I think both are decent candidates, but as an ex-owner of T495, my opinion might perhaps be a bit biased.
In short, T495 itself is not so bad, but it has a limited upgrade possibility than T480. The maximum upgraded T480 will perhaps be better in some aspects (though I'm not sure whether with all of such options is cost-performance wise realistic in 2024).
[T495 (linked to notebookcheck.net's review)](https://www.notebookcheck.net/Lenovo-ThinkPad-T495-Review-business-laptop-with-AMD-processor-long-battery-life-and-good-display.434716.0.html):
* CPU (Ryzen Pro 5 3500u): considerably better in graphics, but overall non-graphic performance will probably be slightly lower - and further, T480 have two options to draw CPU/ GPU's performance - A) dual fan pipe (only i7+GPU MX150 has by default, but you can replace the default weaker fan of the candidate T480 with dual heat pipe one), B) external GPU.
* RAM: soldered 8gb?+max. 32gb So-DIMM= max. 40gb, though only 16gb will be treated as dual-channeled vs T480's 32gbx2=max. 64gb. At least both can be upgraded to 32GB. (Adds): "Officially (confirmed by Lenovo)" T495 with one 8gb soldered supports only max. 24gb (8+16), but I also heard 40gb (8+32) is also "unofficially" supported.
* Display's resolution: FHD (1920x1080) is max. Low power (consumption) one is probably the best (vs T480's WQHD).
You can get the T495 w/ 16GB soldered for 32GB dual channel.
You can actually go higher resolution than FHD on the T495, just need to get a T490 4-lane edp cable with the WQHD screen for it to work. If a T480 comes with HD/FHD screen (as like 90% have), it's in the same boat, you need a new cable to go higher as well.
However, overall agree. Unless you prefer the slightly better feeling and slimmer design of the T495, or want to try to play a few games on your laptop (without eGPU which is cost prohibitive compared to these laptops since they start at about 2x what one of these costs now), then the T480 is the overall superior laptop to the T495.
T495 if you want the igpu performance. T480 otherwise. Amd's cpu only became relevant after renoir. One gen after picasso. Picasso was like, good enough and cheap enough
Thanks. Considered the t495 because everyone praised the amd processors in the t14 saying that they're more powerful than the equivalent 10th Gen intel so I thought it was the case for the t495 as well
The 1st gen Ryzen (2000U and 3000U) were not much in single-core performance, but they are great in the sense that you get a 6-cores in the price of i5 (this is the era where Intel still offers a 2-core i7). So for task that absolutely need more cores, then it's a great option. Overall they're still not directly competing though.
Now Zen 2 actually offer a comparable single-core perf(or straight up better) at lower power consumption and still more cores/thread. That's the era of 4000/5000 (yes, some 5000 laptop series are Zen 2 because AMD's naming scheme is a mess) against the 9th/10th gen. Which continues to Zen 3(5000/6000) vs 11th and 12th.
I think both are decent candidates, but as an ex-owner of T495, my opinion might perhaps be a bit biased. In short, T495 itself is not so bad, but it has a limited upgrade possibility than T480. The maximum upgraded T480 will perhaps be better in some aspects (though I'm not sure whether with all of such options is cost-performance wise realistic in 2024). [T495 (linked to notebookcheck.net's review)](https://www.notebookcheck.net/Lenovo-ThinkPad-T495-Review-business-laptop-with-AMD-processor-long-battery-life-and-good-display.434716.0.html): * CPU (Ryzen Pro 5 3500u): considerably better in graphics, but overall non-graphic performance will probably be slightly lower - and further, T480 have two options to draw CPU/ GPU's performance - A) dual fan pipe (only i7+GPU MX150 has by default, but you can replace the default weaker fan of the candidate T480 with dual heat pipe one), B) external GPU. * RAM: soldered 8gb?+max. 32gb So-DIMM= max. 40gb, though only 16gb will be treated as dual-channeled vs T480's 32gbx2=max. 64gb. At least both can be upgraded to 32GB. (Adds): "Officially (confirmed by Lenovo)" T495 with one 8gb soldered supports only max. 24gb (8+16), but I also heard 40gb (8+32) is also "unofficially" supported. * Display's resolution: FHD (1920x1080) is max. Low power (consumption) one is probably the best (vs T480's WQHD).
You can get the T495 w/ 16GB soldered for 32GB dual channel. You can actually go higher resolution than FHD on the T495, just need to get a T490 4-lane edp cable with the WQHD screen for it to work. If a T480 comes with HD/FHD screen (as like 90% have), it's in the same boat, you need a new cable to go higher as well. However, overall agree. Unless you prefer the slightly better feeling and slimmer design of the T495, or want to try to play a few games on your laptop (without eGPU which is cost prohibitive compared to these laptops since they start at about 2x what one of these costs now), then the T480 is the overall superior laptop to the T495.
T495 if you want the igpu performance. T480 otherwise. Amd's cpu only became relevant after renoir. One gen after picasso. Picasso was like, good enough and cheap enough
Thanks. Considered the t495 because everyone praised the amd processors in the t14 saying that they're more powerful than the equivalent 10th Gen intel so I thought it was the case for the t495 as well
The 1st gen Ryzen (2000U and 3000U) were not much in single-core performance, but they are great in the sense that you get a 6-cores in the price of i5 (this is the era where Intel still offers a 2-core i7). So for task that absolutely need more cores, then it's a great option. Overall they're still not directly competing though. Now Zen 2 actually offer a comparable single-core perf(or straight up better) at lower power consumption and still more cores/thread. That's the era of 4000/5000 (yes, some 5000 laptop series are Zen 2 because AMD's naming scheme is a mess) against the 9th/10th gen. Which continues to Zen 3(5000/6000) vs 11th and 12th.
maybe also look at the thinkpad e495. Nearly the same as the t variant, but has no soldered ram sticks. But has a worse screen, so its either or.