Lenovo ThinkPad T490 comes with an Intel Whiskey Lake processor. Users can choose an Intel UHD 620 or NVIDIA GeForce MX250 discrete graphics card according to their needs. It supports up to 32GB (16GB expandable +16GB onboard) memory and 1TB PCIe NVMe SSD.
ThinkPad T490 features a ThinkShutter, which can physically close the camera. The Infrared camera and fingerprint recognition module are also optional.
The laptop supports up to 14-inch WQHDIPS screen and covers 100% Adobe RGB wide color gamut, with IPS wide viewing angle technology, even in bright light can see the content. The frame on both sides of the screen has a thickness of 8.6mm.
Lenovo ThinkPad T490 weighs 1.49 kg and is 18.9mm thick. It supports fast charging technology, which can recharge 80% of the battery in one hour, and has a battery life of up to 13.6 hours.
I have seen many users have gotten and upgraded the memory and SSD for their T490, here to share with you the experience of upgrading memory and SSD.
The first thing to do is unscrew the screws that secure the bottom cover and then insert a thin plastic tool under the bottom cover. The bottom cover has many hidden latches fastening it to the palm rest. You need to move the thin plastic tool along the side and unfasten all latches.
With the bottom cover removed, you can access the battery, SSD, CMOS battery, RAM slot, cooling fan, heatsink, and motherboard.
ThinkPad T490 comes with an 11.52V, 4345mAh, 50Wh Li-ion battery. The part number is L18M3P73, 02DL008. The most significant difference between the ThinkPad T490 and the ThinkPad T480 is that the T490 cancels the external battery and retains the built-in battery.
The Lenovo ThinkPad T490 has 8GB onboard memory and a free RAM slot. This slot supports up to 16GB DDR4 2400 MHz memory.
The laptop has a Samsung 256GB PM981A PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD. Of course, you can replace it with a bigger-capacity SSD. It supports up to 1TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD.
Here’s the WWAN 2242 M.2 slot of the T490. I saw that someone installed a PCIe SSD in this slot, but the system does not recognize it. This is very regrettable.
Of course, this can be solved by updating the BIOS. I hope Lenovo will update the BIOS to make the ThinkPad T490 support 2242 SSD.
Related Parts
Original WQHD LCD Screen 00NY679 00NY680 01YU646
Genuine US Backlit keyboard for Lenovo ThinkPad T490
Genuine FHD IPS Screen for Lenovo ThinkPad T490 T490s – 01YN154 01YN155 01YN156 01YN157
Genuine Touchscreen for Lenovo ThinkPad T490 T490s – 01YN150 01YN151 01YN152 01YN131
Original LCD Cable for Lenovo ThinkPad T490 T495 – 02HK975 02HK989 02HK974
“This is the WWAN 2242 M.2 slot of the T490. I saw that someone installed a PCIe SSD in this slot, but the system does not recognize it. This is very regrettable.”
I will not buy this laptop if L. does not deliver this functionality. ThinkPads have constantly lost product quality, features, and service quality, and now ThinkPads are mostly regular business laptops that can increasingly easily be replaced by other products.
Lenovo should not be so silly to think that people are going to accept any mediocre product for big money only because there is a “ThinkPad” written on it.
Is possible to disable the mx250 when it’s not needed? Just to have better battery life
You can go to the BIOS to disable the graphics card or disable it in the device manager.
I believe the max RAM is wrong. If the laptop comes with 8GB soldered onboard, it supports a maximum of 40GB by adding a 32GB module. If it comes with 16GB onboard, it supports 48GB by adding a 32GB module.
I’m confused (and disappointed) about this too. When I customize it on the Lenovo website, the permanently soldered module is 8GB, but it maxes to 48GB, so that sole slot has to accept a 40GB module. What an oddball design.
There is a 16GB option for the onboard
I can double that: I’ve replaced the 8GB module with a 32Gb module, and it works without problems in dual-channel mode (probably up to 16GB, I would guess).
Can I add the MX250 later? In other words, is it possible for a user to add the GPU as a DIY upgrade?
+1, would be cool to know!
Yes, mate. I saw some model machines that do not have the MX250.
The WWAN 2242 M.2 slot only supports SATA protocol SSD. Installing an NVME SSD in there will not work, even if the SSD supports both protocols. It’s SATA only.
This laptop has only one RAM slot?
If I understand correctly, if I buy a laptop with 16GB of RAM, this memory is on MB and one slot is free for additional RAM.
Thanks for the answer 🙂