doesn't show compatibility on windows update yet on my T480
What CPU do you have?
@@LaptopRetrospective i5-8350U
Maybe the rollout is still to come?
Just bought an E480 with an i7 and the RX550 for only 180usd
I have a pretty good desktop but i wanted to try a laptop for more basic tasks and lighter games and the thinkpad seems to be the best option for laptops in that price range :)
Best of luck with it! 👍
Отличный ноутбук! У меня T580. Спасибо за обзор!
Powerbridge is awesome. I mean, in addition to hot swapping batts without turning the computer off, you also got extra battery life. Just quite handy and nice to have.
Yep, very handy when battery life is essential.
is it possible to switch the keyboard to a backlit one in the models without it?
Yep.
Quality upload, you da 🐐
Thank you kindly!
Hopefully later this year (or early 2022), I'll get my hand on T480/s. Finger crossed🤞
Should be lots to choose from soon when the warranties expire.
I'm selling my t480 Ted! Lmk if you are still in the market for one! I needed a Mac for work to work with their programs lol
You do not need to disable the battery in bios just disconnect the battery connector once opened
Yep, most are comfortable with that process but the safest method is still to disable it before opening.
@@LaptopRetrospective ah ok I always get nervous that I will accidentally brick the bios
currently on the hunt for a used t480 with an Nvidia GPU. The few that aren't hideously overpriced get sold to the highest bidder that jacks up the price anyway- and while I look for a good deal your videos on the model are a great way to familiarize myself with the specs! Thank you for all the information you've given!
You're most welcome and good luck on your hunt. The T480 is a very desirable model.
I would reconsider getting the nvidia gpu. It sounds nice in theory but in practice it will slow down performance due to cpu throttling when the gpu gets hot. And it will.
Hmmm interesting consideration. I'm guessing you're speaking from experience?
@@LaptopRetrospective Ehh no, lets clarify that. Not experienced on this model. I have experienced it on other models and the less space for heat to go, the worse it gets. Often the heatsink for the gpu is shared with the cpu which will obviously impact the cpu temperature when the gpu gets hot.
I have ordered this model without the nvidia card for this specific reason..
It's a theory which i think is valid.
Also note that it will most likely cause a drain on the battery as well.
Cheers for the extra info! Much appreciated.
Watching this video from my T480s, while my legion 7 is shutdown over the desk (behaves like a delicate creature). These thinkpads are TANKS.
Sure am!
4:18 Worth noting that the NVME slot is only 2 PCIE lanes instead of the typical 4, so drive performance on the T480 isn't superb.
Only the discrete GPU model, supposedly the integrated GPU model uses 4 full PCIE lanes. The iGPU model also only has a single heatpipe and thus can thermal throttle.
All configurations of the T480s utilize four full PCIE lanes and dual heatpipes. However, although the discrete model T480s and T480 use the same Nvidia MX150 GPU, performance is worse on the T480s.
Good to know. Sadly everything now essentially throttles, it's just a question of when.
@@darthgamer6080 T480 and 480S do not use the same GPU, T480 uses MX150-0 while the S has MX150-2 which is binned down. Also, iirc the iGPU models still just get 2 NVME lanes to the SSD.
Can I use this without an internal battery? I don't really have the money to replace both the internal and external ones, so...
Yes, the internal battery is optional and it can run without it.
@@LaptopRetrospective thank you!
@rubenramos4281 you're welcome!
I'm horrified that Lenovo still had the awful 1366x768 screen when the T480 came out, must have had a huge job lot of them to get rid of😂😂Were the power ports still socketed or did Lenovo go for soldering them to the MB?
That and I don't think screen resolution mattered to businesses vs the extra cost at the time.
@wombat1238-marsupial:
In another UA-cam video ua-cam.com/video/A15FfeJq6pQ/v-deo.html they stated that unfortunately the Power-port is welded onto the motherboard, and that on the T470 was the last T-series to have a user-replaceable (ie. socketed) Power-port.
I also like the T470P (in addition to the T420, X220, T430, and X230) because they do-not-have that "PowerBridge" thing. When you're replacing computer-components (examples: the hard-drive/SSD, and the RAM-memory-modules) you are told that you should NOT have ANY electrical-power running through the computer, and that the way to do that (in laptops) is to physically-disconnect the AC-adapter from the wall-socket AND physically-unplug the AC-adapter from the computer AND remove the battery from the computer.
The reason for this is that (according to what I've read in various [and dozens-of-dozens of] computer-magazine articles over the years) if there is electricity still-running through the computer when you plug-in the new RAM modules and/or the new hard-drive/SSD you could short-circuit the new RAM modules / hard-drive / SSD.
Unfortunately however, the "PowerBridge" thing does-not allow this, because there is still the-matter of the internal battery (which in the case of the "PowerBridge" system is -- from what I've read when doing research about it -- VERY-difficult to remove by the computer-user (because it is welded-and/or-glued into the motherboard), and that the only way to "disconnect it" is by going to a Bios setting. Unfortunately, that is a SOFTWARE setting. There is no guarantee [and/or actual guarantee] that it will actually work. The only way to be sure that it will work ("that it will work" as-in "that the battery is physically-disconnected") is by physically--disconnecting-it yourself). And there are other hassles (like the complaints I've read all over (again, when doing research about the PowerBridge system and trying-to-find-out more information about it) about that the PowerBridge system doesn't work as intended, and that the external battery is-NOT the first one to deplete, etcetera etcetera). So personally?, I rather have a laptop that DOESN'T have the "PowerBridge" battery, and save myself the aggravation-and/or-hassle in the future.
I'm not sure where you've heard half of what you said about PowerBridge but there are several inaccuracies. PowerBridge internal batteries are easy to remove and to my knowledge were NEVER glued in place.
You can buy a new 1080p screen for $80. I upgraded my screen from the horrendous 1366x768 screen. Major difference
Yep, good call.
Well this is not related to the t480 but I got t450s and I upgraded the scream in the ram and to SSD it's a really great laptop for school or college
That's still awesome to hear.
I bought the t460s for a good price with 12gb of ram & NVMe SSD from an Ebay trader and continue to use this as an everyday laptop and haven't looked back. I wouldn't hesitate buying another later model Lenovo even reconditioned as these are built to last
Nice find!
The funniest thing is everyone mentioning the shutter for the cameras but nobody are mentioning or complaining about the lack of hardware switches for the microphones....
It used to sort of exist but it got moved to a keyboard shortcut. ThinkPad might have been the first to have dedicated buttons for that sort of thing. Could be wrong but I know it was important to David Hill.
I got one 1 mo ago and its great!
They are awesome machines for so many uses.
@@LaptopRetrospective especially 4 core ones with 8th gen processors. I sold my pc with AMD 8 core fx8300 and it got beaten up by fella i5 8th gen 😂
I wonder if mx150 worth the money. Yes, it has better cooling but a lot more power consumption
For me, as an music artist t480 is great. It's power bridge tech gives me a lot of time outside of my home to spend on music production. Take some inspiration outside was always great! And i5 performs well, easily getting some beefy audio projects done
I never seen any Lenovo literature talk about an I3 CPU. Honestly I never remember any T series laptop with an I3 CPU. 😮
Yeah if you're shilling out for a T series, cheapening out on the CPU is not a popular choice.
@@LaptopRetrospective I would LOVE to actual see a T-series with an I3. Never actually seen one in my 20+ years of being a Thinkpad enthusiast.
@klwthe3rd www.ebay.ca/itm/195519719613?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=nf9pQCqLQpW&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=wcZ7pdetRyS&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
@@LaptopRetrospective Holy Crap! Even by the T480 they were still offering the I3? Could that only be possible in Canada? I noticed the seller was located there?
It was international. That sample being in Canada has to do with my search preferences. If you check the PSREF for the T series you'll see lots of i3 models.
My T480 is on the way. Prices seem to be rising, but I did get mine at what I think was a reasonable price ($649 CDN) given the config. We'll have to see.
Fingers crossed for you. 👍
how did it go? i'm waiting for my 3rd gen x1 yoga to arrive
@@360.Tapestry It's a very nice machine. It even came with 18 months remaining on the original 3yr warranty.
Very nice indeed! Nice buy for sure.
I need a laptop can I have for the next 2 years, you recommend me T480 with Intel core I7 Vpro and Nvidia GeForce MX150? or exist better options in T480s family? Thank you :)
Depending on what you need it to do, that's a nice set of specs. I'd prefer it to the s model as the regular one has dual batteries.
Very informative! Thanks for the video, someone’s offering me T480 I7 8650U for 250CAD. Is this considered a good deal?
If it's in good condition, yes that is a good value.
Does anyone know if it is hard to upgrade form a non-backlit keyboard to a backlit one? Is it just matter of changing it or do you need to make some modifications?
Think it's just plug and play. The hardware maintenance manual outlines the process in detail down to the FRU.
How about the speed of NVME M.2 on T480 using adapter? it's running on Pcie 3x4 or 3x2 ? Any, thanks in advance
The PSREF has the speeds of each slot detailed.
If that's the last then what is the T495? I just saw one listing in an online shop, comes with ryzen 5 pro 3500u for 350 dollars or 19000 pesos in my country's currency.
The T490 and 495 are the first with the new design that dropped PowerBridge.
Hey man, I'm planning to buy this laptop for programming and stuff. What model should I choose? I heard that the core i7 model is overheating and throttling. But someone recommend me to chose the i⁷ model.
Consider where the recommendations come from and how close they fit your own use case. It may be that you aren't going to risk overheating it often and it's a non issue.
is this laptop enough for trading forex using metatrader 4? Will be using an external monitor also.
How do I know if a laptop has an internal battery without opening it?
Most will but without opening it you'll need to run something like Battery Report in Windows.
Hi, would you recommend getting a refurbished T480 in 2023, for using demanding programs like CAD?
The T480 is a solid unit. Always check system requirements.
I have problem with battery issue with T480. It lasts only for 1,5 hours which freaking odd for the thinkpad.
Very odd indeed. I assume you've checked battery health?
@@LaptopRetrospective No, it`s corporate laptop so i didnt bother, ordered HP EB 845 G8 R5-5650U 14 16GB/512 to replace it. Any tips to how to check battery health ?
If in Windows, command line. Powercfg /batteryreport
Saudações do Brasil!
I have an e585, an e530, and an x250. The e530 is too heavy for my back at this point. The x250. My eye sight has trouble with the small screen. So, I am getting a T480. 1080p screen should be much better for my eyes. Looks to be a good pickup.
Best of luck getting something that meets your needs! It's important.
Is there any product in the thinkpad lineup that can rival the upgradability and versatility of x230/t430/ t480?
Some of the L series are nice, the P series also has a fair bit of flexibility.
@@LaptopRetrospective i hate the ones with soldered RAM, i think they are a waste of money and posibilities...What would be the today's equivalent of t480 in the L lineup, if you don't mind me asking.
Should be the L14 if I recall correctly.
@@LaptopRetrospective thank you, i'm going to have a look at it, maybe watch some reviews 🤔
Hello dude, I love your content, I'm pretending to get a x260 or t480, which one have the best battery? And what about the performance, is this t480 noticeably superior to the x260? I'm pretending to use it to design stuff, not too heavy, what do you think about it?
I'd get the T480. Better/newer CPU that will support Windows 11.
@@LaptopRetrospective thank you so much dude!
You're welcome. Best of luck on your acquisition.
Can I use the USB type C to connect an external monitor?
You should be able to. It's always a good idea to check the USB-C requirements of the monitor against your model.
Hey, do you know if T480 i5 8350U 16gb Intel UHD 620 is okay for light gaming and occasional photoshop use, nothing to complicated. I would mainly use it for MS Office and Wordpress in browser for work, but I was wondering if it could be used also for some light gaming in free time.
Define light gaming. 😁 Never want to assume.
@@LaptopRetrospective Haha, I guess occasional League of Legends or Hearthstone.
Double check that they will be okay on an integrated GPU. If I remember right it's the Intel UHD630.
@@LaptopRetrospective Ty
What about for programming
The USB-C port is weak. I would be careful or get a Magport copy.
Guessing you've had trouble with one?
@@LaptopRetrospective internship laptop. Fix is hard. Design wasn't repair centric.
Very much of a product of its era where companies would sooner replace or upgrade. I hope that with right to repair and other initiatives that companies will swing back to value modular components.
@@LaptopRetrospective amen, Im not that good at soldering. But if I had to buy a laptop it would be Framework or S76
Great video, thanks! Loving my T480. Can you tell me what make and model screwdriver and Phillips head bit(s) you used to open the back case and keyboard screws? Many thanks!
Pretty sure those are only available in Canada as they are from a brand only sold in a store here.
@@LaptopRetrospective OK, thanks!
What's the difference between the T480 and the T480s models?
There are a lot of differences. Generally the s is thinner, less features, fewer upgradable parts.
Hi , i ordered t480 8250u i5 addition , i mostly use it for coding . Using vscode. How much difference is there between 8350u vs 8250u ? It is having only 16gb. May i upgrade this 8250 u to 32gb ? ram ??
You can check several benchmarking websites to get an idea for the difference between CPUs. You can upgrade the T480 RAM easily as seen in the video.
@@LaptopRetrospective yes, thanks for quick response. Your awesome.
But my question is " is this machine compatible for 32gb ram ?? "
@superman2guntur You're welcome. 😁
@@LaptopRetrospective is this 8250u i5 comptible to 32gb ram because vendor max is 16gb only.
While I have a T450 I have realized through use that processing power is my biggest hurdle for using for heavier applications. The T480 even with the i5 options look a lot better.
I've checked the 2nd hand market locally and saw a T480 with the i5 8350u, 16gb ram, 256gb ssd, and 1366x768 screen (this one is sad) and it costs about the equivalent of 287 USD. Kinda close to the end cost of my current T450 after the ram and storage upgrade I did. But I wonder if the price is good enough, what do you think? or Should I wait longer for prices to drop like they did for the 4th - 6th gen ThinkPads?
Still currently debating whether to get said ThinkPad T480 or one of the tiny business PCs such as the Optiplex 3060 Micro with an i5 8500, 8gb ddr4 ram, 256gb ssd that I see for about 144 USD typically and 125 USD on sale.
For me personally, I wouldn't want anything below a base 1920x1080 panel.
@@LaptopRetrospective Honestly I agree with that considering how painful 1366x768 is becoming haha.
I'd probably just get the Optiplex 3060 Micro since after assessing my needs more processing power seems to have won out and its easy to transport considering the size. Even the price is fine compared to the 6th and 7th gen tiny PCs that are almost the same price and still lower than even getting a T430 funnily.
And I'll still have the T450 to rely on for portability.
Sounds like a solid plan.
can you compare performance of the W530 and T480 while at the sustained maximum frequency.
If I ever get both machines at the same time, it could be a possibility.
@@LaptopRetrospective i bet W530 i7-3940XM will be generally faster than T480 i7-8550U for plain calculations. e.g. openssl speed
Can i run visual studio on it? please reply
Do you still recommended it for 2022?
Planning to buy for programming and coding as a college student.
Yep. It's still a good machine and natively supports Windows 11. Check your most demanding process and its system requirements to be sure.
Even with an a i5 processor?
Programming and coding don't have a set series of standards, that's why I suggest you research what will be the most demanding process you can expect and double check those system requirements against whatever model you are looking to purchase.
Thank you sir for the information.
You're welcome. Best of luck.
I have a dell t470, I hate all the clips and screws on the bottom to dissemble, I worry about breaking a clip which is common. My dell e6440 has only 3 screws and no screws to break. My mom had an hp business class laptop with only 1 screw to remove the bottom and again no clips.
@Nicholas-Espinoza:
A "Dell T470" doesn't exist. Maybe you mean a Lenovo Thinkpad T470. Or a Dell Latitude E7440. Or maybe a Dell Latitude E7470.
Now this is a laptop I've been waiting to hear about!!
Does it have thunderbolt 3? I guess I'll find out... Watching now!
One Thunderbolt 3 port. It's pretty much a laptop that could be useful to nearly anyone.
@@LaptopRetrospective oh my that wud be lush! Especially with that 32gb ddr4! With a thunderbolt eGPU it cud be a beast in so many scenarios!
Had my eye on one of these for a while, now there's windows 11 on the horizon those 8th gen i7s are gonna play nice too!
@@LaptopRetrospective ps: the dual battery aka essentially infinite battery power (budget allowing) wud be such a game changer too!
Remember, TB3 on it has 2x PCIe, so it's not a powerhouse for an egpu. If you looking up to some egpu stuff, find other laptops that have PCIe x4 on their TB3 and u'll be good
Yeah, lanes aren't crazy.
is this pc still good for gaming like roblox and fortnite in 2024? and does it only can use 5g wifi or 2.4g wifl?
It supports both WiFi bands. Check your system requirements against the configuration of the machine you're looking to buy.
Hi Laptop-Retrospective. Is it possible that you could do a review of the Thinkpad T470p ?
If I ever get the chance, of course.
@@LaptopRetrospective thanks :-) .
P.S. your videos are AWESOME, and thanks to you I learned-about the T420 and X220 and T430 and X230*. (And I'm trying to save-up money to get them).
Now, if only they could (or should I say would) make a T420 that the USB-ports are USB-3 instead-of USB-2, and the processor was a socketed-version (not soldered) of the Intel 12th-generation version of processors, (and the Ram CONTINUED to NOT be soldered (as is the case with the most-recent Thinkpads; the Ram's soldered), and the internal-storage continued to NOT be soldered and continued to be EASILY-REMOVABLE and easily-USER-REPLACEABLE) that'd be peachy :-) .
*(as well as the other models you've done reviews of)
There are some enthusiastic modders out there that put newer tech into these machines but the prices are premium. Socketed CPUs are a thing of the past thanks to Intel primarily.
@@LaptopRetrospective to take a quote from Ian Malcolm [in the movie "Jurassic Park: The Lost World"] (slightly-modified, of course), soldered processors (and soldered-Ram. and soldered internal-storage, for that matter) is one of the worst ideas in the long sad history of bad ideas.
only a week ago ive bought a t470 16gb ram i5 7300u for £300 literally as good as new and its perfect, ive only just realised the t480 is better due to its quad core, should i buy a t480 i5 8350u 16gb ram for £400 (is it worth the hassle refunding my t470 for the t480)?
That's really up to you but I'd want the 8th Gen.
@Chubzo:
Me-personally I would suggest that you stay with the T470 because the power-port is-not soldered onto the motherboard like the power-port on the T480. If for whatever reason the power-port stops working, you can buy a replacement power-port and change it. (You don't end-up with a expensive paperweight if the power-port stops working, like you would do if you end-up with a not-working power-port on the T480).
However, like @Laptop-Retrospective said, the T470 comes-with 7th-generation Intel Core processors, whereas the T480 comes-with 8th-generation Intel Core processors. So it's up to you what you want to do.
It is a shame to lose the replaceable power port but I personally wouldn't weigh a new CPU against that feature. Shame we have to choose I suppose.
ppl
Nice one! Didn't some of these have problems with their Thunderbolt ports dying?
Yeah I'm learning about that from another commenter.
@@LaptopRetrospective Aye, I think Lenovo released a firmware update.
not just the thunderbolt port... the USB C charging was also permanently disabled. Only fix was a complete mobo swap because Lenovo stupidly didn't put the USB C PD port on a daughter board
Yep, I've heard it was patched.
Yeah not using a daughter board to save space and parts is a common complaint.
I love this laptop...i bought this a month ago...i prefer t480 than t490😂
Haven't seen a T490 in person yet but I think it would be hard pressed to beat it.
T490 makes more sense than the T490s because at least the T490 still has one upgradeable SODIMM slot.
Same I bought the t480 instead of t490
Exactly which msata card can be used to replace the wwan card?
mSATA wouldn't be it, if it's possible at all. It would be M.2
Thanks for pointing out that these are coming off warranty, so hopefully a flood in the used market. It's also the last of the 2.5" bay, and I still like the option for an HDD. I also didn't know there was an option for QHD. Not that I necessarily want QHD on a 14", but since the FHD panels are so bad (60% sRGB) on these, I may opt for the QHD. Or I may buy one of the nice AU Optronics FHD panels if I ever buy a T480.
Fair point on the 2.5" bay. Very cost effective too.
I disagree, I'm glad that the 2.5" bay is gone because hard drives are slow, obsolete, and need to go away . The gap in cost between hard and solid state drives are no longer astronomical, not to mention ssds are far more power efficient and reliable.
We are getting very close to the tipping point of that form factor being obsolete but systems still ship with them. Not your nicer ones mind you.
You're right that the cost between the two aren't so high. I would pop a 2242 SSD in these if I installed an HDD. I don't know. I'm still wary about SSDs because if it fails, you lose everything. With HDD, as least there's still a chance. If they have two m.2 2280 slots in there, then we're talking :-D .
It's unfortunate, but I think development on 2.5" HDDs have stopped, which is why we haven't seen >2TB capacities in 7mm height drives. While you may not like HDDs, it's always nice to have options. If you don't want the 2.5" bay, you don't have to buy a notebook that has one. It is that simple.
I have debated on whether or not to keep looking for a T480, though, especially since asking prices in Vancouver are still way too high. There's a certain point when it's better off to spend the bucks to buy a brand new machine.
PS. 2.5" bay doesn't mean it has to be HDD ;-) .
They have flooded😂
Is it heavy...since this one has a graphic card...
A dGPU isn't going to add any noticeable difference in the weight.
Still using my X200.
Neat, what do you use it for?
@@LaptopRetrospective Daily reading/youtube, and since I am also field tech for cable I use it for troubleshooting. Those two lights that you get when you plug in ethernet as indicators for contact save a TON of time. Also very durable and I can firmly hold it in one hand with the big battery handle.
@OrdoMallius what OS do you run on it? I saw an X201 with Tiny11 on it a few months ago and it was impressive.
I would love to know more about the thunderbolt bug and if patching it really solves the issue.
I've heard stories but sadly I don't own anything that takes full advantage. That and this unit was only around a few days before going to its new home. Couldn't hold on to it long enough. What do you know about the bug? I'd love to learn more.
@@LaptopRetrospective From what I've learned on The Internet, units without Bios patch suffer from premature wear of chips governing Thunderbolt port. This was main reason why I've chosen t440p instead last year. The issue was there is no real way to check how many read-write cycles those chips suffered before getting the laptop in my hand, so I've went with the ol' faithful, mostly thanks to your and Wolfgang's videos on the all matters Thinkpad.
thunderbolt bug was patched but permanent damage could have been done... they seem to pop up on the thinkpad forums (reddit especially) with alarming regularity
imho avoid for that reason alone
Great video, could you take a look at a t580? Getting one in the next few days for 500€ with a dock (here they are ussualy 800€ without) and its a nice spec: i5 8250u, 16GB, MX150 and HD 620, 500GB nvme, warranty.
Sooner than you think. 😉
Is the i7 version of this still worth it for school and web browsing today?
Unless you're doing something very demanding for school, it's perfectly fine.
@@LaptopRetrospectiveMy main use is for typing thesis and web browsing but main concern for me is can it last atleast 3-5 more years?
Make sure you've got at least 16 GB of RAM (fresh batteries too) and it will likely last longer than you'll use it, just like the last owner. 😉
@@LaptopRetrospective thanks bro
You're welcome.
Can you please recommend the best screen for this model?
What are your specific needs?
@@LaptopRetrospective Color accuracy and if is possible 120hz
120hz isn't happening unless you find a mod kit for a much nicer panel. The best they shipped with was the 14" 2560x1440 panel.
@@LaptopRetrospective Can you please provide a link for it?
A link to what exactly?
Wish the labtop more closer to camera that I can see more details of component inside of the labtop
Limitations of the filming setup I hope to address one day. In the meantime, ask any questions or check the description for the HMM.
Is it possible to upgrade the CPU to i7 8th gen?
If you swap the entire motherboard because CPUs have been soldered on for generations by this point.
@@LaptopRetrospective also does it have a simcard slot? Im planning to buy one and use it in school and since our school have a poor internet connection I can't rely on it.
@arthurmaghanoy18 It was an option. They didn't all come with it. It can be put in after the fact with a little bit of work.
which do you prefer? t480 or t480s?
T480 for the PowerBridge technology.
nice, ordering now :D
No twin thumb-buttons below the touchpad, WTHey?
Those aren't common for years at this point unless you have a workstation grade machine.
T480, the last decent laptop Lenovo produced.. It is a shame it went downhill after that
Different people over the years have said statements like this about several models, IBM and Lenovo generations both. I'm writing an article on this very topic. I think there is something true in every model people pick to say this about and I think there may exist a common thread.
not working keyboard light
Spacebar have the pictogram for a backlight or does it need to be replaced?
t60🔥
Is this still worth getting in 2022? Thanks
Still a great laptop. What are you looking for it to do?
@@LaptopRetrospective mostly school. Physics major
Shouldn't have any trouble then.
@@LaptopRetrospective thank you
You're welcome. Let us know how it goes.
I have one it works good gets a bit hard and isn't the best for gaming
Makes sense as it isn't really made for gaming. Still nice piece of kit. 😁
I know what my next purchase is.
Hunt down a good one!
@@LaptopRetrospective I really want one with the MX150 to replace my Acer Aspire 5, but they don't seem as easy to come by.
Give it about a year or less and I suspect you'll have more to choose from.
It is still worth in 2024??
People are still buying these up for all sorts of tasks. Windows 11 support helps too.
Bro is it still worth in 2024?
@@LaptopRetrospective can i run visual studio smoothly
Looks like quite a few people use it for that on Reddit. I don't personally use Visual Studio but I see the i7 configuration recommended.
Pity that it can't use a slice battery so no to doubling battery life on the go unlike older models.
I haven't seen a battery slice in real life yet. Not sure how common they were.
@@LaptopRetrospective Dell, HP, and Lenovo had this as an option though some have gotten to be pretty expensive over the years while others are down to little as $9 before shipping. The common cost new would have been like $60 back in the day give or take. Anyway I am surprised that more people are not aware of this while claiming to like older designs.
@@LaptopRetrospective very. I have some fond memories of using them on my X61 and X220