For MacRumors Users with an Apple laptop, who have considered the possibility of buying a Windows laptop or tablet - all opinions are my own and may not be agreed upon, however discussion and questions are welcome!
Lenovo ThinkPad E470 - Price as reviewed: £659.99. Ordered from Lenovo.com
Specification
14" LED Backlit Full HD IPS Display
Intel Core i5 7th Generation 7200U 2.5GHz (Turbo Boost 3.1GHz)
4GB DDR4 RAM
NVIDIA 940MX with 2GB Discrete Graphics
Intel 620 Graphics
Intel SSD Pro 540 Series 180GB
TrackPoint + Precision Touchpad
Fingerprint Reader
Built-in Battery
HDMI, Ethernet, Audio in/out combo
3x USB 3.0
SD Card Slot
Webcam + Mic
Ergonomic ThinkPad Keyboard
180' folding hinge mechanism
Windows 10 Home
The Ordering Process
I found that Lenovo offered this laptop with great specs at a really low price! Starting at about £520, there are three models. This is the middle model with an i5, discrete graphics and full HD being the main difference for the extra cash. I configured it directly from Lenovo which was simply and paid via PayPal, smooth experience. They weren't able to give me any definite arrival date but told me up to 6 weeks as it was custom configured and added to a queue of systems to be manufactured to order in China and then enter global shipping. Though, it was fast enough in the end, as I ordered on April 14th and it arrived on April 27th. It certainly didn't come in Apple's white smooth packaging, but it was a nice compact Lenovo box with ThinkPad branding.
Setup
Windows 10 works the same on this machine as any other. It booted quickly and waiting times were minimal. The Lenovo included software isn't the best, but it's unobtrusive and is an easy way to keep all drivers up to date. There's also some good diagnostic tests linked with Lenovo Support so I'd imagine warranty claims etc would be well managed if needed.
Physical Impressions
It's not the thinnest machine. It's not the lightest machine. What it is, is plain and simple - one of the things that appealed to me coming from the Mac. The ThinkPad logo is on the lid of the screen, with a little red LED light. Fingerprints really stick to the lid - I've never seen a plastic like it! But it is nice and can be polished clean. The flat folding hinge is really handy! When carrying the laptop in closed form, you feel the screen opening and closing slightly.. it's a little annoying as Apple tend to have these things perfected but holding it the opposite way around keeps it secure shut. The hinge feels really strong and robust, not something I'm worried about with this computer. It's not like most PCs from Dell & HP where flicking the screen leaves it bouncing back and forward. Build quality is GREAT in my opinion, not so long ago I wouldn't have believed this was possible on a Windows laptop. This is the cheapest ThinkPad in the series so I'd imagine any other model is even better quality.
Keyboard & TrackPad
Something I was very concerned about since my MBP died with a faulty keyboard was replaceable parts and comfort of the keyboard. Many Windows laptops have short travel keys that feel like you're SMACKING the plastic even when typing lightly. And they're poorly laid out and probably impossible to replace because of the vast range of variations on many HP laptops etc. Not with the ThinkPad. It's the most comfortable keyboard I've ever used. Period. I think it's better than the current MacBook line as there's more travel, perhaps this is just preference. I haven't spent a long time with the MBP other than in stores. But this keyboard is superb, and coming from a Mac, you won't be disappointed. It's NOT backlit. This didn't bother me as much as I thought it might.
The trackpad is good. Nowhere near the quality of the Mac trackpad. It's a little rattly to touch. But it's very precise - uses Microsofts Precision Drivers - and adjustment can get it working to your comfortable rate easily. The tap to click is a bit over sensitive so I disabled it. Being a ThinkPad, there's a little red nub to move the pointer and trackpad buttons on the top of the pad. It's handy, but I don't use it as much as I thought I would. It's nice having unobtrusive physical buttons too when preferred. If you're coming from a Mac, you'll get used to this no problem. It's comfortable and ergonomic.
Display
This is a beautiful display. It's antiglare so easier on the eyes for long sessions. IPS and viewable from any angle, better than expected. Colour also isn't washed out. I'm no expert or creative professional, but basically, it doesn't suck. I think someone coming from a non-Retina Mac will be pleased. This was a worthy upgrade. But beware, on games like Minecraft with textures I get a spike artefact on the screen, I think this might be due to the cheap IPS option but am not sure yet if it's a graphics issue. If you plan to game, keep this in mind as a possible issue. Blacks are deep. Colours are saturated well. The 1080p resolution is beautiful to me, I can't get enough of it!
Processor & Graphics
The processor is damn quick as far as I'm concerned. I don't do many large processing tasks but what I have done is quicker than I see on many tutorials on YouTube. It flashes through many installs and isn't slow by any means. The NVIDIA Discrete Graphics have been very disappointing. Most games won't work with it, and some programmes such as Trimble SketchUp won't run at all on the latest driver update.. a roll back is required. Many games will ONLY run on Intel HD graphics which to be honest isn't great considering I expected discrete graphics to kick in and deliver better. In the future, I wouldn't be too bothered about laptop discrete graphics. Even if it could perform, the thermal restrictions slow it down.
Battery
The biggest disappointment coming from a Mac. It's alright. Not fantastic. I find if you're browsing articles or using Office it'll go for hours! 5hours 29minutes / 90% right now as I type this with nothing else happening in the background. Not as good as a Mac, but good enough I think. The battery is built in and can be ordered from Lenovo for about £36 and user installed unlike in a MacBook which is the redeeming factor.
SSD
The SSD is fast but 180GB is sort of crappy. This was my mistake, but it was £9.60 to upgrade from the stock 500GB HDD which in my opinion was a win! Windows starts up fast, but let's face it.. a Retina MacBook Pro is up and running in about 4 seconds. This takes over 10, but it does feel fast to me. My old Mac took ages!
Extras
The webcam is really lousy. Grainy and slow. I haven't used it much as I can't use FaceTime on here of course, but it'll 'do the job'. The fingerprint reader is great but not as accurate as TouchID. It's a slide finger down it sort of job. (lol).
Connectivity
It's got everything I need. HDMI for the TV. Three USB ports - a welcome extra. Ethernet for when the Wifi plays up, being able to plug in and diagnose issues is handy. The charger isn't a MagSafe, but then, since Apple ditched MagSafe I don't think it's worth crying about. It's a nice design, square. You can tell they spent time thinking about it, and it is standard across the Lenovo laptop range - ThinkPads at least. So getting a new one should be easy even years down the line. The cable hasn't tangled somehow yet.. not sure if this is by luck or design. It charges my iPhone even when off which is nice overnight!
Speakers
Pitful. Absolutely useless. Terrible sounding. But LOUD. Too loud for its own dignity. However for long workloads the headphone jack delivers great quality and I spent more time using that so I'm not too bothered by speakers but compared to the Mac, it's a downgrade there.
Conclusion
I've had my fair share of issues with Windows 10 personally, but that's not what this is about. The laptop itself is great. It feels great. And for every way it's a 'step down' from my old Mac, it offers two things as an upgrade to me which makes it enjoyable to use. It's nice to be part of the ThinkPad line - a little more exclusive than most consumer laptop lines at least where I live. If it lives up to the legendary build quality of ThinkPads from years ago I'd be pretty happy but people are complaining. All I will say is, despite a plastic body etc I have the comfort knowing if something breaks I can replace it with genuine parts that Lenovo sell for very very low prices relative to Apple who don't sell parts and don't make it easy to fix. This, to me, matters so much as it caused me to sell my beloved otherwise fine MBP in February and has put me off spending double what I did on a new Mac. I miss the Mac, mostly OSX. But I'm getting on OK with this laptop all things considered. I'd recommend it to you if you know you can cope with Windows 10. If your options are Dell & HP and you can't afford an XPS or ENVY then I'd say ThinkPads are a safe bet for quality, repairability and Mac like simplicity aesthetics, even if it's 'boring' looking.
Hope this review is useful to anyone on the fence. Let me know if you have any questions. Photos coming soon.
Lenovo ThinkPad E470 - Price as reviewed: £659.99. Ordered from Lenovo.com
Specification
14" LED Backlit Full HD IPS Display
Intel Core i5 7th Generation 7200U 2.5GHz (Turbo Boost 3.1GHz)
4GB DDR4 RAM
NVIDIA 940MX with 2GB Discrete Graphics
Intel 620 Graphics
Intel SSD Pro 540 Series 180GB
TrackPoint + Precision Touchpad
Fingerprint Reader
Built-in Battery
HDMI, Ethernet, Audio in/out combo
3x USB 3.0
SD Card Slot
Webcam + Mic
Ergonomic ThinkPad Keyboard
180' folding hinge mechanism
Windows 10 Home
The Ordering Process
I found that Lenovo offered this laptop with great specs at a really low price! Starting at about £520, there are three models. This is the middle model with an i5, discrete graphics and full HD being the main difference for the extra cash. I configured it directly from Lenovo which was simply and paid via PayPal, smooth experience. They weren't able to give me any definite arrival date but told me up to 6 weeks as it was custom configured and added to a queue of systems to be manufactured to order in China and then enter global shipping. Though, it was fast enough in the end, as I ordered on April 14th and it arrived on April 27th. It certainly didn't come in Apple's white smooth packaging, but it was a nice compact Lenovo box with ThinkPad branding.
Setup
Windows 10 works the same on this machine as any other. It booted quickly and waiting times were minimal. The Lenovo included software isn't the best, but it's unobtrusive and is an easy way to keep all drivers up to date. There's also some good diagnostic tests linked with Lenovo Support so I'd imagine warranty claims etc would be well managed if needed.
Physical Impressions
It's not the thinnest machine. It's not the lightest machine. What it is, is plain and simple - one of the things that appealed to me coming from the Mac. The ThinkPad logo is on the lid of the screen, with a little red LED light. Fingerprints really stick to the lid - I've never seen a plastic like it! But it is nice and can be polished clean. The flat folding hinge is really handy! When carrying the laptop in closed form, you feel the screen opening and closing slightly.. it's a little annoying as Apple tend to have these things perfected but holding it the opposite way around keeps it secure shut. The hinge feels really strong and robust, not something I'm worried about with this computer. It's not like most PCs from Dell & HP where flicking the screen leaves it bouncing back and forward. Build quality is GREAT in my opinion, not so long ago I wouldn't have believed this was possible on a Windows laptop. This is the cheapest ThinkPad in the series so I'd imagine any other model is even better quality.
Keyboard & TrackPad
Something I was very concerned about since my MBP died with a faulty keyboard was replaceable parts and comfort of the keyboard. Many Windows laptops have short travel keys that feel like you're SMACKING the plastic even when typing lightly. And they're poorly laid out and probably impossible to replace because of the vast range of variations on many HP laptops etc. Not with the ThinkPad. It's the most comfortable keyboard I've ever used. Period. I think it's better than the current MacBook line as there's more travel, perhaps this is just preference. I haven't spent a long time with the MBP other than in stores. But this keyboard is superb, and coming from a Mac, you won't be disappointed. It's NOT backlit. This didn't bother me as much as I thought it might.
The trackpad is good. Nowhere near the quality of the Mac trackpad. It's a little rattly to touch. But it's very precise - uses Microsofts Precision Drivers - and adjustment can get it working to your comfortable rate easily. The tap to click is a bit over sensitive so I disabled it. Being a ThinkPad, there's a little red nub to move the pointer and trackpad buttons on the top of the pad. It's handy, but I don't use it as much as I thought I would. It's nice having unobtrusive physical buttons too when preferred. If you're coming from a Mac, you'll get used to this no problem. It's comfortable and ergonomic.
Display
This is a beautiful display. It's antiglare so easier on the eyes for long sessions. IPS and viewable from any angle, better than expected. Colour also isn't washed out. I'm no expert or creative professional, but basically, it doesn't suck. I think someone coming from a non-Retina Mac will be pleased. This was a worthy upgrade. But beware, on games like Minecraft with textures I get a spike artefact on the screen, I think this might be due to the cheap IPS option but am not sure yet if it's a graphics issue. If you plan to game, keep this in mind as a possible issue. Blacks are deep. Colours are saturated well. The 1080p resolution is beautiful to me, I can't get enough of it!
Processor & Graphics
The processor is damn quick as far as I'm concerned. I don't do many large processing tasks but what I have done is quicker than I see on many tutorials on YouTube. It flashes through many installs and isn't slow by any means. The NVIDIA Discrete Graphics have been very disappointing. Most games won't work with it, and some programmes such as Trimble SketchUp won't run at all on the latest driver update.. a roll back is required. Many games will ONLY run on Intel HD graphics which to be honest isn't great considering I expected discrete graphics to kick in and deliver better. In the future, I wouldn't be too bothered about laptop discrete graphics. Even if it could perform, the thermal restrictions slow it down.
Battery
The biggest disappointment coming from a Mac. It's alright. Not fantastic. I find if you're browsing articles or using Office it'll go for hours! 5hours 29minutes / 90% right now as I type this with nothing else happening in the background. Not as good as a Mac, but good enough I think. The battery is built in and can be ordered from Lenovo for about £36 and user installed unlike in a MacBook which is the redeeming factor.
SSD
The SSD is fast but 180GB is sort of crappy. This was my mistake, but it was £9.60 to upgrade from the stock 500GB HDD which in my opinion was a win! Windows starts up fast, but let's face it.. a Retina MacBook Pro is up and running in about 4 seconds. This takes over 10, but it does feel fast to me. My old Mac took ages!
Extras
The webcam is really lousy. Grainy and slow. I haven't used it much as I can't use FaceTime on here of course, but it'll 'do the job'. The fingerprint reader is great but not as accurate as TouchID. It's a slide finger down it sort of job. (lol).
Connectivity
It's got everything I need. HDMI for the TV. Three USB ports - a welcome extra. Ethernet for when the Wifi plays up, being able to plug in and diagnose issues is handy. The charger isn't a MagSafe, but then, since Apple ditched MagSafe I don't think it's worth crying about. It's a nice design, square. You can tell they spent time thinking about it, and it is standard across the Lenovo laptop range - ThinkPads at least. So getting a new one should be easy even years down the line. The cable hasn't tangled somehow yet.. not sure if this is by luck or design. It charges my iPhone even when off which is nice overnight!
Speakers
Pitful. Absolutely useless. Terrible sounding. But LOUD. Too loud for its own dignity. However for long workloads the headphone jack delivers great quality and I spent more time using that so I'm not too bothered by speakers but compared to the Mac, it's a downgrade there.
Conclusion
I've had my fair share of issues with Windows 10 personally, but that's not what this is about. The laptop itself is great. It feels great. And for every way it's a 'step down' from my old Mac, it offers two things as an upgrade to me which makes it enjoyable to use. It's nice to be part of the ThinkPad line - a little more exclusive than most consumer laptop lines at least where I live. If it lives up to the legendary build quality of ThinkPads from years ago I'd be pretty happy but people are complaining. All I will say is, despite a plastic body etc I have the comfort knowing if something breaks I can replace it with genuine parts that Lenovo sell for very very low prices relative to Apple who don't sell parts and don't make it easy to fix. This, to me, matters so much as it caused me to sell my beloved otherwise fine MBP in February and has put me off spending double what I did on a new Mac. I miss the Mac, mostly OSX. But I'm getting on OK with this laptop all things considered. I'd recommend it to you if you know you can cope with Windows 10. If your options are Dell & HP and you can't afford an XPS or ENVY then I'd say ThinkPads are a safe bet for quality, repairability and Mac like simplicity aesthetics, even if it's 'boring' looking.
Hope this review is useful to anyone on the fence. Let me know if you have any questions. Photos coming soon.