Lenovo ThinkPad E15 Laptop Review: Too much performance with too little cooling
New ThinkPad E series, part 2. This time, we review the Lenovo ThinkPad E15. Following Lenovo's new naming scheme, this is an affordable ThinkPad laptop of the E series with a 15.6-inch screen.
In contrast to the smaller Lenovo ThinkPad E14, we are reviewing a configuration with the dedicated AMD GPU. The reviewed sample model 20RD0011GE contains an Intel Core i7-10510U, the AMD Radeon RX 640, 16 GB RAM, a 512 GB SSD as well as an FHD screen. This is a high-end configuration that costs 1,019 Euros (~$1,093).
The predecessor Lenovo ThinkPad E590 is a logical choice for a comparison device. Like with the ThinkPad E14, we take in the more expensive Lenovo ThinkPad T590 into the equation as well. Additional comparison devices are the Dell Vostro 15 and the MSI Modern 15.
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Size | Resolution | Best Price |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
82.1 % | 03/2020 | Lenovo ThinkPad E15 20RD0011GE i7-10510U, Radeon RX 640 | 1.8 kg | 18.9 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 | |
87.6 % | 05/2019 | Lenovo ThinkPad E590-20NB0012GE i7-8565U, Radeon RX 550X (Laptop) | 1.9 kg | 19.9 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 | |
86.6 % | 07/2019 | Lenovo ThinkPad T590-20N4002VGE i7-8565U, GeForce MX250 | 1.9 kg | 19.95 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 | |
81.1 % | 06/2019 | Dell Vostro 15-5581 i5-8265U, GeForce MX130 | 2 kg | 18.04 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 | |
80.1 % | 02/2020 | MSI Modern 15 A10RB i7-10510U, GeForce MX250 | 1.6 kg | 15.9 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 |
Changes compared with the Lenovo ThinkPad E590
The changes of the ThinkPad E15 compared with the E590 mirror the changes to the ThinkPad E14: The chassis of the ThinkPad E15 is thinner (1 mm) and lighter (roughly 200 g) than the preceding model. The keyboard design has been changed as on the smaller E14, which means that the keyboard (which has a numpad on the 15.6-inch model) is not easily repairable anymore. Different from the E14, the bottom of the ThinkPad E15 is still made out of plastic. Aluminum is only used for the display lid.
As with the Lenovo ThinkPad E14, there is no more microSD slot. On the other hand, there is a new mechanical camera shutter (the ThinkShutter) and the fingerprint-reader is now fused with the power button. Since the ThinkPad E15 is a lot like its predecessor ThinkPad E590 otherwise, we point to the older model for more information about the connectivity and the input devices.
Connectivity: No more microSD slot for the Lenovo ThinkPad E15
Networking | |
iperf3 transmit AX12 | |
MSI Modern 15 A10RB | |
Average of class Office (280 - 1332, n=6, last 2 years) | |
Lenovo ThinkPad E590-20NB0012GE | |
Lenovo ThinkPad E15 20RD0011GE | |
Lenovo ThinkPad T590-20N4002VGE | |
Dell Vostro 15-5581 | |
iperf3 receive AX12 | |
MSI Modern 15 A10RB | |
Lenovo ThinkPad E15 20RD0011GE | |
Average of class Office (348 - 1690, n=6, last 2 years) | |
Lenovo ThinkPad T590-20N4002VGE | |
Lenovo ThinkPad E590-20NB0012GE | |
Dell Vostro 15-5581 |
FHD screen of the Lenovo laptop: Matte but mediocre
Lenovo offers exactly two matte screen options: A TN panel with HD resolution (1366x768) and an FHD screen (1920x1080) based on IPS technology. The only feasible choice here is the FHD screen; the HD display should be avoided in any case.
The built-in FHD screen is supposed to reach a brightness value of 250 cd/m², which actually is the case for our review sample. On average, we measured 257 cd/m². That is less than the predecessor ThinkPad E590, though this one also has a screen specified for 250 cd/m². How high the brightness actually is seems to be a lottery.
The panel has PWM, but the frequency is so high that it should not be a problem. Backlight bleeding is visible too, though it gets overshadowed a little bit by IPS glow.
|
Brightness Distribution: 81 %
Center on Battery: 284 cd/m²
Contrast: 1286:1 (Black: 0.22 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 7.9 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5, calibrated: 5.8
ΔE Greyscale 6.6 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
57.1% sRGB (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
37% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
41.59% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
57.7% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
40.25% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.18
Lenovo ThinkPad E15 20RD0011GE NV156FHM-N48, IPS LED, 1920x1080, 15.60 | Lenovo ThinkPad E590-20NB0012GE Lenovo B156HAN02.1, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60 | Lenovo ThinkPad T590-20N4002VGE LP156WFC-SPD1, aSi IPS LED, 1920x1080, 15.60 | Dell Vostro 15-5581 156CL04 1G2XW, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60 | MSI Modern 15 A10RB Chi Mei N156HCE-EN1, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Display | 1% | -2% | -2% | 61% | |
Display P3 Coverage | 40.25 | 39.88 -1% | 38.79 -4% | 38.86 -3% | 66 64% |
sRGB Coverage | 57.7 | 59.9 4% | 58.3 1% | 58.5 1% | 92.1 60% |
AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 41.59 | 41.21 -1% | 40.11 -4% | 40.15 -3% | 66.5 60% |
Response Times | 7% | 25% | -10% | 667% | |
Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 49.6 ? | 47.2 ? 5% | 37.2 ? 25% | 36 ? 27% | 43.2 ? 13% |
Response Time Black / White * | 36 ? | 32.8 ? 9% | 27.2 ? 24% | 27 ? 25% | 34.4 ? 4% |
PWM Frequency | 1250 ? | 208 ? -83% | 26040 ? 1983% | ||
Screen | 15% | 12% | 19% | 32% | |
Brightness middle | 283 | 284 0% | 276 -2% | 231 -18% | 289.4 2% |
Brightness | 258 | 272 5% | 262 2% | 213 -17% | 273 6% |
Brightness Distribution | 81 | 92 14% | 88 9% | 87 7% | 82 1% |
Black Level * | 0.22 | 0.21 5% | 0.23 -5% | 0.13 41% | 0.27 -23% |
Contrast | 1286 | 1352 5% | 1200 -7% | 1777 38% | 1072 -17% |
Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 7.9 | 5.3 33% | 5.6 29% | 4.81 39% | 2.32 71% |
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 23.6 | 18.9 20% | 16.4 31% | 8.33 65% | 5.76 76% |
Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated * | 5.8 | 4.4 24% | 4.7 19% | 4.2 28% | 2.49 57% |
Greyscale dE 2000 * | 6.6 | 3.2 52% | 3 55% | 5.19 21% | 3 55% |
Gamma | 2.18 101% | 2.41 91% | 2.18 101% | 2.33 94% | 2.22 99% |
CCT | 5735 113% | 6736 96% | 7075 92% | 7088 92% | 6867 95% |
Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998) | 37 | 37.9 2% | 36.9 0% | 37 0% | 59.8 62% |
Color Space (Percent of sRGB) | 57.1 | 59.7 5% | 58.1 2% | 58 2% | 92 61% |
Total Average (Program / Settings) | 8% /
11% | 12% /
11% | 2% /
10% | 253% /
149% |
* ... smaller is better
Ex factory, the screen has a significant yellow tint, which we were able to remove with CalMAN and the X-Rite i1Display Pro color-sensor. The contrast of 1286:1 is good, which contributes to creating a nice image quality.
The color gamut is weak. With just 57.1% of the sRGB, the smaller standard gamut is barely covered by half. This panel is completely unsuitable for color critical work.
Outdoors, the Lenovo ThinkPad E15 is usable, since the surface is matte. Using it in direct sunlight is not possible though as the screen is too dim for that.
Display Response Times
↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
---|---|---|
36 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 18.8 ms rise | |
↘ 17.2 ms fall | ||
The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 93 % 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 | ||
49.6 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 24.4 ms rise | |
↘ 25.2 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. » 83 % 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)
Screen flickering / PWM detected | 1250 Hz | ≤ 99 % brightness setting | |
The display backlight flickers at 1250 Hz (worst case, e.g., utilizing PWM) Flickering detected at a brightness setting of 99 % and below. There should be no flickering or PWM above this brightness setting. The frequency of 1250 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. |
Typical for IPS screens, the viewing-angle stability is very good, though an IPS glow effect is visible.
Lenovo ThinkPad E15 with disappointing GPU performance
Four different Comet Lake CPUs from Intel are offered by Lenovo, from the Core i3-10110U to the Core i5-10210U and the Core i7-10510U. The six-core CPU Core i7-10710U is available as well, but not in Europe. There are three GPU models: Just the Intel GPU or a choice of two additional AMD Radeon GPUs (Radeon 625 and Radeon RX 640). The CPU and GPU are complemented by up to 16 GB DDR4 2400 RAM and up to 1 TB SSD storage as well as 1 TB HDD storage. While the E15 is as flexibly upgradable as the ThinkPad E590 in terms of storage, this is not the case anymore for the RAM. Instead of two SO-DIMM slots, there is only a single one. Accordingly, the maximum RAM capacity decreases from 64 to 32 GB.
Processor
The Intel Core i7-10510U is a Comet Lake processor with four cores and a clock rate of 1.8 to 4.8 GHz. The typical maximum power consumption of this CPU is 15 W. With our CPU comparison table, this processor can be compared with other CPUs.
Lenovo allows power consumption of 25 W for 30 seconds. Afterwards, the consumption is limited to 15 W, which explains the performance in the Cinebench loop. In this test, the ThinkPad E15 performs better than its predecessor ThinkPad E590. Compared with the ThinkPad T590 and the MSI Modern 15, it loses out however.
The CPU is not throttled when it runs on battery power.
Cinebench R15 | |
CPU Single 64Bit | |
Average of class Office (82.6 - 284, n=118, last 2 years) | |
MSI Modern 15 A10RB | |
Lenovo ThinkPad T590-20N4002VGE | |
Lenovo ThinkPad E590-20NB0012GE | |
Average Intel Core i7-10510U (113 - 202, n=42) | |
Lenovo ThinkPad E15 20RD0011GE | |
Dell Vostro 15-5581 | |
CPU Multi 64Bit | |
Average of class Office (160.8 - 2642, n=120, last 2 years) | |
MSI Modern 15 A10RB | |
Lenovo ThinkPad T590-20N4002VGE | |
Average Intel Core i7-10510U (482 - 856, n=45) | |
Dell Vostro 15-5581 | |
Lenovo ThinkPad E15 20RD0011GE | |
Lenovo ThinkPad E590-20NB0012GE |
System performance
In the PCMark benchmarks, the Lenovo ThinkPad E15 performs well. In everyday use, the performance is flawless, too.
PCMark 8 | |
Home Score Accelerated v2 | |
Lenovo ThinkPad E590-20NB0012GE | |
Average of class Office (2304 - 4830, n=12, last 2 years) | |
Lenovo ThinkPad E15 20RD0011GE | |
MSI Modern 15 A10RB | |
Lenovo ThinkPad T590-20N4002VGE | |
Average Intel Core i7-10510U, AMD Radeon RX 640 (3537 - 4045, n=2) | |
Dell Vostro 15-5581 | |
Work Score Accelerated v2 | |
MSI Modern 15 A10RB | |
Lenovo ThinkPad E590-20NB0012GE | |
Lenovo ThinkPad T590-20N4002VGE | |
Lenovo ThinkPad E15 20RD0011GE | |
Average Intel Core i7-10510U, AMD Radeon RX 640 (4927 - 5142, n=2) | |
Dell Vostro 15-5581 | |
Average of class Office (1854 - 5610, n=12, last 2 years) |
PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2 | 4045 points | |
PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2 | 5142 points | |
PCMark 10 Score | 5023 points | |
Help |
Storage solution
Our review sample contains the Samsung PM991 as its main SSD. This is an M.2 2280 SSD with a capacity of 512 GB. The SSD is connected via an NVMe PCIe 3.0 x4 connection and performs great in our benchmarks. It easily outperforms the Toshiba SSD of the predecessor. Apart from the SSD, it is also possible to put in a 2.5-inch HDD.
Lenovo ThinkPad E15 20RD0011GE Samsung PM991 MZALQ512HALU | Lenovo ThinkPad E590-20NB0012GE Toshiba KBG30ZMT256G | Lenovo ThinkPad T590-20N4002VGE Toshiba XG6 KXG60ZNV512G | Dell Vostro 15-5581 SK hynix BC501 HFM128GDJTNG-831 | MSI Modern 15 A10RB WDC PC SN730 SDBPNTY-512G | Average Samsung PM991 MZALQ512HALU | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CrystalDiskMark 5.2 / 6 | -28% | 17% | -48% | 55% | -3% | |
Write 4K | 144.4 | 111.2 -23% | 126.2 -13% | 129.3 -10% | 208.4 44% | 129.5 ? -10% |
Read 4K | 52.3 | 49.01 -6% | 48.93 -6% | 41.02 -22% | 51 -2% | 45.1 ? -14% |
Write Seq | 946 | 586 -38% | 1345 42% | 203.4 -78% | 2687 184% | 1172 ? 24% |
Read Seq | 1608 | 783 -51% | 1373 -15% | 271.2 -83% | 2168 35% | 1496 ? -7% |
Write 4K Q32T1 | 592 | 263 -56% | 383.8 -35% | 252.3 -57% | 489.2 -17% | 448 ? -24% |
Read 4K Q32T1 | 397.7 | 481.5 21% | 434.8 9% | 281.4 -29% | 600 51% | 415 ? 4% |
Write Seq Q32T1 | 1364 | 784 -43% | 2966 117% | 319.8 -77% | 2699 98% | 1397 ? 2% |
Read Seq Q32T1 | 2301 | 1602 -30% | 3230 40% | 1589 -31% | 3374 47% | 2307 ? 0% |
GPU
The AMD Radeon RX 640 is a dedicated AMD GPU based on the Polaris architecture. In the ThinkPad E15, it has 2 GB dedicated GDDR5 memory with a 64-bit bus. The clock rate of the 640 shader units sits at 1,218 MHz. With the GPU comparison table, it can be compared with other GPUs.
The results of the GPU benchmarks are disappointing. In all benchmarks, the Radeon RX 640 performs worse than the Radeon RX 550X of the predecessor ThinkPad E590. The Nvidia GeForce MX250 of the ThinkPad T590 can be beaten in 3DMark 11, but the AMD GPU of the ThinkPad E15 is slower in the 3DMark Firestrike test.
When the ThinkPad is solely powered by the battery, the GPU performance is limited. Instead of 4,998 points, the ThinkPad laptop only scored 3,631 points in 3DMark 11.
3DMark 11 - 1280x720 Performance GPU | |
Average of class Office (1474 - 12230, n=115, last 2 years) | |
Lenovo ThinkPad E590-20NB0012GE | |
Average AMD Radeon RX 640 (4998 - 5472, n=2) | |
Lenovo ThinkPad E15 20RD0011GE | |
MSI Modern 15 A10RB | |
Lenovo ThinkPad T590-20N4002VGE | |
Dell Vostro 15-5581 |
3DMark | |
1280x720 Cloud Gate Standard Graphics | |
Average of class Office (5681 - 58068, n=98, last 2 years) | |
MSI Modern 15 A10RB | |
Lenovo ThinkPad T590-20N4002VGE | |
Average AMD Radeon RX 640 (19479 - 20412, n=2) | |
Lenovo ThinkPad E590-20NB0012GE | |
Lenovo ThinkPad E15 20RD0011GE | |
Dell Vostro 15-5581 | |
1920x1080 Fire Strike Graphics | |
Average of class Office (712 - 8815, n=117, last 2 years) | |
MSI Modern 15 A10RB | |
Lenovo ThinkPad T590-20N4002VGE | |
Lenovo ThinkPad E590-20NB0012GE | |
Average AMD Radeon RX 640 (3279 - 3718, n=2) | |
Lenovo ThinkPad E15 20RD0011GE | |
Dell Vostro 15-5581 | |
2560x1440 Time Spy Graphics | |
Average of class Office (242 - 3186, n=113, last 2 years) | |
MSI Modern 15 A10RB | |
Lenovo ThinkPad E590-20NB0012GE | |
Average AMD Radeon RX 640 (990 - 1025, n=2) | |
Lenovo ThinkPad E15 20RD0011GE | |
Dell Vostro 15-5581 |
3DMark 06 Standard Score | 20261 points | |
3DMark Vantage P Result | 14141 points | |
3DMark 11 Performance | 5243 points | |
3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score | 61367 points | |
3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 13593 points | |
3DMark Fire Strike Score | 3049 points | |
3DMark Time Spy Score | 1100 points | |
Help |
Gaming performance
The AMD GPU is an entry-level chip. Recent games are only playable in reduced details and resolution. Compared with Intel iGPUs, the Radeon does perform better, but the Nvidia GeForce MX250 is clearly faster.
In our The Witcher 3 stress test, there is a huge drop in performance right around the start. In other game benchmarks, there are performance drops as well – the GPU cooling system seems to be too weak.
The Witcher 3 - 1920x1080 High Graphics & Postprocessing (Nvidia HairWorks Off) | |
Average of class Office (3.49 - 59.1, n=103, last 2 years) | |
MSI Modern 15 A10RB | |
Lenovo ThinkPad T590-20N4002VGE | |
Lenovo ThinkPad E590-20NB0012GE | |
Average AMD Radeon RX 640 (19.7 - 19.9, n=2) | |
Lenovo ThinkPad E15 20RD0011GE |
low | med. | high | ultra | |
BioShock Infinite (2013) | 150.5 | 94.1 | 74.4 | 27.3 |
The Witcher 3 (2015) | 63.2 | 38.4 | 19.7 | 11.3 |
Dota 2 Reborn (2015) | 110 | 95.5 | 51.7 | 48.2 |
Rise of the Tomb Raider (2016) | 64.7 | 28.6 | 19.8 | |
Far Cry 5 (2018) | 48 | 21 | ||
Shadow of the Tomb Raider (2018) | 42 | 22 | ||
Assassin´s Creed Odyssey (2018) | 39 | 20 | ||
Battlefield V (2018) | 61.8 | 29.8 | 23.2 | |
Apex Legends (2019) | 72 | 27 | 20 | |
Far Cry New Dawn (2019) | 37 | 17 | ||
The Division 2 (2019) | 52 | 18 | ||
Anno 1800 (2019) | 61.8 | 20.5 | ||
Total War: Three Kingdoms (2019) | 51.4 | 16.9 | ||
F1 2019 (2019) | 55 | 23 | ||
FIFA 20 (2019) | 112.6 | |||
Ghost Recon Breakpoint (2019) | 29 | |||
GRID 2019 (2019) | 60.6 | 20.4 | ||
Need for Speed Heat (2019) | 31.7 | 14.3 | ||
Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order (2019) | 25.9 |
Emissions: Temperatures of the Lenovo laptop potentially dangerous
Noise
Different from the more compact ThinkPad E14, the E15 does not run quietly while idling and is clearly audible under load as well. 34.8 dB(a) under load is not extremely loud, though the fan constantly runs with this level of noise.
We did detect coil whine, but it was so quiet that it was only audible when pressing an ear to the keyboard.
Noise Level
Idle |
| 29.2 / 29.2 / 31.7 dB(A) |
Load |
| 34.8 / 34.8 dB(A) |
| ||
30 dB silent 40 dB(A) audible 50 dB(A) loud |
||
min: , med: , max: Audix TM1, Arta (15 cm distance) environment noise: 29.2 dB(A) |
Temperatures
Lenovo has seemingly learned nothing from the temperature problems of the ThinkPad E590. On the contrary, the ThinkPad E15 runs even hotter: Instead of a maximum temperature of 58.1 °C, we measured 67.1 °C. Of course, this is only an extreme scenario. But even in The Witcher 3 stress test, where only the GPU is running at 100%, we still measure a maximum of 65.1 °C at the bottom. Using the notebook on your lap is not advisable. At least the palmrest always stays cool, which means it is possible to use the Lenovo laptop on a desk even when it is under load.
In the stress test with Prime95 and FurMark, the ThinkPad E15 behaves exactly like in the Cinebench loop. For 30 seconds, the CPU consumption sits at 25 W, and afterwards it is limited to 15 W. This only holds true for one minute though, as the CPU clock rate crashes down to 400 MHz and the power consumption is limited to 6 W. The GPU has to throttle itself down to 935 MHz, too, which is not as radical as the CPU throttling. In the 3DMark 11 benchmark that we ran directly after the stress test, the Physics score of the test is much lower (4,543 instead of 7,872 points), which points to a throttling problem in everyday use.
(-) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 46.1 °C / 115 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 67.8 °C / 154 F, compared to the average of 36.7 °C / 98 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 23.9 °C / 75 F, compared to the device average of 29.5 °C / 85 F.
(±) Playing The Witcher 3, the average temperature for the upper side is 35.9 °C / 97 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 27.8 °C / 82 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 (-0.1 °C / -0.1 F).
Speakers
The speaker system is the same as in the Lenovo ThinkPad E14, and measurements can be found in this review.
Energy management: Lenovo E15 with relatively small battery
Power consumption
The power consumption of the Lenovo ThinkPad E15 is excellent. None of the comparison device has a lower energy usage, which means that Lenovo optimized the system well.
While the maximum power consumption of 66.4 W is more than the 65 W charger can handle, it quickly decreases. Users do not have to worry about the battery being drained while using the ThinkPad laptop.
Off / Standby | 0.47 / 0.71 Watt |
Idle | 3.2 / 6.8 / 9.5 Watt |
Load |
44 / 66.4 Watt |
Lenovo ThinkPad E15 20RD0011GE i7-10510U, Radeon RX 640, Samsung PM991 MZALQ512HALU, IPS LED, 1920x1080, 15.60 | Lenovo ThinkPad E590-20NB0012GE i7-8565U, Radeon RX 550X (Laptop), Toshiba KBG30ZMT256G, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60 | Lenovo ThinkPad T590-20N4002VGE i7-8565U, GeForce MX250, Toshiba XG6 KXG60ZNV512G, aSi IPS LED, 1920x1080, 15.60 | Dell Vostro 15-5581 i5-8265U, GeForce MX130, SK hynix BC501 HFM128GDJTNG-831, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60 | MSI Modern 15 A10RB i7-10510U, GeForce MX250, WDC PC SN730 SDBPNTY-512G, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60 | Average AMD Radeon RX 640 | Average of class Office | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Power Consumption | -11% | -24% | -9% | -72% | -2% | -3% | |
Idle Minimum * | 3.2 | 3.48 -9% | 4.1 -28% | 5 -56% | 6.6 -106% | 3.25 ? -2% | 4.27 ? -33% |
Idle Average * | 6.8 | 7.2 -6% | 8.3 -22% | 7.9 -16% | 9.9 -46% | 6.5 ? 4% | 7.32 ? -8% |
Idle Maximum * | 9.5 | 10.2 -7% | 11.8 -24% | 11.2 -18% | 14.7 -55% | 8.95 ? 6% | 9.1 ? 4% |
Load Average * | 44 | 59.6 -35% | 61.6 -40% | 34 23% | 82.9 -88% | 51.6 ? -17% | 40.4 ? 8% |
Load Maximum * | 66.4 | 65.1 2% | 69.4 -5% | 50.2 24% | 109.3 -65% | 66.5 ? -0% | 57.4 ? 14% |
Witcher 3 ultra * | 49 | 54.4 | 59.4 |
* ... smaller is better
Battery life
Lenovo saves some money by using the same 45 W battery of the ThinkPad E14 in the bigger ThinkPad E15 as well. Thanks to the low power consumption, the ThinkPad E15 achieves admirable battery life numbers despite the small battery. Only the more expensive Lenovo ThinkPad T590 reaches a much better battery life, thanks to its bigger 57 Wh battery.
Lenovo ThinkPad E15 20RD0011GE i7-10510U, Radeon RX 640, 45 Wh | Lenovo ThinkPad E590-20NB0012GE i7-8565U, Radeon RX 550X (Laptop), 45 Wh | Lenovo ThinkPad T590-20N4002VGE i7-8565U, GeForce MX250, 57 Wh | Dell Vostro 15-5581 i5-8265U, GeForce MX130, 42 Wh | MSI Modern 15 A10RB i7-10510U, GeForce MX250, 52 Wh | Average of class Office | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Battery Runtime | -8% | 48% | -19% | -12% | 16% | |
H.264 | 625 | 541 -13% | 725 16% | 394 -37% | 691 ? 11% | |
WiFi v1.3 | 447 | 423 -5% | 628 40% | 410 -8% | 388 -13% | 589 ? 32% |
Load | 112 | 105 -6% | 209 87% | 97 -13% | 101 -10% | 117 ? 4% |
Reader / Idle | 1133 | 747 | 924 | 1414 ? |
Pros
Cons
Verdict
Even though the Lenovo ThinkPad E15 sounds like an enormous step forward compared with the Lenovo ThinkPad E590 based on its name alone: The ThinkPad E15 is a lot like its predecessor. The basic concept of the product has not changed, but Lenovo has worked on the details. Still there is the very good ThinkPad keyboard as well as the TrackPoint, a rare feature in this price region. The chassis made out of aluminum and plastic is robust and the upgradability is exemplary – at least in terms of the mass storage.
Like with the smaller ThinkPad E14, the usage of a thinner chassis means that some features are lost. One of them is the microSD slot. The second RAM slot is also sorely missed. Where the E15 differs from its smaller relative is in the fact that the missing features are not the biggest problem here. For the ThinkPad E15 it's the cooling system, which is simply overwhelmed. In the stress test, the ThinkPad has to throttle both the CPU and the GPU a lot. Throttling can also happen in everyday use and while playing games in this case. Also, the chassis gets extremely hot, with more than 65 °C as the hotspot. Granted, this only happens in the stress test, but in the less demanding The Witcher 3 test, the chassis becomes nearly as hot.
Too hot: A dedicated GPU should only be built in if it can be cooled properly under load. That is not the case for the Lenovo ThinkPad E15, unfortunately.
Overall, we cannot recommend the Lenovo ThinkPad E15 with the dGPU. The AMD chip is simply misplaced here if it cannot be cooled sufficiently. The iGPU version meanwhile might be worth the money – as a bigger version of the ThinkPad E14 and a good laptop for the home office.
Lenovo ThinkPad E15 20RD0011GE
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03/17/2020 v7
Benjamin Herzig