Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 4 (AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 7840U, 32GB, 780M) Review

A review of the Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 4 (AMD) business laptop. (AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 7840U, 32GB DDR5 6400MHz, 512GB PCIe Gen4 NMVe M.2 2280 SSD, AMD Radeon 780M GPU)
The Lenovo ThinkPad T-series of business laptops have been around for many years, and for good reasons. Dependable, great keyboards and popular work horses. The T14s is one of the lightest and thinnest in the range. Now with AMD Ryzen 7000 series and 13th Gen processors. Does it do enough to stay on top?
00:00 Introduction
00:27 Design
01:50 Display
02:52 Connectivity
03:38 Keyboard & Touchpad
04:24 Audio & Webcam
04:45 Audio Samples
05:49 Performance
06:42 Benchmarking Results
08:51 Graphics
09:28 Gaming
09:45 Gaming Samples
10:55 Battery Life
11:24 Security
11:59 The Good, The Bad and the Really Bad
12:01 Blistering CPU
12:15 Useful iGPU
12:24 Decent Inputs
12:31 Plentiful Ports
12:43 No 5G
12:56 Soldered Memory
13:12 Competition
13:51 Summary
14:47 Outro
Gaming benchmarking results
35fps Microsoft Flight Simulator
52.2fps Fry Cry 6
27.9fps GTA V
53.9fps Apex Legends
36.9fps CyberPunk 2077
71fps Red Dead Redemption 2 1080P low
65fps Counter Strike 2
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LinkedIn: Dove Computer Solutions Ltd
We own no rights or claim to the TV shows and games shown in this review.
UK SKU’s: 21F8000GUK Review model
(AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 7840U, 32GB-6400MHz, 512GB SSD, 14 inch 1920x1200 45% NTSC 300 nits IPS, AMD Radeon 780M)
Alternative Models
Part Number: 21F8CTO1WWGB1 (£1090 inc. VAT)
AMD Ryzen™ 5 PRO 7540U Processor (3.20 GHz up to 4.90 GHz), 16GB-6400MHz, 256GB SSD, 14" WUXGA (1920 x 1200), IPS, Anti-Glare, Non-Touch, 45%NTSC, 300 nits, 60Hz, Narrow Bezel
Part Number: 21F8CTO1WWGB2 (1290 inc. VAT)
AMD Ryzen™ 7 PRO 7840U Processor (3.30 GHz up to 5.10 GHz), 16GB-6400MHz, 512GB SSD, 14" WUXGA (1920 x 1200), IPS, Anti-Glare, Touch, 45%NTSC, 300 nits, 60Hz
Competition::
HP EliteBook 845 G10
Dell Latitude 7440
MSI Prestige 14 Evo B13M
Apple MacBook Pro 14 M3
HP Dragonfly G4
Acer TravelMate P4 14
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11
ASUS ExpertBook B5 B5602
#Lenovo #T14sGen4 #ThinkPad

[@meal_team_six]

I really enjoy your channel. The content and presentation style are lightyears above other tech channels. You do great work! Thank you for making substantive content of value that actual real world tech professionals find insightful!

[@Dovecomputers]

I appreciate that! That was my aim for this channel, there's room for 'entertaining' tech channels but I wanted to publish unbiased & detailed 'buyer's guide' type reviews instead. 👍

[@MtFoxt]

I'll get it in 5 years when companies offload them.

[@EmperorMingg]

Hahaha I laughed out loud at this

[@RyanPSmith]

They already have these on Amazon renewed for under $700

[@55rz55]

Just got me a t14 gen 1 and love it to bits lol

[@dukirps]

I’m still rocking my refurbished t 430s 😂 and waiting for a 1920 x 1200 display to drop to $300.

[@iceweb-]

very good review! thanks. I like your style, speed and script.

[@DenisDenis-uh7lc]

Indeed, thinkpad is the king in business class

[@ParkDongYoung1122]

I purchased t14s same model with cto options! Great to see hand on review🎉

[@Dovecomputers]

Thanks. Enjoy your new T14s! 👍

[@chrispotterfan]

how do you like the laptop so far?

[@ParkDongYoung1122]

@@chrispotterfan well, overall experience is great! Fast speed and solid hardware as I expected. Only problem is that fingerprints make so many marks on its black skin.

[@emanueloliveira9054]

Through review. Very nice work! Thanks for that.

[@alanpittman5607]

Great video 👍

[@yayo685]

Great video! You have a new subscriber out of me. On the note of the T14s I really do hate that manufactuers are getting rid of the SODIMM slots on laptops for RAM. In the past they use to let users upgrade the CPU as well and that is gone. I'll keep looking for business class laptops with the most upgradable slots as time goes on.

[@LawlessNate]

You might consider the Framework 13. You can replace any component in the laptop yourself.

[@yayo685]

@@LawlessNate Thanks for the recommendation, I've seen those and their larger gaming models too. The concept is tempting but for me right now they're way too much. For non-gaming laptops I tend to try to target the price to be under $400 USD since its going to be a basic office machine for me. I've got a high end desktop that I do all the heavy lfiting stuff on. For this round I ended up with an Elitebook 830 G7 for much under that price I got it for and with a screen, battery, ssd I was just a touch under that $400 for a machine with 32 GB of RAM, 1 TB SSD and a 400-nit screen. This will most likely last me many years before I need to buy anything next.

[@YSoreil]

Very impressive how well the 7840U models are doing. The Intel models sure are having a hard way justifying their existance at the moment. Looks like a great year for well balanced business laptops.

[@Dovecomputers]

The 7840U is a very capable processor compared to the Intel U-series competition. Plus the 780M iGPU blows away the Intel IRIS Xe. Testing the hybrid 7840S as we speak to see how good this CPU is over the 7840U.

[@akin242002]

Intel is for unhinged performance power!!! In particular, gaming industry or CAD. AMD is for battery preservation office laptops. MacBooks are for both in limited industries and high premium prices.

[@enterus3288]

​@@akin242002It isn't correct to attribute that features to some specific manufacturer. It depends on specific model in specific year because they have different models for different purposes. At this time generally AMD is ahead, maybe it'll be changed.

[@KhizarKhan2001]

@@akin242002 tbh ryzen 7800x3d destroys intel when it comes to gaming but idk about cad

[@akin242002]

@@KhizarKhan2001 Not really when compared to Intel Core i9 14900 CPU raw performance power.

[@gritgrit8195]

great review!

[@adequatequality]

How did you find the heat/fan noise levels for regular office tasks and web browsing?

[@tommysheal]

thank you for thereview!

[@ItsMatich]

Awesome review! Very tempted to purchase.

[@sebastiantorres9283]

Great video! Would you recommend this laptop for an engineering student? Eventually I will need to use certain engineering programs that won’t run on my MacBook Air, and this laptop seems very capable of handling such programs like AutoCAD or SolidWorks

[@VicharB]

I just upgraded from EliteBook 5850U to EliteBook 835 G10 7840U with 32GB and Samsung 990 Pro 2TB, came out about USD1,650 with 5G/LTE, and it is nice, everything working out of box on Linux (Opensuse Tumbleweed); just wish it had 60-70Wh battery. I was looking into X13 or T14s as comeback to ThinkPad but went with EliteBook - availability, price and more silent operation.

[@notliz3016]

If it is possible would you do a review for the thinkpad p16s? It would be great, thanks a lot for doing amazing reviews!

[@nathangamble125]

"32GB DDR5 6400MHz" It's LPDDR5X, not DDR5. Despite the similar names, LPDDR and DDR are different types of RAM.

[@ramonzapata8572]

It's looks impressive, my only question is can you still game at 25watts similar to how the rog ally does on battery power?

[@joaquinmathay5668]

Love the pixel 7 pro cameo 🔥

[@Dovecomputers]

🤣🤣 Trying to find a way to justify upgrading to the Pixel 8 Pro...or maybe the OnePlus Open. 😉

[@Adamecki89]

Is the screen brightness at 300 nits sufficient and do you feel any prestige from having such equipment?

[@hydn79]

Nice review! The cooling fan is louder than Gen 3, thermals run slightly hotter, and gen 4 has slightly less battery life. I would have liked more direct comparison with the gen 3 it's tasked with replacing.

[@davidarchangels6500]

So in reality, which do u really recommend

[@davidarchangels6500]

Which would u choose... P14s or T14s ?

[@ZeroCoolOO7]

How does this compare to the Z13? The X13 seems to have everything (including $400 cheaper) but the better screen and the haptic touchpad.

[@covisko]

What would you pick between the P14s and the t14s?

[@MrCommodoreAtari]

Thank you very much for this comprehensive test. I'm glad I waited for the AMD model. It is wonderfully quiet and a real endurance runner in everyday use. Compared to its predecessor, the Zenbook AMD, the battery lasts forever. I no longer have to carry a charger with me ;)

[@Dovecomputers]

AMD have really hit a bullseye with the 7840U. Best of all features.

[@AnhLe-rc9vg]

Thanks for a great review! May I ask if the SSD in this model is upgradable? It seems to me that the SSD is standard PCLe 4.0 NVME M.2 but I want to make sure. Thanks!

[@Dovecomputers]

Thanks. Yes, the M.2 SSD is upgradable. One M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 x4 slot up to 2TB. 👍

[@PhongNguyen-po2pl]

Thank you for your excellent review. I'm interested in your thoughts on the thermal performance of the AMD 7840U compared to the Intel i7-1365U (Which I am currently using on my thinkpad x1 Gen 11). Could you share your observations on whether the AMD processor tends to run hotter or cooler than the Intel one during normal usage and when plugged into AC power?

[@Dovecomputers]

Thanks. The AMD Ryzen 7 7840U is extremely efficient. For example, running the same multi-core performance at 12 watts compared to 24 watts for the i7-1365U. Therefore heat is generally lower than the Intel CPU with max. performance on mains power. When idle, there's a greater disparity in temperatures, again the AMD wins out.

[@PhongNguyen-po2pl]

Thank you!@@Dovecomputers

[@arnobchowdhury9641]

Waiting to get my hands on any laptop that comes with Ryzen 7 7840U. The GPU performance is so good. But, at the moment it is so expensive in my country.

[@alexispariona7436]

got mine by smuggling at a nice price without box.

[@tracywang1]

Hi, Thanks for reviewing this! very helpful I have a P1 gen 5 thinkpad, and I really like it's not "metal" feeling Especial when I'm typing, the region where I rest my palms on is kind of a skin frienly material I'm wonder is the magnesium alloy in T14 feels more metal? Thanks!

[@Dovecomputers]

Thanks. Yes, its skin friendly. It's the same 'rubber' type coating. The P1 Gen 6 has the same.

[@tracywang1]

Sounds great, thank you!

[@markcd46]

Great VDO. How is its built quality compared to the macbook pro? I have been trying to avoid windows laptops in general as I have had some bad experiences with their components and short lifespan. I’m currently using macbook pro 13 mid2014 which is still working flawlessly but will need to change to a windows due to work.

[@Dovecomputers]

Thanks. As I mention, the only drawback is the touchpad quality. Have notice this across their ThinkPad range in the past 12 months. Otherwise solid, we've deployed hundreds of these out over the years, they last! ThinkPads/HP ZBooks/ up there with build quality. Dell second.

[@sherwin_ee]

Great review! I like the colour of this new T14s. Will you be doing a review on the T16 Gen 2 AMD? I'm thinking of getting that for the better battery and bigger screen but am worried about the build quality compared to the T14s.

[@Dovecomputers]

Thanks. Would love to review the T16 G2, depends on my work/personal commitments. Plus I have five other laptops to review first. 😁 Waiting for the Yoga Pro 7 Gen 8 and ThinkPad P1 Gen 6 to turn up this week. Such a hard life! 🤣

[@sherwin_ee]

@@Dovecomputers Oh nice i’m also interested in the Yoga Pro gen 8! But it’s a pity i can’t get it with 32GB Ram and 400 nit 120hz screen combo, it’s either one or the other :( As for the T16, how would you compare the build quality between this T14s Gen 4 and the T16 Gen 1 which you reviewed previously?

[@Dovecomputers]

@@sherwin_ee I purchased the Yoga Slim 7 for review, Awesome laptop. The Yoga Pro 7 Gen 8 is not far behind. Purchased the 7835HS version with RTX3050, only had 16GB soldered if you want the dedicated GPU. 🙁 T14s Gen 4 is solid, the T16 Gen 1 was the same. T16 Gen 2 is very solid too but has the same touchpad quality issue as the rest of the range (Sort it out Lenovo!)

[@rasmustvenstrup]

Thanks! Great review 👌 Would love to see a comparision between T14s Gen 4 and X13 Gen 4. Configuration seems much the same, but would love to hear your thoughts on size difference, build quality, heating, fan noise, speakers.

[@Dovecomputers]

Thanks. Not really reviewed the X series range as there's not much in them (compared to the T series) to justify a review. The X13 is too similar to the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11. This in turn is a lighter version of the T14s. IMO, the T14s hits the sweet spot, unless you are happy to pay more for the X1 Carbon.

[@mzamroni]

i went for the t14s as i worry that x13 webcam hump might be prone to impact damage

[@Ne0_Vect0r]

what about fan noise?

[@ruiyangao9255]

Hey what model is that legion tower? It looks so compact and interesting ive never seen something like that before.

[@Dovecomputers]

It's an eGPU enclosure. Add a graphics card in and connect via Thunderbolt 3 to give you a dedicated GPU.

[@andreiiancu7427]

Hi, i have configured one similar but with the FHD display 500nits and ePrivacy filter. Do you think will eat much more battery than 400nits one? I dont use so often the touch but it can be usefull sometimes

[@Dovecomputers]

It will drain a little bit more than the 400 nits low power one. OLED and 4K panels eat into battery life the most.

[@samik3184]

Hey I'm considering getting the eprivacy filter option because i want touch screen, but i heard the eprivacy filter really affects the display, how are you liking it?

[@Dovecomputers]

@@samik3184 Just published my review on the X1 Carbon Gen 12 with PrivacyGuard. It's OK, don't get it unless you need the PrivacyGuard option. There is another touch model with IPS, 45% NTSC. Fine for Office/College work.

[@emanuelparedes]

Hello! Great review. With a budget of ~1500€, would you choose this Thinkpad or another alternative? Thank you!

[@Dovecomputers]

Depends what you will be using it for? General/business usage, the T14s G4 is perfect for this.

[@SanDiego278]

If you had to pick between a T14 gen 3 6850u 32gb 2TB ($670) or a T14 gen 4 7840u 16gb 512gb ($759), which one would you choose? I’m leaning towards the 6850u with the additional memory since this will be more of a work laptop than for gaming.

[@Dovecomputers]

For the money, the Gen3 would be a good choice. However the 7840U has the better 780M iGPU for occassional gaming.

[@tutotekfone]

Hi ! Very cool video i'm consider buy the 16" version but the bad review i see on ThinkPad on reddti / forum scare me about the quality of the computer. Wake up issues... And long time durability

[@akin242002]

With this laptop you can do regular office work, programming, and routinely produce 1080p videos due to the 780M iGPU. The Geekbench multi-core score is over 9,000! That competes with the M1 MacBook Pro yet has the full access to Windows 11 Pro or Linux Ubuntu/Mint.

[@visua1hue-k6s]

Waiting for your 5th gen review!

[@Dovecomputers]

Waiting for Lenovo to loan me one! Looking at another month before it's available (AMD model).

[@wingman22]

Awesome review. Thinking of getting one. Wondering if configured with a 5G wwan and 4TB samsung 990 pro ssd would have an impact on battery life. Should I go with a different brand and model for the ssd to draw less power?

[@Dovecomputers]

Shouldn't be a big impact on the battery life. Make sure you get the 400 nits Low Power IPS display panel. This gives you the optimal battery life combination with the 7840U.

[@SSS-sz8mg]

I'm waiting for next year, I want to jump to zen 5 APU's with 40CU's on iGPU side.🤞

[@pranavannadarajah3522]

ThinkPad P14s Gen 4 or ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 i7-1365U vPro 32 GB LPDDR5-6000MH, I need to run VM as well. Which one should I choose? Please reply to me ASAP. I am planning to buy one of the laptops this Black Friday.

[@Dovecomputers]

AMD Ryzen 7 7840U is the better CPU/iGPU option.

[@pranavannadarajah3522]

Thank you @@Dovecomputers

[@James_m7]

How does the AMD vs INTEL compared for image and video editing?

[@Dovecomputers]

Image editing AMD has the edge, video encoding, Intel has the advantage. Purely from an integrated graphics point of view.

[@James_m7]

Thanks! @@Dovecomputers

[@RyeRyeL]

This laptop is very tempting. I was wondering what the OLED panel was like, but its hard to find any reviews on this

[@Dovecomputers]

Its a great OLED panel. 90Hz, 400 nits, 2.8K resolution, 100% DCI-P3 colour accuracy. The new Gen 5 model is virtually the same OLED panel but has 120Hz refresh rate.

[@mzamroni]

​@@Dovecomputersis the oled panel 10 bit? or 8 bit like some Asus oled laptops? it can be seen in windows display properties

[@user-vg6wf6xu2z]

I bought two thinkpads, t14s aluminum and carbon fiber, whichone is better and one with aluminum body is 100 dollars cheaper which one should I keep and which to return. Can someone help me ?

[@popokatapetl6995]

Aluminium does not have 100% rgb, to bad

[@DenisDenis-uh7lc]

I am with Lenovo since IBM, I just want gray colour for chamge 😊

[@popokatapetl6995]

Would like to have one as well

[@hydn79]

@@popokatapetl6995 My gen 3 is a lighter shade of black that does look grayish. Are you familiar?

[@popokatapetl6995]

​@hydn79 yes but light grey is amazing, but they don't have it with 100% rgb - to bad

[@mzamroni]

grey model is heavier as it uses aluminium instead of magnesium

[@kristhianznr]

Hi!, between these two, which would you choose? taking into account that the only thing I'm worried about is the temps and that they might suffer thermal throttling... My use would be: Light code, casual gaming, lots of web browsing, dual bool with Ubuntu/Windows. - P14s G5 ( R7 PRO 8840 HSM 32 GB RAM, 100% sRGB & 400 Nits ) for around 1200 USD - T14s G4 (R7 PRO 7840U, 32GB RAM, 100% sRGB & 400 Nits) for around 1240 USD. Nice review Btw!.

[@Dovecomputers]

Thanks. T14s as this will have the power efficient 7840U (cool running) but plenty of power for your needs. The 8840HS runs hotter and faster but the performance gain over the 7840U is minimal. Funny enough I've been recently circulating the P14s G5, Lenovo have the same spec (2.5K WQXGA) for £792 plus taxes ($1000) I like my bargains!

[@kristhianznr]

@@Dovecomputers Hey, thanks for responding so quickly to my concern, I really appreciate it... I think the T14s is the winner ^^. I hope it drops in price further or Lenovo US comes up with a tempting offer in the next few months, I hope to have my wallet ready.

[@Dovecomputers]

@@kristhianznr Of course there is the new ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 (14" Snapdragon)......Only question mark will be Ubuntu on ARM is still flaky.

[@kristhianznr]

​@@Dovecomputers Yeah, Snapdragon ARMs look good, but I would wait a couple more generations for them to finish maturing as they should... Especially with Ubuntu.

[@jjaze9831]

Is this a good laptop for coding and light gaming?

[@Dovecomputers]

💯👍

[@alexeiz]

Good review. I have the P14s Gen 4 AMD with the same CPU. It has much better performance than the T14s. In P14s the CPU power upper limit is 40W vs 30W in T14s, Geekbench 6 benchmark gives 2500 in single core vs 2100, max memory is 64GB vs 32GB, and max GPU memory is 4GB dedicated and 32GB shared vs 1GB dedicated and 16GB shared. P14s is just slightly heavier at 3lb vs 2.6lb.

[@user-sn7xi2uz4t]

私はp14s gen4 amdを買おうと思っています。私はryzen5で十分です。あなたがp14sを使用していて不満を感じたことはありますか?

[@alexeiz]

@@user-sn7xi2uz4t The battery life is not great with the OLED screen (just OK). It's fine with me, but you might want to choose a low power 400nit display instead of the OLED.

[@Habby-st2cz]

The materials are much worse though?

[@totoplopp6630]

cant wait to buy this for 400usd in 3 yrs

[@nathanlamaire]

I am pretty darn sure that this machine can handle GTA V even at 1080p because my laptop with Ryzen 2nd generation can handle it just fine at 720p.

[@egfanboy7981]

Wait what? 60Hz and 45% ntsc?

[@Dovecomputers]

Yep, Lenovo gave me the base display option to review. In fairness not bad for general work usage. Would have preferred the 400 nits, 100% sRGB, low power panel instead.

[@Act1veSp1n]

Its a nice one, but by soldering on everything Lenovo losing customers. 32GB is a bare minimum, I'm running 64GB for dev work and its barely enough. Their ThinkBook series is much a better line - no soldered on RAM and Aluminum case. Its nice to see USB4 finally on AMD laptops.

[@adamwalter2573]

Those arrow keys are...too slicky and packed too close together.

[@MnemonicCarrier]

Would be nice with a 120Hz panel.

[@Dovecomputers]

So true. Only 2.8K OLED 90Hz panel option or 60Hz ones.

[@bmc868]

Thinkpad are great but to expensive.....

[@Dovecomputers]

Arguably worth it if you want the best. You need to wait for one of the many weekly offers. Lenovo pricing fluctuates frequently.

[@ivanocj]

For software developers, the L14 is the only Thinkpad model to be considered nowadays because of the NO SOLDERED TWO DIMMS SLOTS. You can easily expand to 64GB ram.

[@Dovecomputers]

True, only downside is Lenovo pricing the L14 sky high. My money would be on the better value, ThinkBook 14 G6 with dual SO-DIMM slots too.

[@craneology]

Running EXCEL isn't a performance test in the slightest.

[@BonusCrook]

2:46 While your video is good as someone who knows a lot about laptops and displays this brief note is a genuinely harmful recommendation, The OLED Panel is in a completely different league and should always be chosen over a dated LCD Panel as long as it is priced closely. You are telling your viewers to take a MUCH worse display. Downgrading the experience of using it to that of a budget laptop.

[@Dovecomputers]

People who buy the T14s will be predominantly business users. The 100% sRGB 400 nits Low Power panel is a good balance between image quality and battery life. If you need OLED for creator work, go for it, if your budget can't stretch to the 100% sRGB panel, stick to the 45% NTSC which is fine for 90% of general users.

[@BonusCrook]

No, While the users of that laptop would be mostly business users the statement about it being a good balance between battery and image quality is just completely insane. An OLED panel wouldn't impact battery life much while making a huge difference for image quality. Which isn't just for creative work. The higher resolution, refresh rate, brightness, and contrast is very beneficial for just about everything a display does. It's wild how you would even defend that claim instead of editing that bit out through KZbins software or putting in a quick correction. Its a huge upside for very little downside. Also you said "go for it (the worse panel) if you can" not if you have to.

[@manuelpascual6303]

Let me guess, you work at home?

[@BonusCrook]

​​@@manuelpascual6303 no? Why would that even matter. I was just checking out the review out of curiosity when Dovecomputers made the shocking recommendation to equip this very expensive laptop with a sh*tty 1080p lcd instead of an oled. It's just a completely awful and uninformed recommendation. The part that is annoying me is that instead of just admitting he gave out had advice in his video and cutting it out in youtube studio he doubled down by claiming that the awful display he recommended configuring uses slightly less power.

[@larsfroelich]

@@BonusCrook what makes you so sure the OLED panel doesn't have significantly higher power draw? 10h of low-usage battery life are great but when switching to the 2.8k OLED, that might easily drop down to 4h I would assume