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Lenovo ThinkPad E480 (i5-8250U, UHD 620, SSD) Laptop Review

Unpretentious workhorse! Having recently reviewed the 2018 ThinkPad equipped with a Radeon RX 550 GPU, we now have the entry-level SKU in our lab. We are particularly interested in temperatures, which were the E480's most pronounced and prominent weak spot.

The ThinkPad E-series is Lenovo’s entry-level gateway into the affordable office notebook market. The current 8th generation is represented by the E480 and E580. The European base model selling for 599 Euros (~$743) is a decent office device equipped with an Intel Core i5-8250U. US customers have to be more careful: the E480 base model for $630 + tax comes with an Intel Core i5-7200U, and the premium for the much faster Core i5-8250U is only $15. It is equipped with a meager 4 GB of RAM and a small 128 GB SSD. Our 599 Euros (~$743) review unit is sold by Campuspoint and specifically made for students; as such it requires proof of enrollment. The regular price for this model in Lenovo’s web shop is 620 Euros (~$769), and the notebook is also freely configurable when purchased directly from Lenovo. The fastest CPU available at the time of writing, the Core i7-8550U, is only available in combination with a dedicated AMD GPU. We had a similar model in review just a few days ago, equipped with an Intel Core i5-8250U CPU and the AMD GPU. You will find details for this specific unit as well as all other notebooks in our test group in the respective reviews. Our test group is composed of the following devices:

Lenovo ThinkPad E480 Lenovo ThinkPad E470 HP ProBook 440 G5 Acer TravelMate P449 Schenker Slim 14 Asus VivoBook S14
CPU Intel Core i5-8250U Intel Core i5-7200U Intel Core i5-8250U Intel Core i5-7200U Intel Core i5-8250U Intel Core i5-8250U
GPU AMD Radeon RX 550 Intel HD Graphics 620 Intel UHD Graphics 620 Intel HD Graphics 620 Intel UHD Graphics 620 Intel UHD Graphics 620
Display 14-inch 1920 x 1080 (IPS) 14-inch 1366 x 768 (TN) 14-inch 1920 x 1080 (IPS) 14-inch 1920 x 1080 (IPS) 14-inch 1920 x 1080 (IPS) 14-inch 1366 x 768 (TN)
RAM 8 GB DDR4 8 GB DDR4 8 GB DDR4 8 GB DDR4 16 GB DDR4 8 GB DDR3L
Memory 256 GB SSD 256 GB SSD 256 GB SSD 512 GB SSD 512 GB SSD 256 GB SSD
Rating 83% 81% 84% 83% 81% 82%
Lenovo ThinkPad E480-20KNCTO1WW (ThinkPad E480 Series)
Processor
Intel Core i5-8250U 4 x 1.6 - 3.4 GHz, Kaby Lake Refresh
Graphics adapter
Intel UHD Graphics 620, 22.20.16.4836
Memory
4 GB 
, DDR4-2400, 1 of 2 slots free, max. 32 GB
Display
14.00 inch 16:9, 1920 x 1080 pixel 157 PPI, Innolux N140HCA-EAC, IPS LED, glossy: no
Mainboard
Intel Kaby Lake-U + iHDCP 2.2 Premium PCH
Storage
Toshiba KBG30ZMT128G, 128 GB 
, M.2 2242 PCIe, 92 GB free
Soundcard
Conexant CX11852
Connections
1 USB 2.0, 2 USB 3.0 / 3.1 Gen1, 1 USB 3.1 Gen2, 1 HDMI, 1 DisplayPort, 1 Kensington Lock, Audio Connections: 3.5-mm audio combo jack, Card Reader: MicroSD, 1 Fingerprint Reader
Networking
Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller (10/100/1000MBit/s), Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3165 (a/b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/ac = Wi-Fi 5/), Bluetooth 4.1
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 19.9 x 329 x 242 ( = 0.78 x 12.95 x 9.53 in)
Battery
45 Wh, 3980 mAh Lithium-Ion
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64 Bit
Camera
Webcam: 720p
Additional features
Speakers: 1.5 W stereo speakers, Keyboard: 6-row chiclet keyboard, Keyboard Light: no, 12 Months Warranty
Weight
1.787 kg ( = 63.03 oz / 3.94 pounds), Power Supply: 358 g ( = 12.63 oz / 0.79 pounds)
Price
599 EUR
Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

 

Case

Given its similarity to the other recently reviewed model we would like to refer you to this Lenovo ThinkPad E480 review for details on the new case.

Lenovo ThinkPad E480
Lenovo ThinkPad E480
Lenovo ThinkPad E480
Lenovo ThinkPad E480
Lenovo ThinkPad E480
Lenovo ThinkPad E480
Lenovo ThinkPad E480
Lenovo ThinkPad E480
Lenovo ThinkPad E480
Lenovo ThinkPad E480
Lenovo ThinkPad E480
Lenovo ThinkPad E480
Lenovo ThinkPad E480
Lenovo ThinkPad E480
Lenovo ThinkPad E480
Lenovo ThinkPad E480
Lenovo ThinkPad E480
Lenovo ThinkPad E480
Lenovo ThinkPad E480
Lenovo ThinkPad E480
Lenovo ThinkPad E480
Lenovo ThinkPad E480

Size Comparison

342 mm / 13.5 inch 236 mm / 9.29 inch 22.3 mm / 0.878 inch 1.8 kg3.97 lbs340 mm / 13.4 inch 243.5 mm / 9.59 inch 22.2 mm / 0.874 inch 1.6 kg3.6 lbs339 mm / 13.3 inch 242 mm / 9.53 inch 22.4 mm / 0.882 inch 1.9 kg4.12 lbs336 mm / 13.2 inch 238 mm / 9.37 inch 20 mm / 0.787 inch 1.6 kg3.42 lbs329 mm / 13 inch 242 mm / 9.53 inch 19.9 mm / 0.783 inch 1.8 kg3.94 lbs329 mm / 13 inch 242 mm / 9.53 inch 19.9 mm / 0.783 inch 1.8 kg3.97 lbs328 mm / 12.9 inch 226.5 mm / 8.92 inch 14.8 mm / 0.583 inch 1.2 kg2.65 lbs297 mm / 11.7 inch 210 mm / 8.27 inch 1 mm / 0.03937 inch 5.7 g0.01257 lbs

Connectivity

left: USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C, HDMI, 2x USB 3.0 Type-A, audio combo jack
left: USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C, HDMI, 2x USB 3.0 Type-A, audio combo jack
right: MicroSD card reader, USB 2.0 Type-A, Ethernet, Kensington lock
right: MicroSD card reader, USB 2.0 Type-A, Ethernet, Kensington lock
front: no connectivity
front: no connectivity
rear: no connectivity
rear: no connectivity
SD Card Reader
average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs)
HP ProBook 440 G5-3KX87ES
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II)
79.5 MB/s +4%
SCHENKER Slim 14 L17
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II)
77.2 MB/s +1%
Lenovo ThinkPad E480-20KQS00000
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
76.3 MB/s 0%
Lenovo ThinkPad E480-20KNCTO1WW
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
76.1 MB/s
Average of class Office
  (8 - 196.8, n=50, last 2 years)
55.6 MB/s -27%
Asus VivoBook S14 S406UA-BV023T
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 microSDXC 64GB)
38.7 MB/s -49%
Acer TravelMate P449-G2-M-56CD
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II)
24.6 MB/s -68%
maximum AS SSD Seq Read Test (1GB)
HP ProBook 440 G5-3KX87ES
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II)
87.9 (79.5min) MB/s +1%
Lenovo ThinkPad E480-20KNCTO1WW
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
87.3 MB/s
SCHENKER Slim 14 L17
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II)
85.7 MB/s -2%
Lenovo ThinkPad E480-20KQS00000
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501)
83.6 MB/s -4%
Average of class Office
  (26.4 - 173.2, n=44, last 2 years)
65.2 MB/s -25%
Asus VivoBook S14 S406UA-BV023T
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 microSDXC 64GB)
37.8 MB/s -57%
Acer TravelMate P449-G2-M-56CD
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II)
27.6 MB/s -68%
Networking
iperf3 transmit AX12
Average of class Office
  (280 - 1332, n=6, last 2 years)
810 MBit/s +170%
Lenovo ThinkPad E470
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265
666 MBit/s +122%
Acer TravelMate P449-G2-M-56CD
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7265
648 MBit/s +116%
HP ProBook 440 G5-3KX87ES
Realtek 8822BE Wireless LAN 802.11ac PCI-E NIC
629 MBit/s +110%
Lenovo ThinkPad E480-20KQS00000
Realtek 8822BE Wireless LAN 802.11ac PCI-E NIC
602 MBit/s +101%
SCHENKER Slim 14 L17
Intel 8265 Tri-Band WiFi (Oak Peak) Network Adapter
518 MBit/s +73%
Asus VivoBook S14 S406UA-BV023T
Qualcomm Atheros QCA9377 Wireless Network Adapter
322 MBit/s +7%
Lenovo ThinkPad E480-20KNCTO1WW
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3165
300 MBit/s
iperf3 receive AX12
Average of class Office
  (348 - 1690, n=6, last 2 years)
852 MBit/s +178%
Lenovo ThinkPad E480-20KQS00000
Realtek 8822BE Wireless LAN 802.11ac PCI-E NIC
659 MBit/s +115%
HP ProBook 440 G5-3KX87ES
Realtek 8822BE Wireless LAN 802.11ac PCI-E NIC
649 MBit/s +112%
SCHENKER Slim 14 L17
Intel 8265 Tri-Band WiFi (Oak Peak) Network Adapter
592 MBit/s +93%
Acer TravelMate P449-G2-M-56CD
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7265
562 MBit/s +84%
Lenovo ThinkPad E470
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265
512 MBit/s +67%
Asus VivoBook S14 S406UA-BV023T
Qualcomm Atheros QCA9377 Wireless Network Adapter
335 MBit/s +9%
Lenovo ThinkPad E480-20KNCTO1WW
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3165
306 MBit/s

Display

subpixel geometry
subpixel geometry
near perfect: almost no clouding
near perfect: almost no clouding

The E480 is offered with a choice of two different displays: a cheaper HD panel (1366x768) based on TN technology and an IPS FHD panel (1920x1080), which should always be your first choice. Both panels are matte, neither of which is available with touch input support. Our review unit was equipped with a panel made by Innolux, and we determined its maximum average brightness at 262 nits. Aside from the Schenker Slim 14, the ThinkPad E480 is in good company overall. Its contrast ratio of 1379:1 was exceptionally high for its price point, and despite a subpar brightness distribution of just 83% we did not notice any shadowing. Clouding, which can only be noticed in particularly dark scenes, was also negligible by and large. We found PWM flickering at a very high and thus harmless 25000 Hz. Compared to its predecessor, the ThinkPad E470, Lenovo has managed to improve upon almost every single aspect of the display.

252
cd/m²
266
cd/m²
254
cd/m²
239
cd/m²
262
cd/m²
241
cd/m²
221
cd/m²
249
cd/m²
224
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
Innolux N140HCA-EAC tested with X-Rite i1Pro 2
Maximum: 266 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 245.3 cd/m² Minimum: 3 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 83 %
Center on Battery: 262 cd/m²
Contrast: 1379:1 (Black: 0.19 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 7 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 6.4 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
61.9% sRGB (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
39.5% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
42.96% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
62.2% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
41.56% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.14
Lenovo ThinkPad E480-20KNCTO1WW
Innolux N140HCA-EAC, 1920x1080, 14.00
Lenovo ThinkPad E480-20KQS00000
Innolux N140HCA-EAC, 1920x1080, 14.00
HP ProBook 440 G5-3KX87ES
LGD04B2, 1920x1080, 14.00
Lenovo ThinkPad E470
NT140WHM-N41, 1366x768, 14.00
Acer TravelMate P449-G2-M-56CD
N140HCA-EAB, 1920x1080, 14.00
SCHENKER Slim 14 L17
LG Philips LGD046D, 1920x1080, 14.00
Asus VivoBook S14 S406UA-BV023T
BOE CQ NT140WHM-N44, 1366x768, 14.00
Display
1%
-5%
-6%
-1%
47%
-7%
Display P3 Coverage
41.56
41.88
1%
39.56
-5%
39.13
-6%
41.04
-1%
66.1
59%
38.82
-7%
sRGB Coverage
62.2
62.8
1%
59.3
-5%
58.3
-6%
61.2
-2%
85.2
37%
58.2
-6%
AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage
42.96
43.29
1%
40.88
-5%
40.43
-6%
42.47
-1%
62.3
45%
40.11
-7%
Response Times
1%
10%
-14%
8%
3%
-12%
Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% *
44.8 ?(23.6, 21.2)
44 ?(22.8, 21.2)
2%
40 ?(21.2, 18.8)
11%
44 ?(22, 22)
2%
39 ?(22, 17)
13%
37.6 ?(19.6, 18)
16%
42 ?(22, 20)
6%
Response Time Black / White *
31.2 ?(17.2, 14)
31.2 ?(17.2, 14)
-0%
28.8 ?(17.2, 11.6)
8%
14 ?(8, 6)
55%
28 ?(16, 12)
10%
28 ?(14.8, 13.2)
10%
13 ?(7, 6)
58%
PWM Frequency
25000 ?(30)
24880 ?(40)
0%
200 ?(90)
-99%
25000 ?(70)
0%
20490 ?(99)
-18%
200 ?(90)
-99%
Screen
10%
-3%
-36%
-6%
17%
-28%
Brightness middle
262
251
-4%
236
-10%
209
-20%
271
3%
326
24%
215
-18%
Brightness
245
231
-6%
221
-10%
208
-15%
256
4%
320
31%
208
-15%
Brightness Distribution
83
80
-4%
88
6%
81
-2%
85
2%
81
-2%
81
-2%
Black Level *
0.19
0.19
-0%
0.26
-37%
0.58
-205%
0.43
-126%
0.31
-63%
0.4
-111%
Contrast
1379
1321
-4%
908
-34%
360
-74%
630
-54%
1052
-24%
538
-61%
Colorchecker dE 2000 *
7
5.1
27%
5.7
19%
8.12
-16%
5.03
28%
4.6
34%
9.37
-34%
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. *
23.6
10.6
55%
22
7%
15.18
36%
11.9
50%
10.3
56%
15.84
33%
Greyscale dE 2000 *
6.4
4.5
30%
3.8
41%
9.86
-54%
4.02
37%
4.4
31%
10.52
-64%
Gamma
2.14 103%
2.18 101%
2.1 105%
2.37 93%
2.31 95%
2.24 98%
2.45 90%
CCT
6065 107%
6146 106%
7318 89%
10218 64%
6659 98%
5978 109%
11214 58%
Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998)
39.5
39.8
1%
37.7
-5%
37
-6%
39
-1%
55.8
41%
37
-6%
Color Space (Percent of sRGB)
61.9
62.5
1%
59.2
-4%
58
-6%
61
-1%
85.1
37%
58
-6%
Total Average (Program / Settings)
4% / 6%
1% / -2%
-19% / -26%
0% / -2%
22% / 20%
-16% / -21%

* ... smaller is better

Lenovo ThinkPad E480 vs. sRGB (61.9%)
Lenovo ThinkPad E480 vs. sRGB (61.9%)
Lenovo ThinkPad E480 vs. AdobeRGB (39.5%)
Lenovo ThinkPad E480 vs. AdobeRGB (39.5%)

Display quality is decent by and large, and the high-contrast IPS panel with wide viewing angles featured a decent representation of color. Despite the panel’s matte surface colors were not washed-out. DeltaE values for gray scale and colors, on the other hand, are in dire need of improvement as the values determined were significantly too high. We were able to improve upon those through calibration, and as always the resulting ICC profile can be found for download in the box up top. Color space coverage of sRGB (61.9%) and AdobeRGB (39.5%) were decent enough for office workloads yet completely unsuitable for any type of photo or video editing. If you happen to fall into this category of users you will either need a different notebook or better yet, an external display.

CalMAN: gray scale (uncalibrated)
CalMAN: gray scale (uncalibrated)
CalMAN: ColorChecker (uncalibrated)
CalMAN: ColorChecker (uncalibrated)
CalMAN: saturation (uncalibrated)
CalMAN: saturation (uncalibrated)
CalMAN: gray scale (calibrated)
CalMAN: gray scale (calibrated)
CalMAN: ColorChecker (calibrated)
CalMAN: ColorChecker (calibrated)
CalMAN: saturation (calibrated)
CalMAN: saturation (calibrated)

Despite its somewhat low maximum average display brightness of just 262 nits the ThinkPad E480 was usable outdoors thanks to its matte panel. We would advise you to steer clear of direct sunlight, but it worked remarkably well in the shade.

Lenovo ThinkPad E480 in the shade
Lenovo ThinkPad E480 in the shade
Lenovo ThinkPad E480 in sunlight
Lenovo ThinkPad E480 in sunlight

Display Response Times

Display response times show how fast the screen is able to change from one color to the next. Slow response times can lead to afterimages and can cause moving objects to appear blurry (ghosting). Gamers of fast-paced 3D titles should pay special attention to fast response times.
       Response Time Black to White
31.2 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 17.2 ms rise
↘ 14 ms fall
The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 82 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (21.6 ms).
       Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey
44.8 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 23.6 ms rise
↘ 21.2 ms fall
The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.2 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 73 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (33.9 ms).

Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)

To dim the screen, some notebooks will simply cycle the backlight on and off in rapid succession - a method called Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) . This cycling frequency should ideally be undetectable to the human eye. If said frequency is too low, users with sensitive eyes may experience strain or headaches or even notice the flickering altogether.
Screen flickering / PWM detected 25000 Hz ≤ 30 % brightness setting

The display backlight flickers at 25000 Hz (worst case, e.g., utilizing PWM) Flickering detected at a brightness setting of 30 % and below. There should be no flickering or PWM above this brightness setting.

The frequency of 25000 Hz is quite high, so most users sensitive to PWM should not notice any flickering.

In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 18110 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured.

Viewing angles were typical for an IPS panel: decent from all angles. Our review unit even failed to display the blooming effect that is quite common for displays tilted both horizontally and vertically.

Lenovo ThinkPad E480 viewing angles
Lenovo ThinkPad E480 viewing angles

Performance

Our entry-level E480 SKU was equipped with Intel's Core i5-8250U processor, 4 GB of RAM, and a 128 GB SSD. It is thus a solid and reliable workhorse for everyday office tasks with plenty of processing power to allow for subsequent hardware upgrades thanks to the legendary ThinkPad upgradeability. If required, the E480 can also be purchased with a dedicated AMD Radeon RX 550 GPU. Given that the GPU is not upgradeable, this decision has to be made upfront.

CPU-Z
CPU-Z
CPU-Z
CPU-Z
CPU-Z
CPU-Z
CPU-Z
GPU-Z
GPU-Z
DPC-Latenzen
HWiNFO
Intel Extreme Utility
Intel Extreme Utility (Benchmark)
 

Processor

Intel Core i5-8250U
Intel Core i5-8250U

Intel’s Core i5-8250U is an energy-efficient quad-core processor based on the Kaby Lake architecture with a TDP of 15 W and four physical cores capable of working on up to eight threads simultaneously. Its base frequency of 1.6 GHz can boost up to 3.4 GHz dynamically. Our benchmark scores reveal that our review unit’s Core i5-8250U is about as fast as similarly equipped devices. The biggest differences can be found in the multi-thread results due to the CPU’s dependence on temperature - the better the cooling system the better overall performance. Still, compared to the Core i5-7200U-based ThinkPad E470 performance has been drastically improved.

Additional Core i5-8250U benchmark results can be found here.

We test every system for its sustained load capabilities by running Cinebench R15 multi in a loop, and the Core i5-8250U's score drops to 502 points during the second iteration already. Due to the fact that the SoC can consume up to 25 W for a short period of time this is expected behavior. After this initial drop scores remained consistent throughout the rest of the test. We can thus deduce that the E480’s cooling system is not overburdened by the CPU.

0102030405060708090100110120130140150160170180190200210220230240250260270280290300310320330340350360370380390400410420430440450460470480490500510520530540Tooltip
Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64 Bit
Cinebench R15
CPU Single 64Bit
Average of class Office
  (82.6 - 284, n=118, last 2 years)
215 Points +49%
HP ProBook 440 G5-3KX87ES
Intel Core i5-8250U
146 Points +1%
SCHENKER Slim 14 L17
Intel Core i5-8250U
145 Points +1%
Lenovo ThinkPad E480-20KQS00000
Intel Core i5-8250U
145 Points +1%
Lenovo ThinkPad E480-20KNCTO1WW
Intel Core i5-8250U
144 Points
Asus VivoBook S14 S406UA-BV023T
Intel Core i5-8250U
143 Points -1%
Average Intel Core i5-8250U
  (81 - 147, n=97)
141.1 Points -2%
Acer TravelMate P449-G2-M-56CD
Intel Core i5-7200U
128 Points -11%
Lenovo ThinkPad E470
Intel Core i5-7200U
126 Points -12%
CPU Multi 64Bit
Average of class Office
  (160.8 - 2642, n=120, last 2 years)
1380 Points +156%
HP ProBook 440 G5-3KX87ES
Intel Core i5-8250U
620 Points +15%
Asus VivoBook S14 S406UA-BV023T
Intel Core i5-8250U
606 Points +12%
Average Intel Core i5-8250U
  (320 - 730, n=101)
570 Points +6%
SCHENKER Slim 14 L17
Intel Core i5-8250U
564 Points +4%
Lenovo ThinkPad E480-20KQS00000
Intel Core i5-8250U
548 Points +1%
Lenovo ThinkPad E480-20KNCTO1WW
Intel Core i5-8250U
540 Points
Acer TravelMate P449-G2-M-56CD
Intel Core i5-7200U
325 Points -40%
Lenovo ThinkPad E470
Intel Core i5-7200U
324 Points -40%
Cinebench R11.5
CPU Single 64Bit
Average of class Office
  (0.99 - 2.97, n=12, last 2 years)
2.31 Points +42%
Lenovo ThinkPad E480-20KNCTO1WW
Intel Core i5-8250U
1.63 Points
Average Intel Core i5-8250U
  (0.91 - 1.79, n=35)
1.615 Points -1%
CPU Multi 64Bit
Average of class Office
  (1.93 - 20.3, n=12, last 2 years)
12.5 Points +105%
Lenovo ThinkPad E480-20KNCTO1WW
Intel Core i5-8250U
6.1 Points
Average Intel Core i5-8250U
  (3.15 - 7.76, n=35)
6.02 Points -1%
JetStream 1.1 - Total Score
Average of class Office
  (117.1 - 544, n=19, last 2 years)
369 Points +69%
Asus VivoBook S14 S406UA-BV023T
Intel Core i5-8250U
238.1 Points +9%
Lenovo ThinkPad E480-20KQS00000
Intel Core i5-8250U
233.5 Points +7%
HP ProBook 440 G5-3KX87ES
Intel Core i5-8250U
231.6 Points +6%
Lenovo ThinkPad E480-20KNCTO1WW
Intel Core i5-8250U
217.7 Points
Average Intel Core i5-8250U
  (151.5 - 256, n=78)
215 Points -1%
Lenovo ThinkPad E470
Intel Core i5-7200U
208.2 Points -4%
Acer TravelMate P449-G2-M-56CD
Intel Core i5-7200U
206.9 Points -5%
Octane V2 - Total Score
Average of class Office
  (21416 - 93596, n=52, last 2 years)
69674 Points +129%
Lenovo ThinkPad E480-20KQS00000
Intel Core i5-8250U
34394 Points +13%
HP ProBook 440 G5-3KX87ES
Intel Core i5-8250U
32530 Points +7%
Acer TravelMate P449-G2-M-56CD
Intel Core i5-7200U
30834 Points +2%
Lenovo ThinkPad E480-20KNCTO1WW
Intel Core i5-8250U
30373 Points
Average Intel Core i5-8250U
  (22772 - 35817, n=54)
30123 Points -1%
Lenovo ThinkPad E470
Intel Core i5-7200U
26023 Points -14%
Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total
Lenovo ThinkPad E480-20KNCTO1WW
Intel Core i5-8250U
1333 ms *
Lenovo ThinkPad E470
Intel Core i5-7200U
1241 ms * +7%
Average Intel Core i5-8250U
  (986 - 1532, n=59)
1221 ms * +8%
Acer TravelMate P449-G2-M-56CD
Intel Core i5-7200U
1212 ms * +9%
HP ProBook 440 G5-3KX87ES
Intel Core i5-8250U
1079 ms * +19%
Lenovo ThinkPad E480-20KQS00000
Intel Core i5-8250U
1057 ms * +21%
Average of class Office
  (479 - 1966, n=111, last 2 years)
742 ms * +44%

* ... smaller is better

Cinebench R10
Cinebench R10
Cinebench R11.5
Cinebench R11.5
Cinebench R15
Cinebench R15
Jetstream 1.1
Jetstream 1.1
Octane V2
Octane V2
Mozilla Kraken 1.1
Mozilla Kraken 1.1
Cinebench R10 Shading 32Bit
6744
Cinebench R10 Rendering Multiple CPUs 32Bit
18051
Cinebench R10 Rendering Single 32Bit
5539
Cinebench R10 Shading 64Bit
6804 Points
Cinebench R10 Rendering Multiple CPUs 64Bit
23873 Points
Cinebench R10 Rendering Single CPUs 64Bit
7202 Points
Cinebench R11.5 CPU Multi 64Bit
6.1 Points
Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64Bit
35.59 fps
Cinebench R11.5 CPU Single 64Bit
1.63 Points
Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64Bit
540 Points
Cinebench R15 CPU Single 64Bit
144 Points
Cinebench R15 Ref. Match 64Bit
97.8 %
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64Bit
39.6 fps
Help

System Performance

Without a doubt overall system performance is at a very high level, but the E480 is not quite as fast as its competitors. Just like the recently review ThinkPad E480 with AMD Radeon RX 550, our review unit stalled and lagged occasionally during everyday use. We would not classify these short incidents as disruptive, and given the brand-new hardware our best guess is that the E480 is suffering from driver issues that can possibly be fixed with future driver updates. The SSD could also be a possible culprit here - its performance is not fitting for an NVMe SSD.

PCMark 8 Home
PCMark 8 Home
PCMark 8 Creative
PCMark 8 Creative
PCMark 8 Work
PCMark 8 Work
PCMark 8 Storage
PCMark 8 Storage
PCMark 10
PCMark 10
Lenovo ThinkPad E480-20KNCTO1WW
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, Toshiba KBG30ZMT128G
Lenovo ThinkPad E480-20KQS00000
Radeon RX 550 (Laptop), i5-8250U, Lenovo LENSE20256GMSP34MEAT2TA
HP ProBook 440 G5-3KX87ES
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW256G7
Lenovo ThinkPad E470
HD Graphics 620, i5-7200U, SanDisk X400 SED 256GB, SATA (SD8TB8U-256G)
Acer TravelMate P449-G2-M-56CD
HD Graphics 620, i5-7200U, Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW512G7
SCHENKER Slim 14 L17
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, Samsung SSD 960 Pro 512 GB m.2
Asus VivoBook S14 S406UA-BV023T
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, SanDisk SD8SN8U256G1002
Average Intel Core i5-8250U, Intel UHD Graphics 620
 
Average of class Office
 
PCMark 8
12%
4%
2%
-4%
12%
8%
-2%
-2%
Home Score Accelerated v2
3574
4187
17%
3774
6%
3674
3%
3519
-2%
4006
12%
3937
10%
3584 ?(2986 - 4458, n=69)
0%
4261 ?(2304 - 4830, n=12, last 2 years)
19%
Work Score Accelerated v2
4849
5189
7%
4922
2%
4834
0%
4605
-5%
5106
5%
4646 ?(2699 - 5106, n=58)
-4%
3746 ?(1854 - 5610, n=12, last 2 years)
-23%
PCMark 10
42%
33%
16%
18%
33%
26%
87%
Score
2279
3954
73%
3577
57%
3144
38%
3068
35%
3612
58%
3296 ?(3358 - 4081, n=67)
45%
5312 ?(2325 - 7157, n=105, last 2 years)
133%
Essentials
6999
7722
10%
7655
9%
6547
-6%
7077
1%
7468
7%
7398 ?(5855 - 9289, n=67)
6%
9781 ?(5095 - 20841, n=105, last 2 years)
40%
Total Average (Program / Settings)
27% / 27%
19% / 19%
9% / 9%
7% / 7%
12% / 12%
21% / 20%
12% / 12%
43% / 42%
PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2
3574 points
PCMark 8 Creative Score Accelerated v2
4618 points
PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2
4849 points
PCMark 10 Score
2279 points
Help

Storage Devices

128 GB M.2 SSD
128 GB M.2 SSD

Our review unit came equipped with a 128 GB SSD made by Toshiba, but Lenovo also has devices on sale that are equipped with a 500 GB hard disk drive. We would, of course, strongly urge anyone to favor an SSD over an HDD. Our review unit’s 128 GB SSD should be the bare minimum for any office notebook. The M.2-2242 SSD requires an adapter to fit into the M.2-2280 slot and supports OPAL 2.0 self-encryption. Despite the fact that it supports the NVMe protocol its write performance was a mere 115 MB/s. Suffice it to say that it did not meet our expectations. It is possible that the self-encryption is to blame, but this should also be fixable with a future driver update. Read performance was as high as expected. In addition, the E480 supports a second 2.5-inch storage device.

AS SSD
AS SSD
CrystalDiskMark 3
CrystalDiskMark 3
CrystalDiskMark 5
CrystalDiskMark 5
CrystalDiskInfo
CrystalDiskInfo
Lenovo ThinkPad E480-20KNCTO1WW
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, Toshiba KBG30ZMT128G
Lenovo ThinkPad E480-20KQS00000
Radeon RX 550 (Laptop), i5-8250U, Lenovo LENSE20256GMSP34MEAT2TA
HP ProBook 440 G5-3KX87ES
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW256G7
Lenovo ThinkPad E470
HD Graphics 620, i5-7200U, SanDisk X400 SED 256GB, SATA (SD8TB8U-256G)
Acer TravelMate P449-G2-M-56CD
HD Graphics 620, i5-7200U, Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW512G7
SCHENKER Slim 14 L17
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U, Samsung SSD 960 Pro 512 GB m.2
CrystalDiskMark 3.0
24%
155%
56%
152%
440%
Read Seq
909
1295
42%
1181
30%
454.2
-50%
1086
19%
2860
215%
Write Seq
128.4
160.6
25%
602
369%
438.1
241%
581
352%
1995
1454%
Read 512
715
872
22%
923
29%
304.6
-57%
869
22%
815
14%
Write 512
127
122
-4%
600
372%
343.7
171%
584
360%
1480
1065%
Read 4k
33.35
25.72
-23%
35.48
6%
34.15
2%
35.89
8%
57.7
73%
Write 4k
82.3
95.2
16%
139.8
70%
75.1
-9%
122.4
49%
196.7
139%
Read 4k QD32
197.5
389.9
97%
287.8
46%
284.2
44%
462.9
134%
565
186%
Write 4k QD32
100.2
118.3
18%
417.1
316%
208.8
108%
370.9
270%
475.1
374%
Toshiba KBG30ZMT128G
Sequential Read: 909 MB/s
Sequential Write: 128.4 MB/s
512K Read: 715 MB/s
512K Write: 127 MB/s
4K Read: 33.35 MB/s
4K Write: 82.3 MB/s
4K QD32 Read: 197.5 MB/s
4K QD32 Write: 100.2 MB/s

GPU Performance

The graphics output warrior is Intel’s integrated UHD Graphics 620. While our review unit lacked a dedicated GPU a separate E480 SKU equipped accordingly is available, and as expected the AMD Radeon RX 550-equipped E480 wiped the floor with its rivals. All other devices in our test group offered performance on a very similar level. A second RAM module would certainly help to improve the UHD 620’s performance somewhat thanks to support for dual channel, but do not expect too much.

Further information and additional benchmarks for the Intel UHD Graphics 620 can be found here.

3DMark 11 - 1280x720 Performance GPU
Average of class Office
  (1474 - 12230, n=115, last 2 years)
5878 Points +287%
Lenovo ThinkPad E480-20KQS00000
AMD Radeon RX 550 (Laptop), Intel Core i5-8250U
4559 Points +200%
Lenovo ThinkPad E480-20KQS00000
AMD Radeon RX 550 (Laptop), Intel Core i5-8250U
1619 Points +7%
Average Intel UHD Graphics 620
  (1144 - 3432, n=244)
1749 Points +15%
Asus VivoBook S14 S406UA-BV023T
Intel UHD Graphics 620, Intel Core i5-8250U
1743 Points +15%
SCHENKER Slim 14 L17
Intel UHD Graphics 620, Intel Core i5-8250U
1666 Points +10%
HP ProBook 440 G5-3KX87ES
Intel UHD Graphics 620, Intel Core i5-8250U
1595 Points +5%
Lenovo ThinkPad E480-20KNCTO1WW
Intel UHD Graphics 620, Intel Core i5-8250U
1518 Points
Lenovo ThinkPad E470
Intel HD Graphics 620, Intel Core i5-7200U
1412 Points -7%
Acer TravelMate P449-G2-M-56CD
Intel HD Graphics 620, Intel Core i5-7200U
1380 Points -9%
3DMark
1280x720 Cloud Gate Standard Graphics
Average of class Office
  (5681 - 58068, n=98, last 2 years)
23871 Points +230%
Lenovo ThinkPad E480-20KQS00000
AMD Radeon RX 550 (Laptop), Intel Core i5-8250U
18158 Points +151%
Asus VivoBook S14 S406UA-BV023T
Intel UHD Graphics 620, Intel Core i5-8250U
9969 Points +38%
Average Intel UHD Graphics 620
  (6205 - 16400, n=225)
9262 Points +28%
HP ProBook 440 G5-3KX87ES
Intel UHD Graphics 620, Intel Core i5-8250U
7833 Points +8%
Lenovo ThinkPad E480-20KNCTO1WW
Intel UHD Graphics 620, Intel Core i5-8250U
7231 Points
Lenovo ThinkPad E470
Intel HD Graphics 620, Intel Core i5-7200U
7006 Points -3%
Acer TravelMate P449-G2-M-56CD
Intel HD Graphics 620, Intel Core i5-7200U
6458 Points -11%
1920x1080 Fire Strike Graphics
Average of class Office
  (712 - 8815, n=117, last 2 years)
4072 Points +362%
Lenovo ThinkPad E480-20KQS00000
AMD Radeon RX 550 (Laptop), Intel Core i5-8250U
3249 Points +268%
Asus VivoBook S14 S406UA-BV023T
Intel UHD Graphics 620, Intel Core i5-8250U
1178 Points +34%
Average Intel UHD Graphics 620
  (557 - 2608, n=213)
1161 Points +32%
HP ProBook 440 G5-3KX87ES
Intel UHD Graphics 620, Intel Core i5-8250U
929 Points +5%
Lenovo ThinkPad E480-20KNCTO1WW
Intel UHD Graphics 620, Intel Core i5-8250U
882 Points
Lenovo ThinkPad E470
Intel HD Graphics 620, Intel Core i5-7200U
858 Points -3%
Acer TravelMate P449-G2-M-56CD
Intel HD Graphics 620, Intel Core i5-7200U
727 Points -18%
3DMark Ice Storm
3DMark Ice Storm
3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited
3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited
3DMark Ice Storm Extreme
3DMark Ice Storm Extreme
3DMark Cloud Gate
3DMark Cloud Gate
3DMark Sky Diver
3DMark Sky Diver
3DMark Fire Strike
3DMark Fire Strike
3DMark Fire Strike Extreme
3DMark Fire Strike Extreme
3DMark Fire Strike Ultra
3DMark Fire Strike Ultra
3DMark Time Spy
3DMark Time Spy
3DMark 11
3DMark 11
 
 
3DMark 11 Performance
1591 points
3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score
57070 points
3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score
6738 points
3DMark Fire Strike Score
829 points
3DMark Fire Strike Extreme Score
370 points
3DMark Time Spy Score
343 points
Help

Gaming Performance

Given its primary focus on office and productivity tasks, the ThinkPad E480’s gaming capabilities are, well, effectively non-existent. Even a second RAM module could not have improved upon them significantly. That said, the ThinkPad E480’s Intel UHD Graphics 620 should be powerful enough for simple browser games.

low med. high ultra
BioShock Infinite (2013) 37.8 24.4 19.9 6.8
The Witcher 3 (2015) 14.8 9.4 5.2
Rise of the Tomb Raider (2016) 16.9 10.4 5.9

Emissions

System Noise

single fan underneath the bottom cover
single fan underneath the bottom cover

All things considered, the ThinkPad E480 was pleasantly quiet. Only the Schenker Slim 14 was even less obtrusive, but the differences were so minuscule that both devices have to share first place. The fan was completely off most of the time when the device was idle, which means that the notebook was completely silent. Under average load, our equipment measured a sound pressure level of 31.8 dB(A), and no more than 33.8 dB(A) under full load. Thus, the E480 was anything but annoying. Compared with the recently released E480 with a dedicated GPU, today’s review model did much better.

Noise Level

Idle
29.1 / 29.1 / 30.3 dB(A)
Load
31.8 / 33.8 dB(A)
  red to green bar
 
 
30 dB
silent
40 dB(A)
audible
50 dB(A)
loud
 
min: dark, med: mid, max: light   Audix TM1, Arta (15 cm distance)   environment noise: 29.1 dB(A)
Lenovo ThinkPad E480-20KNCTO1WWLenovo ThinkPad E480-20KQS00000HP ProBook 440 G5-3KX87ESLenovo ThinkPad E470Acer TravelMate P449-G2-M-56CDSCHENKER Slim 14 L17Asus VivoBook S14 S406UA-BV023T
Noise
-11%
-3%
-3%
-6%
2%
-10%
off / environment *
29.1
29.8
-2%
29.1
-0%
30.5
-5%
29.9
-3%
28.7
1%
30.2
-4%
Idle Minimum *
29.1
29.8
-2%
29.1
-0%
30.5
-5%
30.2
-4%
28.7
1%
30.2
-4%
Idle Average *
29.1
31.5
-8%
29.1
-0%
30.5
-5%
30.2
-4%
29.5
-1%
30.2
-4%
Idle Maximum *
30.3
33.3
-10%
30.7
-1%
30.5
-1%
30.2
-0%
29.5
3%
31.3
-3%
Load Average *
31.8
39.1
-23%
34.5
-8%
32.9
-3%
36.7
-15%
30.5
4%
40.1
-26%
Load Maximum *
33.8
40.4
-20%
36
-7%
32.9
3%
36.4
-8%
33.4
1%
40.4
-20%
Witcher 3 ultra *
39.1

* ... smaller is better

dB(A) 0102030405060708090Deep BassMiddle BassHigh BassLower RangeMidsHigher MidsLower HighsMid HighsUpper HighsSuper Highs203432.635.63732.22529.13028.833.228.53131.631.732.131.930.94031.129.829.429.531.15026.725.726.82727.56324.625.625.525.824.78024.42524.326.323.710026.326.824.92527.512526.62525.324.62616027.925.126.826.728.720024.724.423.62427.22502422.9222227.331521.622.521.222.123.240019.522.521.320.421.350019.822.320.819.320.763018.220.42018.319.780018.220.719.918.619.1100020.522.720.818.821125018.321.720.416.419.4160018.122.419.915.420.1200017.822.720.415.218.7250016.920.919.214.918.1315017.221.719.41518.8400017.124.220.415.22050001722.819.315.419.1630016.219.417.615.817.1800016.317.716.91616.51000016.416.816.81616.31250016.416.316.81616.31600016.616.217.315.916.2SPL30.333.831.829.131.7N1.421.71.21.7median 18.2median 22.4median 20.4median 16.4median 19.7Delta2.41.81.32.62.933.43135.330.73432.428.426.930.93128.930.632.129.931.632.631.831.832.330.627.830.529.228.22830.229.127.627.628.725.525.926.727.726.228.924.925.326.427.52627.12526.324.327.125.823.824.324.423.924.424.423.523.624.624.225.324.125.423.623.724.123.923.82521.121.62321.621.724.221.521.523.820.720.625.120.92224.619.918.625.320.422.62519.218.926.520.121.824.11918.126.520.922.52619.317.826.721.523.126.219.817.227.721.623.826.619.417.428.421.32326.119.416.72823.526.52720.416.728.52325.529.420.916.831.221.523.727.3201729.821.628.327.318.117.228.720.223.831.818.317.530.819.621251817.827.518.71922.317.818.224.218.318.220.217.918.221.6181819.21818.319.217.817.819.717.918.318.533.336.139.131.529.840.41.92.33.11.61.33.5median 21.3median 23median 24.6median 19.4median 18.2median 26.51.41.81.61.71.82.2hearing rangehide median Fan NoiseLenovo ThinkPad E480-20KNCTO1WWLenovo ThinkPad E480-20KQS00000

Temperature

3DMark 11 after running our stress test
3DMark 11 after running our stress test

With a maximum of 42.8 °C (~109 °F) under load, surface temperatures were inconspicuous overall. As such, they are on a par with last year’s model. With a maximum of 71.6 °C (~161 °F), the ThinkPad E480 with dedicated GPU single-handedly managed to break the record. Fortunately, the E480 without a dedicated RX 550 GPU did not suffer from this. Temperatures during our stress test remained inconspicuous once again: 76 °C (~169 °F) at the CPU, and no more than 60 °C (~140 °F) at the GPU. The SoC’s power target got in the way of higher CPU clock frequencies during periods of simultaneous CPU and GPU load. The CPU was never throttled due to thermal restrictions, and neither was the GPU.

stress test: Prime95
stress test: Prime95
stress test: FurMark
stress test: FurMark
stress test: FurMark+Prime95
stress test: FurMark+Prime95
Max. Load
 35.9 °C
97 F
36.3 °C
97 F
36.7 °C
98 F
 
 32.2 °C
90 F
33.8 °C
93 F
32.2 °C
90 F
 
 25.4 °C
78 F
25.8 °C
78 F
25.3 °C
78 F
 
Maximum: 36.7 °C = 98 F
Average: 31.5 °C = 89 F
38.7 °C
102 F
42.8 °C
109 F
40.7 °C
105 F
29.4 °C
85 F
37 °C
99 F
36.5 °C
98 F
22.9 °C
73 F
24 °C
75 F
23.9 °C
75 F
Maximum: 42.8 °C = 109 F
Average: 32.9 °C = 91 F
Power Supply (max.)  30.4 °C = 87 F | Room Temperature 20.5 °C = 69 F | Voltcraft IR-900
(+) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 31.5 °C / 89 F, compared to the average of 29.5 °C / 85 F for the devices in the class Office.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 36.7 °C / 98 F, compared to the average of 34.2 °C / 94 F, ranging from 21.2 to 62.5 °C for the class Office.
(±) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 42.8 °C / 109 F, compared to the average of 36.7 °C / 98 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 22.7 °C / 73 F, compared to the device average of 29.5 °C / 85 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are cooler than skin temperature with a maximum of 25.8 °C / 78.4 F and are therefore cool to the touch.
(±) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 27.7 °C / 81.9 F (+1.9 °C / 3.5 F).
Lenovo ThinkPad E480-20KNCTO1WWLenovo ThinkPad E480-20KQS00000HP ProBook 440 G5-3KX87ESLenovo ThinkPad E470Acer TravelMate P449-G2-M-56CDSCHENKER Slim 14 L17Asus VivoBook S14 S406UA-BV023T
Heat
-37%
-7%
0%
-5%
-12%
-13%
Maximum Upper Side *
36.7
51.9
-41%
39
-6%
35.6
3%
36.8
-0%
41.9
-14%
42.2
-15%
Maximum Bottom *
42.8
71.6
-67%
45.5
-6%
37.2
13%
31.3
27%
43.7
-2%
39.4
8%
Idle Upper Side *
23.4
24.8
-6%
24.8
-6%
24.4
-4%
26.7
-14%
24.8
-6%
28.1
-20%
Idle Bottom *
22.8
30
-32%
25
-10%
25.6
-12%
30
-32%
28.4
-25%
28.1
-23%

* ... smaller is better

heatmap top (load)
heatmap top (load)
heatmap bottom (load)
heatmap bottom (load)

Energy Management

Power Consumption

The ThinkPad E480 turned out to be fairly energy efficient. While idling, it consumed no more than 3.5-6.1 W, and just 30 W under average load. Maximum power consumption was measured at 42.3 W, which means that the 65 W USB-C power supply is amply dimensioned. In this category, our review unit bested every single one of its competitors.

Power Consumption
Off / Standbydarklight 0.42 / 0.64 Watt
Idledarkmidlight 3.5 / 5.3 / 6.1 Watt
Load midlight 30 / 42.3 Watt
 color bar
Key: min: dark, med: mid, max: light        Metrahit Energy
Currently we use the Metrahit Energy, a professional single phase power quality and energy measurement digital multimeter, for our measurements. Find out more about it here. All of our test methods can be found here.
Lenovo ThinkPad E480-20KNCTO1WW
i5-8250U, UHD Graphics 620, IPS LED, 1920x1080, 14.00
Lenovo ThinkPad E480-20KQS00000
i5-8250U, Radeon RX 550 (Laptop), IPS LED, 1920x1080, 14.00
HP ProBook 440 G5-3KX87ES
i5-8250U, UHD Graphics 620, IPS LED, 1920x1080, 14.00
Lenovo ThinkPad E470
i5-7200U, HD Graphics 620, TN LED, 1366x768, 14.00
Acer TravelMate P449-G2-M-56CD
i5-7200U, HD Graphics 620, IPS, 1920x1080, 14.00
SCHENKER Slim 14 L17
i5-8250U, UHD Graphics 620, IPS, 1920x1080, 14.00
Asus VivoBook S14 S406UA-BV023T
i5-8250U, UHD Graphics 620, TN LED, 1366x768, 14.00
Power Consumption
-38%
-33%
-25%
-20%
-42%
-8%
Idle Minimum *
3.5
4.1
-17%
4.4
-26%
5.2
-49%
4.5
-29%
6
-71%
3.7
-6%
Idle Average *
5.3
6.3
-19%
7.1
-34%
7.6
-43%
7.1
-34%
8.46
-60%
5.6
-6%
Idle Maximum *
6.1
7.1
-16%
10.2
-67%
9.9
-62%
10.2
-67%
9.48
-55%
7.6
-25%
Load Average *
30
54.8
-83%
36.5
-22%
31
-3%
29.8
1%
37.4
-25%
37.4
-25%
Load Maximum *
42.3
66.4
-57%
48.7
-15%
29.7
30%
31
27%
41.1
3%
33
22%
Witcher 3 ultra *
43.8

* ... smaller is better

Battery Life

3DMark 11 on battery
3DMark 11 on battery
45 Wh battery
45 Wh battery

Our review unit’s battery life was surprisingly long and almost on a par with last year’s ThinkPad E470. While battery capacity has remained unchanged at 45 Wh, the E480 offers much more performance than last year’s model. In our real-world Wi-Fi test at a normalized display brightness if 150 nits (or 74% in our review unit’s case), the E480 ran for almost 8 hours, easily outlasting its Schenker, Asus, and Acer competitors. 3D performance did not suffer from any degradation on battery.

Battery Runtime
Idle (without WLAN, min brightness)
18h 26min
WiFi Websurfing (Edge 41.16299.15.0)
8h 15min
Big Buck Bunny H.264 1080p
7h 11min
Load (maximum brightness)
1h 45min
maximum battery life
maximum battery life
minimum battery life
minimum battery life
Wi-Fi battery test
Wi-Fi battery test
H.264 battery test
H.264 battery test
charging
charging
Lenovo ThinkPad E480-20KNCTO1WW
i5-8250U, UHD Graphics 620, 45 Wh
Lenovo ThinkPad E480-20KQS00000
i5-8250U, Radeon RX 550 (Laptop), 48 Wh
HP ProBook 440 G5-3KX87ES
i5-8250U, UHD Graphics 620, 48 Wh
Lenovo ThinkPad E470
i5-7200U, HD Graphics 620, 45 Wh
Acer TravelMate P449-G2-M-56CD
i5-7200U, HD Graphics 620, 48 Wh
SCHENKER Slim 14 L17
i5-8250U, UHD Graphics 620, 44 Wh
Asus VivoBook S14 S406UA-BV023T
i5-8250U, UHD Graphics 620, 39 Wh
Average of class Office
 
Battery Runtime
-5%
-4%
8%
-7%
-39%
-4%
30%
Reader / Idle
1106
1164
5%
821
-26%
1112
1%
976
-12%
1414 ?(527 - 2359, n=23, last 2 years)
28%
H.264
431
536
24%
224
-48%
546
27%
503
17%
691 ?(348 - 1112, n=40, last 2 years)
60%
WiFi v1.3
495
341
-31%
416
-16%
480
-3%
341
-31%
304
-39%
476
-4%
589 ?(272 - 1137, n=107, last 2 years)
19%
Load
105
88
-16%
185
76%
111
6%
104
-1%
117 ?(56 - 209, n=65, last 2 years)
11%

Verdict

Pros

+ stylish and robust case
+ excellent keyboard
+ decent touchpad, very good trackpoint
+ matte IPS panel with decent contrast ratio
+ fast processor
+ decent battery life
+ low power consumption
+ pleasantly quiet

Cons

- slow PCIe NVMe SSD (write)
- MicroSD instead of SD card reader
- 12 month warranty
- just 4 GB of RAM
Lenovo ThinkPad E480. Review unit courtesy of Campuspoint.
Lenovo ThinkPad E480. Review unit courtesy of Campuspoint.

The Lenovo ThinkPad E480 is an affordable office notebook with powerful hardware. Its Intel Core i5-8250U processor is a powerful yet energy-efficient CPU leading to a better than average power consumption that battery life most certainly benefits from. Equipped with just 4 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage, the ThinkPad E480 does not offer much, but more than enough for everyday office and productivity tasks.

You cannot really go wrong given the E480’s low price of around $700. Unlike the recently reviewed E480 with AMD Radeon RX 550, today’s review unit deserves our full endorsement. We were particularly impressed by the high-contrast IPS panel - a panel like this is fairly uncommon in the E480’s price bracket. Our biggest gripe was the device’s poor SSD performance, and we are also fairly annoyed by the lack of an SD card reader (which has been replaced by a MicroSD card reader). Overall, you get a solid workhorse at a decent and fair price.

The Lenovo ThinkPad E480 is well-made and features well-known input devices that we have already praised numerous times in the past.

Lenovo ThinkPad E480-20KNCTO1WW - 03/13/2018 v6(old)
Sebastian Bade

Chassis
86 / 98 → 88%
Keyboard
94%
Pointing Device
88%
Connectivity
63 / 80 → 79%
Weight
66 / 20-67 → 97%
Battery
90%
Display
82%
Games Performance
55 / 68 → 81%
Application Performance
87 / 92 → 95%
Temperature
94%
Noise
95%
Audio
64%
Camera
42 / 85 → 49%
Average
77%
88%
Office - Weighted Average

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Reviews > Lenovo ThinkPad E480 (i5-8250U, UHD 620, SSD) Laptop Review
Sebastian Bade, 2018-03- 6 (Update: 2019-04-30)