Lenovo ThinkPad E485 (Ryzen 5, Vega 8) Laptop Review

In the size comparison, all the devices range at a similar level overall, and the same goes for the weight. Only the ProBook 440 G6 is about 200 grams (~0.44 lb) lighter. In addition to the 1.8 kg (~4 lb) of the test unit, you have to add about 360 grams (~0.8 lb) for the power supply when transporting the laptop.

While the ThinkPad E485 offers all the necessary connections, you should not expect too much. The USB-C port (Gen. 2 with alternative DisplayPort mode) is good, but is also used to charge the device. So when you have it connected to the charger, it is not available for anything else. Thunderbolt 3 is also not available, which is not a surprise in this price range though. However, we still have two minor complaints, since instead of the USB-2.0 connection, Lenovo could really have built-in a third 3.0 connection and the case also would have offered sufficient space for a full SD card reader.

We evaluate the performance of the integrated microSD card reader with our Toshiba reference card (Exceria Pro M501 UHS-II 64 GB). The transfer rates range at around 80 MB/s, which is completely sufficient. 

In this price class, you have to make do with some compromises in the communication modules as well. However, this does not have much of an impact in everyday usage. In addition to the Gigabit Ethernet module, a Qualcomm WLAN card handles the wireless network connections. This is a 1x1 adapter that supports all the usual standards, including 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.1. The transfer rates in our standardized WLAN test using the Linksys EA8500 router turn out very good for a 1x1 module and are above the ThinkPad E480 overall. During our test, we did not notice any limitations. 

The affordable entry-level price is also reflected in the warranty period, which covers only 12 months and includes a bring-in service. However, as for the more expensive ThinkPads, you can increase the service period as well as the extent of the services for an additional fee. For example, an upgrade to a three-year on-site service costs about 125 Euros (~$141).

Lenovo offers three different processors for the ThinkPad E485: a Ryzen 3 2300U, a Ryzen 5 2500U, or a Ryzen 7 2700U. Depending on the CPU selection, the integrated GPU is also different (Vega 3, Vega 8, or Vega 10), which leads us to the selection of the working memory. In order to use the potential of the integrated GPU to the fullest, the working memory must run in a dual-channel configuration. Unfortunately, Lenovo offers the standard models only with single-channel RAM, so you need to configure it during the purchase or perform the upgrade yourself. This will probably lead to many users being unable to take advantage of the real performance potential of the Vega GPU. You can build in a maximum of 64 GB of RAM.

Unfortunately, the LatencyMon tool shows some dropouts that could interfere with the processing of real-time audio data. Whether the WLAN connection is activated or not has no effect on this.

Note: For the sections below, we ran some of the benchmarks with the standard single-channel RAM as well as with a dual-channel RAM configuration. For this, we expanded the working memory using an 8-GB module from Crucial to a total of 16 GB. However, for our evaluation of the device we only considered the values of our original test configuration which used only a single RAM module.

The processor in our test unit represents the medium CPU option, the AMD Ryzen 5 2500U quad-core processor. Its four cores achieve a maximum of 3.6 GHz, which depends significantly on the TDP configuration. While the Intel competition typically operates at 15 watts, we read only 11 watts for the Ryzen 5 in our benchmarks. From time to time in the past, there have been some problems with reading the consumption of AMD systems correctly, so we are careful at this point. You can find additional technical details on the Ryzen 5 2500U here.

In the Cinebench R15 single test, the processor does not run at the full 3.6 GHz, but varies between 3.2 and 3.5 GHz. In the multi test however, it is 4x 2.9 GHz. While this leaves a lot of potential unused, the Ryzen 5 is still at the same level or even slightly faster than the comparison devices with the popular Core i5-8250U from Intel. It also stands out that the AMD processor is able to maintain the good result from the first run for several minutes, while the Intel competition already loses ground in the second run. The CPU performance is not reduced in battery operation.

The ThinkPad E485 also does not need to hide behind the competition in terms of the system performance, neither in the subjective speed, nor in the benchmark results. Interestingly, the RAM configuration has no effect on the performance in the synthetic PCMarks.

In terms of the SSD, the name of the game is to not take half-measures, since Lenovo uses a very fast PM961 M.2 NVMe SSD from Samsung with a storage capacity of 256 GB in our test unit. The drive is connected via PCIe-x4, so it is not slowed down. The performance is correspondingly good in the benchmarks, and there would be no reason apart from the capacity to replace the drive. However, according to our experience we can say that Lenovo uses various suppliers, and drives from other manufacturers (such as Toshiba) might also be used.

As we have already indicated in the Maintenance section, the ThinkPad E485 still has an empty slot for a 2.5-inch hard drive (SATA). Fortunately, Lenovo includes the corresponding mount and connection cable, so you only have to insert an HDD or SSD.

Additional hard drive benchmarks are available in our extensive SSD/HDD comparison.

Things are getting interesting with the integrated graphics card which is called AMD Radeon Vega RX 8. Like the integrated GPUs from the Intel competitor, the AMD GPU benefits hugely from dual-channel RAM with a high speed. Already in the standard configuration with a single RAM module, the Vega 8 is clearly superior to the Intel UHD Graphics 620 (plus 40-50%). With a second module, you are at the level of the dedicated MX130 GPU from Nvidia and about twice as fast as the iGPU from Intel. The performance is not reduced in battery operation.

We had some problems with the resolutions in the gaming benchmarks, since the tests with 1366x768 pixels did not work. In the other presets, we again saw a clear performance increase with two RAM modules, however, we are still at a low performance level. Those who occasionally want to play some older or less demanding games should definitely expand the working memory. For modern games you are forced to reduce the resolution and also details. Additional gaming benchmarks with the Vega 8 are available here.

Basically, the ThinkPad E485 is a very quiet companion. In everyday operation, the fan is often quiet or only starts up briefly, which does not interfere in any way. Even under load, the cooling remains restrained and will only rarely reach the maximum of 35.3 dB(A) in everyday operation. Our test unit did not produce any annoying electronic noises such as coil whine.

Unfortunately, business laptops are often equipped with relatively bad speakers, and the ThinkPad E485 is no exception here. For everyday work at the office where you mostly need a comprehensible voice quality for conference calls, the speaker modules are surely sufficient, but we would recommend headphones or external speakers for anything else.

The built-in microphone works reliably and generally makes an external microphone unnecessary.

One of the main problems of the ThinkPad E485 is the high power consumption in idle operation compared to the Intel competition. Particularly during tasks that are not very demanding and that often dominate during everyday operation, the Intel models are simply more efficient. Under load, the AMD combination also needs more power, but is also able to maintain this performance for a longer period. Even at the end of our stress test we are still measuring more than 40 watts.

The included 65-watt power supply (USB-C) is sized sufficiently and is also able to charge the battery under load.

As in the ThinkPad E480, Lenovo also uses a 45-Wh battery (3 cells) here, but due to the increased power consumption the battery life turns out significantly shorter. In practice, we are speaking about barely 5.5 hours, while the ThinkPad E480 lasts for almost 8 hours. This can be a huge difference if you don't have an outlet close by. Thus, you have to decide how important the battery life is for your personal usage scenarios.