Lenovo ThinkPad L450 Notebook Review

Compared to the predecessor, the L450 is not only a little slimmer, but also slightly lighter. Additionally, L450 doesn't come with an optical drive any longer. Otherwise, it's pretty obvious that the two versions are related: both are made out of plastic and feature a very rectangular chassis. The L450's battery protrudes roughly 1 cm from the bottom.

The Thinkpad L440 was equipped with a maintenance hatch, but the L450 is lacking one. To access the hardware, the bottom cover of the base unit needs to be taken off. After all screws are removed, the bottom shell can be pried off with either a pallet knife or a spatula. Caution is advised, as there are small plastic clips which break quite easily.

The chassis features decent build quality overall, although it's not entirely flawless: the upper edge on the right side has a noticeable ridge and it appears that the top half of the base unit hasn't been deburred properly. The lid could be a bit sturdier as well, as it twists fairly easily and flexes when pressure is applied to the back. The hinges hold the display securely; opening the display with one hand is possible - if only just.

The physical ports remain largely unchanged, although they are arranged differently. Compared to the L440, the L450 comes with one less USB port, although the three remaining ones are now USB 3.0. Our review notebook comes with a SIM card slot plus the necessary antennas and could be outfitted with a 3G/LTE modem. The Thinkpad is also available with a SmartCard reader, although our version isn't equipped as such. The chassis has the appropriate cutouts already.

Our notebook comes with Windows 7 Professional (64-bit) preinstalled, although the user has the option to switch to Windows 8.1 Professional (64-bit) instead, since it's includes as well. A recovery DVD is not part of the package and both OS versions only exist on the hard drive. Unfortunately, Lenovo didn't include any instructions on how to switch operating systems, but references the electronic user manual instead. Although the L450 only comes with a 12-month warranty, Lenovo offers plenty of upgrades and extensions. A two-year onsite warranty costs 77 Euro (~$83).

We are already familiar with the outstanding imput devices, since the Thinkpad T450s is equipped with them as well. For detailed information about the keyboard, touchpad, and the trackpoint please take a look at that particular review.