Lenovo ThinkPad T480s: On the Cutting Edge of Ports 

That's awesome, thanks for sharing your experience. Nice getting it with some warranty remaining.

That's a great find. Typically I wouldn't be concerned with warranty but every laptop I have had owned went through a warranty process

Just grabbed one off eBay for $250 - i5-8350U with 8gb of RAM and the 1080p screen. Haven't tested it yet as it hasn't shipped, but it's replacing a 2015ish Acer Aspire and should be a big upgrade. Plus the seller had a 30-day return policy which gives a little insurance in case something isn't working.

That's awesome!

do this have backlit keyboard

Yeah the port selection is nice for an s model.

Woah woah woah, the camera cable is known to go bad in these?

will note buying renewed if the firmware version is 20 or higher then it doesn't have the TB issue anymore

@@darthgamer6080 Year late reply lmao but the shielding around the connection to the motherboard peels back exposing the wires and just causing it to go bad. Seen it a lot when working on them, only fix was a new cable.

They are excellent machines. Enjoy!

T480 is a great unit, no question.

does t480 have backlight keyboard? if so what keys to turn on?

It was an option. If your keyboard has it you will see the pictogram on the spacebar. FN + Spacebar.

​@@LaptopRetrospective i want to buy a laptop What you recommend T480 or T480s ?

If it were me, I would go with the T480.

Best of luck, hope you find a great deal.

Pretty nice for a thinner model. Shares more in common with the T480 than future generations.

Glad you enjoyed the video!

for how long does your battery typically last?

ThinkPads are great travel machines!

The T480 units are great machines.

Hey I got the same one. With fingerprint reader and, unnecessarily, touchscreen. How much does your battery last with normal use? Mine came with 80% health and lasts around four or five hours to go from 80% charge to almost nothing.

@@manuelmigoya2109 Hey, funnily enough just disable the touchscreen in the device manager under human interface devices, and its called a HID compliant touchscreen. my renewed unit came with a brand new battery! 99.8%. about 7-9 hours if you are doing light tasks. the 15hr figure is an impossibility though :(

Solid upgrade choices!

You're welcome, thanks for watching.

Fair point on the display but you might get around that with a high quality external display.

Excellent!

I bought one and the speakers sound tinny. Can you make a video of the speaker sound using common stuff I can replicate.

My T480s is long gone. Sorry. Business machines have functional speakers but they generally don't win awards, unless they are the higher end models.

Haha that's awesome. Hope you enjoy it.

👍

It's partly a consequence of making a computer so accessible that essentially anyone can use it.

Interesting, I'll keep that in mind when I look at a modern P series one day.

@@LaptopRetrospective prepare to be disappointed.

Is the newer gen really that bad compared to its predecessor in terms of build quality?

@@solosecondhandstore5087 yes 100%

Not sure honestly what the thinking is behind it but I'd like to think there is some good reasons behind it. Perhaps one day the reason will be revealed.

The following doesn't apply to the ThinkPad, but does apply to the IdeaPad, but I wanted to point it out anyway: that design issue is exacerbated when the exhaust vents are located in the rear so that hot air hits the bottom lip of the lid.

More compact.

I believe so but I'd double check by reading the PSREF as it gives you display support information.

Never too late to enjoy a ThinkPad.

@@LaptopRetrospective Oh yeah very true. I'm gonna love this one I suspect

Let us know.

@@LaptopRetrospective It's a very strong, sturdy package and the magnesium cools the bottom cover + top case impressively well making it cool to the touch on basically any load I throw at it. I am pleased that they managed to include a dual heat pipe. That really helps this thinner chassis. My designated use cases for this are: Software KVM on desk, media streaming, light gaming (2D stuff, old 3D stuff, emulators) w/ Bluetooth controller, e-mail, messengers, looking up stuff on the go, code editing...basically the go-to for travel now. I really wanted to protect my new L14G2A and this fits the bill. Arch is stingy about the fingerprint reader with a Validity reader upon enrollment, so I haven't gotten that working yet. It's an i5 vPro 8GB soldered model -- I transplanted 16GB extra and an Intel tri-band 18265 AC card. I got a battery with 24 cycles from the Windows report, 3Wh lost, and Linux shows 94% health...this thing is in better condition than the seller let on. It was pulled from an enterprise environment -- there were no surprises and everything was wiped appropriately. The condition is A-tier; the wear is almost strictly cosmetic with one little oddity of my left TrackPoint button not fully registering at the right side of it, which is where I usually click. It has to be pressed down more than I'd like to register. I can easily just place my thumb somewhere else. Maybe there's something under it that got in and I can just air/clean it out. I did a bit of a clean around the keyboard & heatsink + fan, the vents, re-pasted, and was happy this one isn't full of those dreaded chassis clips. I love the keyboard on this. It flashed to its newest firmware including Thunderbolt and it all succeeded, so no worries about that. It passed every diagnostic I ran so far. It's running as I would prefer. It's really hard to find problems with it to tell you the truth. Maybe I could adjust the hinge tension. Maybe I could replace the keyboard down the road. Maybe the screen isn't the best in the world, but I can upgrade it. Maybe Lenovo's choices in coatings aren't the best, but they're still pretty alright. Every issue is very minor and not really a bother for me. It's less weight than the X270 with a 3 and 6-cell. My scale has it at 3.122 lb. or about 1.46kg. There is barely flex *anywhere* and the panel housing is quite durable. I think Lenovo did very well with this model.

Fantastic, thanks for providing all this detail about your experience.

Always check your system requirements against the specific system you are looking to buy. The T480 and 480s are favourites for multiple tasks.

Love the T480.

Lmao covid drove u so mad u didnt touch ur own trackpad? xD

Yep, it sure is.

It's common on modern models, not sure exactly when it started.

@@LaptopRetrospective I think it's a great feature. I checked my trusty X240, but it doesn't have this.

Yeah I think it happened around this generation of machine.

The PSREF I believe states the material that the TrackPad is constructed from. Glass TrackPads are usually on the X1.

Battery technology and power management really got better after 8th Gen but it's all in how you compare I suppose.

I understand how you feel, those dedicated buttons were really slick on the older models.

I'd go with the T480s as it has the overall better specs.

I think if the laptop has a TB3/TB4 port that supports power delivery then the right power bank should be able to charge it.

Yep, sure would. Both can natively run Windows 11. I have a soft spot for the T480 with the PowerBridge system.

@@LaptopRetrospective Thank you very much! Sorry for the double question, but what about for daily driving Linux, would you still recommend? I'm thinking of dd'ing Linux (Ubuntu, Mint, I'm open to suggestions) on a T480 to get me through 2-3 years of Grad School. Good idea?

ThinkPads are well known to behave nicely with Linux. 2-3 years depending on your software demands for your schooling should be fine. i5 or i7 with 16GB of RAM and healthy batteries would be a nice platform.

@@LaptopRetrospective Awesome, thanks so much! T480 seemed like the best/most cost-efficient gateway into the ThinkPad/Linux systems. I like the upgradeability idea as well. Thanks again for your help, I'm subbed and will be following your content closely!

Glad I was able to help and I'll look forward to seeing you in the comments. 😉

Which specific issue are you referring to?

Hey Rando, welcome to the channel. The nice part about the T480 is it will run Windows 11 which will continue to get security updates after Windows 10 is retired. It also has a lot of other features that make it very desirable like dual batteries, great build quality and reasonable prices depending on your region. I think you'd find it to meet your needs i5/i7 with 16GB of RAM. X1 Carbons tend to have nicer screens for brightness and colour accuracy but they are still well loved. Ask any questions you might have. 👍

@Laptop Retrospective Thank you for the snappy response! I'm not up to speed with computers since I've been without them for such a long time, but once I get back on them I'll learn and stay up to date quickly. I just want to make the first purchase the right purchase as time crawls by and my needs increase, so i dont have to keep getting new units. The battery options of the t480 seem highly optimal so if they do get old i can easily replace. I would like to be able to stay up to date with the newest softwares for atleast a few years, im not sure how linux works... Thats why I was thinking I'd need to have a unit that has windows 11 installed. With my trading requirements, I would like the ability to run an extra monitor or 2. Would this require i7 and 16gb ram? I've been looking on ebay at a few units, they just honestly all look the same to me since I'm not currently computer minded. Would you be willing to help me narrow down my options? What do you lose with the x1?

You can drive two monitors with an i5 and 8GB of RAM, I just like 16GB since software can be demanding. The X1 Carbons with 8th generation Intel will normally cost more, have soldered RAM and won't have the dual battery option. Feel free to find my email on the "About" page for the channel if you really want to get into the details. 😁

If you tried to post a comment I think RU-vid deleted it. I also have a contact form on my website.

Yes. The process is outlined in the hardware maintenance manual.

The entirely depends on what your needs are. Hotswapple usually refers to the ability to remove a component while the machine is in operation and replace it without another without creating an error.

That's a lot of pixels. Most I've used on a laptop I think is 2K.

WQHD big battery hit, think on that first

This. ☝️

I haven't read those. I wonder now what those people are trying to do and whether or not it's a realistic expectation.

@@LaptopRetrospective The thread on lenovo forums is "T480 TDP throttle" from circa 2019 and the affected users are pretty pissed about the throttling to 400MHz while doing reasonable tasks. Since I am eyeing a laptop replacement whithin a budget I understandably wish to avoid getting in the same predicament.

I'll have to find it and give it a read. 👍

"The T480s has 4GB or 8GB DDR4-2133 (PC4-17000) soldered onto the motherboard and allows the installation of an additional DDR4 SO-DIMM module of up to 16GB. A maximum of 20 or 24 GB RAM is supported." A larger 32 stick may work as well.

thanks for the response ! so i need whatever size module i end up choosing to be at 2133 mhz speed to match with the one soldered ? @@LaptopRetrospective

That would be ideal.

@@LaptopRetrospective thanks for your help rly appreciate it

No problem. Best of luck.

The 490s is a slight upgrade. As for which one is better we'd need more details and specs. CPU, RAM, storage, resolution of screen, etc.

@@LaptopRetrospective Thank you. Specs are as follows please. T490s: $460 Aud 1.6 GHz Intel Core i5-8365U Quad-Core 16GB DDR4 | 256GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD 14" 1920 x 1080 Anti-Glare Display T480s: $470 Aud (Touch) 1.9 GHz Intel Core i7-8650U Quad-Core 8GB DDR4 | 256GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD 14" 1920 x 1080 Anti-Glare Touch Display Thanks

I'd go with the T480s i7. Better CPU and screen.

@@LaptopRetrospective Thanks so much for your input. Lastly this is also is available: t480s (non touch) $400 Aud. Specs: 1.7 GHz Intel Core i5-8350U Quad-Core 8GB DDR4 | 256GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD 14" 1920 x 1080 Anti-Glare Display If you could suggest pls. Thanks

I'd still take the i7 with touch. Nicer specs and will hold its value.

First thing I suggest is to get a good understanding of the system requirements of your most demanding applications. Then decide what ports you cannot live without. Then decide how important battery life is versus all of the above.

You can get these T480/T480s models on Mercari for less than $250. I bought one just to tinker with. I have an M1 MacBook Air and while it is faster, the T480s with an NVMe drive is no slouch. I bought a glass trackpad and plan on swapping out the plastic one.

@@urmeddie3816 oow Wow Wait So like how much did the Glass Trackpad Cost you also, how about the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon is it also Powerful Enough?

@@urmeddie3816 please let me know the price of the Glass Trackpad

That's a beast!

Size will be a big difference, so will CPU and TB vs no TB.

If you can't find a specialist to do the work, board replacement is your only option.

That's about the higher end of price, specs are pretty good. Regional pricing can fluctuate things.

@@LaptopRetrospective it's the only one i can find that is available in my country

Ah, then that is likely why it's a bit higher than I'm used to seeing.

That's entirely up to you and what you need. The 8th Gen Intel CPUs means you can run Windows 11. The term future proof can be problematic since nothing is forever.

Should be possible.

@@LaptopRetrospective Just wanted to verify it can be used to boot before I invest in those rare 42mm drives.

T480, I love PowerBridge technology. Dual batteries rock.

I'd do some Google searching to ensure larger sticks are supported. 16GB is for sure.

No. It's soldered onto the motherboard.

Can't say I've heard people refer to the s variant being superior. Build quality to me is the same essentially and as for clips busting, the more a machine is opened, the more strain is put on them. I feel more people open a T480 because there is more to repair and they are more common so you will see more stories.

@LaptopRetrospective Thank you!

Hope I was able to help.

It's a very debated topic to be sure. Those upgradable machines are still out there, just not always in the T series line.

@@LaptopRetrospective You're right. The L14 kept some of these perks.

The T480 has PowerBridge, a dual battery system. The T480s does not. Depending on how big a battery you have in the T480 the difference is quite significant.

Sadly it is not.

@@LaptopRetrospective 😭💔 Are you sure! They look similar in photos

T440s battery is a model 68, T480 is 61. Similar yes, the same, no.

@@LaptopRetrospective so are they interchangeable?

No they're not. A T480 battery won't even fit a T470.

S variants do have a few compromises. It can take a 2242 if the WWAN slot isn't occupied if I've read correctly.

No. Any particular reason you want it?

@@LaptopRetrospective im researching around internet (interested to buy) found common issues of faulty usb typed c port . Since i like the idea replacing the port instead off resoldering the ic. Since my experience with aged android phone also faulty port that you have to pull to one every time you charge it ... Thx for the reply its helpfull

Yeah I don't think a downgrade is easily done. If you go with a workstation grade machine, some still use the rectangular connector.

I just prefer the T480 as it usually isn't much more and gives you the TPM 2.0 chip.

Fun part of the used market is the savings!

I just picked one up from eBay for about $250 with the i5 CPU and 8gb of RAM. Didn't come with an SSD but I have an extra that I'll put in when it arrives. All that to say you can find them for a reasonable price!

@@stephenwilson0386 thanks for the heads up

In some strange way, they are with their clip on solutions, one is actually a light, although it is aimed more at web cam use.

@@LaptopRetrospective I just thought it was a cute idea. Sort of like you having a torch under your duvet with a book as a kid.

The actual story which can be found on this channel is very close to that same thought.

I was wondering something similar when I was doing the reserach on the T14s and found the T480s had less in common with the T490s and subsequent models.

Long answer, it depends. Short answer, probably.

Nope, I do not sell any of these machines. I often have links in the description on where to find them though.

The battery is not the same. Does eBay ship to you?

Subtitles are a lot of work and I don't speak Spanish. It wouldn't be much better than the automatic translation available now.

@@LaptopRetrospective thanks, I get it

Always check your system requirements of your most demanding programs to be sure.

Has usado la sim card? Yo le puse una y no me funciona

@@filacero12 si funciona para mi

The S series has been around for a very long time so not sure if it's related to a downfall you're referring to. It goes back further back than some realize.

@@LaptopRetrospective the "S"series emerged as a sideline of the normal "T" series. Following the (hyped?) Trend of "slimmer and lighter" designs. Same story as with (smart) phones: sacrifice of many features, like swappable batteries etc, for another millimeter or a few grams 🤦🏻

I think it started with the X60s unless there was one even earlier than that.

@@LaptopRetrospective You show here, why the T480 was always my favourite: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-zcW8JYW5dUE.html Unmatched flexibility

Time will tell.