The Lenovo ThinkPad T450s Review: Bridging The Ultrabook
by Brett Howse on September 15, 2015 8:00 AM ESTGPU Performance
With the review unit’s Core i5-5300U processor, we get Intel’s HD 5500 GPU which has 24 execution units, and a frequency range of 300 to 900 MHz. We have seen quite a few notebooks with this GPU this year already, and performance is certainly a step up with the Gen 8 graphics on Broadwell as compared to Haswell’s Gen 7.5. Depending on the processor, maximum clock speed can be as high as 950 MHz, so this model is slightly down on the best possible performance for the GT2 graphics.
As with the system performance, the graphs have a sampling of similar devices but if you would like to compare the T450s to any other notebook we have tested, please use our Notebook Bench.
3DMark
Futuremark’s 3DMark suite is one of the oldest synthetics around, and they roll out new versions with new features. The current version is 2013, and they have updated it several times to include more demanding tests for multi-GPU setups and for testing UHD readiness. With just integrated graphics, the T450s is not going to be able to do those but we ran it through the normal suite. As you can see, the T450s does very well here compare to other Ultrabooks. It is beaten only by the ThinkPad X1 Carbon which has a Core i7 CPU and the top 950 MHz clock speed for the GPU.
GFXBench
GFXBench is a cross-platform test and is one of the staples of our smartphone testing. This is the DirectX version. Once again there are no real surprises here, with the T450s falling in the same range as the other Broadwell-U based systems. The one exception is Alpha Blending which seems a bit low.
DOTA 2
This may be the last chance to try out DOTA 2 since Valve is moving towards DOTA 2 Reborn. Apparently the new take will finally move away from DirextX 9 and the new engine is supposedly better on both low end hardware as well as high end hardware. Once Reborn launches we will take a look at it as a replacement for our iGPU testing. Taking a look at what we have today though shows that the ThinkPad T450s actually falls behind some of the other devices we have tested. Either this can be attributed to a game update, or drivers, since the GPU frequency stayed right at the maximum of 900 MHz throughout the test. I also verified it with a much longer test of this game and the average GPU frequency was 895 MHz. Its lower scores do not appear to be a cooling system issue in this case.
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Samus - Tuesday, September 15, 2015 - link
I like the idea of power bridge a lot. I also appreciate they have finally dropped 1366x768 completely (unlike HP) but what the hell is wrong with Lenovo...The battery life is not competitive and it's really thick. The HP zBook 14 is the same thickness and it has a discrete GPU while meeting all the same MIL STD 810G criteria. Then there's the Elitebook 1040 putting this thing (and the X1) to shame in overall capability and performance is a thin durable chassis.
I appreciate the review of a corporate notebook, keep'em coming, I'd like to see some Dell's and HP's!
close - Tuesday, September 15, 2015 - link
Also it appears that times are a'changin'. The only way this keyboard feels good and you can say Lenovo "really nailed it" is if you haven't tried the old style keyboard in years. I have the X1 Carbon and it's ok but as soon as I fall back to my old X200 I get all these memories coming back, reminding me what a good keyboard is.I understand that the old-style keyboard doesn't fit the ultrabook format but I still can't fully agree with the "really nailed input" remark.
Flunk - Tuesday, September 15, 2015 - link
The X1 has a particularly shallow keyboard due to its thickness. I've used the more recent t series keyboards quite a lot and I find them quite good for a laptop keyboard.jimpreis - Sunday, September 20, 2015 - link
X1 *Carbon. The X1 was a completely different product.LoganPowell - Friday, November 27, 2015 - link
the Lenovo Thinkpad is one of the best laptops on the market in my opinion, but there are still a couple that are higher ranked (see http://www.consumerrunner.com/top-10-best-laptops/ for example...)Brett Howse - Tuesday, September 15, 2015 - link
Everyone loves the good old days, but the X1 Carbon keyboard is not the same as this one so please don't use it as a reference for this model's keyboard. The T450s is one of the best notebook keyboards that I've used in recent times.noeldillabough - Tuesday, September 15, 2015 - link
I too was **extremely** pessimistic when they changed the keyboard (X230 days) but I've been using the new keyboards for years now and they're really great.Now don't get me started on the function keys changes and touchpad fiascos, they've finally come to their senses a bit.
Now Lenovo please make a T460P...I need a new computer.
michaelhouston12 - Saturday, November 14, 2015 - link
If you're looking for a laptop that can give you best features but affordable, I strongly recommend Acer C720 Chromebook. Found here: http://www.consumerrunner.com/top-10-best-laptops/chris9000 - Thursday, September 17, 2015 - link
Yep. I own the T450s and I have to say that I actually like the keyboard. The IPS screen is also quite nice.quanta - Wednesday, September 23, 2015 - link
Really? The only thing Lenovo nailed it is coffins to loyal Thinkpad users. Last time I checked, when Lenovo switched to the ill-conceived layouts from the Intel CBB[1] in ThinkPad X1 Carbon and X230, the users resorted to ripping the old Lenovo laptop keyboards to the new models[2], because it is so bloody awful![3][4][1] https://web.archive.org/web/20071109025732/http://...
[2] https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/ThinkPad-X-Series-Lap...
[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jb7p3VkQCOo
[4] http://arstechnica.com/staff/2014/01/stop-trying-t...