Today we have an interesting machine for you. If you were with us not a while ago, we had a look at the Lenovo ThinkPad T490. Now, we are evaluating the qualities of “s” iteration of the same model. Ultimately, the “s” versions of ThinkPads are thinner and lighter, whilst offering similar performance and security features to their counterparts.
Unlike the others, though, the ThinkPad T490s doesn’t offer a Graphics card option, so you are stick with what comes with the processors – Whiskey Lake Core iX ULV CPUs – both vPro and non-vPro versions. In addition to the most common 1080p IPS panels, Lenovo offers the laptop with a WQHD monitor with a maximum brightness of 500 nits and 100% of Adobe color gamut coverage (their claims).
You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/lenovo-thinkpad-t490s-t495s/
Contents
Specs Sheet
Lenovo ThinkPad T490s / T495s - Specs
All Lenovo ThinkPad T490s / T495s configurations
See all Lenovo ThinkPad T490s review – a ThinkPad and ultrabook in one? configurationsWhat’s in the box?
Inside it, you’ll find the ThinkPad T490s protected by some cushioning cardboard, the mandatory manuals and a 65W power brick with the Rapid Charge technology.
Design and construction
As we mentioned, the ThinkPad T490s is not a whole lot different from its non-s brother. It is made by the same build materials – plastic and glass fiber, however, the Silver model of the T490s is complemented by an aluminum cover. If you get the Black version, though, your laptop is going to weigh 1.35 kilos and will have a 16.7mm profile.
Next, the lid opens without any hassle by just one hand. Up above, there is the camera, which itself has a cover that will hide you from spies and the naughty FBI. By the way, Lenovo calls it the ThinkShutter and it makes way to almost every new ThinkPad that goes out.
On the base, you will be surprised to see basically the same keyboard/touchpad assembly as on the ThinkPad T490. Even though the body is thinner, it has the same length as the keystrokes and they feel as clicky as always. Additionally, the keyboard is illuminated and it features the “Red Nipple”.
Its touchpad is plastic and has decent accuracy and response. On top of it, you can see a set of buttons that are working in contradiction with the red knob. If you take a look on the left side of the touchpad, you’ll notice the fingerprint reader.
When you turn the laptop upside down, you can see one relatively small ventilation grill and the speaker cut-outs on the sides of the bottom plate.
Ports
Its slimmer design doesn’t mean compromise by any means – the laptop is powered by USB Type-C. Next, to it, there is a USB Type-C port with Thunderbolt 3 support, an Ethernet extension port, a USB Type-A 3.1 (Gen. 1) port, HDMI 1.4b connector, and a headphone jack. On the other side, there is one more USB Type-A 3.1 (Gen. 1) port, the ventilation cut-outs, and an optional Smart card reader. However, this is not it – the laptop has LTE capabilities via the Micro-SIM card slot on the back, which doubles as a MicroSD card slot as well.
Display quality
Lab results are coming soon!
Drivers
Lenovo has all the drivers for this laptop waiting here: https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/us/en/products/laptops-and-netbooks/thinkpad-t-series-laptops/thinkpad-t490s-type-20nx-20ny/downloads
Battery
Now, we conduct the battery tests with Windows Better performance setting turned on, screen brightness adjusted to 120 nits and all other programs turned off except for the one we are testing the notebook with. Given the 57Wh battery, we were kind of expecting a good result from this device.
However, it struck us like lightning with no clouds when it managed to hit more than 15 hours and a half of web browsing and around 12 hours of video playback.
In order to simulate real-life conditions, we used our own script for automatic web browsing through over 70 websites.
For every test like this, we use the same video in HD.
We use F1 2017’s built-in benchmark on loop in order to simulate real-life gaming.
CPU options
In terms of CPU choices, you can go either for the Core i5-8265U/Core i7-8565U or for their respective vPro versions – the Core i5-8365U and the Core i7-8665U.
Results are from the Cinebench 15 CPU test (the higher the score, the better)
Results are from the Fritz chess benchmark (the higher the score, the better)
Results are from our Photoshop benchmark test (the lower the score, the better)
Lenovo ThinkPad T490s / T495s CPU variants
Here you can see an approximate comparison between the CPUs that can be found in the Lenovo ThinkPad T490s / T495s models on the market. This way you can decide for yourself which Lenovo ThinkPad T490s / T495s model is the best bang for your buck.
Note: The chart shows the cheapest different CPU configurations so you should check what the other specifications of these laptops are by clicking on the laptop’s name / CPU.
Results are from the Cinebench 15 CPU test (the higher the score, the better)
Results are from the Fritz chess benchmark (the higher the score, the better)
Results are from our Photoshop benchmark test (the lower the score, the better)
GPU options
Intel UHD Graphics 620 is a refresh of the HD Graphics 620 found as an integrated solution in many ULV Kaby Lake processors. UHD Graphics 620 is codenamed “Kaby Lake R U GT2” and it’s a part of the Gen 9.5 generation.
Intel UHD Graphics 620 has roughly the same performance as HD Graphics 620, depending on the other components in the system. UHD Graphics 620’s performance is similar to AMD Radeon R5 M420X and NVIDIA GeForce 910M/920M.
You’ll find all available laptops with Intel UHD Graphics 620 on Amazon here: http://amzn.to/2fRoFbu
Results are from the 3DMark: Fire Strike (Graphics) benchmark (higher the score, the better)
Results are from the Unigine Heaven 3.0 benchmark (higher the score, the better)
Results are from the Unigine Heaven 4.0 benchmark (higher the score, the better)
Results are from the Unigine Superposition benchmark (higher the score, the better)
Lenovo ThinkPad T490s / T495s GPU variants
Here you can see an approximate comparison between the GPUs that can be found in the Lenovo ThinkPad T490s / T495s models on the market. This way you can decide for yourself which Lenovo ThinkPad T490s / T495s model is the best bang for your buck.
Note: The chart shows the cheapest different GPU configurations so you should check what the other specifications of these laptops are by clicking on the laptop’s name / GPU.
Results are from the 3DMark: Fire Strike (Graphics) benchmark (higher the score, the better)
Results are from the Unigine Heaven 3.0 benchmark (higher the score, the better)
Results are from the Unigine Heaven 4.0 benchmark (higher the score, the better)
Results are from the Unigine Superposition benchmark (higher the score, the better)
Gaming tests
| CS:GO | HD 1080p, Low (Check settings) | HD 1080p, Medium (Check settings) | HD 1080p, MAX (Check settings) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average FPS | 54 fps | 31 fps | 14 fps |
| DOTA 2 | HD 1080p, Low (Check settings) | HD 1080p, Normal (Check settings) | HD 1080p, High (Check settings) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average FPS | 77 fps | 37 fps | 18 fps |
| Grand Theft Auto V (GTA 5) | HD 768p, Normal (Check settings) | HD 768p, High (Check settings) | HD 768p, Very High (Check settings) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average FPS | 35 fps | – fps | – fps |
Temperatures and comfort
Max CPU load
In this test we use 100% on the CPU cores, monitoring their frequencies and chip temperature. The first column shows a computer’s reaction to a short load (2-10 seconds), the second column simulates a serious task (between 15 and 30 seconds), and the third column is a good indicator of how good the laptop is for long loads such as video rendering.
Average core frequency (base frequency + X); CPU temp.
| Intel Core i5-8265U (15W TDP) | 0:02 – 0:10 sec | 0:15 – 0:30 sec | 10:00 – 15:00 min |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lenovo ThinkPad T490s | 3.43 GHz (B+114%)@ 91°C | 2.69 GHz (B+68%)@ 91°C | 2.19 GHz (B+37%)@ 80°C |
| Lenovo Ideapad C340 (15″) | 3.16 GHz (B+98%)@ 82°C | 3.12 GHz (B+95%)@ 94°C | 1.95 GHz (B+22%)@ 60°C |
| HP ProBook 450 G6 | 2.69 GHz (B+59%)@ 64°C | 2.53 GHz (B+60%)@ 68°C | 2.09 GHz (B+31%)@ 71°C |
| ASUS VivoBook S15 S530 | 2.99 GHz (B+87%) @ 77°C | 2.99 GHz (B+87%) @ 87°C | 2.29 GHz (B+62%) @ 71°C |
| Acer Swift 3 (SF314-56G) | 2.67 GHz (B+67%)@ 93°C | 2.16 GHz (B+35%)@ 86°C | 1.66 GHz (B+4%)@ 71°C |
Lenovo ThinkPad T490s uses a very aggressive thermal solution towards the Core i5-8265U. It is aimed at maximizing performance, which results in a very high frequency throughout the entire test. However, it takes its toll on temperature which reaches 91C at the very first part of the measuring, while at the end it finished at the not very pleasant 80C
Verdict
Apart from being one of the hottest ThinkPads on the market (literally) the ThinkPad T490s proved to be a very stable device. It has all of the security features that a ThinkPad owner might need. Additionally, it is thin and light (just 1.35 kg), which makes it perfect for business people and moreover supervisors and managers that need to check different values and results on the go.
This is why Lenovo has aimed at overperforming their hardware – our benchmarks posted results that are higher than the average for the processor we tested. This happened with the internal graphics card as well, but what impressed us most is the battery life. The 57Wh unit managed to power the ThinkPad T490s for more than 15 hours and a half of web browsing and around 12 hours of video playback.
This would mean nothing, though, if it was unpleasant to use the keyboard on this device. Because, let’s face it, once you get a business-grade laptop, it is poised of thousands and thousands of clicks. In this case, the laptop is not going to disappoint you (unless it has some sort of reliability issue), since it has long key travel, decent tactile feedback, and a backlight. Furthermore, the touchpad is fast and accurate, while the fingerprint sensor is snappy.
Additionally, the laptop has not one, but two USB Type-C ports, as one of them, is used for charging and the other one has a Thunderbolt 3 support. On the back, we see only a MicroSD card slot, however, it optionally doubles as SIM card slot for LTE connections on the go.
Pros
- Thin, light but sturdy design
- Pleasant spill-resistant keyboard with long travel and clicky feedback
- Great I/O selection
- Supports Thunderbolt
- Charges with USB Type-C
- Overperforming hardware
Cons
- Gets pretty hot under heavy load
- Micro SD instead of a full-sized SD card reader
- High price
You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/lenovo-thinkpad-t490s-t495s/
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