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Lenovo ThinkPad E550 (Core i7, Radeon R7 M265) Notebook Review

Expensive performance boost. For their top-of-the-line model in the E550-series, Lenovo not only integrated a speedy Core i7 CPU, but also a dedicated Radeon GPU. The resulting notebook costs almost 1000 Euro (~$1100). Is that too much money for an entry-level ThinkPad?

A true ThinkPad for less than 600 Euro (~$660) - is that even possible? We tried to find the answer to this very question during our first review of the ThinkPad E550 and came to the conclusion that the entry-level business machine had more than decent office capabilities.

In addition to the entry-level configuration we examined, Lenovo offers many other versions of the E550 equipped with different hardware. Today we are taking a look at the top-of-the-line model, which sells for 950 Euro (~$1030). For this comparatively high price, the user gets a fast Core i7-5500U, 8 GB RAM and a 1 TB hard drive. In addition, Lenovo also integrated  a dedicated Radeon R7 M265 GPU, which should allow for fluid gameplay with current 3D titles at least a low resolution and quality settings. Let's find out if the notebook is as good of an allrounder as it appears to be on paper.

Since neither the chassis, the input devices, nor the connectivity differ in any way from our last review notebook, we are not going spend any time reviewing these sections. Please check out our previous review for details. Our review overvideo is below.

Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Processor
Graphics adapter
AMD Radeon R7 M265 - 2048 MB VRAM, Core: 825 MHz, Memory: 1000 MHz, DDR3, 9.14.10.01061, Enduro
Memory
8 GB 
, 1x 8 GB DDR3L-1600, 1 of 2 slots open
Display
15.60 inch 16:9, 1920 x 1080 pixel, Innolux N156HGE-EAB, TN-Panel, LED backlight, glossy: no
Mainboard
Intel Broadwell-U PCH-LP (Premium)
Storage
WDC Slim WD10SPCX-22HWST0, 1000 GB 
, 5400 rpm
Soundcard
Intel Broadwell PCH-LP - High Definition Audio Controller
Connections
1 USB 2.0, 2 USB 3.0 / 3.1 Gen1, 1 VGA, 1 HDMI, 1 Kensington Lock, 1 Docking Station Port, Audio Connections: Headphone jack 3.5 mm, Card Reader: 4-in-1 (MMC, SD, SDHC, SDXC), 1 Fingerprint Reader
Networking
Intel Ethernet Connection I218-V (10/100/1000MBit/s), Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3160 (a/b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/ac = Wi-Fi 5/), Bluetooth 4.0
Optical drive
PLDS DVD-RW DA8A6SH
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 27 x 377 x 256 ( = 1.06 x 14.84 x 10.08 in)
Battery
48 Wh Lithium-Ion, removeable, 6 cells, swappable
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64 Bit
Camera
Webcam: 720p
Additional features
Speakers: Stereo, Keyboard: Chiclet, Keyboard Light: no, 65 watt power adapter, 12 Months Warranty
Weight
2.35 kg ( = 82.89 oz / 5.18 pounds), Power Supply: 220 g ( = 7.76 oz / 0.49 pounds)
Price
950 Euro
Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

 

Display

Sub-pixel arrangement
Sub-pixel arrangement

Depending on the configuration, the E550 ships either with a simple WXGA (1366 x 768 Pixel, 100 ppi, 200 cd/m²) or - as in our case - with a FullHD-Display (1920 x 1080 Pixel, 141 ppi, 220 cd/m²). Aside from an increase in sharpness, it's the effective doubling of the workspace which makes the higher-resolution display a much more compelling choice in our opinion. Users who need to work with large Excel spreadsheets or who want to be able to view programs side-by-side should definitely consider the high-res model.

Even though the display specs have remained the same since our last review, our test candidate features a different panel (Innolux N156HGE-EAB vs. AUO B156HTN03.6) - obviously Lenovo has more than one supplier. From a quality standpoint, our verdict unfortunately remains negative: the maximum brightness of only 188 cd/m² is simply not enough for bright offices or working near windows; the just average black value of 0.46 cd/m² results in a rather modest contrast ratio of 424:1 as well. The display is consequently quite anemic-looking, which won't matter much for office-type tasks, though games and movies would look much better on a higher-quality IPS display. At least the brightness distribution is quite decent and there's absolutely no flickering, since the backlight doesn't use PWM.

189
cd/m²
198
cd/m²
191
cd/m²
178
cd/m²
195
cd/m²
185
cd/m²
184
cd/m²
185
cd/m²
191
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
Innolux N156HGE-EAB tested with X-Rite i1Pro 2
Maximum: 198 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 188.4 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 90 %
Center on Battery: 195 cd/m²
Contrast: 424:1 (Black: 0.46 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 9.92 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 10.06 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
59.3% sRGB (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
38% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
41.2% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
59.3% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
39.84% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.37
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
1.920 x 1.080 TN-Panel
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DGS00300
1.920 x 1.080 TN-Panel
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
1.920 x 1.080 IPS-Panel
HP Pavilion 15-ab022ng
1.920 x 1.080 TN-Panel
Acer Aspire V3-574G-59MA
1.920 x 1.080 IPS-Panel
Display
2%
50%
11%
0%
Display P3 Coverage
39.84
40.69
2%
64.3
61%
44.11
11%
39.83
0%
sRGB Coverage
59.3
61.1
3%
83.3
40%
66.4
12%
59.5
0%
AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage
41.2
42.06
2%
60.9
48%
45.57
11%
41.21
0%
Screen
-6%
62%
-4%
16%
Brightness middle
195
228
17%
353
81%
223
14%
257
32%
Brightness
188
210
12%
335
78%
215
14%
247
31%
Brightness Distribution
90
89
-1%
88
-2%
83
-8%
84
-7%
Black Level *
0.46
0.688
-50%
0.31
33%
0.76
-65%
0.45
2%
Contrast
424
331
-22%
1139
169%
293
-31%
571
35%
Colorchecker dE 2000 *
9.92
10.04
-1%
4.59
54%
8.5
14%
7.36
26%
Greyscale dE 2000 *
10.06
10.65
-6%
3.73
63%
9.35
7%
7.82
22%
Gamma
2.37 93%
2.53 87%
2.42 91%
2.46 89%
2.4 92%
CCT
11552 56%
12807 51%
6268 104%
10402 62%
6939 94%
Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998)
38
38.8
2%
55
45%
42
11%
38
0%
Color Space (Percent of sRGB)
59.3
83
40%
66
11%
59.2
0%
Total Average (Program / Settings)
-2% / -4%
56% / 59%
4% / 0%
8% / 12%

* ... smaller is better

Black/white response time (6 ms rise, 17,2 ms fall)
Black/white response time (6 ms rise, 17,2 ms fall)
Gray-gray response time (25.2 ms rise, 23.6 ms fall)
Gray-gray response time (25.2 ms rise, 23.6 ms fall)
Coverage AdobeRGB (38.0 %)
Coverage AdobeRGB (38.0 %)
Coverage sRGB (59.3 %)
Coverage sRGB (59.3 %)

Also not a strength is the panel's color accuracy. As shipped, the display exhibits a noticeable blueish cast and the color space coverage is fairly restricted at 38 % and and 59 % for AdobeRGB and sRGB, respectively. The former is rectified fairly easily with a calibration, but the latter is a deal-stopper for professional photo and graphics editing. Even with our optimized ICC profile enabled, some colors - which are obviously outside the reproducible color space - show DeltaE deviations of far more than 5. The graylevels are pretty decent, however.

Color accuracy (not calibrated)
Color accuracy (not calibrated)
Saturation (not calibrated)
Saturation (not calibrated)
Graylevels (not calibrated)
Graylevels (not calibrated)
Color accuracy (calibrated)
Color accuracy (calibrated)
Saturation (calibrated)
Saturation (calibrated)
Graylevels (calibrated)
Graylevels (calibrated)

Because of the relatively low maximum brightness, we can't whole-heartedly recommend the E550 for outdoor use despite its non-glare display. The screen content might still be visible on overcast fall days like in our photo, but bright sunlight overwhelms the 200 cd/m²-display. ThinkPad loyalists who need to work outside a lot should consider the T550, which has a much stronger LED backlight, but is unfortunately much more expensive as well.

Outdoor use

Viewing angles Lenovo ThinkPad E550
Viewing angles Lenovo ThinkPad E550

What is true for most lower-priced TN panels applies here as well and the screen content only appears unaltered if the user is located directly in front of the display. Even small deviations from the ideal vertical to either above and below change the brightness significantly and decrease the already pretty low contrast. It's also advisable to refrain from shallow angles in the horizontal plane, although the margin is quite a bit larger here.

Performance

Maximum Turbo frequency of 3.0 GHz
Maximum Turbo frequency of 3.0 GHz

Although the soon-to-be-released successor likely will incorporate CPUs based on the current Skylake-generation, the E550 still uses Broadwell chips introduced early 2015. Our review notebook is equipped with a Core i7-5500U CPU, which is one of the fastest dual-core ULV model with a 15 watt TDP. Thanks two two cores plus Hyper Threading, clocked from 2.4 to 3.0 GHz (2.9 GHz for both cores), the 5500U promises to have more than enough performance for typical office and multimedia tasks. For additional details, please check our CPU database.

In addition to the processor-integrated HD Graphics 5500, Lenovo equips some of the models with a dedicated Radeon R7 M265 (384 shader @ 825 MHz, 2 GB DDR3 @ 1000 MHz / 128 Bit) from AMD as well. Interestingly enough, this configuration contradicts what the manufacturer mentions in the offical spec sheets, which list a Radeon R7 M260 (384 Shader @ 980 MHz, 2 GB DDR3 @ 1000 MHz / 64 Bit) instead. That's good for potential customers though, since the R7 M265's doubled memory bandwidth makes more than up for the loss of MHz.

Given the price of the E550, 8 GB of RAM (1x 8 GB DDR3L-1600, single channel) and a 1000 GB hard drive can be considered decent, but far from outstanding. As far as expansion is concerned, only the RAM is upgradeable thanks to an open DDR3 slot; M.2 or mSATA slots are noteably absent.

Processor

Cinebench R15 (start)
Cinebench R15 (start)
Cinebench R15 (finish)
Cinebench R15 (finish)

The Core i7-5500U takes full advantage of its maximum clock speed during the Cinebench R15 test and remains more or less at a constant 3.0 GHz. Both cores sustain the maximum of 2.9 GHz only for about 30 seconds, however - after that time, the processor drops to around 2.6 to 2.7 GHz (both with the notebook plugged in and running on battery). It seems like we've received a rather inefficient review notebook with a high leakage current, which already hits the 15-watt limit at a lower frequency. The Broadwell CPU managed slightly higher benchmark scores during earlier tests - see for example the review of the Dell Latitude 3550. Overall we can't complain too much about the performance: compared to the Core i3-5005U, the Core i7 is between 30 and 50 % faster; the performance plus compared to the Core i5-5200U is about 10 to 15 %.

Cinebench R11.5
CPU Single 64Bit (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U
1.42 Points
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U
1.41 Points -1%
HP Pavilion 15-ab022ng
Intel Core i7-5500U
1.42 Points 0%
HP ProBook 450 G2 L3Q27EA
Intel Core i5-5200U
1.29 Points -9%
Acer Aspire V3-574G-59MA
Intel Core i5-5200U
1.26 Points -11%
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E550-20DGS00300
Intel Core i3-5005U
0.96 Points -32%
CPU Multi 64Bit (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U
3.13 Points
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U
3.29 Points +5%
HP Pavilion 15-ab022ng
Intel Core i7-5500U
3.18 Points +2%
HP ProBook 450 G2 L3Q27EA
Intel Core i5-5200U
2.86 Points -9%
Acer Aspire V3-574G-59MA
Intel Core i5-5200U
2.78 Points -11%
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E550-20DGS00300
Intel Core i3-5005U
2.27 Points -27%
Cinebench R15
CPU Single 64Bit (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U
123 Points
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U
124 Points +1%
HP Pavilion 15-ab022ng
Intel Core i7-5500U
112 Points -9%
HP ProBook 450 G2 L3Q27EA
Intel Core i5-5200U
109 Points -11%
Acer Aspire V3-574G-59MA
Intel Core i5-5200U
108 Points -12%
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E550-20DGS00300
Intel Core i3-5005U
82 Points -33%
CPU Multi 64Bit (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U
282 Points
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U
299 Points +6%
HP Pavilion 15-ab022ng
Intel Core i7-5500U
289 Points +2%
HP ProBook 450 G2 L3Q27EA
Intel Core i5-5200U
260 Points -8%
Acer Aspire V3-574G-59MA
Intel Core i5-5200U
258 Points -9%
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E550-20DGS00300
Intel Core i3-5005U
208 Points -26%
X264 HD Benchmark 4.0
Pass 1 (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U
89.6 fps
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E550-20DGS00300
Intel Core i3-5005U
69.7 fps -22%
Pass 2 (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U
17.31 fps
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E550-20DGS00300
Intel Core i3-5005U
12.96 fps -25%
Cinebench R10 Rendering Single 32Bit
4563
Cinebench R10 Shading 32Bit
5084
Cinebench R10 Rendering Multiple CPUs 32Bit
9676
Cinebench R10 Shading 64Bit
5154 Points
Cinebench R10 Rendering Multiple CPUs 64Bit
12255 Points
Cinebench R10 Rendering Single CPUs 64Bit
6077 Points
Cinebench R11.5 CPU Single 64Bit
1.42 Points
Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64Bit
36.08 fps
Cinebench R11.5 CPU Multi 64Bit
3.13 Points
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64Bit
37.77 fps
Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64Bit
282 Points
Cinebench R15 CPU Single 64Bit
123 Points
Cinebench R15 Ref. Match 64Bit
98 %
Help

Storage Device

HD Tune benchmark
HD Tune benchmark

Obviously the budget wasn't quite large enough for Lenovo to outfit the E550 with an SSD or at least an SSHD, so the notebook comes with a standard hard drive instead. The particular model is a member of Western Digital's "Blue Mobile"-series with a capacity of 1 TB and a rotational speed of 5400 RPM. With access times of 19.2 ms and a sequential transfer rate of 91 MB/s, the performance is - just like expected - fairly average, which in turn impacts the response characteristics of the whole system. At least it should be fairly easy to swap out the hard drive for a faster model.

WDC Slim WD10SPCX-22HWST0
Transfer Rate Minimum: 57.5 MB/s
Transfer Rate Maximum: 118.8 MB/s
Transfer Rate Average: 90.9 MB/s
Access Time: 19.2 ms
Burst Rate: 235.3 MB/s
CPU Usage: 1 %

System Performance

Once the OS is booted up and and the required programs are up and running, the ThinkPad is a competent performer thankst to the Core i7 CPU and the 8 GB of RAM. Even heavier multitasking doesn't pose too much of a problem, provided the hard drive isn't being accessed heavily.

How much a conventional hard drive limits the performance comes to light when running tests like the PCMark 7 benchmark. While the E550, Latitude 3550 and Pavilion 15 managed about 2800 points, the SSD-equipped Aspire V3-574G pulled clearly ahead with 4800 points - despite the slower CPU.  Even though the results have to be taken with a grain of salt because of the synthetic nature of the PCMark tests, notebooks with Core i5 CPU and SSD generally feel faster as well when compared to models with i7 CPU and conventional hard drives.

PCMark 7 - Score (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Radeon R7 M265, 5500U, WDC Slim WD10SPCX-22HWST0
2819 Points
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
GeForce 830M, 5500U, Toshiba MQ01ABD100
2714 Points -4%
HP Pavilion 15-ab022ng
GeForce 940M, 5500U, HGST Travelstar 5K1000 HTS541010A9E680
2937 Points +4%
Acer Aspire V3-574G-59MA
GeForce 940M, 5200U, Kingston RBU-SC150S37256GD
4857 Points +72%
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E550-20DGS00300
HD Graphics 5500, 5005U, Hitachi Travelstar Z7K500 HTS725050A7E630
2784 Points -1%
PCMark 8
Home Score Accelerated v2 (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Radeon R7 M265, 5500U, WDC Slim WD10SPCX-22HWST0
3960 Points
HP ProBook 450 G2 L3Q27EA
HD Graphics 5500, 5200U, Samsung SSD PM851 128 GB MZ7TE128HMGR
2973 Points -25%
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
GeForce 830M, 5500U, Toshiba MQ01ABD100
3152 Points -20%
HP Pavilion 15-ab022ng
GeForce 940M, 5500U, HGST Travelstar 5K1000 HTS541010A9E680
3069 Points -22%
Acer Aspire V3-574G-59MA
GeForce 940M, 5200U, Kingston RBU-SC150S37256GD
3187 Points -20%
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E550-20DGS00300
HD Graphics 5500, 5005U, Hitachi Travelstar Z7K500 HTS725050A7E630
2544 Points -36%
Creative Score Accelerated v2 (sort by value)
HP ProBook 450 G2 L3Q27EA
HD Graphics 5500, 5200U, Samsung SSD PM851 128 GB MZ7TE128HMGR
3377 Points
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
GeForce 830M, 5500U, Toshiba MQ01ABD100
3443 Points
HP Pavilion 15-ab022ng
GeForce 940M, 5500U, HGST Travelstar 5K1000 HTS541010A9E680
3464 Points
Acer Aspire V3-574G-59MA
GeForce 940M, 5200U, Kingston RBU-SC150S37256GD
3705 Points
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E550-20DGS00300
HD Graphics 5500, 5005U, Hitachi Travelstar Z7K500 HTS725050A7E630
2870 Points
Work Score Accelerated v2 (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Radeon R7 M265, 5500U, WDC Slim WD10SPCX-22HWST0
4020 Points
HP ProBook 450 G2 L3Q27EA
HD Graphics 5500, 5200U, Samsung SSD PM851 128 GB MZ7TE128HMGR
4125 Points +3%
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
GeForce 830M, 5500U, Toshiba MQ01ABD100
3873 Points -4%
HP Pavilion 15-ab022ng
GeForce 940M, 5500U, HGST Travelstar 5K1000 HTS541010A9E680
3903 Points -3%
Acer Aspire V3-574G-59MA
GeForce 940M, 5200U, Kingston RBU-SC150S37256GD
4070 Points +1%
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E550-20DGS00300
HD Graphics 5500, 5005U, Hitachi Travelstar Z7K500 HTS725050A7E630
3321 Points -17%
PCMark 7 Score
2819 points
PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2
3960 points
PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2
4020 points
Help

GPU Performance

Radeon R7 M265
Radeon R7 M265

The AMD Radeon R7 M265 is a lower middle-class GPU with performance similar to a Nvidia GeForce 830M or GeForce 930M. The Radeon outperforms the integrated HD Graphics 5500 by about 100 - 150 percent, since the frugal Intel CPU is best suited for simple 2D tasks. AMDs Enduro-technology automatically switches over to the dedicated GPU to execute 3D applications and games, although this behavior can be adjusted individually for each program.

Unfortunately it's not possible to modify the behavior of the Radeon R7 M265 on battery power: while we recorded 825/1000 MHz (core/memory speed) for the GPU when the E550 was plugged in, we saw a drop down to 400/600 MHz away from the outlet. This results in a performance reduction of about 50 % and a 3DMark 11 GPU score of 1068 points.

3DMark 11 - 1280x720 Performance GPU (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
2073 Points
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 830M
1961 Points -5%
Lenovo ThinkPad E450 20DDS01E00
Intel Core i5-5200U, AMD Radeon R7 M260
1956 Points -6%
HP Pavilion 15-ab022ng
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 940M
2359 Points +14%
HP ProBook 450 G2 L3Q27EA
Intel Core i5-5200U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
873 Points -58%
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E550-20DGS00300
Intel Core i3-5005U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
825 Points -60%
3DMark - 1920x1080 Fire Strike Graphics (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
1397 Points
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 830M
1360 Points -3%
Lenovo ThinkPad E450 20DDS01E00
Intel Core i5-5200U, AMD Radeon R7 M260
1164 Points -17%
HP Pavilion 15-ab022ng
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 940M
1592 Points +14%
HP ProBook 450 G2 L3Q27EA
Intel Core i5-5200U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
602 Points -57%
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E550-20DGS00300
Intel Core i3-5005U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
581 Points -58%
3DMark 06 Standard Score
10622 points
3DMark 11 Performance
2241 points
3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score
35932 points
3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score
6547 points
3DMark Fire Strike Score
1302 points
Help

Gaming Performance

The various gaming benchmarks confirm our prediction that the Radeon R7 M265 performs much like a GeForce 830M. Depending on the age of a game and its graphics requirments, the performance allows for fluent gameplay at a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels and medium quality settings. Simple titles like Fifa 16 run stutter-free even at the native FullHD resolution, whereas games like The Witcher 3 or Assassin's Creed Unity push the E550 to its limits even at the minimum preset.

Mad Max
1920x1080 Very High Preset AF:12x (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
13.9 fps
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 830M
14.5 fps +4%
Intel NUC Kit NUC5i3RYH
Intel Core i3-5010U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
7.4 (6min) fps -47%
1920x1080 High Preset AF:6x (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
16 fps
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 830M
15.7 fps -2%
Intel NUC Kit NUC5i3RYH
Intel Core i3-5010U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
8.3 (7min) fps -48%
1366x768 Normal Preset AF:2x (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
32.4 fps
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 830M
32 fps -1%
Intel NUC Kit NUC5i3RYH
Intel Core i3-5010U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
18 (15min) fps -44%
Tomb Raider
1920x1080 Ultra Preset AA:FX AF:16x (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
16.1 fps
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 830M
14.7 fps -9%
HP Pavilion 15-ab022ng
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 940M
16.7 fps +4%
HP Envy 15-w000ng x360
Intel Core i5-5200U, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
15.7 fps -2%
HP EliteBook 850 G2 J8R68EA
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M260X
15.8 fps -2%
1366x768 High Preset AA:FX AF:8x (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
34.6 fps
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 830M
31.1 fps -10%
HP Pavilion 15-ab022ng
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 940M
34 fps -2%
Asus Asuspro Essential P751JF-T2007G
Intel Core i5-4210M, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
32.5 fps -6%
HP Envy 15-w000ng x360
Intel Core i5-5200U, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
31.9 fps -8%
HP EliteBook 850 G2 J8R68EA
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M260X
35.1 fps +1%
1366x768 Normal Preset AA:FX AF:4x (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
51.5 fps
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 830M
55.3 fps +7%
HP Pavilion 15-ab022ng
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 940M
61.6 fps +20%
Asus Asuspro Essential P751JF-T2007G
Intel Core i5-4210M, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
60.9 fps +18%
HP Envy 15-w000ng x360
Intel Core i5-5200U, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
58.7 fps +14%
HP EliteBook 850 G2 J8R68EA
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M260X
51.6 fps 0%
1024x768 Low Preset (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
104.5 fps
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 830M
108.7 fps +4%
HP Pavilion 15-ab022ng
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 940M
129.1 fps +24%
HP Envy 15-w000ng x360
Intel Core i5-5200U, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
118.2 fps +13%
HP EliteBook 850 G2 J8R68EA
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M260X
108.5 fps +4%
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
1920x1080 Extra / On (Cache Shadow Maps Off), 2x Supersampling AA:2x SM (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
7.9 fps
1920x1080 High / On (Cache Shadow Maps Off) AA:FX (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
14.7 fps
HP EliteBook 850 G2 J8R68EA
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M260X
15.5 fps +5%
1366x768 Normal / On (Cache Shadow Maps Off) (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
28.7 fps
Asus Asuspro Essential P751JF-T2007G
Intel Core i5-4210M, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
30.1 fps +5%
HP Envy 15-w000ng x360
Intel Core i5-5200U, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
30.6 fps +7%
HP EliteBook 850 G2 J8R68EA
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M260X
28.8 fps 0%
1024x768 Low / Off (Shader Preload On) (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
45.8 fps
Asus Asuspro Essential P751JF-T2007G
Intel Core i5-4210M, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
64.6 fps +41%
HP Envy 15-w000ng x360
Intel Core i5-5200U, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
50.1 fps +9%
HP EliteBook 850 G2 J8R68EA
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M260X
48.5 fps +6%
Assassin's Creed Unity
1920x1080 Ultra High Graphics Quality AA:4x MS (sort by value)
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 830M
3.1 fps
1920x1080 High Graphics Quality AA:2x MS (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
8 fps
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 830M
9.6 fps +20%
1366x768 Medium Graphics Quality AA:FX (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
12.9 fps
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 830M
15.9 fps +23%
HP EliteBook 850 G2 J8R68EA
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M260X
8.7 fps -33%
1024x768 Low Graphics Quality (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
17.3 fps
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 830M
24.7 fps +43%
Asus Asuspro Essential P751JF-T2007G
Intel Core i5-4210M, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
25.2 fps +46%
HP Envy 15-w000ng x360
Intel Core i5-5200U, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
23.7 fps +37%
HP EliteBook 850 G2 J8R68EA
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M260X
11.7 fps -32%
Far Cry 4
1920x1080 Ultra Graphics Quality AA:SM (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
10 fps
HP EliteBook 850 G2 J8R68EA
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M260X
8.2 fps -18%
1920x1080 High Graphics Quality AA:SM (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
13.5 fps
HP EliteBook 850 G2 J8R68EA
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M260X
11.4 fps -16%
1366x768 Medium Graphics Quality (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
28 fps
Asus Asuspro Essential P751JF-T2007G
Intel Core i5-4210M, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
29.2 fps +4%
HP Envy 15-w000ng x360
Intel Core i5-5200U, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
26.7 fps -5%
HP EliteBook 850 G2 J8R68EA
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M260X
21.1 fps -25%
1024x768 Low Graphics Quality (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
39 fps
Asus Asuspro Essential P751JF-T2007G
Intel Core i5-4210M, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
41.8 fps +7%
HP Envy 15-w000ng x360
Intel Core i5-5200U, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
38.6 fps -1%
HP EliteBook 850 G2 J8R68EA
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M260X
29.5 fps -24%
Dragon Age: Inquisition
1920x1080 Ultra Graphics Quality AA:2x MS (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
7 fps
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 830M
7.1 fps +1%
HP EliteBook 850 G2 J8R68EA
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M260X
4.5 fps -36%
1920x1080 High Graphics Quality (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
10.7 fps
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 830M
10.3 fps -4%
Intel NUC Kit NUC5i3RYH
Intel Core i3-5010U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
5.7 (4.4min) fps -47%
HP Envy 15-w000ng x360
Intel Core i5-5200U, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
20 fps +87%
HP EliteBook 850 G2 J8R68EA
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M260X
6.8 fps -36%
1366x768 Medium Graphics Quality (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
28.7 fps
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 830M
29.7 fps +3%
Intel NUC Kit NUC5i3RYH
Intel Core i3-5010U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
16 (12.4min) fps -44%
Asus Asuspro Essential P751JF-T2007G
Intel Core i5-4210M, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
32.4 fps +13%
HP Envy 15-w000ng x360
Intel Core i5-5200U, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
35.3 fps +23%
HP EliteBook 850 G2 J8R68EA
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M260X
19.8 fps -31%
1024x768 Low Graphics Quality (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
42 fps
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 830M
44.7 fps +6%
Intel NUC Kit NUC5i3RYH
Intel Core i3-5010U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
23.4 (18min) fps -44%
Asus Asuspro Essential P751JF-T2007G
Intel Core i5-4210M, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
46.5 fps +11%
HP Envy 15-w000ng x360
Intel Core i5-5200U, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
43.5 fps +4%
HP EliteBook 850 G2 J8R68EA
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M260X
30.4 fps -28%
Evolve
1920x1080 Very High Graphics Quality AA:1TX SM (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
13 fps
HP EliteBook 850 G2 J8R68EA
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M260X
6.9 fps -47%
1920x1080 High Graphics Quality AA:FX (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
14.8 fps
HP EliteBook 850 G2 J8R68EA
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M260X
7.8 fps -47%
1366x768 Medium Graphics Quality (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
26.2 fps
Asus Asuspro Essential P751JF-T2007G
Intel Core i5-4210M, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
23.9 fps -9%
HP Envy 15-w000ng x360
Intel Core i5-5200U, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
23.3 fps -11%
HP EliteBook 850 G2 J8R68EA
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M260X
14.3 fps -45%
1024x768 Low Graphics Quality (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
34.8 fps
Asus Asuspro Essential P751JF-T2007G
Intel Core i5-4210M, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
33.4 fps -4%
HP Envy 15-w000ng x360
Intel Core i5-5200U, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
32.2 fps -7%
HP EliteBook 850 G2 J8R68EA
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M260X
19.6 fps -44%
Battlefield Hardline
1920x1080 Ultra Graphics Quality (DX11) AA:4x MS (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
10.8 fps
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 830M
9.9 fps -8%
HP EliteBook 850 G2 J8R68EA
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M260X
7.8 fps -28%
1920x1080 High Graphics Quality (DX11) (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
17.3 fps
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 830M
16.7 fps -3%
Intel NUC Kit NUC5i3RYH
Intel Core i3-5010U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
9.1 (7min - 12max) fps -47%
Asus Asuspro Essential P751JF-T2007G
Intel Core i5-4210M, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
16.9 fps -2%
HP Envy 15-w000ng x360
Intel Core i5-5200U, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
16.9 fps -2%
HP EliteBook 850 G2 J8R68EA
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M260X
12.1 fps -30%
1366x768 Medium Graphics Quality (DX11) (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
42 fps
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 830M
46.1 fps +10%
Intel NUC Kit NUC5i3RYH
Intel Core i3-5010U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
25 (21min - 32max) fps -40%
Asus Asuspro Essential P751JF-T2007G
Intel Core i5-4210M, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
39.7 fps -5%
HP Envy 15-w000ng x360
Intel Core i5-5200U, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
46.3 fps +10%
HP EliteBook 850 G2 J8R68EA
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M260X
34.2 fps -19%
1024x768 Low Graphics Quality (DX11) (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
53.3 fps
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 830M
65.2 fps +22%
Intel NUC Kit NUC5i3RYH
Intel Core i3-5010U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
37.9 (32min - 46max) fps -29%
Asus Asuspro Essential P751JF-T2007G
Intel Core i5-4210M, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
56.2 fps +5%
HP Envy 15-w000ng x360
Intel Core i5-5200U, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
61.3 fps +15%
HP EliteBook 850 G2 J8R68EA
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M260X
48.5 fps -9%
Dirt Rally
1920x1080 Ultra Preset AA:4x MS (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
12.6 fps
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 830M
12.5 fps -1%
HP Pavilion 15-ab022ng
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 940M
12.5 fps -1%
Intel NUC Kit NUC5i3RYH
Intel Core i3-5010U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
12.5 (12min) fps -1%
1920x1080 High Preset (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
21.3 fps
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 830M
25.5 fps +20%
HP Pavilion 15-ab022ng
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 940M
23.7 fps +11%
Intel NUC Kit NUC5i3RYH
Intel Core i3-5010U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
12.5 (12min) fps -41%
Asus Asuspro Essential P751JF-T2007G
Intel Core i5-4210M, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
27.5 fps +29%
HP Envy 15-w000ng x360
Intel Core i5-5200U, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
21.4 fps 0%
1366x768 Medium Preset (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
40.6 fps
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 830M
45.6 fps +12%
HP Pavilion 15-ab022ng
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 940M
45.8 fps +13%
Intel NUC Kit NUC5i3RYH
Intel Core i3-5010U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
21.5 (18min) fps -47%
Asus Asuspro Essential P751JF-T2007G
Intel Core i5-4210M, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
53.5 fps +32%
HP Envy 15-w000ng x360
Intel Core i5-5200U, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
42.2 fps +4%
1024x768 Ultra Low Preset (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
136.6 fps
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 830M
165.4 fps +21%
HP Pavilion 15-ab022ng
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 940M
187 fps +37%
Intel NUC Kit NUC5i3RYH
Intel Core i3-5010U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
80.4 (67min) fps -41%
HP Envy 15-w000ng x360
Intel Core i5-5200U, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
137.4 fps +1%
The Witcher 3
1920x1080 Ultra Graphics & Postprocessing (HBAO+) (sort by value)
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 830M
5.9 fps
1920x1080 High Graphics & Postprocessing (Nvidia HairWorks Off) (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
8.8 fps
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 830M
7.3 fps -17%
1366x768 Medium Graphics & Postprocessing (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
15.9 fps
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 830M
15 fps -6%
1024x768 Low Graphics & Postprocessing (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
22.9 fps
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 830M
24.5 fps +7%
Intel NUC Kit NUC5i3RYH
Intel Core i3-5010U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
11.4 (7min - 16max) fps -50%
HP Envy 15-w000ng x360
Intel Core i5-5200U, NVIDIA GeForce 930M
26 fps +14%
Batman: Arkham Knight
1920x1080 High / On AA:SM AF:16x (sort by value)
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 830M
5 fps
HP Pavilion 15-ab022ng
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 940M
8 fps
1920x1080 High / On (Interactive Smoke & Paper Debris Off) AA:SM AF:8x (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
7 fps
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 830M
7 fps 0%
HP Pavilion 15-ab022ng
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 940M
14 fps +100%
1366x768 Normal / Off AF:4x (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
17 fps
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 830M
19 fps +12%
HP Pavilion 15-ab022ng
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 940M
18 fps +6%
Intel NUC Kit NUC5i3RYH
Intel Core i3-5010U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
9 (7min) fps -47%
1280x720 Low / Off AF:Trilinear (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
25 fps
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 830M
23 fps -8%
HP Pavilion 15-ab022ng
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 940M
20 fps -20%
Intel NUC Kit NUC5i3RYH
Intel Core i3-5010U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
11 (8min) fps -56%
Metal Gear Solid V
1920x1080 Extra High / On (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
11.4 fps
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 830M
11.5 fps +1%
1920x1080 High / On (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
18.3 fps
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 830M
16.9 fps -8%
Intel NUC Kit NUC5i3RYH
Intel Core i3-5010U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
9.4 (8min) fps -49%
1366x768 Medium / Off (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
48.7 fps
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 830M
48.2 fps -1%
Intel NUC Kit NUC5i3RYH
Intel Core i3-5010U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
25.4 (23min) fps -48%
1024x768 Low / Off (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
60 fps
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 830M
60 fps 0%
Intel NUC Kit NUC5i3RYH
Intel Core i3-5010U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
37.1 (33min) fps -38%
World of Warships
1920x1080 Very High Preset AA:High FX AF:16x (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
20.8 fps
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 830M
13.8 fps -34%
1920x1080 High Preset AF:8x (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
28.1 fps
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 830M
20.2 fps -28%
1366x768 Medium Preset AF:Trilinear (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
56.4 fps
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 830M
37.6 fps -33%
1366x768 Low Preset AF:Trilinear (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
83.2 fps
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 830M
48.4 fps -42%
FIFA 16
1920x1080 High Preset AA:4x MS (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
27.5 fps
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 830M
34.1 fps +24%
Intel NUC Kit NUC5i3RYH
Intel Core i3-5010U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
18.1 (7min) fps -34%
1366x768 High Preset AA:2x MS (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
49.1 fps
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 830M
50 fps +2%
Intel NUC Kit NUC5i3RYH
Intel Core i3-5010U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
35.7 (31min) fps -27%
1280x720 Low Preset (sort by value)
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
69 fps
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 830M
92.6 fps +34%
Intel NUC Kit NUC5i3RYH
Intel Core i3-5010U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
55.9 (50min) fps -19%
low med. high ultra
Tomb Raider (2013) 104.5 51.5 34.6 16.1
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (2014) 45.8 28.7 14.7 7.9
Assassin's Creed Unity (2014) 17.3 12.9 8
Far Cry 4 (2014) 39 28 13.5 10
Dragon Age: Inquisition (2014) 42 28.7 10.7 7
Evolve (2015) 34.8 26.2 14.8 13
Battlefield Hardline (2015) 53.3 42 17.3 10.8
Dirt Rally (2015) 136.6 40.6 21.3 12.6
The Witcher 3 (2015) 22.9 15.9 8.8
Batman: Arkham Knight (2015) 25 17 7
Metal Gear Solid V (2015) 60 48.7 18.3 11.4
Mad Max (2015) 32.4 16 13.9
World of Warships (2015) 83.2 56.4 28.1 20.8
FIFA 16 (2015) 69 49.1 27.5

Emissions

System Noise

The fan doesn't run at all during idle or low CPU utilization - a behavior we already observed when evaluating the first model - which results in an extremely low noise level of only 30 dB. The E550 is never completely silent though, since the whirring sound of the hard drive remains audible.

Despite the faster processor and the additional Radeon GPU, the noise only increases marginally under full load and tops out at either 33.1 (3Dmark 06) or 35.6 dB (stress test). The competitors from Dell and HP surpass 40 dB easily and can't compete against the E550 here. The fan system runs smoothly and uniformly and doesn't emit any high-pitched frequencies.

Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
Intel Core i7-5500U, AMD Radeon R7 M265
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E550-20DGS00300
Intel Core i3-5005U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 830M
HP ProBook 450 G2 L3Q27EA
Intel Core i5-5200U, Intel HD Graphics 5500
HP Pavilion 15-ab022ng
Intel Core i7-5500U, NVIDIA GeForce 940M
Noise
-1%
-16%
4%
-25%
Idle Minimum *
29.8
31.3
-5%
32.5
-9%
28.9
3%
34.5
-16%
Idle Average *
29.8
31.3
-5%
32.5
-9%
28.9
3%
34.5
-16%
Idle Maximum *
31.1
31.3
-1%
32.5
-5%
28.9
7%
34.5
-11%
Load Average *
33.1
32.8
1%
43.5
-31%
32.9
1%
44.1
-33%
Load Maximum *
35.6
33.8
5%
45.3
-27%
34.3
4%
52.5
-47%

* ... smaller is better

Noise Level

Idle
29.8 / 29.8 / 31.1 dB(A)
HDD
30.4 dB(A)
DVD
36.4 / dB(A)
Load
33.1 / 35.6 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-451 (15 cm distance)

Temperature

Stress test
Stress test
Prime95
Prime95

Despite the mostly passive cooling, the ThinkPad doesn't get hot during idle and only reaches about 30 to 32 degrees C in most areas. Users who work with office programs and similar programs or browse the web can operate the E550 on the lap without any problems.   

The rather conservative cooling approach has a much more pronounced effect under load conditions, since the notebook heats up more. In one area in particular - in the back on the left side - the temperatures climbed to above 40 degrees C after a fairly short time. Foruntately the handrests aren't affected much and remain much cooler.

The CPU and the GPU maxed out at 82 and 76 degrees C during the stress test, which is far from critical. We didn't observe any throttling, although the Turbo didn't reach its full potential either with the cores only running at 2.5 GHz. The likely explanation is once again that the TDP limit of 15 watts was reached at that point.

 30.5 °C
87 F
26.3 °C
79 F
25.3 °C
78 F
 
 30.6 °C
87 F
30.1 °C
86 F
25.2 °C
77 F
 
 29.1 °C
84 F
30.2 °C
86 F
25.3 °C
78 F
 
Maximum: 30.6 °C = 87 F
Average: 28.1 °C = 83 F
24.8 °C
77 F
28.1 °C
83 F
29.7 °C
85 F
25 °C
77 F
31.7 °C
89 F
31.9 °C
89 F
25.1 °C
77 F
31.8 °C
89 F
29.6 °C
85 F
Maximum: 31.9 °C = 89 F
Average: 28.6 °C = 83 F
Power Supply (max.)  31.8 °C = 89 F | Room Temperature 21.2 °C = 70 F | Fluke 62 Max
(±) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 35.8 °C / 96 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 43 °C / 109 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 44 °C / 111 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 can get very hot to the touch with a maximum of 37 °C / 98.6 F.
(-) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 27.7 °C / 81.9 F (-9.3 °C / -16.7 F).

Energy Management

Power Consumption

With an idle power consumption of between 4.1 and 7.7 watts, the E550 ranks about average compared to the competiton; the extremely frugal HP ProBook 450 G2 (2.4 - 5 watts) is the exception. Compared to the entry-level configuration, our higher-end review notebook consumed less than one watt more.

3D applications increase the delta to between 10 and 20 watts, but most of that increase can be attributed to the power requirements of the dedicated Radeon GPU. Considering the performance, the power draw of 37.6 to 54.7 watts seems more than appropriate for this notebook and the 65-watt power adapter has no problems supplying the required watts.

Power Consumption
Off / Standbydarklight 0 / 0.1 Watt
Idledarkmidlight 4.1 / 6.7 / 7.7 Watt
Load midlight 37.6 / 54.7 Watt
 color bar
Key: min: dark, med: mid, max: light        Extech Power Analyzer 380803
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

Lenovo promises a battery life of up to 9 hours for the E550 with its 48 Wh battery. Under optiomal circumstances, two hours more are possible, although that requires minimized display brightness, deactivated wireless modules and idle mode.   

Actual runtimes - for example while web surfing or when watching a video stored on the hard drive (display at 150 cd/m²) - are closer to 5 hours. The minimum battery life is under 90 minutes with the charging cycle taking about 2.5 hours.

Overall results are just average, but there are no alternatives: Lenovo doesn't offer higher-capacity batteries for the E550.

Reader's Test
Reader's Test
WLAN Test
WLAN Test
H.264 Test
H.264 Test
Classic Test
Classic Test
Charging
Charging
Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE
48 Wh
Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E550-20DGS00300
48 Wh
Dell Latitude 15 3550-0123
58 Wh
HP ProBook 450 G2 L3Q27EA
40 Wh
Battery Runtime
20%
39%
Reader / Idle
663
748
13%
775
17%
H.264
311
328
5%
474
52%
WiFi v1.3
293
310
6%
379
29%
Load
82
128
56%
129
57%
WiFi
395
456
Battery Runtime
Idle (without WLAN, min brightness)
11h 03min
WiFi Websurfing
4h 53min
Big Buck Bunny H.264 1080p
5h 11min
Load (maximum brightness)
1h 22min

Pros

+ solid chassis
+ docking station connector
+ fast WLAN
+ responsive keyboard
+ good performance
+ low temperature and noise

Cons

- dark display with low viewing angle stability
- slow hard drive
- comperatively high price
- 12-month warranty

Verdict

In review: Lenovo ThinkPad E550. Test model provided by CampusPoint.
In review: Lenovo ThinkPad E550. Test model provided by CampusPoint.

At a purchase price of 1000 Euro (~$1100), the top-model in the E550-series can't be considered entry-level any longer and accordingly, expectations run pretty high. Unfortunately, the ThinkPad can't quite measure up.

The most significant drawbacks are the TN panel, which is average at best, the slow hard drive and the very short warranty of only 12 months. The other models in the series are affected by the same shortcomings, but they usually also sell for a few hundred Euro less. Our configuration as such isn't the most convincing, since part of the budget was obviously allotted to pay for the more prestigious Core i7 CPU - which doesn't really offer any significant performance benefits over the much more cost-effective Core i5 processor.

Our recommendation is to consider a pared-down, less expensive model instead.

All things considered, the E550 is a solid workhorse with superb input devices and a very low noise level. Of course there are some differences in quality in some areas compared to the higher-end L and T-series models, but considering the much lower price, those differences seem acceptable. Patient users might want to wait until the Skylake-equipped E560 hits the market, since the E550 might turn into a real bargain in the upcoming months: discontinued ThinkPad models are often sold at very attractive prices.

Lenovo ThinkPad E550-20DF00CNGE - 04/12/2016 v5(old)
Till Schönborn

Chassis
80 / 98 → 81%
Keyboard
87%
Pointing Device
83%
Connectivity
48 / 80 → 59%
Weight
61 / 20-67 → 87%
Battery
81%
Display
76%
Games Performance
61 / 68 → 90%
Application Performance
67 / 92 → 73%
Temperature
89%
Noise
93%
Audio
69%
Camera
58 / 85 → 68%
Average
73%
82%
Office - Weighted Average

Pricecompare

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Reviews > Archive of our own reviews > Lenovo ThinkPad E550 (Core i7, Radeon R7 M265) Notebook Review
Till Schönborn, 2015-11- 6 (Update: 2019-04-30)