Lenovo T460 Review: A Rugged Bussiness Laptop

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Lenovo T460: At First Glance

Lenovo is one of the top laptop manufacturers in the world. Furthermore, it has an awesome lineup of excellent-performing laptops with excellent specifications and features.

One of these laptops is the Lenovo T460, which was released in 2016. Starting at $189 (price valid as of November 2022), this 14-inch business laptop combines powerful hardware and an epic battery life.

Furthermore, the laptop comes with a comfortable keyboard and a decent amount of ports. Although the Lenovo T460 is impressive, it is not without a flaw.

To find out more about this laptop and its flaws, read on!

Lenovo T460: Design, Display, Ports, and Connectivity

The Lenovo T460 comes with a similar design as its predecessors, the Lenovo T450 and Lenovo T440. To give more details, the laptop’s chassis is made with two different materials, just like its predecessor.

Specifically, the lid of the laptop is made of carbon fiber with a matte-black finish. Meanwhile, the laptop’s base also features a matte-black finish but is made with magnesium alloy.

Due to the materials used to make its chassis, the Lenovo T460 feels sturdy and has a rugged look. As a matter of fact, the laptop passed various MIL-STD 810G tests.

Hence, this laptop can withstand rough handling and numerous harsh conditions like extreme vibration, dust, high temperature, and electrostatic discharges. That being said, Lenovo included a slanted “ThinkPad” inscription at the top left corner of the laptop’s lid.

Besides, this lid is connected to the laptop’s base with two hinges. These hinges are pretty tight and rigid.

Thus, you might struggle to open the laptop’s lid with one hand. Nevertheless, the tightness and rigidity of the hinges prevent the lid from wobbling or flexing too much.

Upon opening this lid, you will be greeted by the Lenovo T460’s 14-inch display. Impressively, Lenovo also offers a touchscreen display version of this laptop.

Therefore, you can also purchase the Lenovo T460 with a 14-inch touchscreen display. Aside from that, Lenovo also offers two resolution options for the laptop’s display – Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) and HD (1366 x 768 pixels).

Apparently, because the FHD resolution option offers more pixels, it is better than the HD resolution option. Therefore, the picture quality of the Lenovo T460’s FHD display option will be sharper and clearer than the Lenovo T460’s HD display option.

Besides, with the HD display option, you will get a maximum brightness of 200 nits. However, with the FHD display option, you will get a maximum brightness of 250 nits.

Thus, the Lenovo T460 with the FHD display option is best for usage in well-lit areas compared to the HD display option. Nonetheless, with either resolution option, the laptop’s display features an anti-glare coating.

This coating helps reduce the intensity of reflections and sun glares on the laptop’s display for an ideal viewing experience. In addition to the anti-glare coating, the Lenovo T460’s display also has wide viewing angles.

As a result, you can watch the display off-center without losing picture quality or noticing color distortion. Disappointingly, the matte-black bezels that surround this laptop’s display are somewhat thick.

Moreover, the top and bottom bezels are thicker than the side bezels. Also, the bottom bezel features a “Lenovo” inscription on the left and a “T460” inscription on the right.

The top bezel, on the other hand, has a 720p HD webcam at the center. Although this webcam isn’t good for taking pictures, it is ideal for casual video calls.

Moving to the base of the Lenovo T460, you will find a spacious palm rest and a spill-resistant keyboard. Impressively, the smile-shaped keys on this keyboard are well-spaced and have a long key travel of 2.33 millimeters.

As a result, the keyboard should offer a comfortable and excellent typing experience. In case you don’t know, key travel is the distance between a key’s rest point to full depression.

Below this laptop’s keyboard, you will see a 2.9 x 3.9-inch touchpad that has a smooth and responsive surface. Also, this touchpad has two integrated click buttons and three dedicated click buttons at the top for the included TrackPoint.

Speaking of TrackPoint, the Lenovo T460 has a red TrackPoint in the middle of its keyboard. This TrackPoint serves as an alternative to the touchpad, meaning you can use it to control the cursor on the laptop’s screen.

That being said, you will notice a ”ThinkPad” inscription on the right palm rest of this laptop’s base.

Moving on, the Lenovo T460 has a decent amount of ports but lacks a USB Type-C port and Thunderbolt. Moreover, the ports are separated between the left and right sides of the laptop.

Specifically, you will find one USB 3.0 port, a headphone jack, and a 4-in-1 card reader on the laptop’s left side. Meanwhile, the right side of the laptop features an Ethernet port, an HDMI port, and two more USB 3.0 ports.

Having said all that, let us now examine the dimensions and weight of the Lenovo T460. This Lenovo laptop has a dimension of 339 x 232.5 x 21 mm (W x D x H).

However, its weight differs based on the display option you choose. Specifically, the touchscreen display version of the laptop weighs 1770 g or 1900 g.

The non-touchscreen display version, on the other hand, weighs 1730 g or 1870 g. Regardless of the version of the laptop you purchase, the Lenovo T460 is heavier and thicker than most of its competitors.

For example, the ASUS ViviBook F412DA weighs 1500 g and measures 322 x 212 x 19.9 mm (W x D x H). Also, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga Gen 6 has a weight of 1399 g and measures 313 x 223 x 14.9 mm (W x D x H).

In conclusion, the Lenovo T460 has a rugged build and decent design. Also, the laptop offers multiple display options and an impressive spill-resistant keyboard.

However, the laptop is heavier and thicker than most of its competitors. Hence, I will rate the Lenovo T460 an eight out of ten in this design review section.

Lenovo T460: Processor (CPU) Performance

For processing tasks, the Lenovo T460 features an Intel Core i7-6600U processor. This processor has a base frequency of 2.60 GHz and a maximum frequency of 3.40 GHz.

Also, the processor is a 6th-generation Intel dual-core processor that comes with a 4 MB cache memory. Considering the specs and speed of this processor, the Lenovo T460 should be able to perform most computing tasks, including multitasking, with ease.

However, to prove how well the laptop can perform with this processor, we will now discuss its result on the Cinebench R15 benchmark test. This test is a benchmark test that assesses the performance of a computer’s processor by putting its cores under intensive workloads.

Therefore, the test involves two aspects: the single-core test and the multi-core test. The single-core test calculates the processor’s performance when one of its CPU cores is in use.

Meanwhile, the multi-core test assesses the CPU’s performance when all its cores are being used. Notably, a high score on the Cinebench R15 single-core test and multi-core test equate to good processor performance.

So, according to the benchmark test results, the Lenovo T460 scored 136.6 points on the Cinebench R15 single-core test. On the multi-core test, however, the laptop scored 324 points.

These scores are pretty impressive and slightly better than that of the HP EliteBook 840 G3, which uses an Intel Core i7-6500U processor. Specifically, this HP laptop scored 119 points and 322 points on the Cinebench R15 single-core and multi-core tests, respectively.

Considering all that, I will rate the Lenovo T460 a nine out of ten in this processor review section.

Lenovo T460: Memory (RAM) Performance

The Lenovo T460 offers a DDR3L memory type, which has a speed of 1600 MHz. Furthermore, the laptop comes with two RAM slots and a standard memory of 8 GB in one slot.

Also, the Lenovo T460 supports a maximum memory of 32 GB. Hence, with the help of multiple memory slots, you can upgrade the laptop’s memory to a maximum of 32 GB – 16 GB RAM on each slot.

Nonetheless, upgrading the laptop’s memory may not be necessary. This is because the standard memory of 8 GB RAM should be enough for the laptop to perform most computing tasks.

In actual fact, you should be able to multitask on the Lenovo T460 with 8 GB RAM. Specifically, the laptop will be able to run a dozen Chrome tabs simultaneously without lagging.

While these browser tabs are running, you can even decide to stream a movie on Netflix, and the laptop still won’t lag. In order to further assess the laptop’s performance with 8 GB RAM, let us check out its PCMark 8 benchmark result.

By the way, PCMark 8 is a test that measures a computer’s memory performance by simulating a bunch of real-world productivity tasks like word processing. Additionally, a high score on this test means a good memory performance.

According to the test result, the Lenovo T460 scored 3956 points. Sadly, the laptop was outperformed by all the laptops in its category.

For example, the Dell Latitude 14 E7470 scored 4543 points on the test. Also, the HP EliteBook 840 G3 recorded a score of 4275 points.

Nonetheless, I will rate the Lenovo T460 an eight out of ten in this RAM review section. This is because it offers two memory slots and supports a maximum memory of 32 GB.

Lenovo T460: Storage Options and Performance

Impressively, the Lenovo T460 offers four storage options. These include 5400 RPM SATA3 HDD, 7200 RPM SATA3 HDD, SSHD, and SATA3 SSD.

The 7200 RPM SATA3 HDD and SSHD storage options support a maximum storage capacity of 500 GB. However, the 5400 RPM SATA3 HDD supports a max storage capacity of 1 TB.

Meanwhile, the SATA3 SSD supports a max storage capacity of 512 GB. Apparently, all the storage options support a maximum storage capacity that will be sufficient for most users.

To make things better, the Lenovo T460 features a 4-in-1 (SD, SDHC, SDXC, MMC) card reader for storage expansion. With that being said, it is important to note that this review is based on the Lenovo T460 with 256 GB SATA3 SSD.

Due to the super-fast speed of SSDs, this laptop should offer a fast file transfer speed. For instance, on a file transfer test, the laptop was able to transfer about 4.97 GB of mixed-media files in just 29 seconds.

Impressively, it does that at a transfer speed of 175.5 MBps. That’s above the category average of 115.1 MBps.

To further prove the laptop’s storage performance, let us talk about its results on the CrystalDiskMark test. For clarity, CrystalDiskMark is a benchmark test that gauges the read and write speed of a computer’s storage drive.

In case you don’t know, read speed is how fast it takes a computer’s storage drive to open a file. However, write speed is how fast it takes the computer’s storage drive to save a file.

It is important to mention that a high MBps value on the CrystalDiskMark test equates to fast read and write speed. So, on the test, the Lenovo T460 recorded a read speed of 458.9 MBps and a write speed of 394.4 MBps.

In comparison, the HP EliteBook 840 G3 – also uses an SSD – recorded a read speed of 497.8 MBps and a write speed of 241.4 MBps. Hence, the Lenovo T460 will save files faster but open files slower than this laptop.

All things considered, I will be rating the Lenovo T460 an eight in this storage review section.

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Lenovo T460: Graphics Card Performance

Similar to the storage, the Lenovo T460 offers multiple graphics card options. Specifically, you can either purchase the laptop with an Intel HD Graphics 520 GPU or an NVIDIA GeForce 940MX GPU.

The Intel HD Graphics 520 has a base frequency of 300 MHz and a boost frequency of 1050 MHz. However, the GPU is an integrated graphics card, meaning it is built into the processor of the laptop.

Thus, in order to perform graphics-related tasks, this integrated GPU has to share the system memory with the processor. Hence, with this graphics card, the Lenovo T460 won’t be able to handle high-end games or perform demanding graphics-related tasks.

Gladly, that’s not the case for the laptop with the second graphics card option, the NVIDIA GeForce 940MX GPU. This is because the NVIDIA GeForce 940MX GPU is a dedicated graphics card that features a dedicated VRAM of 2 GB GDDR5.

Also, the GPU has a base frequency of 795 MHz and a boost frequency of 861 MHz. Therefore, with this dedicated graphics card, the Lenovo T460 should be able to perform intensive graphics-related tasks like video editing effectively.

Additionally, the laptop should be able to run some title AAA games smoothly. However, this review is based on the Lenovo T460 with the integrated Intel HD Graphics 520 GPU.

Although this laptop won’t be able to play high-end games effectively, it will run casual games smoothly. In fact, the Lenovo T460 with Intel HD Graphics 520 GPU should be able to play most games on the Microsoft Store, like Asphalt 8.

That being said, let us examine the laptop’s result on the 3DMark benchmark test to further evaluate its performance with the integrated GPU option. For your information, 3DMark is a test tool that estimates the 3D and 2D graphics rendering proficiency of a computer.

Furthermore, a high score implies good performance on this benchmark test. On that note, the Lenovo T460 scored 1537 points on the 3DMark benchmark test.

Comparatively, this laptop performed better than the ASUS Zenbook UX3410UA, which scored 1373 points on the test. Moreover, this ASUS laptop uses an integrated Intel HD Graphics 620 GPU.

In conclusion, the Lenovo T460 offers multiple GPU options. Also, the laptop beats one of its competitors on a GPU benchmark test.

Thus, I will be rating the Lenovo T460 an eight out of ten in this GPU review section.

Lenovo T460: Battery Life and Performance  

The Lenovo T460 offers a built-in 3-cell 23.2Wh battery and two removable battery options. These removable battery options include another 3-cell 23.2Wh battery and a 6-cell 72Wh Li-Ion battery.

Nonetheless, this review focuses on the Lenovo T460 with the 6-cell 72Wh Li-Ion removable battery in addition to the internal 3-cell 23.2Wh battery. According to Lenovo, with this combination, the laptop should last up to 20 hours.

However, manufacturers mostly lie in order to sell their products. So, in order to confirm Lenovo’s claim, we will discuss the laptop’s result on a battery rundown test.

This battery rundown test involves surfing the web continuously over a Wi-Fi connection at a 50% brightness level until the laptop runs low. Impressively, the Lenovo T460 lasted about 17 hours and 4 minutes at the end of the test.

However, the battery life reduces to 13 hours and 12 minutes if you use the Lenovo T460 with the touchscreen display option. Regardless, the laptop has a longer battery life than most of its competitors.

For example, the HP EliteBook 840 G3 only lasted 7 hours and 55 minutes on the same battery test. Also, the Dell Latitude 14 7000 Series E7470 lasted 5 hours on the battery rundown test.

Therefore, I believe the Lenovo T460 deserves a rating of nine out of ten in this battery life review section.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

The Lenovo T460 is a rugged laptop that comes with adequate performance and numerous configuration options. Furthermore, the laptop offers a powerful 6th-generation Intel Core i7 processor that can handle most computing tasks.

Also, the Lenovo T460 has a comfortable keyboard and a long battery life. That’s not all; the laptop features a decent number of ports and a dedicated graphics card option.

However, the laptop lacks a USB Type-C port. Regardless, for a starting price of just $189, the Lenovo T460 is definitely a steal!

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