Lenovo ThinkPad E560 (Core i7, Radeon R7 M370) Notebook Review

Except for the fact that Lenovo replaced the last USB 2.0 port with a more modern USB 3.0 connector (for a total of three), the port equipment is similar to the predecessor. Thanks to HDMI 1.4b (up to 4K @30 Hz), VGA, Gigabit-Ethernet as well as a headset port, the E560 should be suited for the majority of scenarios. You can also use an optional docking station via OneLink connector, which provides more USB, display and Ethernet ports. Depending on the model, the prices vary between around 100 Euros (~$109, OneLink Dock) and 150 Euros (~$164, OneLink Dock pro with DisplayPort).

The new wireless module Intel Wireless-AC 3165 now supports Bluetooth 4.2 but otherwise does not really differ from the older Wireless-AC 3160. The WLAN support includes all current standards in 2.4 and 5 GHz networks, but it is still just a single-stream adapter with maximum transfer rates of up to 433 Mbps in an 802.11 ac network. The wireless signal was still excellent during our review with a long distance and high performance, which is supported by the excellent transfer rate of 27 MB/s at a short distance (3 meters, router TP-Link Archer C7). 

Instead of a normal webcam, the ThinkPad is equipped with a so called Intel RealSense 3D camera. It can be used for 3D facial scans or gesture control in games, for example. At least in theory, because there are still hardly any real apps besides the nice technological demo. The only scenario for now is Windows Hello, which requires a 3D camera due to security reasons. The quality of the 1080p sensor unfortunately does not leave a very good impression and the results are just as blurry and noisy as the common 0.9 MP modules. At least the corresponding array microphone works very well and convinces with clear voice recordings.

Security

Since the E560 is more consumer-oriented, it is equipped with a TPM, but it lacks other important features like vPro support or a fingerprint scanner. The possibility to secure the system launch, hard drive and/or BIOS via password was, fortunately, not waived.

Accessories

Except for the mandatory quick-start guide as well as a corresponding 65-Watt power adaptor, Lenovo does not put any other accessories in the box of the ThinkPad. The preloaded Windows 10 Home (64-bit version) is pretty clean and mostly free of annoying test and advertisement apps. Lenovo installs the app "Lenovo Settings", a handy tool for the most important settings. You can, for example, use it to modify several power settings, administrate networks or check the battery status.

Maintenance

You can open the two maintenance hatches after the removal of four screws in total and gain access to the WLAN module, the two memory slots (one free) as well as the 2.5-inch drive. You would have to disassemble the device further for access to the fan and the cooling solution, but only experienced users should do that. Also unfortunate: Due to the lack of a free M.2 slot, you cannot use an additional SSD or a combination of SSD and HDD – the rival HP ProBook 450 G3 is superior in this respect.

Warranty

Contrary to more expensive ThinkPads, where Lenovo usually grants a three-year warranty, the standard warranty period of the E-series is just 12 months (Bring-In service). It can be extended to 2 years for around 35 Euros (~$38, or 3 years for 75 Euros, ~$82), which seems reasonable.

Depending on the configuration you can either get the Lenovo E560 with a simple WXGA (1366x768 pixels, 100 PPI, 220 cd/m², TN panel) or a better FHD display (1920x1080 pixels, 141 PPI, 250 cd/m², IPS panel). Our top model obviously uses the sharper 1080p screen, which cannot quite reach the advertised luminance. Instead of 250 cd/m² we can only measure 234 cd/m² in the center, which is still a significant improvement over the predecessor (E550: 188 cd/m²). Positive: The E560 does not use PWM to control the backlight, so there is no potentially disturbing flickering. The brightness is not reduced on battery power, either. We do have to deduct points for the clearly visible backlight bleeding of our review unit, even though it is only annoying in combination with dark display content.

Thanks to the switch from a TN to an IPS display, both the black value (0.27 cd/m²) and the contrast ratio (952:1) of the new ThinkPad generation are dramatically improved. Our review unit is now on par with the Dell Latitude 3550 in this respect and offers a very vivid and rich picture, which was usually reserved for much higher price segments so far.

Contrary to a TN panel, the picture quality of the IPS display is just slightly affected from an angle above or below. We can only see a clear contrast deficit when the angle surpasses 45 degrees, and colors don't look as rich. Some high-end notebooks (like the MacBook Pro series from Apple, for example) are even better in this respect, but the result is still satisfying considering the price class of around 1,000 Euros (~$1096) – especially when you look at the predecessor, which was very disappointing in this regard.

The Intel Core i7-6500U is one of the top models from the recently launched Skylake ULV series and has two cores plus Hyper-Threading, which can run with 2.5-3.1 GHz (Turbo for two cores: 3.0 GHz). Compared to the Broadwell predecessor Core i7-5500U (2.4-3.0 GHz), the i7-6500U also implements some architectural improvements besides the increased clocks, which result in a 5-10% higher per-MHz performance. The chip is still manufactured in an advanced 14-nm process with FinFETs, which enables a low TDP of just 15 Watts.

The Skylake processor comes with the integrated HD Graphics 520. It is a DirectX 12 capable GPU, but the performance is still in the low-end range. Lenovo therefore equipped the E560 with a dedicated Radeon R7 M370, so there is enough performance for current games and complex 3D applications. This GPU is based on the "Mars" chip with 384 GCN shaders (875 MHz) and a 128-bit memory interface as well as 2 GB GDDR5 memory (3600 MHz effective). Thanks to AMD's Enduro technology, the Radeon GPU is only activated when it is really needed, while simpler tasks are handled by the more frugal Intel graphics.

8 GB RAM, more precisely a single 8 GB DDR3L 1600 module, ensures that there is enough headroom for moderate multi-tasking. We would usually mention the performance deficits due to the single-channel memory configuration at this point, but this is not so important here because of the dedicated graphics card.

Besides the usual performance improvements, Intel was focused on a better efficiency during the development of the Skylake generation in particular. This means Skylake can maintain higher Turbo clocks than its predecessor, despite the identical 14-nm manufacturing and the identical TDP, which will obviously help the performance.

Even our high-end model Core i7-6500U is hardly limited by the 15-Watt rating in practice and can always utilize its full clock range. The chip executes Cinebench R15 with a steady clock of 3.0 (Multi) or 3.1 GHz (Single), both on mains as well as battery power. It is still doubtful whether the high price of the i7 chip is really worth it: The Core i5-6200U in the recently tested ThinkPad E460 is just 10% slower, a difference that should not be noticeable for the user. An upgrade from a Broadwell Core i7-5500U does not make much sense in our opinion, either.

Many more affordable ThinkPads like the E560 are fortunately equipped with fast SSDs nowadays, even though Lenovo picked a very inexpensive model from Samsung's CM871 series, which only manages decent transfer rates for sequential read operations at up to 500 MB/s. The write performance of the 192 GB 2.5-inch drive, which is based on V-NAND flash with 3 bits per cell (TLC), is just 170 MB/s. The 4K results are disappointing as well, probably because the SSD does not have its own DRAM cache.

This is actually the first time that we test the Radeon R7 M370 from AMD, even though the GPU is technically very similar to the familiar Radeon R7 M360. The important difference between the two models: While the R7 M360 is only equipped with DDR3 memory, the R7 M370 can use GDDR5 memory, where the effective clock is twice as high. The memory bandwidth is therefore twice as wide as well, so the lower core clock (M360: 980 MHz, M370: 875 MHz) can be more than compensated for. The R7 M370 is between 30 and 60% ahead of the R7 M360 in the popular 3DMarks and can even just beat the GeForce 940M from Nvidia.

The integrated HD Graphics 520 would only manage roughly half of the frame rate, even with dual-channel memory, but it is much more frugal in return and also comes with the more modern video decoder. The latter can even handle H.265 videos in 4K at 60 fps without noteworthy CPU load.