Fedora Linux ft. Kirby plushes
This is my first ever thinkpad took around 2 weeks looking around on ebay looking for something really cheap for school.
Has a 286 GB SSD and an Intel i5-8350U and 16GB of ram
Introduction
I spent a lot of time shopping for T480 Thinkpads, upgraded some of them and flipped a few. I haven't found a post like this and since it's probably one of the more popular models, I figured I'd make this buying guide for anyone looking to buy/upgrade a T480. Ideally, this would be the only resource you'll need. Suggestions on improving this guide are welcome!
Why the T480?
It was released in 2018 making it not as old a model as others. Most of them feature an 8th Gen Intel CPU which is quite decent and supports Windows 11 officially. It is the last model to feature an internal battery plus an external hot swappable battery. It has a generous amount of upgradability options.
tl;dr
Display: All of them are IPS. Stay away from 1366×768.
Storage: Two slots. NVMe in the main slot is preferrable. Second slot is upgradable with a 2242 WWAN.
CPU: Get the i5-8250U, i5-8350U, i7-8550U, or i7-8650U.
RAM: Up to 64GB (2×32GB). Easily and cheaply upgradable.
GPU: Intel UHD Graphics 620. Some models have the GeForce MX150 which gives a nice slight bump in performance.
Battery: Internal + External hot swappable. 24Wh external makes the laptop thin. 72Wh protrudes out but gives about 8-9 hours of office work. 48Wh not worth it.
Misc: Keyboard can be backlit or not. WiFi can be upgraded but not that necessary. Make sure both charging ports work and display does not have too bad keyboard marks on it.
Display
Luckily, the T480 has never had a TN panel so you’re guaranteed to get an IPS panel. However, a select few only have a 1366×768 resolution so make sure to check this. The most common screen is 1920×1080. Some models did have a 2560×1440 screen. In my opinion, 1080p on a 14“ screen is perfectly fine but this is highly personal. Someone did a 4K upgrade which I think is overkill on 14“ but it’s definitely cool, so if it sounds interesting, here’s the original post:
Some models feature a touchscreen which is only available in 1080p. I haven’t had a chance to use one but users report lower brightness than the non-touch variants. It’s up to you to decide whether you prefer to trade the touch optionality for a decrease in maximum brightness. However, I found that if you really want to have a dedicated GPU, it is more common to find one in the touchscreen models.
Storage
There are two slots for storage.
~1) Main~
This will either be equipped with a SATA SSD or a NVMe SSD. Obviously, it is better to get the NVMe variant. There is a way to convert from SATA to NVMe using a caddy but usually, you get no cost savings over getting a NVMe right away. Depending on the seller, it can be difficult to determine what king of SSD is in a particular model just from the listing info and you might need to contact the seller to find out.
~2) WWAN~
There is a WWAN slot for a 2242 NVMe. If you’re getting a stock T480, this slot is never occupied so it’s up to you to put one in. Keep in mind that you need a B-key SSD. Nowadays, it is quite difficult to find a 2242 NVMe with a B-key. It is much more common to find a 2230. But you can get an 2230 to 2242 adapter and fit a 2230 just fine.
CPU
There are 7 different CPUs that you might encounter in a T480 and three of them are to be avoided. Unfortunately, the CPU is one of the few things that cannot be exchanged on the T480.
i5-7200U
i5-7300U
i3-8130U
i5-8250U
i5-8350U
i7-8550U
i7-8650U
Stay away from the 7200U, 7300U, and 8130U. The first two are really not great and additionally if you want to run Windows 11, it is not officially supported on the 7th Gen. A workaround to make a bootable media using Rufus will work but you're always running a risk of a future official update bricking your system. Although the 8130U is an 8th Gen, it’s still dual-core and not very powerful. The 8250U, 8350U, 8550U, and 8650U are all quad-core and if benchmarks are anything to go by, they are pretty similar in performance:
The i7-8650U should theoretically be the best CPU you can find in the T480.
RAM
There are two RAM slots on the T480 and usually only one will be occupied. The T480 suppots up to 64GB of RAM (2x32GB). Most often, you'll find a model with either 8GB or 16GB of RAM. This should not be a deal breaker since RAM can be exchanged quite easily and relatively cheaply but obviously it's better to get 16GB because a $40 investment into a second RAM stick will get you 32GB of RAM in total. However, if you're looking to run 64GB of RAM, it's actually better for you to get an 8GB model (since it's going to be cheaper) over the 16GB because you'll need to remove the original RAM altogether anyway.
You’re looking for SO-DIMM DDR4 2400MHz sticks (provided you didn’t get the 7th Gen CPUs where you can only get up to 2133MHz). Many users including me have a good experience with the Crucial RAM sticks:
GPU
Every T480 comes with Intel UHD Graphics 620. Don’t expect much gaming from this. You’ll be able to run older games on low settings. However, some models did come with the GeForce MX150. It is not really a powerhorse of any kind but if you plan to play games, edit videos, do 3D modelling, or anything GPU related, it will definitely help a bit in giving you that slight bump in performance. I was actually quite pleasantly surprised with how much gaming I was able to do on it. Plus all models with the MX150 automatically have the double heat sink so you’ll get improved cooling.
Battery
Most models feature a 24Wh internal battery and a 24Wh, 48Wh, or a 72Wh external battery. You will most often find listings with the 24Wh external battery. Both internal and external batteries are something that can be very easily and relatively cheaply bought online. The 24Wh battery sits flush with the bottom of the laptop so if you need it to be slick and thin (e.g., when travelling), this is a good option. The 72Wh battery protrudes downwards and lifts the back of the laptop slightly (which can improve cooling I assume). Don’t bother with the 48Wh battery since its headspace is exactly the same as the 72Wh one but with 2/3 of the capacity. You can expect about 8-9 hours of office work with the 72Wh battery. There is a very detailed post on batteries here:
Misc
~Keyboard~
Some models feature a backlit keyboard. If that’s something you’d like, make sure the model you’re buying has it. There are two backlight intensities, the lower intensity seems to draw much less power than the higher one while still being usable.
There are three manufacturers of keyboards for the T480: LiteOn, Chicony, and Darfon with the LiteOn being regarded as the most comfortable to write on. However, this is something you’ll usually never find out in advance from an online listing. But it’s something you can replace in the future if you wish.
~WiFi~
You can upgrade your WiFi card in the M.2 2230 slot to an Intel AX210 which has WiFi 6E 802.11ax and Bluetooth 5.3:
Apparently, you can get much better WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity with this as the stock card only gives you 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.1. I haven’t personally done this upgrade myself as I find that the stock card performs good enough for me.
~Charging ports~
If you can inspect the laptop in person, make sure to check that both USB-C ports work properly and supply charge without issues.
~Keyboard marks on the display~
Some used ThinkPads may have keyboard marks on the display that can be ever so slight or rather heavy. These can sometimes be cleaned with IPA but it’s better to look out for this. Unfortunately, it is not difficult to photograph the laptop without making them visible even when they are present.
~vPro~
Do I need vPro? If you're not a sysadmin, you don't need it.
Upgrades
This is a very good video detailing how to open up the bottom and upgrade the SSD, RAM, and internal battery:
Here is a video on adding a second SSD (WWAN):
If your model didn’t have an MX150 and therefore the improved heatsink, this video outlines how to do the upgrade:
If you’d like to upgrade your keyboard (e.g., to a LiteOn) here is a video detailing the process:
Optimization for gaming
Here is a great guide on how to get the most out of your T480 with the dedicated MX150 GPU:
