Hardware vs. Software - MBA 2020 (base) vs. Thinkpad T495s

[TomOSeven]

Hey lads,

I'm trying to replace my chunky gaming laptop with something that can live in my backpack. My use case is very outside-heavy, and a 2.5kg gaming monster with 4 hours of battery life and a charging brick larger than a small laptop just doesn't cut it.

The two top contenders are the new Macbook Air and the Thinkpad T495s. They're both approximately the same size, weight and price.

Macbook Air i5 vs. Thinkpad T495s with Ryzen 5 PRO 3500U
256 GB SSD vs. 512 GB SSD (plus another 500 GB through MicroSD extension)
8 GB RAM vs. 16 GB RAM
Higher Resolution vs. Matte Display
Much better Speakers vs. much better port selection, including WWAN
1 year warranty vs. 3 year warranty
much better trackpad vs. much better keyboard plus trackpoint
better battery life vs. much better performance and cooling
great looking chassis vs. very sturdy chassis and 180 degree hinge
MacOS vs. Pop!_OS 20.04

Since I also have a 12.9 inch iPad, the SideCar feature makes OSX very appealing to me. However, that would probably mean I'd want to get an iPhone (SE) as well, and then I'd need wireless earphones and suddenly I'm out another month's savings. Plus I'd need a whole new set of cables because the iPhone still doesn't come with USB-C, and my car doesn't even have bluetooth speakers so I couldn't charge the phone and listen to music at the same time... But who needs a headphone jack anyway.

What makes me most hesitant to go with a Macbook, honestly, is the fact that now even the entry level Macbook Pro comes with that stupid touch bar, which is a feature I'm too much of an old dog to ever adopt.

I do like MacOS a LOT, but I'm not sure it's worth going all-in on Apple at this point, when the hardware side is lagging behind so much in so many regards...

 

[mick2]

What things will you be using the new machine for? Two very different machines there.

Does the backpack / outside use thing mean actual backpacking / extensive travel, or more commuting and sitting in a park at lunchtime? The MBA is light, thin and fairly fragile and probably not well suited to actual backpacking; the Lenovo is a fair bit tougher.

 

[TomOSeven]

I'm a CS student and do a fair bit of e-learning on top of it.

Currently doing a lot of data science courses and I'm forced to use Java during my OOP courses. I also do game development and pixel art, but mostly using a very lightweight 2d framework (Godot).

No extensive travel (especially now) but I do use the laptop more outside the house than inside. My favourite bench / table in the forest is full of pollen half the time and the matte 400 nits display of the Thinkpad would fare very well there.

But Sidecar is feature so cool I can't quite get over it.

 

[mick2]

I'm using a T480s - so quite similar to the T495s - and a 2020 MBA.

I'd say for all round dev use, the T495s wins out. You can run Win10 natively if req'd, and it will run any of the major Linux distros on bare metal with pretty much full hardware support (Lenovo are now shipping T4xx models with teh option of pre-installed Fedora). I'd imagine you're using Linux a fair bit for your DS & CS stuff. It's a fundamentally different class of processor / power to the MBA and will cope with anything you throw at it.

I get it about the Macbook / MacOS experience; it is slick, feels great to use and comes with the ecosystem. It's also the only realistic route into MacOS / iOS dev in swift. The MBA itself is great to use, but its no match for the sustained performance of the T495s. If I had to live with just one machine for CS / data science / all round use it'd be the Lenovo, even though its less sexy. Just for its flexibility, and Win10 / Linux dual boot.

my $0.02

 

[deeddawg]

I think you're comparing Apples and Oranges here, pun slightly intended.

The Macbook Air CPU has half the TDP of the Lenovo. MBA is intended for brief bursty CPU loads, not anything sustained - which I'd imagine you'll be doing quite a bit of with game development (testing).

You'd be better suited comparing the 13" Macbook Pro to the Lenovo.

 

[gpat]

You're forgetting one thing: no functional heatpipe vs. heatpipe

 

[TomOSeven]

I think you're comparing Apples and Oranges here, pun slightly intended.

I don't think I am. You *would* have a point if the TDW came with an appreciable smaller and lighter computer, like if I were comparing the Thinkpad to a 12" Macbook, but both computers are virtually the same size.

I'm merely comparing two computers of roughly the same proportions and price.
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I'm using a T480s - so quite similar to the T495s - and a 2020 MBA.

I'd say for all round dev use, the T495s wins out. You can run Win10 natively if req'd, and it will run any of the major Linux distros on bare metal with pretty much full hardware support (Lenovo are now shipping T4xx models with teh option of pre-installed Fedora). I'd imagine you're using Linux a fair bit for your DS & CS stuff. It's a fundamentally different class of processor / power to the MBA and will cope with anything you throw at it.

You know what, you're right. I'll just get the Thinkvision M14 screen as well, so I have a second screen for longer trips, and I'll still come out WAY cheaper than if I got a similarly specced Macbook and iPhone. I'll just make room for a small Windows partition for the few things that Linux still can't do.

 

[Madhatter32]

I hate to say it but I think I would go with the Thinkpad. It's a more capable machine than the MBA. Specs are better -- especially the extra RAM. The matte display is a bonus for outside use. Unless of course, you really enjoy MacOS vs. Win10. For me, that is what makes it a harder call because I'm not a big fan of Win10 personally.

 

[rambo47]

Windows for gaming.
MacOS for life.

You can use an Android phone with MacOS just fine. Gmail integrates well with MacOS so calendar and contacts will remain synced.

 

[filmbuff]

Why is everyone saying the Thinkpad has much better specs when OP is comparing a customized one to the base MBA? With 16GB RAM and 512 storage the Thinkpad is $1338 and the MBA is $1409 configured the same way. CPU performance is comparable according to geekbench. For me I'd pay the little extra for the MBA, but for OP using it outside the T495 is probably better just for the anti-glare screen if nothing else.

 

[TomOSeven]

Those two configs have the same price for me, assuming I upgrade the SSD myself.

Maybe someone here can share experiences with the base 2020 Macbook Air and how fluidly sidecar works? I've tried to use Duet Display with my GTX 1660 ti gaming laptop in Windows and it's completely terrible.