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MagyarLenovo ThinkPad L15 laptop review - Decent office companion with high system performance
The ThinkPad L15 is an affordable office laptop from Lenovo's ThinkPad L series. The 15-inch successor to the ThinkPad L590 is a solid entry into the world of business laptops. It's based on the current AMD Ryzen 7 Pro 4750U, which should provide a noticeable leap in performance compared to its predecessor. Our device is a campus model; a special version for the education sector at a reasonable price, but at around 850 Euros (~$1,005) it doesn't include an operating system. A comparable, unrestrictedly available configuration that includes an operating system can be purchased for about 1,060 Euros (~$1,253).
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Size | Resolution | Best Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 84.9 % | 11/2020 | Lenovo ThinkPad L15-20U8S0AH00 R7 PRO 4750U, Vega 7 | 1.9 kg | 21 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 | |
| 82.1 % | 03/2020 | Lenovo ThinkPad E15 20RD0011GE i7-10510U, Radeon RX 640 | 1.8 kg | 18.9 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 | |
| 81.4 % | 08/2020 | HP ProBook 450 G7 8WC04UT i7-10510U, GeForce MX250 | 1.9 kg | 19 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 | |
| 82.6 % | 07/2020 | HP ProBook 455 G7-175W8EA R7 4700U, Vega 7 | 1.8 kg | 19 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 | |
| 84 % | 10/2020 | Dell Latitude 15 5510-D90XK i5-10310U, UHD Graphics 620 | 1.8 kg | 23 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 | |
| 82 % | 08/2020 | Acer TravelMate P215-52 i7-10510U, UHD Graphics 620 | 1.8 kg | 19.9 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 | |
| 83.2 % | 10/2019 | Lenovo ThinkPad L590-20Q70019GE i5-8265U, UHD Graphics 620 | 2 kg | 23 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 |
Case - Solid base, sensitive lid
With its slightly narrower display bezels, the laptop looks a bit more stylish and modern than its predecessor. Although the ThinkPad L15 can't quite keep up in this regard with the almost borderless displays found in the more expensive competitors, the fact that it's a relatively modern laptop is clearly noticeable.
The case is made entirely of plastic, and the ThinkPad logo with its illuminated red dot and a Lenovo logo adorn the back of the lid. The surfaces are made of matte, rough plastic, which makes the laptop very susceptible to fingerprints. The higher-quality ThinkPads of the E and T series, on the other hand, feature higher-quality plastic/aluminum or carbon fiber cases. The design is simple but not dull due to a few cleverly placed elements. Workmanship also offers no cause for criticism, as the gaps are uniformly small, and there's no visible excess material.
The base unit appears robust for a plastic construction. The rest of the case stability is also acceptable, but the lid and hinges in particular aren't designed to withstand strong applications of force. The hinges allow a maximum aperture angle of 180 degrees and are evenly rigid independently of this.
Compared to its predecessor, the ThinkPad L590, the ThinkPad L15 has shrunk slightly in every dimension. That's probably thanks in large part to the slightly narrower display bezels, which make the laptop look a bit more modern overall. Accordingly, the weight of 1.98 kg instead of 2.019 kg has also decreased a bit. Compared to the rest of the class, the dimensions and weight place it in the midfield.
Connectivity - Normal-size HDMI connection and Ethernet port
The connections are distributed on both sides, and the layout has remained unchanged compared to the previous model. In contrast to many other laptops, you get a full-fledged HDMI 1.4b connection and a Gigabit Ethernet port. In addition, the ThinkPad L15 can be connected to various docking stations via the so-called "Side Dock". There are two USB-A (3.1 Gen 1) and two USB-C ports (1x 3.1 Gen 2, 1x 3.1 Gen 1) available. Most ports, including the USB-C charging port, are located on the left side, which makes it easier to use an external mouse. Since the ports are placed relatively far apart from each other, cables shouldn't block nearby ports.
SD card reader - Slightly above the average
In the test with our 64 GB UHS-II reference memory card, the Toshiba Exceria Pro M501, the SD card reader in our ThinkPad L15 reaches slightly above-average speeds. Except for the Latitude 15 5510, which almost poses a threat to the XPS 15 in this discipline, the remaining comparison devices are at a similar level.
| SD Card Reader | |
| average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs) | |
| Dell Latitude 15 5510-D90XK (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 microSDXC 64GB) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L15-20U8S0AH00 (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 64 GB UHS-II) | |
| HP ProBook 455 G7-175W8EA (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
| HP ProBook 450 G7 8WC04UT (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L590-20Q70019GE (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 64 GB UHS-II) | |
| Average of class Office (8 - 82.7, n=49, last 2 years) | |
| Acer TravelMate P215-52 (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
| maximum AS SSD Seq Read Test (1GB) | |
| Dell Latitude 15 5510-D90XK (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 microSDXC 64GB) | |
| HP ProBook 455 G7-175W8EA (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L15-20U8S0AH00 (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 64 GB UHS-II) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L590-20Q70019GE (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 64 GB UHS-II) | |
| HP ProBook 450 G7 8WC04UT (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
| Average of class Office (25 - 90.5, n=43, last 2 years) | |
| Acer TravelMate P215-52 (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
Communication - WLAN 6, Bluetooth 5.1, and optional WWAN
The Intel 9260 of the predecessor has been updated to the AX200 WLAN module on the ThinkPad L15, offering WLAN 6 and Bluetooth 5.1 support. While performance for receiving data is roughly average, it's slightly below average for sending data at 895 Mb/s. A WWAN slot is also optionally available.
Webcam
Security - Webcam shutter and Ryzen Pro functional features
Alongside a fingerprint scanner and TPM 2.0, the ThinkPad model also supports smart cards and Kensington locks. It also has a mechanical webcam shutter and hardware-based Ryzen Pro security features.
Accessories - Docking solutions separately available
Apart from the power adapter, warranty information, and the laptop itself, there are no extras included in the box. Optionally, the manufacturer's online store offers many accessories such as carrying cases, external peripherals, adapters, and docking solutions. The latter extend the range of interfaces with additional video outputs and USB ports, among other things.
Maintenance
Since there's no maintenance hatch, in order to gain access to the internal components, you have to loosen 9 cross-head screws, remove the SIM drawer, and loosen some plastic clips with a thin plastic object. Afterwards, the bottom cover of the base unit can be removed. Inside, you have access to both RAM slots, the battery, the SSD, the WLAN module, and (if present) the WWAN module.
Warranty - Extension options up to 5 years
Lenovo honors buyers of the ThinkPad L15 with a standard one-year warranty. The campus model is an exception offering 3 years. The warranty can be extended up to 5 years with various options. For higher-end models, such as the ThinkPad T series, the manufacturer provides a full 3-year warranty as standard.
Input devices - Outstanding keyboard
Keyboard
The keyboard extends over the full width of the base unit and offers a number pad. The layout looks well thought-out, and except for the page up and page down keys, all keys, including the arrow keys, are normal-sized. The sound when typing can be described as being between quiet and moderate, so that it's not bothersome in quiet environments. The keyboard surface hardly gives way when typing. The two-stage keyboard backlighting illuminates all symbols and is sufficiently bright. The key travel is relatively deep, and the pressure point is clearly perceptible. The caps lock, mute, and microphone keys each signal their current status via an illuminated dot on the key. All in all, the keyboard is comparable to the keyboards on much more expensive laptops and thus well suited for longer typing tasks.
Touchpad and TrackPoint - Dedicated mouse buttons
The touchpad extends over an area of 10 x 7 cm and has three dedicated mouse buttons. In addition, left and right clicks can be triggered by pressing the left or right half of the ClickPad. While the plastic touchpad has good gliding properties and high precision, the separate mouse buttons feel quite cheap due to their inaccurate pressure point and low resistance. Using the TrackPoint works very well after a little getting used to.
Display - High contrast and no PWM
The 15.6-inch IPS display has a native resolution of 1920x1080 pixels (Full HD) and an aspect ratio of 16:9. The matte layer prevents glare. Alternatively, potential buyers can also choose an HD TN panel with a resolution of 1366x768 pixels or a touchscreen version of the Full HD display with 300 cd/m². We generally advise against the TN panel, as the savings don't usually justify the drastic loss of quality on the display. Unlike some competitors, the ThinkPad L15 omitts the use of PWM for brightness control.
At 240 cd/m², the brightness of our test device is relatively low, but it's still roughly in line with the manufacturer's specification of 250 cd/m². Our test configurations of the ThinkPad E15, the HP ProBook 455 G7, and the 450 G7 also only offer slightly more brightness, respectively. The brightness distribution is quite even at 89%. For indoor use, the available brightness level is sufficient, but for outdoor use, you should rather look at certain HP ProBook models, since displays at up to 1,000 cd/m² are available within this product series.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 89 %
Center on Battery: 247 cd/m²
Contrast: 1660:1 (Black: 0.15 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 5.9 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5, calibrated: 4.8
ΔE Greyscale 3 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
56.8% sRGB (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
36.1% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
39.19% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
57% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
37.93% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.32
| Lenovo ThinkPad L15-20U8S0AH00 B156HAN02.1, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60 | Lenovo ThinkPad E15 20RD0011GE NV156FHM-N48, IPS LED, 1920x1080, 15.60 | HP ProBook 450 G7 8WC04UT LG Philips LGD062E, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60 | HP ProBook 455 G7-175W8EA AUO, B156HW02, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60 | Dell Latitude 15 5510-D90XK BOE0869, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60 | Acer TravelMate P215-52 BOE CQ NV156FHM-N48, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60 | Lenovo ThinkPad L590-20Q70019GE N156HCE-EAA, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | 4% | -0% | 0% | 1% | 7% | 14% | |
| Display P3 Coverage | 37.93 | 40.25 6% | 37.9 0% | 37.92 0% | 38.74 2% | 40.66 7% | 43.3 14% |
| sRGB Coverage | 57 | 57.7 1% | 56.5 -1% | 57.1 0% | 56.6 -1% | 60.6 6% | 64.4 13% |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 39.19 | 41.59 6% | 39.08 0% | 39.18 0% | 40.02 2% | 42.01 7% | 44.81 14% |
| Response Times | -9% | 15% | 16% | -1% | 28% | 6% | |
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 48 ? | 49.6 ? -3% | 35.2 ? 27% | 41 ? 15% | 44 ? 8% | 24.4 ? 49% | 42.8 ? 11% |
| Response Time Black / White * | 31.2 ? | 36 ? -15% | 30.4 ? 3% | 26 ? 17% | 34 ? -9% | 29.2 ? 6% | 30.8 ? 1% |
| PWM Frequency | 1250 ? | 1000 ? | 1000 ? | 24510 ? | |||
| Screen | -22% | -22% | -1% | -0% | -24% | -9% | |
| Brightness middle | 249 | 283 14% | 259.8 4% | 282 13% | 258 4% | 255.9 3% | 247 -1% |
| Brightness | 240 | 258 8% | 251 5% | 264 10% | 229 -5% | 234 -2% | 228 -5% |
| Brightness Distribution | 89 | 81 -9% | 91 2% | 88 -1% | 74 -17% | 78 -12% | 81 -9% |
| Black Level * | 0.15 | 0.22 -47% | 0.42 -180% | 0.19 -27% | 0.16 -7% | 0.46 -207% | 0.18 -20% |
| Contrast | 1660 | 1286 -23% | 619 -63% | 1484 -11% | 1613 -3% | 556 -67% | 1372 -17% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 5.9 | 7.9 -34% | 6.09 -3% | 5.56 6% | 5.61 5% | 5.02 15% | 5.9 -0% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 21.7 | 23.6 -9% | 16.33 25% | 19.07 12% | 19 12% | 18.26 16% | 22.9 -6% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated * | 4.8 | 5.8 -21% | 5.2 -8% | 4.5 6% | 4.17 13% | 4.7 2% | |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 3 | 6.6 -120% | 3.7 -23% | 3.57 -19% | 2.77 8% | 4.2 -40% | 5.1 -70% |
| Gamma | 2.32 95% | 2.18 101% | 2.56 86% | 2.61 84% | 2.27 97% | 2.07 106% | 2.21 100% |
| CCT | 6838 95% | 5735 113% | 6759 96% | 6895 94% | 6198 105% | 6975 93% | 6398 102% |
| Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998) | 36.1 | 37 2% | 35.7 -1% | 36 0% | 36 0% | 38.6 7% | 41.2 14% |
| Color Space (Percent of sRGB) | 56.8 | 57.1 1% | 56.2 -1% | 57 0% | 56 -1% | 60.4 6% | 64.1 13% |
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | -9% /
-15% | -2% /
-13% | 5% /
1% | 0% /
-0% | 4% /
-12% | 4% /
-3% |
* ... smaller is better
The black level is only 0.15, which is lower than on all other comparison devices. The resulting contrast ratio of 1,660:1 is also a top value in comparison to devices in this class. The subjective impression is convincing too, since the overall image looks authentic, and dark areas in pictures or films are reproduced very well.
The color-space coverage of the sRGB and AdobeRGB color space is 56.8% and 36.1%, respectively. These values are typical for inexpensive office laptops where other aspects such as workmanship and input devices have a higher priority. However, together with the massive color deviations, the panel is unsuitable for image-processing.
Due to the low brightness of only 240 cd/m², outdoor readability is very limited in most situations. Therefore, you should stay in the shade if possible when using the device outdoors, since the user experience is still most likely to be acceptable here due to the matte panel.
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 31.2 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 17.2 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 14 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. » 82 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (21.5 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 48 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 24.4 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 23.6 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. » 80 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (33.7 ms). | ||
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
| Screen flickering / PWM not detected |  | ||
In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 17900 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured. | |||
As is typical for IPS panels, the viewing angles are excellent, and the colors and contrast are hardly altered, even when being viewed from steep angles. However, the observed brightness decreases slightly at very steep angles.
Performance - Fast Ryzen 7 processor
Our configuration of the ThinkPad L15 is a relatively powerful version that not only handles everyday office life but also multimedia and games with low system requirements without problems. At the heart of our test configuration is the AMD Ryzen 7 Pro 4750U with integrated RX Vega 7 graphics. Intel-based alternatives with the Intel Core i7-10510U or Core i5-10210U as well as cheaper models with the Ryzen 5 4500U are also available. In terms of memory, you can choose between configurations with 8 GB or, as in this case, 16 GB. In our test device, a RAM module with 16 GB is used; it runs in single-channel mode. Lenovo doesn't offer dedicated graphics cards within this laptop series.
Processor
The Ryzen 7 Pro 4750U is an AMD processor from the current Renoir generation. The eight Zen 2 cores have a base clock rate of 1.7 GHz, while the Turbo clock speed reaches up to 4.1 GHz. Compared to the Ryzen 7 4700U, the "Pro" chip offers certain hardware security features and SMT (simultaneous processing of two tasks by one processor), but the base clock is slightly lower.
In the Cinebench R15 multi-thread benchmark, the clock speed is about 4.2 GHz (TDP 30 watts) for a short time, then it drops quickly to 3.0-3.1 GHz (25 watts) and settles at 2.8 to 2.9 GHz (22 watts) after a few minutes.
In our Cinebench loop test, it sets itself far ahead of the Intel competition and also leaves the AMD Ryzen 7 4700U of the HP ProBook 455 G7 behind. Performance drops minimally at the half of the test time.
In general, the CPU performance is slightly below the average of the Ryzen 7 Pro 4750U in the single-thread-based benchmarks, and it tends to be slightly above the average in the multi-thread benchmarks. In our comparison, the processor often reaches peak values.
Full performance is also available on battery power.
Cinebench R15: CPU Single 64Bit | CPU Multi 64Bit
Blender: v2.79 BMW27 CPU
7-Zip 18.03: 7z b 4 -mmt1 | 7z b 4
Geekbench 5.5: Single-Core | Multi-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
| Cinebench R20 / CPU (Single Core) | |
| Average of class Office (181.3 - 764, n=120, last 2 years) | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 4750U (461 - 479, n=5) | |
| HP ProBook 455 G7-175W8EA | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L15-20U8S0AH00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad E15 20RD0011GE | |
| Dell Latitude 15 5510-D90XK | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L590-20Q70019GE | |
| HP ProBook 450 G7 8WC04UT | |
| Acer TravelMate P215-52 | |
| Cinebench R20 / CPU (Multi Core) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L15-20U8S0AH00 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 4750U (2935 - 3302, n=5) | |
| Average of class Office (356 - 5904, n=120, last 2 years) | |
| HP ProBook 455 G7-175W8EA | |
| Dell Latitude 15 5510-D90XK | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad E15 20RD0011GE | |
| Acer TravelMate P215-52 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L590-20Q70019GE | |
| HP ProBook 450 G7 8WC04UT | |
| Cinebench R15 / CPU Single 64Bit | |
| Average of class Office (82.6 - 284, n=118, last 2 years) | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 4750U (180 - 184, n=5) | |
| HP ProBook 455 G7-175W8EA | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L15-20U8S0AH00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad E15 20RD0011GE | |
| Dell Latitude 15 5510-D90XK | |
| Acer TravelMate P215-52 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L590-20Q70019GE | |
| HP ProBook 450 G7 8WC04UT | |
| Cinebench R15 / CPU Multi 64Bit | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L15-20U8S0AH00 | |
| Average of class Office (160.8 - 2642, n=120, last 2 years) | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 4750U (1287 - 1417, n=5) | |
| HP ProBook 455 G7-175W8EA | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad E15 20RD0011GE | |
| Dell Latitude 15 5510-D90XK | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L590-20Q70019GE | |
| Acer TravelMate P215-52 | |
| HP ProBook 450 G7 8WC04UT | |
| Blender / v2.79 BMW27 CPU | |
| HP ProBook 450 G7 8WC04UT | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L590-20Q70019GE | |
| Dell Latitude 15 5510-D90XK | |
| Acer TravelMate P215-52 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad E15 20RD0011GE | |
| HP ProBook 455 G7-175W8EA | |
| Average of class Office (214 - 2844, n=121, last 2 years) | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 4750U (340 - 403, n=5) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L15-20U8S0AH00 | |
| 7-Zip 18.03 / 7z b 4 -mmt1 | |
| Average of class Office (2233 - 6687, n=121, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad E15 20RD0011GE | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L15-20U8S0AH00 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 4750U (4413 - 4467, n=5) | |
| Acer TravelMate P215-52 | |
| Dell Latitude 15 5510-D90XK | |
| HP ProBook 455 G7-175W8EA | |
| HP ProBook 450 G7 8WC04UT | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L590-20Q70019GE | |
| 7-Zip 18.03 / 7z b 4 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 4750U (37081 - 42173, n=5) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L15-20U8S0AH00 | |
| Average of class Office (4226 - 62349, n=121, last 2 years) | |
| HP ProBook 455 G7-175W8EA | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad E15 20RD0011GE | |
| Acer TravelMate P215-52 | |
| Dell Latitude 15 5510-D90XK | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L590-20Q70019GE | |
| HP ProBook 450 G7 8WC04UT | |
| Geekbench 5.5 / Single-Core | |
| Average of class Office (510 - 1974, n=122, last 2 years) | |
| HP ProBook 450 G7 8WC04UT | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad E15 20RD0011GE | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 4750U (1117 - 1157, n=5) | |
| Dell Latitude 15 5510-D90XK | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L15-20U8S0AH00 | |
| HP ProBook 455 G7-175W8EA | |
| Acer TravelMate P215-52 | |
| Geekbench 5.5 / Multi-Core | |
| Average of class Office (1018 - 11980, n=122, last 2 years) | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 4750U (5456 - 6609, n=5) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L15-20U8S0AH00 | |
| HP ProBook 455 G7-175W8EA | |
| Dell Latitude 15 5510-D90XK | |
| HP ProBook 450 G7 8WC04UT | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad E15 20RD0011GE | |
| Acer TravelMate P215-52 | |
| HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2 / 4k Preset | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 4750U (8.33 - 10.3, n=5) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L15-20U8S0AH00 | |
| Average of class Office (1.55 - 17.4, n=120, last 2 years) | |
| HP ProBook 455 G7-175W8EA | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad E15 20RD0011GE | |
| Acer TravelMate P215-52 | |
| Dell Latitude 15 5510-D90XK | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L590-20Q70019GE | |
| HP ProBook 450 G7 8WC04UT | |
| LibreOffice / 20 Documents To PDF | |
| HP ProBook 455 G7-175W8EA | |
| HP ProBook 450 G7 8WC04UT | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L15-20U8S0AH00 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 4750U (58.4 - 73.4, n=5) | |
| Dell Latitude 15 5510-D90XK | |
| Average of class Office (31.3 - 117.5, n=120, last 2 years) | |
| Acer TravelMate P215-52 | |
| R Benchmark 2.5 / Overall mean | |
| HP ProBook 450 G7 8WC04UT | |
| Acer TravelMate P215-52 | |
| Dell Latitude 15 5510-D90XK | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad E15 20RD0011GE | |
| HP ProBook 455 G7-175W8EA | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L15-20U8S0AH00 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 4750U (0.61 - 0.621, n=5) | |
| Average of class Office (0.4244 - 1.397, n=119, last 2 years) | |
* ... smaller is better
System performance - Lightning-fast despite wasted potential
Although the overall system performance is very good for an office laptop, it's not always enough for one of the first three places in our comparison. These results are probably due to the dedicated graphics cards in some competitors and the single-channel RAM of our test device. The CPU also lags slightly behind an average Ryzen 7 Pro 4750U from our database. In practice, none of this is noticeable: programs are launched quickly, the system runs smoothly, responsiveness is excellent, and no hardware or software problems were encountered either.
| PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2 | 4158 points | |
| PCMark 8 Creative Score Accelerated v2 | 5381 points | |
| PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2 | 5435 points | |
| PCMark 10 Score | 4639 points | |
Help | ||
DPC latencies
In our standardized test, we have identified problematic DPC latencies. Therefore, the laptop is rather unsuitable for editing video and audio content in real-time in its current testing state.
| DPC Latencies / LatencyMon - interrupt to process latency (max), Web, Youtube, Prime95 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L15-20U8S0AH00 | |
| Dell Latitude 15 5510-D90XK | |
| HP ProBook 450 G7 8WC04UT | |
| Acer TravelMate P215-52 | |
| HP ProBook 455 G7-175W8EA | |
* ... smaller is better
Storage - Fast 1 TB SSD
In our configuration, the Western Digital PC SN730 1 TB NVMe SSD serves as the system drive. Users have 922 GB available out of the box. Compared to the competition, the speed is very high for 4K writes and also decent for reads, but the Samsung, Crucial and SK hynix SSDs in the ThinkPad E15, HP ProBook 450 G7, and Acer TravelMate P215 are a bit faster here. The SSD in our test model consistently lies ahead of the other comparison devices in sequential reading and writing.
Further benchmark comparisons can be found in our HDD/SSD Benchmarks article.
| Lenovo ThinkPad L15-20U8S0AH00 WDC PC SN730 SDBQNTY-1T00 | Lenovo ThinkPad E15 20RD0011GE Samsung PM991 MZALQ512HALU | HP ProBook 450 G7 8WC04UT Crucial P1 SSD CT1000P1SSD8 | HP ProBook 455 G7-175W8EA Samsung PM991 MZVLQ512HALU | Dell Latitude 15 5510-D90XK SK Hynix BC511 HFM512GDJTNI | Acer TravelMate P215-52 SK hynix BC511 HFM256GDJTNI-82A0 | Lenovo ThinkPad L590-20Q70019GE Toshiba XG6 KXG6AZNV512G | Average WDC PC SN730 SDBQNTY-1T00 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CrystalDiskMark 5.2 / 6 | -16% | -35% | -29% | -34% | -30% | -26% | 7% | |
| Write 4K | 156.5 | 144.4 -8% | 111.1 -29% | 141.9 -9% | 121 -23% | 153.7 -2% | 115.3 -26% | 169.8 ? 8% |
| Read 4K | 48.72 | 52.3 7% | 56.3 16% | 37.25 -24% | 42.39 -13% | 60.4 24% | 43.34 -11% | 50.4 ? 3% |
| Write Seq | 2147 | 946 -56% | 559 -74% | 998 -54% | 1034 -52% | 431 -80% | 1014 -53% | 2351 ? 10% |
| Read Seq | 1809 | 1608 -11% | 1348 -25% | 1233 -32% | 1063 -41% | 1199 -34% | 1481 -18% | 2078 ? 15% |
| Write 4K Q32T1 | 393.8 | 592 50% | 277.1 -30% | 338.4 -14% | 351.4 -11% | 374.5 -5% | 495.4 26% | 457 ? 16% |
| Read 4K Q32T1 | 496.1 | 397.7 -20% | 312.1 -37% | 431.1 -13% | 334.3 -33% | 445.5 -10% | 332.6 -33% | 513 ? 3% |
| Write Seq Q32T1 | 3093 | 1364 -56% | 1652 -47% | 1367 -56% | 1059 -66% | 408.4 -87% | 1654 -47% | 3048 ? -1% |
| Read Seq Q32T1 | 3394 | 2301 -32% | 1588 -53% | 2355 -31% | 2290 -33% | 1966 -42% | 1746 -49% | 3334 ? -2% |
| Write 4K Q8T8 | 877 | 1033 | 1933 ? | |||||
| Read 4K Q8T8 | 518 | 892 | 1653 ? | |||||
| AS SSD | -24% | -80% | -35% | -38% | -78% | -25% | 7% | |
| Seq Read | 2203 | 1918 -13% | 1155 -48% | 1929 -12% | 1172 -47% | 1770 -20% | 1383 -37% | 2679 ? 22% |
| Seq Write | 2253 | 802 -64% | 984 -56% | 1199 -47% | 678 -70% | 354.5 -84% | 852 -62% | 2311 ? 3% |
| 4K Read | 45.51 | 49.89 10% | 48.85 7% | 43.9 -4% | 47.35 4% | 38.18 -16% | 45.72 0% | 45.7 ? 0% |
| 4K Write | 140.4 | 151.7 8% | 96.6 -31% | 116.2 -17% | 115.7 -18% | 95.9 -32% | 120.2 -14% | 148.8 ? 6% |
| 4K-64 Read | 1672 | 830 -50% | 581 -65% | 897 -46% | 786 -53% | 423.4 -75% | 1344 -20% | 1549 ? -7% |
| 4K-64 Write | 2040 | 736 -64% | 658 -68% | 801 -61% | 718 -65% | 141.1 -93% | 926 -55% | 1747 ? -14% |
| Access Time Read * | 0.067 | 0.095 -42% | 0.066 1% | 0.069 -3% | 0.049 27% | 0.071 -6% | 0.063 6% | 0.0615 ? 8% |
| Access Time Write * | 0.027 | 0.025 7% | 0.207 -667% | 0.033 -22% | 0.034 -26% | 0.117 -333% | 0.036 -33% | 0.02817 ? -4% |
| Score Read | 1938 | 1072 -45% | 745 -62% | 1134 -41% | 951 -51% | 639 -67% | 1528 -21% | 1863 ? -4% |
| Score Write | 2406 | 968 -60% | 853 -65% | 1037 -57% | 902 -63% | 272 -89% | 1132 -53% | 2129 ? -12% |
| Score Total | 5338 | 2545 -52% | 1986 -63% | 2723 -49% | 2326 -56% | 1178 -78% | 3420 -36% | 4927 ? -8% |
| Copy ISO MB/s | 1055 | 1287 22% | 2635 150% | 1409 34% | 634 -40% | 1147 9% | 1868 ? 77% | |
| Copy Program MB/s | 520 | 529 2% | 95.1 -82% | 70.2 -86% | 96.2 -81% | 419.8 -19% | 512 ? -2% | |
| Copy Game MB/s | 1055 | 1113 5% | 361.9 -66% | 254.9 -76% | 228.9 -78% | 928 -12% | 1365 ? 29% | |
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | -20% /
-21% | -58% /
-63% | -32% /
-33% | -36% /
-36% | -54% /
-60% | -26% /
-25% | 7% /
7% |
* ... smaller is better
Continuous load read: DiskSpd Read Loop, Queue Depth 8
Graphics card - Powerful iGPU
The AMD Radeon RX Vega 7 is an integrated graphics solution from AMD. Compared to Intel's iGPU competition, it's about twice as fast, because Intel still relies on the outdated UHD Graphics 620. The situation is different when compared to the HP ProBook 455 G7 AMD competitor or rather to the result of an average RX Vega 7: The deficit can also probably be explained by the RAM here, which only runs in single-channel mode.
Our test model passes the Fire Strike load test with a frame-rate stability of 99.3%.
| 3DMark 11 Performance | 4125 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Score | 2135 points | |
| 3DMark Time Spy Score | 838 points | |
Help | ||
Gaming performance
The ThinkPad L15 isn't designed for gaming, but thanks to the current integrated graphic card, many games are at least playable on low settings.
| low | med. | high | ultra | |
| The Witcher 3 (2015) | 25.5 | 9.74 | 10.9 | |
| Dota 2 Reborn (2015) | 88.3 | 67.9 | 35.5 | 34 |
| X-Plane 11.11 (2018) | 34.9 | 26.7 | 24.1 | |
| Far Cry 5 (2018) | 29 | 14 | ||
| F1 2020 (2020) | 56.1 | 27 | 21.1 |
Emissions - Quiet in idle usage
Noise emissions
In idle usage, the system fan is deactivated. Under low load, the fan has to start if necessary, but even then, it only generates a maximum of 30.3 dB(A). Moreover, in our stress test, the noise level of the fan immediately rises to 32.3 dB(A), and after about 5 minutes, this value increases to 34.3 dB(A). The fan behavior of the ThinkPad L15 can be characterized overall as sluggish, which results in the laptop being relatively quiet, both subjectively as well as compared to the competition.
We didn't notice any coil whine during our time with the ThinkPad L15.
Noise Level
| Idle |
| 29.7 / 29.7 / 30.3 dB(A) |
| Load |
| 31 / 34.3 dB(A) |
 | ||
30 dB silent 40 dB(A) audible 50 dB(A) loud |
||
min:  , med:  , max:  Audix TM-1, Arta (15 cm distance) environment noise: 29.7 dB(A) | ||
Temperature
The cooling solution consists of a single fan and two heat pipes. When idle, the laptop stays pleasantly cool at a maximum of 25.4 °C (~73 °F) at the top and a maximum of 26.6 °C (~78 °F) at the bottom. Under load, the maximum temperatures rise to 40.5 °C (~105 °F) and 48 °C (~118 °F) at the top and bottom, respectively, with the hottest spots concentrating in the rear, middle area. As a result, the palm rests and most of the keys remain cool even under load.
In the stress test, the CPU and GPU clock speeds are initially at 4.2 GHz and 1,350 MHz (30 watts), respectively. The clock frequencies then drop to around 3.3 GHz and 1,100 MHz (25 watts), and after a few minutes, the CPU settles at around 2.8 GHz and the GPU at 900 MHz (22 watts).
(±) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 40.5 °C / 105 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 48 °C / 118 F, compared to the average of 36.7 °C / 98 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 24.6 °C / 76 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 29.9 °C / 85.8 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 (-2.2 °C / -3.9 F).
Speakers
The two bottom-facing 2-watt stereo speakers are sufficiently loud for smaller rooms, but they're not suitable for large conference rooms. The sound shows, as usual, pronounced mid and high frequencies. Due to the lack of bass, the laptop is only partially suitable for multimedia content. External speakers or headphones can be connected via USB, the 3.5 mm audio jack or Bluetooth.
Lenovo ThinkPad L15-20U8S0AH00 audio analysis
(-) | not very loud speakers (70.8 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 17.3% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (11.6% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 3.4% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (5.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 2.3% away from median
(±) | linearity of highs is average (7.3% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (22.3% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 54% of all tested devices in this class were better, 10% similar, 36% worse
» The best had a delta of 7%, average was 22%, worst was 53%
Compared to all devices tested
» 60% of all tested devices were better, 7% similar, 34% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%
Apple MacBook 12 (Early 2016) 1.1 GHz audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (83.6 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(±) | reduced bass - on average 11.3% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (14.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 2.4% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (5.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 2% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (4.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (10.2% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 5% of all tested devices in this class were better, 2% similar, 93% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 19%, worst was 53%
Compared to all devices tested
» 3% of all tested devices were better, 1% similar, 96% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%
Energy management - Increased idle consumption leads to weak battery life
Energy consumption
When idle and depending on the brightness level of the two-stage keyboard backlight, the laptop consumes between 9.3 watts (no keyboard backlight) and 10.5 watts (keyboard backlight on stage 2). In the stress test, the peak consumption value of 45 watts drops after a short time and then levels off at 38 watts. Consequently, the included 65-watt power adapter has enough capacity and is well equipped for peak consumption.
| Off / Standby | 0.48 / 0.59 Watt |
| Idle | 4.8 / 8.9 / 10.5 Watt |
| Load |
32.9 / 45 Watt |
   
| |
| Lenovo ThinkPad L15-20U8S0AH00 R7 PRO 4750U, Vega 7, WDC PC SN730 SDBQNTY-1T00, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60 | Lenovo ThinkPad E15 20RD0011GE i7-10510U, Radeon RX 640, Samsung PM991 MZALQ512HALU, IPS LED, 1920x1080, 15.60 | HP ProBook 450 G7 8WC04UT i7-10510U, GeForce MX250, Crucial P1 SSD CT1000P1SSD8, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60 | HP ProBook 455 G7-175W8EA R7 4700U, Vega 7, Samsung PM991 MZVLQ512HALU, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60 | Dell Latitude 15 5510-D90XK i5-10310U, UHD Graphics 620, SK Hynix BC511 HFM512GDJTNI, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60 | Acer TravelMate P215-52 i7-10510U, UHD Graphics 620, SK hynix BC511 HFM256GDJTNI-82A0, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60 | Lenovo ThinkPad L590-20Q70019GE i5-8265U, UHD Graphics 620, Toshiba XG6 KXG6AZNV512G, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60 | Average AMD Radeon RX Vega 7 | Average of class Office | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power Consumption | -3% | -30% | 7% | 12% | 20% | 10% | 0% | -3% | |
| Idle Minimum * | 4.8 | 3.2 33% | 4.8 -0% | 3.8 21% | 3.6 25% | 3.5 27% | 3.96 17% | 4.66 ? 3% | 4.3 ? 10% |
| Idle Average * | 8.9 | 6.8 24% | 9.5 -7% | 7.7 13% | 6.9 22% | 6.2 30% | 6.9 22% | 7.56 ? 15% | 7.35 ? 17% |
| Idle Maximum * | 10.5 | 9.5 10% | 10.7 -2% | 10.5 -0% | 9.4 10% | 6.9 34% | 9.8 7% | 8.95 ? 15% | 9.15 ? 13% |
| Load Average * | 32.9 | 44 -34% | 61.8 -88% | 32 3% | 34.7 -5% | 31 6% | 31.4 5% | 38.7 ? -18% | 41.1 ? -25% |
| Load Maximum * | 45 | 66.4 -48% | 69 -53% | 45.4 -1% | 41 9% | 43.3 4% | 45.4 -1% | 51.9 ? -15% | 58.1 ? -29% |
| Witcher 3 ultra * | 50 |
* ... smaller is better
Battery life
Like its predecessor, the ThinkPad L15 AMD is also equipped with a 45 Wh battery. In our WLAN test, it reaches a runtime of 6:48 hours (display brightness reduced to 150 cd/m²) and 5:41 hours (maximum brightness) with it, respectively. Furthermore, it only lasts 1:18 hours under full load. Compared to the competition, our test device is, therefore, at the bottom of the scoreboard, although most competitors also have to make do with a 45 Wh battery.
| Lenovo ThinkPad L15-20U8S0AH00 R7 PRO 4750U, Vega 7, 45 Wh | Lenovo ThinkPad E15 20RD0011GE i7-10510U, Radeon RX 640, 45 Wh | HP ProBook 450 G7 8WC04UT i7-10510U, GeForce MX250, 45 Wh | HP ProBook 455 G7-175W8EA R7 4700U, Vega 7, 45 Wh | Dell Latitude 15 5510-D90XK i5-10310U, UHD Graphics 620, 51 Wh | Acer TravelMate P215-52 i7-10510U, UHD Graphics 620, 48 Wh | Lenovo ThinkPad L590-20Q70019GE i5-8265U, UHD Graphics 620, 45 Wh | Average of class Office | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battery Runtime | 26% | 31% | 9% | 94% | 32% | 42% | 45% | |
| H.264 | 508 | 625 23% | 402 -21% | 542 7% | 705 ? 39% | |||
| WiFi v1.3 | 408 | 447 10% | 433 6% | 455 12% | 637 56% | 476 17% | 429 5% | 594 ? 46% |
| Load | 78 | 112 44% | 122 56% | 106 36% | 181 132% | 114 46% | 168 115% | 117.7 ? 51% |
| Reader / Idle | 890 | 755 | 1410 | 1506 | 1044 | 1436 ? |
Pros
Cons
Verdict - Convincing in the important office disciplines
The ThinkPad L15 proved to be a highly practical everyday companion in our test. The flawless workmanship, the stable construction, and the simple but elegant design give the affordable office laptop a discreet appearance that still looks high-quality. In addition, thanks to the AMD Ryzen 7 Pro 4750U, the laptop offers more than enough power for its target group, who can also enjoy the excellent input devices. In particular, the current Ryzen generation's efficiency and performance in multi-thread tasks in CPU-heavy scenarios are impressively demonstrated. We like the high-contrast display, but in terms of brightness, it offers no more than the minimum.
The ThinkPad L15 impresses with its elegant, subtle appearance, the comfortable keyboard, and the high system performance.
Our main points of criticism are the relatively low battery life and the RAM that runs in single-channel mode. Especially if you are often on the road, you should also consider competitors if possible. All in all, when you buy the ThinkPad L15, you still get a powerful, well-built laptop, with minor disadvantages that pale in comparison to the advantages, depending on the application scenario.
Lenovo ThinkPad L15-20U8S0AH00
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11/07/2020 v7
Marius Schell
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