Lenovo ThinkPad E14 Gen 2 (AMD) Dual NVMe Mid Range Machine

[@billle5159]

I have the Ryzen 4650u pro model that has 16 dual channel ram, 8 soldered on. I paid $190 for mine. I really love the minimalist look while still being pretty modern under the hood.

[@LaptopRetrospective]

Can't argue with the price!

[@paulinegerst3727]

I just helped my dad purchased a ThinkPad E15 Gen 4 AMD. While installing the extra M.2 2280 SSD I noticed that they could really used the space by the battery pack to increase capacity (intended for casing bluetooth earphones, which seems to be utilized nowhere). The E14 is much more compact as it has the same 57 Wh battery pack. Oh well, E stands for economy so reasonable to design a battery pack for both sizes i guess.

[@LaptopRetrospective]

I suspect you're right. I've seen this in other lines as well where the same board designed for a smaller machine gets put into a larger chassis.

[@ted-b]

Nice little machine, great review.

[@LaptopRetrospective]

Thanks Ted, I think the next owner will enjoy it.

[@juanignacioaschura9437]

You'd think that with the space for two NVMe drives, they would find space to cram two SO-DIMM slots... Nevertheless, some of these are still available new outside the official Lenovo store in some countries; they were available until recently in Lenovo Argentina's website, when they were superseded by the 4th Gen AMD E14s. Given that the newer models support 40GB of RAM (32+8), I'm sure that a 32GB module could be installed in this machine. Could be worth trying out.

[@LaptopRetrospective]

It would be interesting to see if it would take one, unfortunately I don't have any lying around.

[@BYMasterMM]

been there, done that with my E14 G2 (amd) it does run in dual channel to an extent as well, according to monitoring software such as hwinfo, but its still recommended to have both sets of memory be the same capacity for full dual channel (which unfortunately isnt possible due to the soldered 8GB worth of memory chips, the L14 G1 (Zen 2 AMD) and G2 (Zen 3 AMD) is a different story though as it has the two sodimm slots)

[@juanignacioaschura9437]

@@BYMasterMM Yes, I knew about mismatching capacities hindering performance above a certain amount of memory usage, which is even more terrible in Zen-based systems. Which deepens my hatred towards soldered-on RAM, especially on a ThinkPad. But what mattered here is if someone could confirm that 32GB modules work, which is good, at least. Thanks for trying it out.

[@danielswearengin]

@@juanignacioaschura9437 I used one as a mobile audio machine for a while and bumped it up to 40GB of ram. For Heaven Benchmark, I saw about a 50% FPS increase using a 32GB CL20 3200mhz HyperX stick in the 2nd slot as opposed to running off the 8GB soldered single channel. I've been tempted to get a matching 8GB stick just to see if it's actually much of a difference versus the 32GB.

[@yes_man_lol]

@@danielswearengin did you do the test? if yes, please share the results

[@worminstool]

Nice machine. Too bad I'm allergic to thinkpads without top-removable keyboards.

[@LaptopRetrospective]

I hear what you're saying. I wonder how often the keyboard on a modern ThinkPad is replaced and whether or not that was a factor in changing how it is replaced? 🤔

[@vonhohenzollern]

lol

[@worminstool]

@@LaptopRetrospective Yeah, the quest for thinness has eliminated many other desirable features such as swap-able batteries and minimized the ports. No SD card reader, really? Except for the nub what distinguishes this as a thinkpad?

[@LaptopRetrospective]

I suppose that really depends on how you personally define a brand. To me a ThinkPad needs to be durable, preferably be black, ideally have a TrackPoint and be built to last at least the life of its original owner. I also understand that different people will connect with different things based on their experiences that to them, are inseparable.

[@vonhohenzollern]

@@LaptopRetrospective I rather think that most classic Thinkpads will last way longer than many of todays skinny *ähm* I meant slim revisions of the T-Lineup

[@andreikobylinsky]

Also I notice that E14 Gen2 have the same dimension as X1 Carbon (with 16^9 aspect ratio of course)

[@verpejas]

Arent nearly all thinkpads starting with T480 dual nvme? Nearly all 14" thinkpads since then have a wwan slot with x2 nvme speeds for a 2242 nvme drive, and a 2280 slot for another nvme drive. It is more versatile as you can also use a wwan modem instead of 2 ssd's

[@LaptopRetrospective]

Possibly, I haven't had the chance to look at a lot of "modern" devices in the last little while. It is nice to see it at this price point.

[@nkapila6]

I just bought myself a second hand t480 and it's in really good condition. Upgraded the external battery to 72Wh and none of these recent machines have such easy swapping/serviceability features.

[@verpejas]

@@nkapila6 T480 is excellent. I love mine especially with lowpower screen and glass touchpad. The performance is still ok

[@LaptopRetrospective]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@burhanbudak6041]

I'm still looking for Gen 1 as I want to use my old SATA SSD. Yeez it's dry in Europe for a GOOD price.

[@LaptopRetrospective]

Good luck on your quest!

[@burhanbudak6041]

@@LaptopRetrospective question, does the USB-C port support DP? Or is it only for the Intel version?

[@LaptopRetrospective]

Good question, it should say in the PSREF linked in the description.

[@burhanbudak6041]

@@LaptopRetrospective thx, but the DP version is kind of weird. Also there is no logo, maybe there is a license issue.

[@backloggamer3614]

Can the type C port output video?

[@LaptopRetrospective]

If I remember right it can. The PSREF should state it.

[@loydloydloyd]

yes

[@vonhohenzollern]

Still nice 2 know there is a Dual NVMe System implemented w/o the excuse of not having enogh space... come on Lenovo, you can do better

[@LaptopRetrospective]

Building things to a price point and size is a challenge, especially when you have so many machines within your portfolio. I think every large manufacturer struggles with this.