Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 15 review

This laptop fails to give a decent reason to accept low power and poor performance

Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 15
With too many corners cut, we can't really recommend this laptop to anyone

TechRadar Verdict

Pros

  • +

    Good build quality

  • +

    Matt TFT screen

  • +

    Dedicated graphics

Cons

  • -

    Performance

  • -

    Only 250GB HDD

  • -

    Battery life

Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

Lenovo has long been associated with business, but its ThinkPad range has transcended the world of corporate business trips and offices and is now just as comfortable in the home.

The ThinkPad Edge 15 doesn't disguise its corporate heritage and celebrates it through its plain black exterior and its red 'finger pointer' in the middle of the chassis.

As Lenovo's budget offering, the Edge makes money-saving compromises. There's a dedicated ATI HD 4250 graphics card, which means its capable of watching HD movies and playing basic games, but that's where the positives end.

In terms of storage, there's a 250GB hard drive, which in modern terms is very low. There's still plenty of room for storing thousands of pictures and plenty of movies, but most sub-£399 laptops come with at least 320GB.

The Edge also ships with just 2GB of RAM which is the absolute minimum you should look for when buying a laptop. Compared to the 6GB included in the HP Pavilion dv6-3112sa, this is very low and means that using your PC won't feel as responsive when running intensive applications such as photo editing.

The final and most important item on the Edge's list of hardware sacrifices is the ageing AMD Athlon II 2.1 GHz processor, which is dwarfed in performance by the older first-generation chips found in the HP Pavillion dv6 and Acer Timeline 4820T. The impact on performance is staggering and our lab tests showed that the Lenovo ThinkPad Edge was vastly inferior to the HP in every respect, apart from a seven-minute longer battery life.

Benchmarks

Battery life: 214
MobileMark 2007: 148
3DMark 2003: 3377

Despite this, the 214-minute battery life is disappointing and there are plenty of laptops that offer eight hours' life or more for less money.

Solid build

The Lenovo feels solidly built and it is robust enough to withstand a hectic lifestyle, making it perfect for people looking for a business machine capable of basic office tasks.

The screen is sharp, but non-reflective, making it ideal for working in bright sunshine, but it won't make your movies look their best.

At 2.5kg, it's light enough take out with you on the move; however, if you spend your life carrying a laptop on your back, then a lighter option like the 2kg Acer with Core i3 is a much better option.

In short, the Lenovo ThinkPad Edge makes too many sacrifices for no real benefit. It's thoroughly trounced by the Acer and HP in every respect, from raw power for getting more done to size, weight and build quality. With so many great machines on offer in the sub-£450 space, it's impossible to recommend the ThinkPad Edge for any user.

Follow TechRadar Reviews on Twitter: http://twitter.com/techradarreview

TOPICS
Latest in Laptops
apple macbook air against blue background
There's a huge MacBook Air sale right now – shop record-low prices from $629.99
Dell Inspiron, MacBook and Surface Pro laptop next to each other on a orange background
Best Buy has excellent laptop deals and I've picked the 9 best offers from $139
13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air M4 in Sky Blue
The new Apple MacBook Air M4 has a weird quirk with its performance cores - but it's nothing to worry about
MacBook Air 15-inch with M4 chip on a creative's desk with screen open
I've reviewed the Apple MacBook Air 15-inch (M4) - and it remains the best 15-inch laptop I'd recommend for most people
Apple MacBook Air M3 on yellow background with lowest price text overlay
Forget the MacBook Air M4: here are 9 older-model MacBook deals from $629.99
MacBook Air mute key
The new M4 MacBook Air finally fixes an Apple keyboard annoyance that's been around for decades
Latest in Reviews
WWE 2K25
I've spent days in the ring with WWE 2K25, and it's like a five-star match ruined by the Million Dollar Man
Curaprox Hydrosonic Pro electric toothbrush
Curaprox Hydrosonic Pro review: A powerful seven-mode, Swiss-made sonic brush
Atelier Yumia
I was already sold on Atelier Yumia as an RPG, but I wasn’t expecting it to have my favorite crafting system in all of gaming
Alienware 27 AW2725Q monitor on desk displaying a scene from Cyberpunk 2077
I played games with Alienware's new 27-inch 4K OLED monitor and now I don't want to see another LCD panel
PLAUD NOTE
I tested this AI voice recorder, and now I'll never take meeting notes manually again
SanDisk Extreme PRO with USB4
Testing the new SanDisk Extreme PRO with USB4 SSD proved both challenging and revealing