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Review: Lenovo ThinkPad T495s (AMD Ryzen Pro)

by HEXUS Staff on 24 September 2019, 14:01

Tags: Lenovo (HKG:0992)

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Conclusion

...the Lenovo ThinkPad T495s is one of the best examples to date of a competitive ultra-portable powered by mobile Ryzen hardware.

Having laid the foundation with award-winning Ryzen desktop processors, it was only a matter of time until AMD made inroads into a laptop market typically dominated by rival Intel.

Design wins from some of the industry's biggest names are crucial to achieving that goal, and the Lenovo ThinkPad T495s is one of the best examples to date of a competitive ultra-portable powered by mobile Ryzen hardware. Multi-core performance is in line with our expectations of a modern AMD machine, integrated Radeon Vega graphics offer almost double the performance of an Intel IGP, and battery life is reassuringly competitive.

Such credentials are on offer at a price point that is lower than the nearest Intel equivalent, and by including a high-speed SSD, fast DDR4 memory, a reliable WiFi adapter and a choice of biometrics, Lenovo has ensured that its AMD Ryzen system is not unduly restricted.

Bottom line: we'd encourage Lenovo to add a WQHD display option, but for AMD fans and prosumers in general, the ThinkPad T495s is a noteworthy laptop that suggests a bright future for mobile Ryzen CPUs.

The Good
  
The Bad
Strong multi-core performance
Solid ThinkPad build quality
Excellent keyboard and trackpad
Cheaper than Intel equivalent
Casual gaming credentials
Decent battery life
  
No WQHD display option
IPC lags behind Intel machines
Thunderbolt not supported



Lenovo ThinkPad T495s

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The ThinkPad T495s laptop is available to purchase direct from Lenovo.

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At HEXUS, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If any company representatives for the products reviewed choose to respond, we'll publish their commentary here verbatim.


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Posted by Tabbykatze - Tue 24 Sep 2019 15:30
I mean, the bads aren't horrific bads, making a specific note about IPC knowing that these are Zen+ cores not Zen 2 cores feels a bit disingenuous.

But qualms aside, as you say it is nice to see an AMD laptop that does not have the gimping archetype common to a lot of AMD laptops recently.
Posted by KultiVator - Tue 24 Sep 2019 19:18
Really hoping Microsoft have some AMD Zen 2 APU goodness in their new October 2019 Surface Pro/Book/Laptop line-up… the Intel Iris graphics in the current models are underpowered, run hot and very long in the tooth.
Posted by philehidiot - Tue 24 Sep 2019 22:05
Tabbykatze
I mean, the bads aren't horrific bads, making a specific note about IPC knowing that these are Zen+ cores not Zen 2 cores feels a bit disingenuous.

But qualms aside, as you say it is nice to see an AMD laptop that does not have the gimping archetype common to a lot of AMD laptops recently.

Do you think, given the lack of R&D on AMD stuff for decades, that it has taken them quite some time to get everything optimised for a serious product? I know nothing about this stuff, I just throw bits together in a case and it works when I press on. I was thinking that this is last gen due to the extended R&D time required for the first product and now that groundwork is done, the current gen Zen stuff should come out soon?

Myself, I'm glad to see this stuff. I have a macbook air which has been awesome but due to how Apple treated me I don't want to go back to an Apple laptop. They also aren't fulfilling my criteria for a laptop anymore. I don't want to be ripped off for a decent, robust laptop that'll last and so to see AMD enter the game with this kind of product makes me happy.
Posted by Maffy - Wed 25 Sep 2019 08:57
I bought one of these at work to attach to a bit of scientific kit. Very impressed by it. Doesn't feel quite as well made as some of the other laptops we have, but the performance is excellent. I would definitely buy more if the need arises.
Posted by fail_quail - Wed 25 Sep 2019 13:29
the absence of an SD card reader could be disappointing for some

If it's anything like my Lenovo A285 (very similar chassis, but 12" and with a R7 2700u CPU) The phone-style slot on the rear panel is either a microSD slot or a combo SIM + MicroSD slot depending on whether you got the WAN option or not.

Not the easiest to swap cards (need a pin to open it) and it's not full size SD, but there IS a SD reader :p

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