Is it worth getting a refurbished Thinkpad T480 in 2024?
It has similar spec to my current broken laptop. Instead of a i5, it comes with an i7 8550U, 8GB of RAM and 256GB storage. It is a renewed product, by the way. And it goes for around ₹24,000. Honestly, I feel like it is too expensive, considering how there are better spec laptops available.
I don't know how to translate that price to my local currency but it's a nice machine that I'd certainly consider if the deal was good. Around here, maybe 300 USD or a bit more.
Well Rs. 24000 is right about 280 USD, so yes, that's a very good deal, better than the "deals" done in my country, where for a similarly specced (well, with 16GB RAM) T480 they (scalpers, enthusiasts) are asking ~450-550€, while only the i5 models are around 220-300€.
Don't expect T480 with i7 to actually run 4 GHz all times when needed. Get an i5 model instead.
I have i5-8350U. The best frequencies I could get on heavy load are 3.5-3.6 GHz (dGPU heatsink + PTM7950). Still throttles but not so much.
T480 has excellent battery life with both 24 + 72Wh batteries. What was the main reason why I got it.
My laptop wasn't refurbished. I got it used without some parts - SSD and both batteries. Then I bought all parts by myself.
It could be cheaper to refurb it by yourself rather than by someone else.
Hey, thank you for sharing your experience. I was wondering if there's any possible battery mod for T480, or the T580, where it is possible to discard hard disk cage? Similar to how there's choice between 52.5 and 70Wh battery for the Lenovo S540 15 series? Because I'm going to be using M.2 SSD, so I would rather want that space to be occupied by batteries.
you should aim at $200 max, that's way too expensive for 8th gen tech. ram and storage aren't important as those can be upgraded stupid cheap; it's not a bad idea to buy the laptop without those,
what's infinitely more important are good batteries, you didn't mention what condition the ones you get are in. if you need to replace those, good batteries aren't cheap.
I'm able to find them for as low as ₹19,000 (both T480 and T580 in i7, by the way), which is around $230, but I think I'm better off spending that money on my current Ideapad - maybe upgrade to around 12GB, fix the damaged body - all of which will be around ₹7k or $85, then I can probably buy a new device after two years.
do not compare thinkpads to ideapads (or thinkbooks or thinkpad V-series). the former are heavy-duty devices that cost thousands of $ new (and you can feel that the moment you grab one). they're built for road warriors and are meant to be used and abused for years. everything is so much better, from the build quality, easy repair and upgradeability (several generations share the same chassis, so replacing keyboards, screens, hinges, plastic covers, etc. is trivial and easily sourced) to way better keyboards, hinges, screens, etc.
the latter are cheap, drastic-plastic, deal-of-the-week future e-waste compatible only with themselves, maybe, with way worse build quality and very limited serviceability and cross-generational part compatibility.
same goes for hp elitebook vs probook, dell latitude vs vostro, and so on; there's a huge difference between enterprise-class devices vs consumer-grade.
as to CPU performance, you'll have to be the judge of what's most important to you.
not really, T490 are basically the same hardware with a modest CPU refresh, otherwise almost everything is interchangeable (also with earlier T470 models). similar with T14 Gen1.
what's troublesome are the S-suffix models and the Carbons and similar, they are slimmer and have one or both memory banks soldered and are single battery models. you can stll swap SSD, batteries, etc. and the serviceability is somewhat OK (way better than the mentioned e-waste but worse than non-S models).
I got a T490 (touchscreen) for around 27k. Prices here are a bit higher compared to other countries, hence you are getting advice on spending a set amount. It is absolutely worth the price considering the other new options at this price range are usually Chromebooks. The idea pad does not even compete in the same league as a thinkpad. Avoid the E series though.
I’d say the i5 performs similarly to the i7 but is significantly better on battery, so it would be my pick.
I just got a used thinkpad t14s for $400. A bit more expensive than your budget, has non upgradable ram, non removable battery, but the cpu is newer generation so much faster than a t480. But if you don't need something really powerful than a t480 would do.