Lenovo Thinkpad Yoga 14 or y40?

[Zero03]

I was looking for a laptop, as light as possible, that could handle programs like photoshop or autocad, and some light gaming, and I can´t decide between this two:

Thinkpad Yoga 14:
processor
Intel Core i5-5200U Processor( 2.20GHz 1600MHz 3MB)
operating system
Windows 10 Home 64
graphics
NVIDIA GeForce GT 940M 2GB
memory
8.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3L 1600 MHz
display
14.0" FHD LED Multitouch 1920x1080
hard drive
1TB 5400 RPM + 16GB M.2
battery
4 Cell Li-Polymer
network card
Intel Wireless 7265 (2x2) AC

Y40
processor
5th Generation Intel Core i7-5500U Processor (2.40GHz 1600MHz 4MB)
operating system
Windows 8.1 64
graphics
AMD Radeon R9 M275 4GB
memory
16.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3L 1600 MHz
display
14.0" FHD LED AntiGlare (1920x1080)
pointing device
ClickPad
hard drive
1TB 5400 RPM+8GB SSHD
battery
4 Cell 48 Watt Hour Li-Polymer
network card
Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 3160

Both at the same price (850$)
The Thinkpad yoga have tablet mode, backlit keyboard, better battery life (8 hours) and less weight.
The Y40 have 2 GB More of Graphics (AMD R9 4GB instead of GT940M 2gb) and double of Ram (16gb vs 8gb of the thinkpad)

which should I buy?



(Sorry for bad english)

 

[jaguarskx]

Hardware wise, the Y40 is better. The R9 M275's performance is between the 940m and GTX 950m. The ThinkPad Yoga 14 is limited to only 8GB of RAM since it only has one RAM slot. It can be upgraded to 16GB of RAM using Intelligent Memory's proprietary 16GB stick of RAM, but since they hold the patent to 16GB RAM sticks it is pretty expensive at about $325.

In addition to tablet mode the ThinkPad Yoga 14 has an active digitizer (Wacom), but the only the ThinkPad Pen Pro ($40) is compatible.


I would probably lean towards the Y40 because it has 16GB of RAM (2x 8GB sticks) which can come in handy for very large photoshop files when using lots of different filters. Autocad can most likely benefit from that amount of RAM as well. The ThinkPad Yoga is more versatile especially if you want to buy the optional ThinkPad Pen Pro to draw on the screen. But if you come to the point where 8GB is not sufficient enough to do your work, then you will need to pony up the $325 it costs for Intelligent Memory's 16GB RAM stick.

 

[jaguarskx]

Personally, I like the ThinkPad Yoga 14. I was going to buy it just on a whim. I don't need it, but it's nice to have. I had to force myself out of my local Bestbuy so that I would not "accidentally" whip my credit card.

 

[Zero03]

Personally, I like the ThinkPad Yoga 14. I was going to buy it just on a whim. I don't need it, but it's nice to have. I had to force myself out of my local Bestbuy so that I would not "accidentally" whip my credit card.

So it´s better to buy the y40 and use a Tablet for note-taking? (I Forgot to say that i´m an engineering student)

 

[jaguarskx]

In that case, ask your professor(s) if 8GB of RAM will be enough. I image it would be enough since you will be using it in a school environment rather than in a professional environment where you could be assigned a very large project. Using the ThinkPad Yoga 14 and the ThinkPad Pen Pro means you can have your class work and notes all in same device (one less thing to lose / forget).

However, just keep in mind that if you somehow end up with an extremely large / complex school project that requires more than 8GB RAM, you may need to bite the bullet to buy Intelligent Memory's 16GB RAM stick. I don't think that will be the case, but it has been sometime since I was a student and my major was not engineering. If that should happen, then hopefully by then the RAM be a little less expensive.

 

[Zero03]

In that case, ask your professor(s) if 8GB of RAM will be enough. I image it would be enough since you will be using it in a school environment rather than in a professional environment where you could be assigned a very large project. Using the ThinkPad Yoga 14 and the ThinkPad Pen Pro means you can have your class work and notes all in same device (one less thing to lose / forget).

However, just keep in mind that if you somehow end up with an extremely large / complex school project that requires more than 8GB RAM, you may need to bite the bullet to buy Intelligent Memory's 16GB RAM stick. I don't think that will be the case, but it has been sometime since I was a student and my major was not engineering. If that should happen, then hopefully by then the RAM be a little less expensive.

Ok thanks! I think i'm going for the thinkpad and try to upgrade it to a SSD and a 16gb RAM

 

[MechE4]

Hi, I'm also an Engineering student (ME) and I'd really like to purchase the lenovo thinkpad yoga 14, but i'd also really like a laptop with 16gb of RAM. I was under the impression that the RAM was soldered into the laptop, so it is impossible to upgrade on my own. Is this true?

 

[jaguarskx]

The ThinkPad Yoga 14 has a single RAM slot that is easily accessible and you can upgrade it to 16GB of RAM as long as you are willing to pay $325 for Intelligent Memory's 16GB RAM stick.

At about 7:00 into the video linked below you can see that there is a single SODIMM RAM slot so the RAM is not soldered into the motherboard.

https/www.youtube.com/watch?v=RS4Lv76SwvQ