Thinkpad T495 vs Elitebook 840 g6 vs Zenbook UX433FN

[p177]

So, I have decided to retire my trusty x230, as the cramped screen size, horrible tn panel and the aging internals have started to seriously annoy me. I use laptop for teaching (lots of carrying it arround), translation work (making the keyboard quality essential), office work (excel etc.), surfing and some light gaming (strategy and rpg).

What I am looking for in my new laptop is:

• a great keyboard
• a decent 14 inch screen
• serviceability
• reliability to last years
• portability

Everything else is just sugar on top, but of course I want the internals to be as beefy as they can get in my price bracket. I have narrowed my choice to three models (priced about the same), ready to pull the trigger but unable to decide:

 

Lenovo Thinkpad T495, Ryzen 5 3500, 16 gb

pros: I love the keyboard on my x230, supposed thinkpad reliability and build quality, modern and capable chipset, i use an esternal mouse but like the option of trackpoint, weight, no os - no bloat

cons: PANEL LOTTERY - there is a possiblity of getting a horrible BOE panel with awful response times and visible ghosting, soldered parts (one ram stick), reports claim that that the laptop isn't really on the old thinkpad level of quality when it comes to both build and keyboard, design - i don't like the big "chin"

 

HP Elitebook 840 G6, i7 8th gen, 16gb, dgpu Radeon rx550

pros: specs are really high, dedicated graphics, build quality is supposed to be great, has trackpoint, design, low weight, low temparatures (reviews claim it doesnt pass 36 degrees C under load, which seems miraculous - this is for an igpu model, mind you) , EVERYTHING can be serviced and replaced and HP even has a ton of videos on Youtube showing how, long life of previous generation elitebooks, no os installed so no bloadt

cons: reviews claim it's good, but I have doubts about the keyboard, keyboard layout features call answering buttons - I see no point, g6 is new and not a lot of info is available, thermal throttling might be present to reach those low temps - I don't mind if it doesn't slow too much

 

Asus Zenbook UX433FN,i5 8th gen, 16 gb, Geforce MX150

pros: design and portability - really low weight and profile, dgpu, tried the keyboard and it's good, narrow bezels, no os-no bloat

cons: everything is soldered, no info on reliability long term, gpu is the lower voltage MX150 and works about 30% slower than the regular one, possibly bad thermals and throttling due to sleek build, users often mention bad coil whine

 

Any suggestions or opinions are welcomed. I am mostly interested in users of any of these models, and their experiences.

[ZXR]

id go for the 840 g6, they are incredibly well built laptops and should last you a long time. Expect the fans to ramp up under load though. Keyboard is decent from my experience. 

[p177]

9 hours ago, Zeddex said:

id go for the 840 g6, they are incredibly well built laptops and should last you a long time. Expect the fans to ramp up under load though. Keyboard is decent from my experience. 

Thanks for the input! I generally like it the best, but have no experience with HP. The other two make good contender, tho.

[kelvinhall05]

Thinkpad FTW

 

 

I'd take a look at the X1 line, though the T-series is also amazing.

[p177]

11 hours ago, kelvinhall05 said:

Thinkpad FTW

 

 

I'd take a look at the X1 line, though the T-series is also amazing.

Thank you, what makes choose thinkpad as the best? I like them, in fact I use one every day and know their quality, but I feel people are simply too attached to the brand and the old school thinkpads. Modern T and X thinkpads have soldered parts, and lower qc, while other brands have improved their business lines. The main reason I have against t495 is the panel lottery. The low power 400 nits screen can be top quality, or it can be a ghosting mess, and I find this unacceptable for a laptoth such a price.

[kelvinhall05]

1 hour ago, p177 said:

Thank you, what makes choose thinkpad as the best? I like them, in fact I use one every day and know their quality, but I feel people are simply too attached to the brand and the old school thinkpads. Modern T and X thinkpads have soldered parts, and lower qc, while other brands have improved their business lines. The main reason I have against t495 is the panel lottery. The low power 400 nits screen can be top quality, or it can be a ghosting mess, and I find this unacceptable for a laptoth such a price.

While not as good as old(er) ones, modern Thinkpads are still great machines. They're probably much more durable than most other stuff in it's class (obviously a Toughbook will beat it), look sexy, generally aren't any *less* upgradable than, again, similar stuff in its class, they have great keyboards and (though this may not matter to you; it does to me) they have Trackpoints.

 

As for the screen, I'd take the gamble and return it if you don't like it. After all, couldn't you claim that it's a ghosting mess? 

[p177]

Yes, I could return it, but I am ordering it from abroad and it would be a hassle. I like the t495 (e495 looks suprisingly tempting for the price, as well). I also tried the keyboard and it's not as good as one on my x230, but I suppose that's the price of making it thinner. The ux433 is out of the equation, and I'm currently trying to make a choice between t495 and 840 g6.