I bought a Lenovo T-480 during my Fall 2023 semester in the hopes that I can convince myself that I can sell my MacBook M1 Pro 14" and be content with the T-480.

This article is a good article that I was able to relate before I started shoping around.

What finalized my decision in buying a T-480 was winning a bid for it for a pretty sweet deal of only $149.5 + $18.95 shipping.

The laptop came in really good shape. There was no a single cosmetic flaw other than the Windows sticker 😁

Background information

The specs

Battery configuration

• 24Wh internal
• 24Wh external

Impressions

Battery Life

For an older x86 machine and with batteries close to around 80% of its maximum capacity, it holds up surprisingly well.

I didn’t really do anything extensive on the machine other than compiling Emacs in WSL.

Trackpad

The trackpad doesn’t feel good at all, especially scrolling.

The plastic was not pleasant to touch and I would’ve preferred a glass surface. I’m aware of the glass trackpad upgrade, but it was hard to find a source when I had did have it.

What I’ve found that works for me was using the track point to scroll since I didn’t have to rub my fingers all over the trackpad and it felt pretty ergonomic

Keyboard

Although the switch travel is higher than the Macbook, subjectively, it just didn’t have a similar tactile satisfaction that I’m used to with the MacBook.

Performance

I can see the sluggishness catching up to this laptop when I’d watch a YouTube video. I don’t mind it but it’s going to bother me when I’m locked in and frantically switching around windows and tabs.

This machine could definitely

Speakers

The speakers were an afterthought. Vocals are just hard to understand. Music shouldn’t be played out of these speakers.

Display

I can’t pinpoint whether it’s the size of the screen or the colors but I got a headache after looking at it for less than an hour.

I’m not a fan of matte screens. It doesn’t look like glass, it looks more plastic to me. I find that it didn’t help with glares, it just smeared it.

If I can find a legitimate source for the coveted 400-nit N140HCG-GQ2 display, then I’ll think about getting it replaced. The colors are so dull.

Operating System of Choice

Windows 11

I wanted to see what new things came with Windows 11. I love the inclusion of Windows Terminal.

WSL is a godsend for development

Linux

Arch

I did it for the memes and I also miss the setup process. I mained Arch for over a year a long time ago.

I had tlp installed. With the following changes:

• CPU energy performance policy on battery = balance_performance
• CPU turbo disabled

I can’t recall why I switched out of Arch but I was experimenting with Wayland based tiling window managers like sway.

Fedora

I eventually settled with Fedora-39. Customizing Linux has been a blast but it’s not a good use of my time. I had to focus on school.

Upgrades

I bought a 16GB 2400mhz stick for the 2nd RAM slot. I doubt I’ll ever use all 24GB unless I’m running multiple docker containers. The 8GB sticks were about $12 cheaper, but I don’t mind paying that extra amount for another 8GB

Selling it

I ended up selling my MacBook to a co-worker who was looking for a laptop.

Although this laptop was perfectly capable for my needs, the battery life and display were a contributing factor to me going back to the Macbook that I initially wanted to sell.

I can deal with Windows and its differences but Apple has completely ruined my standards for a laptop.

I’ll miss the track point though.

I wish I took down more detailed notes about my whole experience with it.