Lenovo ThinkPad E495 review

ThinkPad E495 — Ryzen office value at the bottom of the business band

The E495 (2019) is Lenovo's entry ThinkPad with the Ryzen 5 3500U and 32GB of RAM, at $253 — under the $297 business-class median. Its profile is the familiar E-series shape: competent office compute, no graphics dimension, and reliability at 28 versus a 42.5 median reflecting a five-plus-year-old value-tier chassis. Performance index reads 27 against 41.5 — below the class midpoint on CPU-generation grounds.

What it does well

The 3500U is a true quad-core with SMT — a solid office CPU that keeps pace with browsers, office apps, and calls without strain. 32GB of RAM is double what office workloads need, giving the machine a long practical runway for tab hoarders and local dev work. The ThinkPad keyboard and basic serviceability carry over from the premium lines.

The trade-offs, stated plainly

Graphics scores zero in a class whose median is itself near-zero — the Vega 8 iGPU makes no claims, and gaming is out of scope. The E-series chassis is the value tier: flex where the T-series is stiff. Reliability at 28 is the number to weigh — a 2019 machine is past half its practical service life.

Price trajectory

From a $1,300 launch configuration it has declined at about 8.5% per year to $253, with a projected $212 in two years (16% further). A normal, gentle business-laptop curve.

Against its neighbors

An HP EliteBook 845 G7 at $291 and an EliteBook 745 G6 at $281 sit above; an HP ProBook 645 G4 at $232 and an EliteBook 735 G5 at $220 below. The EliteBook 735 G5 at $220 is the direct rival — same-generation Ryzen silicon in HP's premium chassis for $33 less, making it a strong alternative unless the ThinkPad keyboard is the deciding factor.

Bottom line

A straightforward, fairly-priced Ryzen office machine: quad-core compute, 32GB of RAM, ThinkPad ergonomics, no GPU story. It suits a budget-conscious buyer who types more than anything else. The 735 G5 neighbor at $220 is worth a side-by-side before committing.