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Review Update Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E545-20B2000PGE Notebook

No news. The ThinkPad Edge E545 wants to be a device for private and business use. Apart from a big storage capacity, the notebook features a matte display, an AMD quad-core processor, and a good keyboard. These are all signs of an attractive device for work. Our review will reveal whether the device really is a well-made notebook.

For the original German review, see here.

Lenovo wants to offer ThinkPad quality for low prices with the ThinkPad Edge series. This appears to be attractive for customers, since this series has already been on the market for several years and is brought technically up to date continually. With the ThinkPad Edge E545, we received a new model with AMD hardware. Our review will reveal whether it performs as similarly well as its predecessors and sister models.

We compare the notebook to the following competitors: the HP ProBook 450 (Core i7-4702MQ, HD Graphics 4600) and the Fujitsu Lifebook A544 (Core i5-4200M, HD Graphics 4600).

The ThinkPad Edge E545 is technically identical with its predecessors. So, we will not cover case, connectivity, input devices and speakers here. This information is available in our review of the ThinkPad Edge E535.

Display

The matte HD display (1366x768 pixels) has an average brightness of 241 cd/m² and, so, ranks in the upper mid-range. However, contrast (173:1) and black value (1.46 cd/m²) are awfully low, which is no longer acceptable nowadays. Lenovo has to improve here. The displays of the ProBook and the Lifebook perform similarly poor.

203
cd/m²
226
cd/m²
219
cd/m²
227
cd/m²
252
cd/m²
239
cd/m²
205
cd/m²
227
cd/m²
219
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
Lenovo N156B6-l07 tested with X-Rite i1Pro 2
Maximum: 252 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 224.1 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 81 %
Center on Battery: 252 cd/m²
Contrast: 173:1 (Black: 1.46 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 6.22 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 7.52 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
46.3% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
51.2% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
72.4% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
49.78% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.4
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E545-20B2000PGE
Radeon HD 8650G + HD 8570M Dual Graphics, A10-5750M, WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-22JC3T0
HP ProBook 450 G1 E9Y58EA
HD Graphics 4600, 4702MQ, Seagate Momentus ST750LM022 HN-M750MB
Lenovo Thinkpad Edge E535-NZR5BGE
Radeon HD 7640G, A8-4500M, WDC Scorpio Blue WD7500BPVT-08HXZT3
Fujitsu LifeBook A544
HD Graphics 4600, 4200M, Hitachi Travelstar Z5K500 HTS545050A7E680
Display
-26%
1%
-28%
Display P3 Coverage
49.78
36.54
-27%
50.3
1%
35.51
-29%
sRGB Coverage
72.4
54.5
-25%
71.6
-1%
53.4
-26%
AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage
51.2
37.63
-27%
52
2%
36.68
-28%
Screen
-22%
-9%
-1%
Brightness middle
252
228
-10%
275
9%
211
-16%
Brightness
224
203
-9%
259
16%
197
-12%
Brightness Distribution
81
80
-1%
89
10%
85
5%
Black Level *
1.46
1.08
26%
2.24
-53%
1.06
27%
Contrast
173
211
22%
123
-29%
199
15%
Colorchecker dE 2000 *
6.22
12.64
-103%
6.77
-9%
Greyscale dE 2000 *
7.52
13.43
-79%
6.82
9%
Gamma
2.4 92%
2.43 91%
2.66 83%
CCT
9598 68%
17330 38%
9452 69%
Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998)
46.3
34.8
-25%
33.9
-27%
Total Average (Program / Settings)
-24% / -23%
-4% / -6%
-15% / -8%

* ... smaller is better

In factory state, the average DeltaE 2000 deviation of the display is about 6. So, the display performs significantly better than most of the displays measured by us. Several colors even reach the target range (DeltaE smaller than 3). If anything, the display is minimally bluish. The display cannot cover either AdobeRGB or sRGB. The coverage is about 63% (sRGB) and 46.3% (AdobeRGB).

CalMAN - ColorChecker
CalMAN - ColorChecker
CalMAN - gray levels
CalMAN - gray levels
CalMAN - color saturation
CalMAN - color saturation

Outdoor usage is indeed possible, but too bright environments should be avoided. The viewing angles are as usual: The picture quickly distorts in vertical direction while the viewing angle stability is significantly better in horizontal direction. Several people can look at the screen simultaneously. The display of the Edge E535 performed even worse.

The ThinkPad Edge E545 during outdoor usage (sky overcast)
The ThinkPad Edge E545 during outdoor usage (sky overcast)
Viewing angles of the ThinkPad Edge E545
Viewing angles of the ThinkPad Edge E545

Performance

The various models of the ThinkPad Edge E545 series are inexpensive notebooks for private and business use. They deliver sufficient performance for everyday tasks. Our test model costs about 540 Euros (~$751). HP also offers other configurations. If you need more CPU performance, you can select notebooks of the ThinkPad Edge E540 series, which are equipped with Haswell processors from Intel. With the ThinkPad Edge E540 20C60041 (Core i3-4000M, HD Graphics 4600), we have already reviewed a representative of this series.

CPU-Z
CPU-Z
CPU-Z
CPU-Z
CPU-Z
GPU-Z
GPU-Z
HWInfo

Processor

Lenovo equipped the ThinkPad Edge under review with an A10-5750M APU from AMD, which is based on the Richland architecture. The CPU part of the APU consists of a quad-core processor with a base clock of 2.5 GHz. Turbo can increase the clock rate to up to 3.5 GHz (AMD Turbo Core). AMD specifies a TDP of 35 Watt for this APU.

The processor continuously clocks at 3.2 GHz in the single thread tests of the Cinebench benchmark. Sometimes the clock rate of one of the cores gets accelerated to 3.5 GHz. During the multi-thread tests the four cores work with a clock rate between 2.5 and 2.8 GHz. The mentioned values apply to mains operation. On battery the processor continuously clocks at 2.5 GHz. The ThinkPad Edge cannot keep up with the Lifebook and the ProBook since both notebooks feature significantly more powerful processors.

Cinebench R11.5 - CPU Single 64Bit (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E545-20B2000PGE
Radeon HD 8650G + HD 8570M Dual Graphics, A10-5750M, WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-22JC3T0
0.84 Points
HP ProBook 455 G1 H6P57EA
Radeon HD 7420G, A4-4300M, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT012-1DG142
0.68 Points -19%
Acer TravelMate P255-M-54204G50Mnss
HD Graphics 4400, 4200U, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT0 12-9WS142
1 Points +19%
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E540 20C60041
HD Graphics 4600, 4000M, Hitachi Travelstar Z7K500 HTS725050A7E630
1.06 Points +26%
Fujitsu LifeBook A544
HD Graphics 4600, 4200M, Hitachi Travelstar Z5K500 HTS545050A7E680
1.35 Points +61%
HP ProBook 450 G1 E9Y58EA
HD Graphics 4600, 4702MQ, Seagate Momentus ST750LM022 HN-M750MB
1.42 Points +69%
Cinebench R11.5 - CPU Multi 64Bit (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E545-20B2000PGE
Radeon HD 8650G + HD 8570M Dual Graphics, A10-5750M, WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-22JC3T0
2.19 Points
HP ProBook 455 G1 H6P57EA
Radeon HD 7420G, A4-4300M, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT012-1DG142
1.03 Points -53%
Lenovo Thinkpad Edge E535-NZR5BGE
Radeon HD 7640G, A8-4500M, WDC Scorpio Blue WD7500BPVT-08HXZT3
1.76 Points -20%
Acer TravelMate P255-M-54204G50Mnss
HD Graphics 4400, 4200U, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT0 12-9WS142
2.49 Points +14%
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E540 20C60041
HD Graphics 4600, 4000M, Hitachi Travelstar Z7K500 HTS725050A7E630
2.55 Points +16%
Fujitsu LifeBook A544
HD Graphics 4600, 4200M, Hitachi Travelstar Z5K500 HTS545050A7E680
3.27 Points +49%
HP ProBook 450 G1 E9Y58EA
HD Graphics 4600, 4702MQ, Seagate Momentus ST750LM022 HN-M750MB
6.3 Points +188%
Cinebench R10 Shading 64Bit
5273 Points
Cinebench R10 Rendering Multiple CPUs 64Bit
8603 Points
Cinebench R10 Rendering Single CPUs 64Bit
3447 Points
Cinebench R10 Shading 32Bit
5194
Cinebench R10 Rendering Multiple CPUs 32Bit
6114
Cinebench R10 Rendering Single 32Bit
2579
Cinebench R11.5 CPU Single 64Bit
0.84 Points
Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64Bit
21.52 fps
Cinebench R11.5 CPU Multi 64Bit
2.19 Points
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64Bit
24.42 fps
Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64Bit
198 Points
Cinebench R15 CPU Single 64Bit
74 Points
Cinebench R15 Ref. Match 64Bit
98 %
Help

System Performance

The system works smoothly without issues. The PCMark 7 result is definitely good. However, it cannot reach the value of the ProBook, whose much faster CPU is noticeable here. We did not run this test on the Lifebook.

PCMark Vantage Result
4911 points
PCMark 7 Score
2025 points
PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2
2813 points
PCMark 8 Creative Score Accelerated v2
2898 points
PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2
3769 points
Help
PCMark 7 - Score (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E545-20B2000PGE
Radeon HD 8650G + HD 8570M Dual Graphics, A10-5750M, WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-22JC3T0
2025 Points
HP ProBook 455 G1 H6P57EA
Radeon HD 7420G, A4-4300M, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT012-1DG142
1586 Points -22%
Lenovo Thinkpad Edge E535-NZR5BGE
Radeon HD 7640G, A8-4500M, WDC Scorpio Blue WD7500BPVT-08HXZT3
1667 Points -18%
Acer TravelMate P255-M-54204G50Mnss
HD Graphics 4400, 4200U, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT0 12-9WS142
2373 Points +17%
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E540 20C60041
HD Graphics 4600, 4000M, Hitachi Travelstar Z7K500 HTS725050A7E630
2538 Points +25%
HP ProBook 450 G1 E9Y58EA
HD Graphics 4600, 4702MQ, Seagate Momentus ST750LM022 HN-M750MB
2736 Points +35%

Storage Devices

Lenovo equipped the ThinkPad Edge with a hard drive from Western Digital with a capacity of 1 TB and a revolution speed of 5400 rpm. CrystalDiskMark reports a read rate of 84.8 MB/s and HD Tune displays an average transfer rate of 81 MB/s. The recorded transfer rates are largely in the normal range for a 5400 rpm hard drive. But, the 4k write results are above-average.

WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-22JC3T0
Transfer Rate Minimum: 43.1 MB/s
Transfer Rate Maximum: 112.4 MB/s
Transfer Rate Average: 81 MB/s
Access Time: 16.6 ms
Burst Rate: 169.6 MB/s
CPU Usage: 4.2 %

Graphics Card

The ThinkPad Edge features an AMD dual graphics solution consisting of the integrated Radeon HD 8650G graphics core and the dedicated Radeon HD 8570M GPU. Both graphics chips support at least DirectX 11. The GPUs work in a so-called Crossfire connection, i.e. both cores can work on the calculation of the displayed image. During everyday tasks and on battery only the integrated GPU is used by default. It is also possible to use the dual graphics solution here. The driver menu allows the user to select whether the dual graphics solution is used for each application. The dual graphics solution proved to perform overall better than the integrated GPUs of the competition - according to the results of the 3DMark 2011 benchmark.

3DMark Vantage P Result
5004 points
3DMark 11 Performance
1802 points
3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score
46226 points
3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score
4271 points
3DMark Fire Strike Score
797 points
Help
3DMark 11 - 1280x720 Performance (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E545-20B2000PGE
Radeon HD 8650G + HD 8570M Dual Graphics, A10-5750M, WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-22JC3T0
1802 Points
HP ProBook 455 G1 H6P57EA
Radeon HD 7420G, A4-4300M, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT012-1DG142
501 Points -72%
Lenovo Thinkpad Edge E535-NZR5BGE
Radeon HD 7640G, A8-4500M, WDC Scorpio Blue WD7500BPVT-08HXZT3
728 Points -60%
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E540 20C60041
HD Graphics 4600, 4000M, Hitachi Travelstar Z7K500 HTS725050A7E630
828 Points -54%
HP ProBook 450 G1 E9Y58EA
HD Graphics 4600, 4702MQ, Seagate Momentus ST750LM022 HN-M750MB
1042 Points -42%
Dell Latitude 13 3540
Radeon HD 8850M, 4200U, WDC Scorpio Blue WD7500BPVX-75JC3T0
2589 Points +44%

Gaming Performance

The ThinkPad Edge can run the majority of games smoothly in low to medium resolution. The user has to be content with low to medium quality settings. In current games like Thief and Call of Duty: Ghosts the notebook hardly achieves playable frame rates. But, this might change in the future through better driver support.

If more gaming performance is desired, the Dell Latitude 3540 would be an alternative. It also focuses on private and business users and some models come with a Radeon HD 8850M graphics core. But, it is significantly more expensive than the ThinkPad Edge with a price of about 700 Euros (~$973).

low med. high ultra
Dead Space 3 (2013) 68.8 32 25.9
Tomb Raider (2013) 66.1 36 23.1
StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm (2013) 47.4 25.5
BioShock Infinite (2013) 43.1 24.1 19.6
GRID 2 (2013) 47 31.4
Splinter Cell: Blacklist (2013) 35.4 24.2 10.5
Batman: Arkham Origins (2013) 42 24 15
Battlefield 4 (2013) 35.1 24.5 15.8
Call of Duty: Ghosts (2013) 24.8 23.6 12.7
Need for Speed: Rivals (2013) 18.8 18.2 14.7
X-Plane 10.25 (2013) 37.5 19.2 8.6
Thief (2014) 14 11.6 9.6
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E545-20B2000PGE
Radeon HD 8650G + HD 8570M Dual Graphics, A10-5750M, WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-22JC3T0
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E540 20C60041
HD Graphics 4600, 4000M, Hitachi Travelstar Z7K500 HTS725050A7E630
HP ProBook 450 G1 E9Y58EA
HD Graphics 4600, 4702MQ, Seagate Momentus ST750LM022 HN-M750MB
HP ProBook 455 G1 H6P57EA
Radeon HD 7420G, A4-4300M, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT012-1DG142
Dell Latitude 13 3540
Radeon HD 8850M, 4200U, WDC Scorpio Blue WD7500BPVX-75JC3T0
Tomb Raider
-44%
-33%
-58%
97%
1024x768 Low Preset
66.1
42.3
-36%
52.3
-21%
28.7
-57%
1366x768 Normal Preset AA:FX AF:4x
36
20.3
-44%
23.9
-34%
14.9
-59%
67.2
87%
1366x768 High Preset AA:FX AF:8x
23.1
11.2
-52%
13
-44%
47.9
107%

Emissions

System noise

A notebook for work should work quietly or even silently regardless of the load. While idle, only the quiet rustling of the fan is audible. The fan gets hardly louder under full load.

Noise Level

Idle
30.8 / 31 / 31.2 dB(A)
HDD
32.1 dB(A)
DVD
37.4 / dB(A)
Load
32.5 / 33.7 dB(A)
  red to green bar
 
 
30 dB
silent
40 dB(A)
audible
50 dB(A)
loud
 
min: dark, med: mid, max: light   Voltcraft sl-320 (15 cm distance)

Temperature

The ThinkPad Edge during the stress test.
The ThinkPad Edge during the stress test.

None of the three computers gets especially warm while idle. They only get moderately warmer during the stress test. The temperature only rises more at the measurement points close to the fans.

During the stress test (Prime95 and Furmark run for at least one hour) the CPU mostly clocks at 2.5 GHz. It increases (2.8 GHz) and falls (2.1 GHz) repeatedly. On battery the processor mostly runs with a clock rate of 900 MHz. It increases to 2.5 to 3.2 GHz repeatedly. Both graphics cores work in the same way in mains operation and on battery. While the dedicated graphics core clocks between 750 and 825 MHz, the integrated GPU's clock rate is 354 MHz and repeatedly increases to up to 720 MHz.

Although the clock rate of the CPU falls to 900 MHz every now and then, this does not occur during everyday tasks. If the notebook runs on battery in daily life, the CPU continuously clocks at 2.5 GHz. As a result the Cinebench results are slightly worse on battery than in mains operation (Cinebench R11.5: Single: 0.63, Multi: 1.98). 

Max. Load
 45 °C
113 F
32.1 °C
90 F
28 °C
82 F
 
 42 °C
108 F
37.5 °C
100 F
27.8 °C
82 F
 
 32.2 °C
90 F
31.2 °C
88 F
27 °C
81 F
 
Maximum: 45 °C = 113 F
Average: 33.6 °C = 92 F
28.9 °C
84 F
33 °C
91 F
42.1 °C
108 F
29.2 °C
85 F
34 °C
93 F
33.7 °C
93 F
27.8 °C
82 F
34.2 °C
94 F
32.7 °C
91 F
Maximum: 42.1 °C = 108 F
Average: 32.8 °C = 91 F
Power Supply (max.)  47 °C = 117 F | Room Temperature 23.8 °C = 75 F | Voltcraft IR-360
(±) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 33.6 °C / 92 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 45 °C / 113 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 42.1 °C / 108 F, compared to the average of 36.7 °C / 98 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 28.1 °C / 83 F, compared to the device average of 29.5 °C / 85 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are reaching skin temperature as a maximum (32.2 °C / 90 F) and are therefore not hot.
(-) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 27.7 °C / 81.9 F (-4.5 °C / -8.1 F).

Energy Management

Power Consumption

With 10.9 to 13.4 Watt, the ThinkPad Edge requires significantly more energy than the ProBook (6.3 to 8.8 Watt) and the Lifebook (5.4 to 8.2 Watt) while idle. The same is true for medium load (3DMark06) and full load (stress test: Prime95 and Furmark). The power consumption is between 44.7 and 61.3 Watt here. This is not surprising, since the Thinkpad Edge features a dedicated GPU besides the integrated one.

Power Consumption
Off / Standbydarklight 0.3 / 0.5 Watt
Idledarkmidlight 10.9 / 13.2 / 13.4 Watt
Load midlight 44.7 / 61.3 Watt
 color bar
Key: min: dark, med: mid, max: light        Voltcraft VC 940
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.

Battery Life

While idle the battery life of the ThinkPad Edge is 6:31 h. The ProBook's (9:39 h) is significantly longer. We did not run this test on the Lifebook. The idle scenario is tested with the Battery Eater Reader's test with minimum display brightness, energy saving profile and disabled radio modules. Under load the ThinkPad Edge shuts down after 1:10 h. The ProBook's (0:59 h) battery is empty earlier. Again, we did not run this test on the Lifebook. The battery life under load is tested with the Battery Eater Classic test with maximum display brightness, profile "maximum performance" and enabled radio modules.

Our realistic WLAN test automatically loads websites in 40 second intervals. The energy saving profile is active and the display brightness is set to about 150 cd/m². The ThinkPad Edge achieves a battery life of 4:16 h. The ProBook's (4:48 h) and especially the Lifebook's (6:50 h) times are longer. DVD playback ends after 2:35 h on the ThinkPad. Again the ProBook (3:10 h) achieves a better value. We skipped this test on the Lifebook. The DVD test is run with energy saving profile (or higher, if the DVD does not play smoothly), maximum display brightness and disabled radio modules.

Battery Runtime
Idle (without WLAN, min brightness)
6h 31min
WiFi Surfing
4h 16min
DVD
2h 35min
Load (maximum brightness)
1h 10min
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E545-20B2000PGE
Radeon HD 8650G + HD 8570M Dual Graphics, A10-5750M, WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-22JC3T0
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E540 20C60041
HD Graphics 4600, 4000M, Hitachi Travelstar Z7K500 HTS725050A7E630
HP ProBook 450 G1 E9Y58EA
HD Graphics 4600, 4702MQ, Seagate Momentus ST750LM022 HN-M750MB
HP ProBook 455 G1 H6P57EA
Radeon HD 7420G, A4-4300M, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT012-1DG142
Fujitsu LifeBook A544
HD Graphics 4600, 4200M, Hitachi Travelstar Z5K500 HTS545050A7E680
Battery Runtime
WiFi
256
263
3%
288
13%
261
2%
410
60%

Verdict

The Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E545.
The Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E545.

The Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E545 delivers a good system performance and is also able to run many computer games. In addition, it has a big storage capacity and comes up with a good battery life. Access to the inside is possible without problems. Like all other ThinkPad Edge models we reviewed so far, the Edge E545 is also equipped with good input devices. Alike in the Edge E535, the biggest weakness of the notebook is the display. Black value and contrast are extremely bad. A warranty of only 12 months is no longer appropriate, either.

Basically we could reuse the text of the E535's verdict for the ThinkPad Edge E545 since both devices are hardly different. They have the same strengths and weaknesses. The only one real difference: More powerful CPUs and GPUs are available for the Edge E545 models. If you generally like the E535 and do not have big demands for CPU performance, you could also select the cheaper predecessor. For example, the ThinkPad Edge E535 NZRFPGE model with A6-4400M APU, 4 GB of RAM and 320 GB hard drive is currently available for about 320 Euros (~$445) - without Windows OS.

The HP ProBook 450 and the Fujitsu Lifebook A544 score points with their significantly stronger processors. A better battery life is another advantage of the Lifebook.

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In Review: Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E545-20B2000PG
In Review: Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E545-20B2000PG

Specifications

Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E545-20B2000PGE (ThinkPad Edge E545 Series)
Processor
AMD A10-5750M 4 x 2.5 - 3.5 GHz, Richland
Graphics adapter
AMD Radeon HD 8650G + HD 8570M Dual Graphics - 2048 MB VRAM, Core: 720 MHz, Memory: 900 MHz, Catalyst 13.12, Crossfire
Memory
8 GB 
, DDR3, single channel, two RAM slots (one occupied)
Display
15.60 inch 16:9, 1366 x 768 pixel, Lenovo N156B6-l07, TN LED, glossy: no
Mainboard
AMD Bolton
Storage
WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-22JC3T0, 1024 GB 
, 5400 rpm
Soundcard
AMD Hudson-2 High Definition Audio Controller
Connections
1 USB 2.0, 3 USB 3.0 / 3.1 Gen1, 1 VGA, 1 HDMI, 1 Kensington Lock, Audio Connections: audio combination, Card Reader: SD, SDHC, SDXC, MMC
Networking
Realtek RTL8168/8111 Gigabit-LAN (10/100/1000MBit/s), Broadcom BCM43142 (b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/), Bluetooth 4.0
Optical drive
Matshita DVD-RAM UJ8E1
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 34.3 x 377 x 245 ( = 1.35 x 14.84 x 9.65 in)
Battery
48 Wh Lithium-Ion, 10.8 V, 4100 mAh
Operating System
FreeDos
Camera
Webcam: HD web cam
Additional features
Speakers: stereo, Keyboard: Accu-Type, Keyboard Light: no, 12 Months Warranty
Weight
2.37 kg ( = 83.6 oz / 5.22 pounds), Power Supply: 337 g ( = 11.89 oz / 0.74 pounds)
Price
539 Euro

 

The Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E545.
The Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E545.
It looks exactly like its predecessor
It looks exactly like its predecessor
The lid is rubberized
The lid is rubberized
Good input devices
Good input devices
Apart from a touchpad...
Apart from a touchpad...
...there is also a TrackPoint
...there is also a TrackPoint
The hinges hold the lid tightly in place
The hinges hold the lid tightly in place
The DVD burner reads and writes all kinds of DVDs and CDs
The DVD burner reads and writes all kinds of DVDs and CDs
There are two maintenance doors on the underside
There are two maintenance doors on the underside
This inside of the Edge E545 looks exactly like the Edge E535's
This inside of the Edge E545 looks exactly like the Edge E535's
The battery has a capacity of 48 Wh
The battery has a capacity of 48 Wh

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Pros

+good system performance
+gaming capable
+easy to maintain
+three USB-3.0 interfaces
+good keyboard
+always quiet
+decent battery life
 

Cons

-display with a very low contrast
-only 12 months warranty

Shortcut

What we like

The good input devices and the low system noise.

What we would like to see

Definitely a display with a higher contrast.

What surprises us

It is hard to believe that Lenovo still dares to offer a notebook with such a low-contrast screen nowadays.

The competition

Fujitsu Lifebook A544, HP ProBook 450, HP ProBook 455, Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E540, Acer TravelMate P255-M, Dell Latitude 3540.

Rating

Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E545-20B2000PGE - 08/29/2014 v4(old)
Sascha Mölck

Chassis
70 / 98 → 71%
Keyboard
87%
Pointing Device
86%
Connectivity
64 / 80 → 80%
Weight
61 / 20-67 → 87%
Battery
78%
Display
73%
Games Performance
66 / 68 → 97%
Application Performance
67 / 92 → 73%
Temperature
83%
Noise
94%
Audio
69%
Camera
25 / 85 → 29%
Average
71%
78%
Office - Weighted Average
> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Reviews > Archive of our own reviews > Review Update Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E545-20B2000PGE Notebook
Sascha Mölck, 2014-03-15 (Update: 2019-04-30)