The Lenovo ThinkPad is the most preferred model from Lenovo. It was formerly offered with an IBM ThinkPad tag. ThinkPad is a popular brand of laptops used in the small and medium business(SMB) industry. It is a robust laptop that does not pinch you if you are on a budget. Available in the range of $600, ThinkPad E450 is the entry-level model available in a couple of configurations. I have been using this laptop for the last year. My excellent experience encouraged me to share my honest thoughts about it with you.
Below are the Main Specifications of the Lenovo ThinkPad E450 Laptop
- Processor. Core i3 5005U with 2.0GHz speed (Fifth generation)
- Memory. 4Gb DDR3 SDRAM
- Integrated Intel 500 graphics with a maximum resolution of 1366×768
- Hard Disk. 1Tb eSATA 7200rpm storage drive.
- Screen Type. 14” Matte finish anti-glare screen with LED backlit
- Security. Finger Print scanner
- Weight. 2.8 Kg
- Operating system. DOS (you can install windows 10 separately)
- Power Consumption. 45 Watts
Review Snippet
For your benefit and time-saving I have summed up the PROS and CONS of the laptop. Weigh your requirements against my review and take your decision
Pros
- Windows 10 boots up immediately and runs smoothly without any kind of lag.
- With 4 Gb DDR3 RAM, you can open multiple applications, and is perfect for multitasking. My outlook, Word, skype, and Chrome are always on while blogging.
- Even after 1 year of use, the hinges are still strong. I don’t see any sign of loosening.
- If you hate to remember passwords ThinkPad is for you. It has an inbuilt fingerprint scanner just close to the touchpad.
- Scratch-safe outer body cover (screen)
- Tactile keyboard keys are good for all-day typing (best for programmers and bloggers) without stressing your wrists and fingers.
- The best feature that I like is its longer battery backup (I get almost 5 hours on a full charge).
Cons
- The inbuilt speakers produce HD sound but the speakers are installed on the backside. The sound effects get a bit less effective.
- Num-Keypad is missing. Those who are used to it might miss this functionality. I personally did not find any problem. 14 Inches laptops are compact and usually come without an optical-drive and Numeric keypad.
- Comes with DOS but I think the price tag justifies the bundled OS.
So Considering both the positives and negatives, I would like to give it 4.5 stars out of 5. I had to purchase the original Windows 10 OS. Ever since then I have not faced any issues with the Thinkpad. You can check more reviews and current price on Amazon.
Box Contents
The box consists of a Laptop and a battery charger. There is no driver’s CD. You can easily download the device drivers from Lenovo support site.
Key Features
Design and construction
I was quite impressed with the robust and sleek construction of the laptop. The hinges are made from metal which does not bounce back as you open the screen and move it back and forth to adjust for the perfect view. The screen lid is built of polycarbonate. Its non-slippery matte finish ensures that there are no fingerprint marks left on it.
The dimensions of the laptop are 49 x 33.2 x 9 cm and the side corners of the laptop are rounded to comfortable holding. The power LED light is on the lid and keyboard base. The red LED is mounted on the (i) alphabet of the ThinkPad logo. The laptop battery is integrated and cannot be seen on the backside of the notebook. So, overall it has a well-thought design and sturdy construction. It has a simple and sleek appearance. It may not appeal to those looking for colored exteriors or funky designs.
Ports for connectivity?
Lenovo ThinkPad E450 has connectivity ports on both sides. On the right side, it has 2 number of USB 3.0 ports, one HDMI port, an RJ45(LAN) port, and a power adaptor port, and adjoining it is a OneLink docking port.
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On the left side of the notebook, there are only two ports, one is a USB 2.0 port, and the other is an audio(Mic+Headphone) port. On the front side, you have a card reader (SD/MMC). Now talking about wireless connection, it has integrated dual-band Intel AS 3160 wireless radio. On my Netgear router, it gives me a decent range of 20 meters without any slowdown. It also has intel wireless Bluetooth connectivity but to be honest I haven’t used it yet since I bought Thinkpad last year.
Graphics
With Intel HD graphics 5500, I am pretty satisfied with the display quality. The default and the maximum resolution of 1366 x 768 are enough for graphic apps like Autocad, Coreldraw, Photoshop, and all the basic games. Mind it, it is not a gamer machine but rather a business notebook. Intel provides inbuilt graphics software to customize the color depth, temperature, brightness, and contrast. In advanced color settings, you can change hue and saturation.
Keyboard and Touchpad
All the ThinkPad series of notebooks have the same design and style of keyboard. Among all the laptops I have used in the past, ThinkPad has the most comfortable keyboard so far. It has island-style keys with 1.8mm travel. The keys are spacious and soft.
The upper row has all the function and utility keys to control brightness, sound volume, and Wi-Fi. Sorry but there is no backlit but the good thing is that the keyboard is spill resistant. The E450 keyboard also has a pointing stick that works as a mouse.
The touchpad has a decent area of operation to use your two fingers to zoom or scroll. The right-click and left-click buttons are provided at four locations, two on the bottom part of the touchpad and two buttons right under the space bar. The whole touchpad of the ThinkPad is responsive and you can also control the touch sensitivity from the settings. Another important point to mention here is that the touchpad area remains cool no matter how many and how heavy applications are running.
Fingerprint Reader
The fingerprint scanner is the easiest way to login into your Lenovo E450 but unfortunately, it does not work occasionally so in such cases I choose the second option “password” to log in. ThinkPad offers you to save up to ten fingerprints for different users. Adding and calibrating a fingerprint is also not a complex process.
Battery
The ThinkPad E450 is equipped with an inbuilt battery. You cannot change it yourself, so do not look for any locks or latches on the backside. The internal battery has 6 cells with a power rating of 47 Whr that gives me a backup of above 5 hours with continuous use of WiFi, web browser, and documents with 60% brightness.
Other features
The Lenovo ThinkPad E450 offers impressive performance powered by a 2GHz Intel i3 processor and 4Gb of RAM. The webcam is 720p but under normal light conditions, the quality of streaming videos is not up to the mark.
Bottom Line
If you are not much concerned about having a removable battery or a DVD writer and need an economical laptop but robust and durable in functionality, GO FOR Lenovo ThinkPad E450. I have written the review after more than one year of using it and highlighted all the positives and negatives. Overall, it is worth spending money on this solid machine. Do share this review with your friends to help them to make the right buying decision.
If you also own a ThinkPad and want to add your viewpoint, do share in the comments section.
The Lenovo ThinkPad is a very good brand of the Lenovo. The performance of this laptop is very good. The good processor and the RAM which helps the battery faster.