Lenovo ThinkPad E14 G4 AMD laptop review: Affordable and no major weaknesses

While Lenovo previously introduced brighter display options, including 100% sRGB, in the direct predecessor of the ThinkPad E14, the advancements in Generation 4 of the business laptop primarily revolve around performance, which is even slightly higher than in the much more expensive T series, and you also get a better keyboard. Both are very decisive points, depending on how the laptop is used, in addition to good hardware. Further differences to other popular ThinkPad series will be revealed throughout this review.

Only the processor options are new, but these are also just a refresh (Barcelo-U) of AMD’s Zen 2 architecture, which is already found in the E14 Gen 3. Our test lab took a closer look at the “21EB0041GE” model for EUR 885 (~US$950), with its octa-core AMD Ryzen 7 5825U , 16 GB DDR4 RAM (expandable), 512 GB PCIe 3. 0 SSD and Full HD IPS Display (with an advertised peak brightness of 300 cd/m²).

As a campus version, the mobile business laptop is not much cheaper at EUR 869 (~US$935), but a hexa-core CPU and no operating system is also possible for EUR 649 (~US$700). The typical black case of the Lenovo ThinkPad has not changed since Generation 2, but is alternatively available in silver. The low price reflects the choice of materials, namely a combination of plastic (palm rest and display edges) and black anodized aluminum (lid and bottom).

Nevertheless, stability is very good. The base unit defies torsional stress and the lid resists targeted pressure on the back. The hinges are also pleasantly firm, but opening with one hand is not possible.

The smooth surfaces do not appear quite as high quality as those of the ThinkPad T14 or the T14s and are very susceptible to fingerprints. Overall, the case makes a good impression, especially in view of the low price. The ThinkPad E14 is the heaviest 14-incher in our comparison group at 1.

6 kg, but is thinner than most rivals. Although the side edges of the screen are very narrow, this does not apply to the top and bottom edges. As a result, the device’s build depth is also significantly greater than that of the comparison devices.

Nothing has changed in two years in terms of ports either. The outdated USB-A 2. 0 and HDMI 1.

4b are still on board. At least there is the Gigabit LAN (optional) and a USB-C 3. 2 Gen 1 with DisplayPort 1.

2 & charging function. However, no USB-C peripherals can be used without an adapter or docking solution when charging. Almost the same Realtek WiFi 6 adapter of the predecessor ThinkPad is used, which is also reflected in the mediocre WLAN speeds of a maximum of ~1 Gbps.

An Intel AX201 or AX211, as in the Dell Latitude 14 5420 or HP ProBook 440 G9 , are significantly faster, similar to the 2-year-older ThinkPad E14 G2 with Intel’s AX200. WWAN models are not offered. A small but real upgrade is the built-in 1080p webcam compared to the 720p version of the predecessor.

It is much sharper, with less noise, but still only usable for the simplest video calls. A physical shutter (ThinkShutter) is included, and our model also has an IR cam for Windows Hello. In terms of security, there is the IR cam, the physical camera aperture, TPM 2.

0, the Kensington lock and the optional fingerprint scanner integrated into the power button, which worked quickly and flawlessly in our test device. On the software side, you have to do without Mirametrix Glance and Human Presence Detection in contrast to a T-series ThinkPad. Only the USB-C power supply with 65 W is included in the box.

The packaging material is, commendably, hardly made of plastic. Before opening the device, the internal battery should be deactivated in the BIOS. After loosening seven Phillips screws, the case tray and its clips can be removed relatively easily with a spudger.

Afterwards, you have access to the installed M. 2 2242 SSD, a RAM slot (occupied), the WLAN slot as well as an additional slot for longer M. 2 2280 SSDs.

The 57 Wh battery is only screwed in and the fan can be cleaned. In the US, Lenovo provides Onsite Support warranty of 12 months, which can be upgraded to 2, 3, 4 or 5 years for correspondingly higher surcharges. Further comprehensive warranties are available in the form of Premier Onsite Support and Premier Support Plus , also in 1 to 5 year plans, at increasing prices.

Overall, the surcharges range from a minimum of +$25. 00 ( Premier Onsite Support , 1 year) to a maximum of +$381. 85 ( Premier Support Plus , 5 years).

A detailed overview can be seen here . These prices may of course differ in other countries, so interested buyers should double check before purchasing. If you’re looking for the best keyboard in a compact business laptop, you can hardly avoid the Lenovo ThinkPad E14.

All newer ThinkPads have a travel of 1. 5 mm, while the E14 G4 has 1. 8 mm, resulting in a much more pleasant and feedback-rich typing experience for many users.

The full-width, 6-row keyboard with its concave 16 x 16 mm keys is spill-resistant and all important keys are dedicated. The two-stage backlit keyboard doesn’t yield at all under targeted pressure. If you order directly from Lenovo, you have to select the backlight separately.

The 10 x 5. 6 cm touchpad is a little smaller than on some other ThinkPads. Nevertheless, its Mylar surface provides a smooth gliding experience, but feels less like glass than on the ThinkPad T14 .

The integrated click buttons offer rich feedback and medium travel. We very much like the TrackPoint keys, especially since they are not completely flat, in contrast to those on newer ThinkPads. Our test device uses the standard IPS display with Full HD resolution (1920×1080) and a specified brightness of 300 cd/m².

The panel bears the same designation as the direct predecessor and is even a bit brighter with a measured value of 330 cd/m². In addition, the ThinkPad E14 offers a display option with 100% sRGB for stronger colors and media editing in the sRGB range. The offered TN option, on the other hand, is not recommended: 1.

920×1. 080, TN, 250 cd/m², 16:9, 500:1, 45% NTSC 1. 920×1.

080, IPS, 300 cd/m², 16:9, 800:1, 45% NTSC 1. 920×1. 080, IPS, 300 cd/m², 16:9, 1200:1, 100% sRGB The measured contrast of 1,035:1 is slightly above average, while the subjective picture impression is also average to good.

The response times are not too slow, so ghosting is hardly noticeable. No PWM flickering was detected either. However, the clear halos on a dark background can be a bit annoying at times.

With sRGB color space coverage of just under 60%, image editing that requires accurate colors is not possible. In that case, you would have to opt for the 100% sRGB option of the ThinkPad E14, provided you can find such a model listed. The grayscale levels are already accurate ex-works, but things look different in the colors, which almost all deviate significantly from the target value of < 3, even after calibration.

At least no color cast was detected. Our color profile calibrated with the X-Rite i1Pro 2 can be downloaded here . The additional brightness in combination with the matte panel is helpful for outdoor use, but a shady spot is still recommended.

We are reviewing the ThinkPad E14 Gen 4 with an eight-core AMD Ryzen 7 5825U, which is offered alongside the six-core Ryzen 5 5625U and four-core Ryzen 3 5425U CPUs. The RX Vega 8 is used as the graphics unit. RDNA 2 GPU and USB 4 have to be omitted due to the underlying Zen 2 architecture.

The 16 GB DDR4-3200 RAM (8 GB soldered + 8 GB in a slot) can be expanded up to 40 GB, although the 16 GB would still continue to run in dual-channel mode. The 512 GB PCIe 3. 0 SSD comes in the shorter M.

2 2242 format on our SKU. Overall, the performance offered is overkill for a pure office computer, so multimedia use, such as FHD video editing or music production, is an obvious possibility, but the panel with 100% sRGB should be selected here. Intel models with up to a Core i7 1260P and Thunderbolt 4 are also available.

Lenovo doesn’t offer its own programs for performance configuration on its ThinkPad laptops. Instead, these are built into the Windows power settings. There are three profiles that affect performance, battery life, and emissions: We ran all performance tests in Best Performance mode, with the exception of the WiFi and video battery life, which were measured in Balanced mode.

The AMD Ryzen 7 5825U has 8 cores, 16 threads, belongs to the Barcelo U refresh and is thus still based on Zen 2 architecture. The higher multi-core performance compared to the Ryzen 7 PRO 6850U in the ThinkPad T14 G3 is pleasing, as the Cinebench R15 chart below shows. This is mainly due to the higher 31 W TDP in the ThinkPad E14, while it quickly drops from 30 W to 25 W in the T14.

The performance of the E14 G4 also remains stable in battery mode. The competition is also clearly beaten, including the previous generation, represented by the ThinkPad E15 G3 with the eight-core Ryzen 7 5700U , which is outperformed by a whole 18% in our overall rating. In terms of single-core performance, however, the HP ProBook 440 G9 is significantly faster thanks to its Intel CPU Core i7 1255U .

The AMD system is very responsive in all aspects. Web surfing during 4K YouTube playback (without frame drops) is absolutely no problem. The high system performance is also reflected in the PCMark 10 benchmark, where the ThinkPad E14 Gen4 AMD is at the top of our comparison field.

A similar picture emerges in web browsing performance, such as in Mozilla Kraken 1. 1. The 512 GB PCIe 3.

0 SSD from Micron comes in the shorter M. 2 2242 format and is not much inferior to the SK Hynix in the previous model . Furthermore, the Micron SSD is faster than the competition in our comparison field.

In contrast to the HP ProBook 440 G9 and Dell Latitude 14 5420 , performance remains stable during long reading processes. The iGPU AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 is roughly on par with the Radeon 660M and Intel’s Xe Graphics G7 , while the Radeon 680M has a very clear advantage. The ThinkPad E14 is not designed for gaming, but older games can be played at low to medium details in native FHD resolution.

The fan of the ThinkPad E14 G4 always remains silent when idling, web browsing or performing office tasks. Only 3D applications and CPU-intensive tasks bring the fan to life, although it doesn’t get too loud at an average of 34. 5 dB(A), especially since no high-frequency sounds are emitted.

The fan behavior of the competition under medium to high load is noticeably louder, except for the ProBook 440 G9 . No electronic noise, such as coil whine, was detected in the E14. The Lenovo ThinkPad stays very cool at a maximum of 44.

5 °C on the device’s underside in the upper mid area, a few degrees less than the predecessor. Competing devices deliver similarly cool results, but the Acer Swift 5 SF514 in particular stands out positively. In the combined stress test (Prime95 + FurMark), the CPU stays well above its base clock of 2 GHz at 2.

7 GHz. Interestingly, the CPU and GPU clocks increase significantly after about 30 minutes, from 1. 1 GHz to over 1.

7 GHz for the GPU. The temperatures of just over 80 °C are within a good range. Under pure GPU stress, the iGPU maintains its full clock of 2 GHz after an hour.

The 2x 2 W stereo speakers in the ThinkPad E14 have a hint of bass, while the trebles are balanced and the mids linear, but remain too quiet at 68 dB(A) in order to be able to truly enjoy music. Watching videos and video calls are possible without issue. For everything else, we recommend external headphones via the 3.

5 mm jack or Bluetooth. The idle power consumption of 7 W (minimum 4 W) is pleasantly low, while the competition has similar rates, except for the Acer Swift 5 with 3. 5 W (minimum 2.

4 W). The ThinkPad E14 Gen 4 AMD requires a maximum of 58 W, which the 65 W power supply can easily handle. It charges the 57 Wh battery to 80% in 1 hour 20 minutes.

The predecessor of the ThinkPad E14 G4 AMD lasts two hours longer despite repeated tests. Still, just under 9 1/2 hours is not a bad result for web browsing at a set 150 cd/m². The ProBook 440 G9 didn’t even last 6 hours in this test, while the two competitors with Intel CPUs, the Acer Swift 5 and Dell’s Latitude 14 5420 , last around 13 hours.

On the one hand, the Lenovo ThinkPad E14 G4 AMD is an excellent mobile work device with an outstanding keyboard, low emissions, very high performance levels thanks to the octa-core CPU, expandable RAM, RJ45 and a FHD webcam. The fairly bright display and the robust case are also plus points. However, Lenovo is using the same design for the third time in a row in Generation 4 of its ThinkPad E series, which will only change with the coming generation.

Generally, this update cycle is perfectly fine and offers the advantage of a good keyboard, but the USB 2. 0 standard, the rather heavy and bulky case with its 16:9 display, and the lack of internal upgrade possibilities leave a somewhat bitter aftertaste for what is an otherwise high-quality and inexpensive device 14 inch business notebook. The ThinkPad E14 G4 AMD offers more than enough horsepower, even for simple multimedia work, especially if you can find a model with 100% sRGB.

But it doesn’t have to be Ryzen 7 for office work, which has a positive effect on the price. All in all, we can easily recommend the direct predecessor as long as you find a correspondingly cheaper offer. An interesting alternative is the Dell Latitude 14 5420 , although it has a bad touchpad and the significantly lower CPU performance is limited to pure office work and web surfing.

The display of the HP ProBook 440 G9 is too dark, while the 1 kg light Acer Swift 5 SF514 has a glossy touchscreen, but is otherwise a very good alternative if you can get used to the keyboard and are willing to spend aroun US$ 200 more. Also interesting is the ThinkPad L14 G3 AMD , which is slightly more expensive and basically offers the same, but provides a longer battery life of a whopping 4 hours. However, its flat TrackPoint keys only offer 1.

5 mm key travel. It’s also a little thicker, but has two RAM slots and a 400 cd/m² bright low-power display option. In its US webstore, Lenovo is currently offering a number of interesting configurations of the ThinkPad E14 G4 AMD at heavily discounted prices.

These are: Prices are as of 10. 06. 23 and are subject to change.

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