ThinkPad E480 Intel on Windows VS ThinkPad E495 AMD on Ubuntu is there any difference?

It so happened that at one point in time at my place there were two fairly fresh Lenovo Thinkpad E series laptops.

The first

E480 in the configuration of core i7-8550U, 16GB RAM (one bracket) and a discrete graphics card Radeon 550X, Windows 10 Pro, gray color is my work laptop, which I took home for quarantine.

Second

E495 in configuration Ryzen 7 3700U, 8GB RAM (one bracket) and Ubuntu 18.04, black - my personal laptop, which I bought before quarantine.

Both laptops are made in the same case.



As you understand, we have two twin brothers in front of us, who were separated in childhood and they went different paths.

In this article I will try to compare them with each other as much as possible. There will be no tests and comparisons in benchmarks, firstly because benchmarks for different platforms are different, and secondly, a lot has already been written about these processors and video cards. My comparison will be purely personal, through the prism of those works and tasks that I encounter daily in the process of work. And also a little time will be devoted to the question: “Is there life under Ubuntu and is it worth it to overpay for a model with Intel processors?”.

I work as an analyst and 90% of my work happens in the browser - Google Sheets, Data Studio, Big Query, surfing. An exception is the Power BI desktop application, which only runs on Windows.

Appearance

The first thing that introduces you to any laptop begins is the look and materials from which it is made.

Both laptops look the same and are made of plastic with the exception of the top cover - it is aluminum. The surface of the metal cools the hand, but, as many have written in various reviews, it is very easily soiled. And if in the case of the gray color of the E480 this is not so noticeable, then on the black E495 the fingerprints on the cover stand out. Of course, as for me, this is not the most important factor when working with a laptop, considering that 99% of the time you are looking at the display and not at the lid.
The quality of plastic is the same on both laptops. It is durable, does not bend. But the work surface is different. In E480 - plastic is smooth. In E495 - slightly rough. I'm more grungy. E480 is gray and after two years of use, the work area under the left hand began to wipe a little.



The black surface will obviously overwhelm in the future, too, but due to the color it will not be so noticeable. At least I hope so.

Keyboard

The keyboard form factor is the same. The differences are that on the E495 there is no backlight in any of the trim levels, while on the E480 there is. There is also a feeling that the key travel on the E495 is slightly stiffer than on the E480. I do not know what the manufacturer was guided by, but apparently the desire to reduce the cost of the product was strong. However, if I want a backlit keyboard, I can buy and replace it. Well, or in extreme cases, I’ll twist the worker from the noise. Joke. In general, the Thinkpad keyboard was almost the main reason for choosing this laptop. For me, the keyboard is very comfortable and nice to type on.

Display

Both there and there is an IPS display, but different matrices. I read a lot before the purchase that Lenovo puts homeless screens in AMD laptops, but for me the difference is not very noticeable. However, I could get lucky and got a normal matrix. And so both laptops display like a display. There is anti-reflective coating, in direct sunlight it is possible to work, although not quite comfortable. And how often do such situations arise? There are enough screens for working in office lighting conditions. In terms of color rendering is not perfect, but for designers this line is not particularly designed.

Stuffing and performance

The world is divided into two camps. Some drown for Intel, others for AMD. I never really bothered, but so historically it turned out that all the laptops before that I had Intel. Served for a long time, faithfully. Before buying a Thinkpad, I used my old Dell Inspiron on the third-generation i5. But after reading a bunch of articles about comparing specific processor models, I came to the conclusion that for me the difference should not be noticeable. And in almost all benchmarks, the Ryzen 7 3700U performed better than the i7-8550U.

After almost a month of work on E495, I can say for sure that I did not notice any noticeable differences in performance between Intel and AMD. Of course, you should consider a different amount of RAM, and its lack is sometimes felt. In fact, there is not even 8 but 6GB of RAM, since the built-in video card takes 2GB to itself. In any case, I did not have problems with performing ordinary tasks. Unlike the old laptop on Windows 7 and 8GB of RAM.

The only difficulty I encountered was working in Power BI. As the above wrote, the desktop version only works on Windows, and to start it, I had to configure a virtual machine. But in a limited amount of memory, the virtual machine is stupid and suspends the main operating system. If you have patience, then of course you can work, although this is a perversion.

Regarding the video card, I can’t say anything. Firstly, you can’t test it on Ubuntu either. Games, 3D modeling, video processing - not my hobby. Therefore, for me there is no fundamental difference between the integrated and discrete graphics cards. Although many reviews wrote that the integrated Radeon Vega 10 is not much inferior to the discrete Radeon 550x, which comes bundled with an Intel processor. Perhaps in the future, when I buy myself the world's most licensed key for Windows on ebay for $ 10, I can compare them.

Ubuntu

What can I say to ubuntu is ubuntu. As one author recently wrote on Habré - a designer for those who did not play enough in childhood .
But I immediately decided that if you change the processor manufacturer, then you already need to change the operating system. So to speak from the fire and into the fire. As the old sexist proverb says: when girls are bored - they change hairstyles, when boys are bored - they interrupt Windows. Moreover, in quarantine, life is boring and monotonous and I wanted some new sensations.

This is my second experience with this operating system. The first one was 5 years ago, then I also tried to put on 14.04. But after working on it for a month, he demolished it and returned to windows from the rutracker. Largely due to the specifics of the work (almost all the software was only for Windows), and also due to the fact that he was young and hot. For 5 years, as for me, progress on the face. At least this time, I had less problems installing and configuring programs, although I had to tinker and google. Yes, and the working flow has changed, because of which the dependence on Windows only programs has decreased.

The most annoying problem was that the laptop did not want to go to sleep when the lid was closed, and if it did, it was already a lethargic dream from which it did not return. Having spent a couple of wonderful evenings, I kind of dealt with it. The interface, animation, and icons are all attractive.

In terms of energy efficiency, Windows is better and gives somewhere an extra hour - one and a half battery operation with the same flow. Initially, the difference was greater, but after playing with the settings, I managed to tighten the figure.

The obvious minus is the meager set of programs in the application manager, as well as the fact that some applications must be installed through the terminal, some through the manager, and some are generally unclear how. But it was a conscious choice and all the programs I needed: Google Chrome, VirtualBox, NordVPN, Teamviewer, Telegram and Slack I found and installed quite easily.

If we consider in the context of working in a browser and no more - ubuntu, as for me, is a good alternative to Windows. If you need specialized software, then you already have to pervert here. The same virtual machine requires additional gigabytes of RAM, which is unprofitable in my factory configuration. Of course, it is possible and necessary to buy up the bar of operatives, but this is after quarantine and salary.

Finally

The criteria for choosing a laptop for me were: a fresher processor, 14 inches, a comfortable keyboard and upgrade options, in particular the ability to install 32 GB of RAM. And all this is cheaper, preferably for nothing. But in the price range up to $ 800-900, the choice is actually not very large. Or a fresh 10 generation core and 16GB of maximum RAM. Or 32 GB, but two-year core 8 generations. In general, as always, there are only two chairs ...

Thinkpad on AMD and Ubuntu is a great option for me and my work tasks. For quite adequate money, about $ 750, we got a good working laptop. Compared to its “older” brothers at Intel, the price tag of which starts a little higher and ends around $ 1,100-1,200 for top-end configurations, the differences will be minimal in the form of a keyboard backlight and a fingerprint scanner. But keep in mind that if you do not leave the budget, you will have to roll up your sleeves and work on ubuntu. If life is not nice under ubuntu, you will have to install a pirate with all the consequences, or buy a licensed Windows, which costs around $ 200. Also, the purchase of a full whale of operatives will become about the same. From the factory, the Samsung ddr4-2666 8GB is installed in the laptop,but I managed to find them only in some wild no-name shops from Bucha (this is a suburb of Kiev), for $ 50. I decided not to risk it and for the future take a full set of 2x16GB in order to maximize the available RAM capacity.

Given the whole upgrade, including the purchase of windows, the final cost of the maximum configuration on amd will be about the same as in those already ready for intel. Well, maybe a little cheaper.

And here is a simple conclusion. If you want to sit down and go, then Thinkpad on Intel with Windows 10 preinstalled. If you want to save money and at the same time are ready to tinker with, discovering the “brave new world” - then AMD Ryzen without OS. And do not forget that it all depends on the programs that you use. I will live under Ubuntu for now, but in case of urgent need I will return to Windows.

But this conclusion applies, of course, only to these two models from the same line.

Thank you for reading.