Thinkpad T14 Gen 3 First Impressions - X1 Carbon Killer?

First impressions on the relatively new Thinkpad T14 laptop for professional work. Mostly a AutoCAD and Revit workflow.
www.lenovo.com...

[@leo_craft1]

the new g5 has completely swappable ram, it's the first step to gain control over thinkpads

[@PearComputingDevices]

I have an HP probook x360 with a Ryzen 5850u and 32 gb of ram, and I got to say the thing is amazing for what it is. Of course it was almost twice as expensive as has removable ram and storage but I am almost envy (no pun intended) over the savings. Once you start going for options the price definitely climbs on bussiness notebooks. The good news is it should last for years to come. It ain't no cheap flimsy consumer device. Neat.

[@AbesReviews67]

HP also makes great laptops but I have a bias for matte black things. I can’t argue about what I got for the price I paid. Yeah business notebooks get pricey really fast. I’m not really going for maximum performance since my desktop is meant for the most demanding tasks.

[@PearComputingDevices]

@@AbesReviews67 I say good call all the way around. I am more of a Dell guy, I've bought Dell Latitude and precision series for years. But recently our institution switched to HP and I was impressed with the build quality (I can't believe I am saying that) we started off giving the call center Chrome OS devices, since these are more or less high end consumer devices with some Vpro bits, I didn't think these had been overly special. I mean we just offloaded Latitude 5400 chromebooks and these had been specific to the corporate world. But then we started getting Probooks to image and it sold itself. I got a really good deal too since we buy a lot of stuff from them. I saved like $750 or so. I got to really spec this thing out. Ironically all just to run Pop OS! on it. It's litterally my linux laptop leaving me with a spare Windows 11 license should I ever sell. Not a bad purchase. But if I was going Lenovo, I think I would stick to the t series too. I might not need 8 cores and 16 threads for what I do, but well built is key and the T series is definitely that. Plus I agree on the darker finish. I find myself still grabbing my 5400 for the road because of it. The aluminum is beautiful, but I would like to keep it that way. In many ways it reminds me of my Latitude 6540. That thing was beautiful, powerful and built like a tank, but I was scared of bumping it to find out. I was glad to go down to 14 inchers for road use.

[@AbesReviews67]

@@PearComputingDevices Dell is also really a solid option as I remember dad used them for work and they were absolute tanks. I’m glad you got a good deal on your HP though and Pop OS is a great Linux disto. My company was using 6 year old HP pro books until now. They are well built, but my new Thinkpad has more power and more efficient and lighter. 14” seems to be that sweet spot for productivity and portability.

[@PearComputingDevices]

@@AbesReviews67 I definitely agree with the sweet spot there. For years I got 15 inchers, it was a must have and then I got a 14 incher with a high resolution screen and never turned back. 15 amd definitely 17 inch laptops just seem too bulky.

[@AbesReviews67]

@@PearComputingDevices I totally agree. 15” is borderline and 17” is not portable at all. It looks comical on on an airplane tray haha.

[@fergus247]

Im glad it doesent look premium because its quite expensive and if i whip out an expensive laptop on the train thats just bad opsec

[@HeathBlythe]

hahaha precisely my thoughts! I do some work on my way home to increase time effieciency, and even with my 2016 asus rog gaming, I get suspicious about everyone trying to steal it.

[@soprano7088]

where do you live?

[@fergus247]

@@soprano7088 i live in Denmark and things are rapidly deteoriating

[@AbesReviews67]

I live in Georgia, USA and things are the same.

[@laurelsporter4569]

After using one for about 2 months, now, they really need to ditch Elan for the touchpad, and/or get some configuration software available. My touchpad buttons are already double-clicking (!!!), there is no real sensitivity adjustment (like you find in Alps or Synaptics software, not the single Windows slider), and there is no adjusting the acceleration. You know, the kinds of configuration you expect to be able to perform even on craptops. Not cool. Aside form the touchpad (I use a trackball most of the time), and the keyboard (it's better than HP and Dell low-throw keyboards, but still inferior to older Thinkpad ones, and current Dell Latitude 5000 series longer-throw units), it's amazing, at least in Windows. Adjust the performance/battery settings well, and off you go. For Linux, it would still be nice to have a bigger battery (than the 52Wh one). The 16:10 display, better keyboard than a Latitude 7000, and better notepad *layout* than Asus, Dell, or HP, are quite nice, along with the ability to swap ctrl and Fn, which many others lack. With light duty use, I get 6-10 hours from the battery. A few other things: - I got it with the 2240x1400 low-blue-light display, and it's among the best IPS panels I've ever used. I'd have preferred a taller 2560x1600, all else being equal, but the 4K option was just too expensive, especially for being inferior (glossy touch), and I had no 1920x1200 full-sRGB to choose (several original options were missing, by the time I ordered mine, and I thought there originally was a better 1920x1200 option). - If you use hibernate a lot, get an SSD with a high sequential read (it's cheaper than getting larger SSDs from Lenovo, too). Mine came with some Hynix, that could do about 3GBps sequential read. I swapped it out for a SN770 (nothing special, but >6GBps peak sequential read on 1TB and 2TB models), and it made a huge difference for coming back up from hibernate. - AMD used a third party extra chip for their physical USB 4 support, so I'm sure it was nixed for power concerns. It would have been nice, as somebody that keeps laptops for awhile (my other ThinkPad is a T430), but oh well. - Like the likely lack of USB 4, the soldered RAM is for power, to save an extra couple of Watts. I'd rather they just use ~80Wh batteries, instead, but they don't ask me. Anyway, despite the high MT/s, it is *LP*DDR5, and sports worse random performance than regular DDR5-4800. Not a knock on the unit, aside from the lack of upgrading, but a lot of people think it's actually going to be better performing, especially the IGP, with 6400MT/s.

[@Eduardo1007]

I've read that the soldering of ram also allows for shorter traces to connect ram and cpu, so it's easier to reach higher frequencies. Can anyone confirm this?

[@AbesReviews67]

I think it helps with shorter races and thermal management allowing for faster frequencies. Soldering RAM is mainly done to improve speed.

[@couchbuddha]

Hello Abe, great video and exactly the right info I needed! Got the exact same specs model today after watching this last night. Love it. You saved me a lot of time and money. Thanks a lot

[@AbesReviews67]

Thank you! I’m glad I helped make your buying decision easier. It’s a great little laptop for sure.

[@goryoandres9779]

So Lenovo ditched the user upgradeable RAM slot. hmmmm... Can't wait for the full review. I hope you could cover the battery life since most of the reviews I've seen of the 12th gen Intel powered Thinkpads the battery life really sucked. EDIT: Didn't notice this is your first video! Glad it popped in my recommendations!

[@AbesReviews67]

Thanks man! Yeah they ditched it for the AMD version probably because Ryzen chips favor fast RAM. I’m getting about 6-7 hours of light use so far, but I’ll try to be detailed in the full review.

[@goryoandres9779]

@@AbesReviews67 Thank you! Looking forward to your full review!

[@hemmatv1582]

Hey! This model is also manufactured with 32gb ram - at least in the region I'm in. Very nice computer, but unfortunately it will probably be too expensive to justify a purchase. The American computer market has significantly more attractive than in Europe (lower prices).

[@AbesReviews67]

Yes the maximum is 32gb. Prices fluctuate wildly on the US website as well. Mine was a “door buster” deal for back to school. I bought it for $980 but it was $1350 a week later and now it’s $2200. Wait for a major holiday in Europe to buy with a 50% discount or more.

[@twinjuke]

At 4:18 the input lag is gigantic. :( What a pity. Otherwise this was a great review. Thank you.

[@MnemonicCarrier]

These new Ryzen 6000 series APUs are a force to be reckoned with. Thanks for the review!

[@fergus247]

thats the only reason im interested in this laptop

[@drishalballaney6590]

imagine this with 7000 series APU with zen 4

[@fergus247]

@@drishalballaney6590 apparntly the 7000 series have come out? they are 4xxxu in a new packaging and they are not that good apparntly

[@AbesReviews67]

I don’t know how that’s possible. I’ll have to do more research on the 7000 series myself

[@drishalballaney6590]

@@fergus247 Uhh ig zen 4 would be much more better , and the igpu has a better boost as well, ig finally gaming at med-high on heavier games like spiderman remastered might now be possible on an igpu

[@VicharB]

Big bummer they missed out USBB4, so I'll wait for next-gen.

[@AbesReviews67]

Fair enough. It would have been nice, but not a deal breaker for me

[@rohitsharma_ke_fans_7456]

@@AbesReviews67 rB

[@eviljesus5411]

T14s has USB4 and it will work with an egpu

[@Menalix]

Wish they just made a X1 Carbon with AMD, I'm still running my 3rd gen X1 Carbon, It just doesn't want to die even though I have mistreated it so much.

[@AbesReviews67]

Would be nice lol. I think the T14 or T14s is a good alternative though. Both are very thin and light. Higher spec ones have great screens and bigger batteries.

[@zptro6316]

The Carbons series was a collaboration with Intel so it ain't gonna happen :(

[@AbesReviews67]

It all adds up now… the Z series is all AMD. Gonna see if I can get one for review

[@tommyd688]

I originally was looking t the Carbon G10 but ended up going for the Ryzen 7Pro T14 G3 instead. I just think the Ryzen in the T14 is the better option over the Intel P processors they went to in the Carbon. Wasn't much price difference in the configurations I was building but the Ryzen swayed me to order the T14 .

[@AbesReviews67]

The price and overall value is a huge deal! AMD has something good here

[@DoubleOhSilver]

Glad we finally have a Ryzen Carbon-like ThinkPad to replace Intel's terrible new chips. Intel is faking processing power increase by just throwing in more wattage and heat. Might just replace my recent X1 Extreme with this. The Extreme heats up bad and has terrible Linux support

[@DoubleOhSilver]

Nevermind, the display options are trash, stuck at 1920x1200 😒

[@AbesReviews67]

Haha there should be a 1600p option that has better colors and black levels

[@akin242002]

@@DoubleOhSilver 1920x1200 is bad? I feel like a boomer now with 1920x1080p.

[@AbesReviews67]

1080p is still really good honestly. The jump to 4k wasn’t earth shattering

[@datatran07]

The Lenovo, T14 series is the right size for mobile use with a max of 52Wh. I found my old T480 with a larger battery of ext. 72Wh / int. 24Wh can be over 12 hours of use.

[@robinarden8877]

I am now on my 3rd Thinkpad. My first was a T42, then a T460, and recently, I got myself a brand new T14. (Ryzen 5 Pro, 32 gig of ram and 512 of storage). All for the Princely sum of £520 !

[@AbesReviews67]

Teach me your ways haha. That’s a great price

[@robinarden8877]

It is the first generation T14, (which I prefer to the 2nd gen). I had the 2nd gen, but I returned it, due to lack of backlit keyboard. (ebay seller lied to me). In a way, I'm glad he did, or I would not have had a superior laptop for less money !

[@nerd2544]

@@robinarden8877 i think I one-upped you, found a deal for a T14 first gen (AMD version) for around US$535 converted from local currency (fixed rate with the US dollar so i chose that instead, pound's doing not too well these days it seems lol)

[@AbesReviews67]

Inflation is a killer these days. Hang in there gents

[@robinarden8877]

@@nerd2544 : Does yours have 32 gig of ram and 512 gb ssd ?

[@dmb3428]

been rocking a gen6 x1 carbon for 4+ years, solid computer and can take the abuse! I might pick up the T14 just for the amd chip

[@AbesReviews67]

The AMD chip is really nice! Glad ryzen is in more laptops

[@bogdanbackup]

I also have the X1 gen6 for 5 years and it's going strong. What would you consider as a replacement (also Thinkpad) with better screen, say 400-500 nits, matte display? A X1 or a T-series?

[@AbesReviews67]

If you want the best screen then get an upgraded T14s or a carbon

[@MposhaOfficial]

Unfortunate to see since the t480s thinkpads are really loosing the good stuff that made them standout, just hope the type A ports won't leave the chat too

[@AbesReviews67]

Yeah I agree. They’re caving to market pressures to be so thin and light. I think they’ll only get rid of USB type A when USB type C is fully adopted. Apple started the trend of getting rid of ports. Luckily I can still upgrade the SSD and swap out the battery on my own.

[@MposhaOfficial]

@@AbesReviews67 yeah that's a plus, but seems they are slowly virtual signaling at it, because the z series thinkpads only have usb c ports

[@AbesReviews67]

I think they made that line to appeal to Apple users. Most business professionals need USB A and HDMI. I would stop buying Thinkpads if they drop good ports.

[@wraith6170]

It's short, but good review. Love this note, but too expensive in my country. What do you think about t14 gen1? Or should i go for used t14 gen2?

[@AbesReviews67]

I think the T14 gen 1 and Gen 2 have similar build quality. I would try for gen 2 because early ryzen laptops were not the most power efficient. Both are good optikns

[@nerd2544]

for any reading this considering older models like the guy above, not sure on gen 2 but on my T14 gen 1 i get 6-8 hours on a full charge for light use (web browsing, youtube, messaging) in power saving mode. 5-10W range power usage using batterybar to monitor. that being said i keep charge capped at 80% to preserve capacity (already 45Wh/55Wh so 10% degrade :(

[@jwilliams5857]

Great videos man!

[@AbesReviews67]

Thank you!

[@leobroski94]

How would rate the keyboard and touchpad? I've been reading a lot that the flat keys, lower key travel and also the kinda cheap feeling and sounding touchpad on the T14 Gen 3 could be disappointing for people who've been using older x1 carbon or T-models..

[@AbesReviews67]

The keyboard travel distance was originally a downgrade, but I’ve adapted and it’s good to type on. I think the touchpad is actually nice. Very slick and accurate.

[@hanjarake_taro]

I still went for X1 carbon Gen9

[@AbesReviews67]

Still a good choice.

[@GiliceJani]

How is battery life? I got a deal on a gen 10 but holy the i7 1270p devours the battery when pushed hard, even not pushing it, the battery life is mediocre at best. Even with the not great battery I like it more than enough to not return it.

[@DoubleOhSilver]

@@GiliceJani Intel battery life is absolute garbage. No laptop has nearly enough cooling to even benefit from their theoretical high performance.

[@RohanRanjith]

I'm so glad this video exists, I can't find much info about this specific model of the T14s Gen 3. I also appreciate that you removed panel on the underside so I could look at upgrade options. I currently use an X1 Carbon gen 6 with the i7-8550u 16gb 1440p spec. Its been amazing over the past 2 years and it's gotten me through my engineering degree (with an egpu) and everything else. I was really looking forward to the Gen 10 X1 Carbon as the i7-8550u isn't keeping up that well anymore but, it seems like it's been ruined by the intel processors thermal throttling and inefficiency to the extent that my Gen 6 carbon has better battery life and sustained performance. Can you comment on the compatibility of thunderbolt on the usb4 port of this model? It's the perfect laptop for me in every other aspect. I've read on a forum somewhere that this model would support Thunderbolt 3 bandwidth but not 4? My use case would be with EGPUs.

[@AbesReviews67]

Yes sir, I made this video because I couldn’t find any info on it. The X1 carbon is a great laptop, but I wish they would make a an AMD Ryzen edition… I can confirm they limited the T14 to USB 3.2 so an eGPU isn’t possible. But the Thinkpad X13 somehow has USB 4.0 and can handle eGPUs. I would have gotten that if I absolutely needed an eGPU

[@justinkim4761]

I believe the T14s supports eGPUs with its Type-C

[@AbesReviews67]

Thank you Justin! I totally forgot the T14s lol. The T14 this generation is so thin and light that the T14s seems redundant.

[@justinkim4761]

@@AbesReviews67 Yeah I feel like the T14s is only worth if the very small decrease in size and weight matters, or if you need the thunderbolt capabilities.

[@RohanRanjith]

@@justinkim4761 that's perfect for me, thanks

[@tommyd688]

Have to think the shorter key travel is due to the thinning of the T14 . Everyone wants light and thin these days..

[@AbesReviews67]

It’s very true. I do like how thin and light it is haha

[@alper6025]

I have e15 gen 2. Out of the box it wasn't opening with one hand but recently when I opened the backplate of the laptop to clean, I loosened 2 nuts of the hinges just a bit and now it opens with one hand. Maybe you can try to do that on your t14.

[@AbesReviews67]

I’ll see if I can do the same. Thanks for the tip!

[@hemmatv1582]

I could see a non used slot for a card - the question is what card? A smaller tyo of SSD hard drive?

[@AbesReviews67]

It’s a smart card security slot which only large corporations and government use. Thanks for the question

[@FrancCastlee]

Hello - great review ! Few questions (would be grateful if you could make some time to answer): 1) Would this be good for programming (Python etc.), 2) Could it do video editing on Camtasia (need to edit some lectures in 1080p, none of that 2K or 4K stuff and 3) Would it run dota2 ? All my questions pertain to the Intel build rather than the AMD one. So please respond accordingly if you can. Thank you in advance.

[@AbesReviews67]

Yes it would be good for programming in you don’t mind the slightly shallower keyboard travel. 1080p video editing can be handled my most integrated graphics but it depends more on how good your CPU is. Get one with the intel integrated graphics especially. And it can probably run dota 2 on medium to high settings even on integrated graphics haha

[@FrancCastlee]

@@AbesReviews67 Thanks Abe and I am getting the Thinkpad T14 G3 Core i5 12th Gen 16GB 512GB SSD 14″ FHD Win 10 Pro Black with 39.3 whr battery. I hope its turns out to be a good investment/purchase.

[@AbesReviews67]

That looks like a good setup! Also note that Intel iris graphics is their best integrated graphics for gaming

[@eyedentity1849]

Thanks for the review, the Lenovo website currently has a Thinkpad T14 Gen 3 Intel I7 16GB RAM 512GB SSD 2k display laptop for $1,770 -- apparently there is a 2022 thinkpad sale, says normal value at $3,219.00. Is this a good price point you think for this laptop?

[@bashfullJ88]

No. Overpriced. It's 899 $ at micro center.

[@AbesReviews67]

I agree. You can probably find that realistically around $1200 on sale

[@AbesReviews67]

Lenovo artificially keeps their full retail prices high

[@oussama4629]

The W530 is the Goat

[@AbesReviews67]

Haha loved everything about it except how chunky it was.

[@oussama4629]

@@AbesReviews67 to be fair. it is a workstation that's far from being mobile but it aged well due to how upgradable and powerful it was

[@AbesReviews67]

I agree. I upgraded the RAM and HDD to SSD. It was a wonderful machine and it served me well for 7 years as my only computer.

[@MattTheriot]

Deciding between a T14 and T14s...

[@harukanaa]

It up to you want a LAN port or USB-4. For me i went with the T14.

[@Gh0stlylee]

which processor is better amd or intel ?

[@AbesReviews67]

It really depends on your use case. I chose AMD for the efficiency and integrated graphics. You might choose Intel for being well-rounded in applications. Both are great for gaming.

[@shakeebkazia]

Is it worth getting the amd gen 3 compared to Intel gen 3 with replacable ram

[@AbesReviews67]

I think it’s worth it with faster soldered RAM.

[@jimhunt1230]

Anyone know what/where settings are for "reducing red/green colors" in the AMD Radeon Software to improve the laptop display?

[@AbesReviews67]

Go to AMD software Adrenalin Edition. Go to “Display” tab near top left. Choose custom color and color temperature control. Tweak as desired.

[@mohammadadnantariq5000]

You can buy that 52.5Wh battery and replace the current one.

[@AbesReviews67]

I plan to in maybe a year. For now the battery life is ok, but not amazing.

[@hl666]

Got the same model, can you tell how you tuned the display via AMD software Adrenalin. Detailed instruction would be appreciated. Thanks

[@AbesReviews67]

Open Adrenaline, click settings in the top right. Click the display tab near the top left. Enable custom color on the right. I mainly changed the color temperature. Hope this helps!

[@hl666]

@@AbesReviews67 Thanks very much

[@GJ_Lee_1]

Is it possible 'fn + arrow key => home, end..' ?

[@AbesReviews67]

Yes I just tested and both Fn key shortcuts work. Thanks for watching!

[@GJ_Lee_1]

@@AbesReviews67 Thank you for it! 😍

[@AlexadreSalmi]

Mate, Im considering getting this to work with architectural renders, Vray or D5, out from SKP. Would you recommend it? Can I use that simultaneous render feature from Vray? I’m afraid of blowing out my savings.

[@AbesReviews67]

I think it could work, but it may not be as ideal as a laptop with a dedicated graphics card. I was able to do some video editing on it, but I haven’t tested with architecture renders. I’ll try to benchmark it and get back to you.

[@AlexadreSalmi]

@@AbesReviews67 nooo… if you can run that test, you’re a GOAT! I can’t thank you enough ! I got all my works stopped cause my MacBook Pro can’t handle Vray. Not even a heavy cad file. I appreciate your help a lot!!

[@AbesReviews67]

MacBooks aren’t well optimized for most architecture workflows. I ran the VRay benchmark on battery/high performance power setting and got a 3,536 v samples score. I compared that result to other machines and found that it wasn’t very good. 5,739 vsamples when plugged in. I think generally having more cpu cores helps with rendering so maybe you would be ok if you got the 8 core model.

[@AlexadreSalmi]

@@AbesReviews67 Your subscriber for ever! I really appreciate you taking the trouble. Thanks mate!

[@chunchi0814]

Have you ever considered thinkpad x13 ? It’s lighter than t14 😄

[@AbesReviews67]

The T14 is plenty light for me lol. It has a good balance between thickness, ports and build quality. I think Lenovo has too many options sometimes.

[@ujujuju8845]

wish they would make a higher nit, FHD screen... the jump between the FHD 300 nit screen and the 4K 500 nit screen, is too big, imo. just hurts battery life and costs too much money for more nits...

[@AbesReviews67]

Gen 2 had a 400 nit low power display option. They should bring that one back

[@ujujuju8845]

@@AbesReviews67 forsure. also, for some reason, lenovo japan gets a 500 nit FHD option on these laptops, but not lenovo USA. strange.

[@AbesReviews67]

Even though I have a 300 nit screen, the brightness is usually at 50% to 66% indoors lol. I only crank it up to the max to enjoy certain video content. It also works great in a darker airplane setting.

[@mo-jk7om]

Does this hold it's own vs the Carbon X1 10th Gen? Or would you recommend the X1 more highly? Thanks

[@AbesReviews67]

I think in terms of CPU and GPU performance it certainly does. The Carbon is exclusively Intel. The X1 is for those who need intel chips, and as thin and premium as possible.

[@RohanRanjith]

I'd say with how badly the the Gen 10 carbon has been affected by thermal throttling and poor battery life, this would be a vastly superior option. If only the Carbons weren't Intel exclusives.........

[@jasperl7499]

When you close the laptop and put to sleep, when you open it up, does it drain all the battery?

[@AbesReviews67]

No it doesn’t use up much power while asleep. I can cover that in the full review.

[@ioannisp5725]

u think we can change the battery to a bigger one?

[@AbesReviews67]

You can. I’m going to see if the 51.5 Wh battery shows up on Ebay and replace it.

[@ioannisp5725]

@@AbesReviews67 post an update about the results im curious, thanks!

[@AbesReviews67]

I’m organizing my thoughts and shooting this weekend. My goal is by the end of Sunday. Be on the lookout!

[@percy9228]

I'm going to start a Computer Science degree next month. My career path will be software Engineer. I've only ever had experience with Windows and scared to try Mac. I'm considering what windows laptops would be good, also I heard Windows is better for my course. I'm considering this but have one question, how much do the fans kick in for general web browsing and office work and how much do they kick in when it's being pushed? I can't stand any noise unfortunately. The Mac's are gold standard in this department and if a windows machine can't give me that I will have to go with Mac. I would love to hear what you have to say, is that laptop good for my course and is fan noise ZERO?

[@AbesReviews67]

That’s a good career to start these days. The main reason I would avoid a MacBook is the awful keyboards. This Thinkpad keyboard is far superior for typing/coding. The surface laptop is also pretty solid. Under light web browsing, KZbin and light coding with “Best power efficiency” mode, you will not hear the fan at all or feel any heat coming out. Under full load like a CPU benchmark with “high performance” mode, I felt a a good amount of heat being pushed out. The fan was still really quiet under full load. The MacBook Pro may be a bit quieter under full load, but probably not by much. I think for coding you you won’t be pushing the CPU or GPU to the limits. Thanks for the question.

[@percy9228]

@@AbesReviews67 wow, what an absolutely amazing answer! thanks for answering so fast! I am so curious now, the laptop will be released to the UK after the backtoschool deals :( I'll miss out on their offers, dammit. Just for clarification, best power means fans don't kick in at all or they kick in but are really quiet, I need complete silence when I'm coding but don't mind so much when I need to compile it or something. I'm also surprised you said Macs have bad keyboard, I heard the opposite? and it seems every software engineer on KZbin is using Mac's and recommending them! and Macs are getting faster and better than any windows machine so much so that the lead will be huge and I fear most developers will use Macs in the future so I might as well learn how to use Mac's now so I won't have to adapt :( dammit, it's a lot of money and commitment to spend ~>$1000 on a laptop for a student planning to start his career :(

[@AbesReviews67]

I was just in London last November and I loved it there! Definitely try to get a good deal on Thinkpads. For light use the fan is either not running at all or at really low speeds. You will never hear it while coding. It might kick in a bit for compiling. I really like the new MacBooks but they don’t natively run certain engineering apps like Revit which I use daily. Coding is very platform neutral and even Linux is an option. I use a mechanical keyboard for my job and I’m spoiled by it. My girlfriend recently tried a MacBook Air keyboard at the Apple store and hated it too. It has very low key travel and not much feedback. I think tech reviewers on KZbin are giving Apple a pass on the keyboard since it was never that good. But definitely keep doing research and I hope you find what you’re looking for :)

[@percy9228]

@@AbesReviews67 can't thankyou enough for such detailed responses! this is the exact information I'm looking for, I think I'll wait till I start my course and get ask for more guidance from other students and lecturers. honestly thanks man, subscribed!

[@AbesReviews67]

@@percy9228 Thanks brother! Glad I could help.

[@ems277]

Do you have any laptop recommendation for engineering students under €800

[@AbesReviews67]

The Thinkpad E14 or E15 should be good for an engineering student. Very reasonable prices

[@ems277]

@@AbesReviews67 do you think 8GB ram would be enough with a i5 processor for MATLAB, Solidworks…

[@AbesReviews67]

I would think 8gb is barely enough for solid works. I think 16gb is a healthy amount for design work and should be for the next 4 years. Matlab doesn’t need anything special to run. I’ve seen many engineering students get by with very basic laptops.

[@ems277]

@@AbesReviews67 okay and is AMD ryzen 5 better or intel core i5/7 ( sorry for so many questions im lost 😅)

[@AbesReviews67]

I’m happy to help! Both processors are good. I like how power efficient AMD is and the integrated graphics are better than Intel. You can work flawlessly in solid works with either integrated graphics.

[@akin242002]

By the specs alone, it seems like a great laptop. Ryzen 5 CPU, 16GB RAM DDR5, 512GB SSD, and 2.65lbs. The Ryzen CPUs don't heat up as badly as Intel CPUs, and 1080p cameras are always nice to have for video work conferences/interviews.

[@AbesReviews67]

I think it is a great laptop. The only time this laptop gets really hot is when large windows updates are happening and the CPU is maxed out. Otherwise I hardly ever push the limits of this chip. The 1080p camera has good detail, but I think Lenovo should calibrate the exposure and color saturation a bit better. I had to manually adjust things to my liking.

[@PsycosisIncarnated]

Wish it was as cheap as the m1 air and much more available in europe :D

[@AbesReviews67]

Yes I agree. But Apple isn’t always known for the best pricing lol. European pricing on Windows laptops seems not very competitive

[@auronkardek]

You also want a second hand thinkpad. They are mostly unused because employee take them to sell them right after. They also come often under warranty and by warranty I say on-site 1 buisness day replacements, including motherboard

[@AbesReviews67]

Good to know!

[@Simon-kz4dv]

Is it good enough to do some basic video editing on this laptop?

[@AbesReviews67]

Which one? The Thinkpad can do it, but not as smoothly but smooth enough. But it can do it just fine even rendering videos. The MacBook is smoother and exports video faster.

[@Simon-kz4dv]

@@AbesReviews67 Thank you for the information. I wonder is it necessary to max out the spec (2TB, 32gb, 2.2k) for T14 gen3 amd. I am trying to use it for another 5 years. I wonder if 32 soldered RAM big enough for the future use.

[@AbesReviews67]

Depends what you plan to do with it. I plan to have some CAD and Revit documents open but not 30 tabs on chrome so I think 16gb is enough long term (3-4 years). The SSD is replaceable so I would try to replace that myself to 2tb in a year or two. I think the 2.2k display will age much better in 5 years though. Thanks for the questions!

[@tagheuer02]

These are $650 now!

[@AbesReviews67]

That's good value!

[@Tobyodd]

I managed to snag a t14s gen 3 with a ryzen 7 for $370 usd

[@wlcrutch]

Do you ever run a linux distro on this thing?

[@AbesReviews67]

I haven’t tried that. I usually run Linux on a separate hard drive. I can test it out

[@DoubleOhSilver]

I do and have just about no issues. Xubuntu 22.04

[@AbesReviews67]

I’m running Pop Os now and it runs great. No wake from sleep issue lol

[@upgradestore8785]

I’m a Linux Mint user. Will definitely rid Windows.

[@duyhuyhoangdo4183]

i thought it has a ram slot?

[@AbesReviews67]

The AMD version has only soldered fast 6400 MHz RAM. The Intel version has slower 3200 MHz RAM but does have one slot for upgrades.

[@Miguel-ib4rd]

​@@AbesReviews67What would be your choice?

[@AbesReviews67]

I chose team AMD. I liked the power efficiency of the Ryzen chips.

[@Miguel-ib4rd]

@@AbesReviews67 But having both memories soldered isn't it problematic?

[@sepsallao5911]

you deleted my comment, why man

[@AbesReviews67]

I don’t delete comments. The one about the USB C power delivery? That’s still there

[@Abraham_Tsfaye]

Lenovo Thinkpads are the best machines in the world.

[@AbesReviews67]

I think so too. That’s why I keep coming back to them.