Lenovo ThinkPad Broadwell Updates for T550, T450s, E550, E450, and L450
by Jarred Walton on January 4, 2015 11:10 PM EST
Wrapping up the ThinkPad updates for now, Lenovo also announced the T550, T450s, E550, E450, and L450 today. As with the X1 Carbon and X250, these replace the previous generation Haswell products and upgrade them to Broadwell processors. Let’s quickly go through the various laptops.
The T550 is a 15.6” Ultrabook with an optional 3K (2880x1620) touchscreen display. Similar to the X250, it supports Lenovo’s Power Bridge Technology that features a smaller integrated battery with a user swappable external battery. Combined with the 6-cell 72Wh battery, the T550 is rated at up to 17 hours of battery life. It weighs 2.26kg (4.98 lbs) and measures 380mm x 252mm x 22.4mm (14.96” x 9.92” x 0.88”). It supports up to Core i7 Broadwell-U processors, with up to 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD.
The T450s is a slightly smaller 14.0” version of the T550 Ultrabook, with up to a 1080p display. Power Bridge Technology is again present, allowing for up to 17 hours of mobility. The T450s measures 331mm x 226mm x 21mm (13.03” x 8.90” x 0.83”) and weighs 1.58kg (3.48 lbs). It comes with 4GB RAM soldered onto the motherboard with one SO-DIMM slot allowing up to 12GB RAM total. Up to a 512GB SSD and a Core i7 Broadwell-U processor are supported.
The E550/E450 are one step down the ThinkPad hierarchy, and as such they lose support for Power Bridge. They are also not Ultrabooks, but they do have optional discrete GPUs – R7 M260 2GB for the E450 and R7 M265 2GB for the E550. Both support up to the Core i7-5500U, with two SO-DIMM slots allowing up to 16GB RAM. Storage from the factory consists of pure HDD solutions, unfortunately. The E550 is available with either a 15.6” 1366x768 or 1080p LCD, while the E450 comes with a 14” 1366x768 or 1080p LCD.
Both are rated at up to nine hours of battery life, with the E450 featuring an integrated (non-swappable) battery while the E550 has a user swappable battery. The E550 weighs 2.35kg (5.2 lbs) and measures 377mm x 256mm x 27mm (14.82” x 10.08” x 1.06”) while the E450 weighs 1.81kg (4.0 lbs) and measures 339mm x 239mm x 24mm (13.35” x 9.41” x 0.94”). But have 720p webcams, but the E550 has an optional 3D camera.
Finally, the L450 is the entry-level 14” ThinkPad, but it’s more of a step sideways from the E-series. It comes with up to Core i7 processor support, 16GB RAM, 1TB HDD or 360GB SSD, and up to a 1080p IPS display. It comes with R5 M240 graphics and Intel’s HD 5500, along with a 720p webcam. It’s a bit heavier than the E450, weighing 1.93kg (4.25 lbs), but dimensions are similar at 339mm x 235mm x 24.3mm (13.3” x 9.3” x 0.9”).
Pricing and availability for all of these ThinkPad models have not been announced, but we’d expect most of these to ship Q1 at the latest.
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dickeywang - Monday, January 5, 2015 - link
The memory limitation on T450s is just pathetic. Isn't Broadwell supposed to support 16GB DIMM? My 2-year-old T430s has 16GB of RAM. Well, guess I'll just wait for another 12-18 months before replacing my T430s.Nexing - Monday, January 5, 2015 - link
Exactly, serviceable 2 slot SO-DIMMs are a condition for many pro users.Sandy Bridge will probably extend its life till 2016. Not the best news, but DDR4 and W10 add to the calcualtion... Were not Lenovo listening its customer base?
Mumrik - Monday, January 5, 2015 - link
They got rid of the worst touchpad solution in the world!Johnmcl7 - Monday, January 5, 2015 - link
Agreed - I couldn't believe how bad the 'clickpad' was on the x240/t440.platinumjsi - Monday, January 5, 2015 - link
I wonder how the discrete graphics perform with the CPU only having 4x PCI-E 2x lanes?gw74 - Monday, January 5, 2015 - link
"U" processors again. nope again.cddragons - Tuesday, January 27, 2015 - link
sir could you please tell us the release date of the laptop of t450s and t550 in india.advented - Wednesday, April 29, 2015 - link
may i know about the price details.noitanon - Sunday, May 10, 2015 - link
I'm a developer and bought the T550 for a job i did.It has a two core CPU, but i was mislead by the i7 5th Generation hype.
You will find no review on Youtube on elsewhere claiming that it is desk top replacement. The reviews i have seen, will not even mention it's performance in relation to the McBook Pro or the Dell XPS 15.
Why did i buy it? The Hype. Lenovo Claims it is a high-end "Business Laptop". Desktop replacement? -- well i guess i've been duped.
I should have bought the XPS 15 which similiar to the Macbook Pro 15 has a 4 core i7-4712HQ (MBP has a similiar 4 core CPU I7-4870HQ)
The CPU is an i7 "4th Generation" CPU, but it is (in my opinion) faster than the 2-core i7-XXXXU "5th Generation" CPUs, sported by the T550. I am writing this because i had colleagues with the DELL MX4800 & DELL MX3800 laptops in the office, sporting similiar "4th Generation" 4-core CPUs (their machines were purchased in 2013 & 2014) Their compile times where at least twice as fast. And my T550 had serious problems dealing with extra monitors. The T550 has an i7-5600U CPU. These CPUs (i think he U stands for "Ultra" low energy), it use less energy and allows the user more battery life.
But if they do not perform, it like driving a 5th generation Vespa because you get more gas mileage and it is quieter, than on a 4th generation BMW motorcycle.
As a developer my laptop needs CPU muscle and no heat on top, allowing the wrists to remain near the keyboard the entire day. If the fan makes a bit of noise or if i have to plug it in every 3-4 hours, it is more than worth the compromise.
Even as i write the this review, my Internet Explorer has about 15 Tabs open and i have two sessions of Visual Studio running, skype, a couple PDFs open, Word is Open. And the mouse freezes on me. It is slow.
My MBP is also opened on my desk -- similiar load. It has no Problem. It makes some fan noise sometimes. So what. Better that it freezing up on me because of the load.
noitanon - Sunday, May 10, 2015 - link
The function keys are also tiny and tinier than the previous X230T, W500, W400 lenovo models i had. This part of the T550 keyboard is definitely toy like buildt. Odd to use.It makes working with the function keys (used in different contexts, by eg software developers when debugging and others) quite cumbersome.