EN / FR

Budget Linux Laptop Showdown: ThinkPad T470 vs T480 vs Dell Latitude 7490 vs HP EliteBook 840 G5

Four refurbished business laptops, a ThinkPad T470, a ThinkPad T480, a Dell Latitude, and an HP EliteBook, arranged side by side on a desk.
analysis

ThinkPad T470 vs T480 vs Dell Latitude 7490 vs HP EliteBook 840 G5, compared on EU refurb pricing, Ubuntu driver support, upgrade ceilings, and battery life, for readers cross-shopping the budget Linux laptop market in 2026.

christophe

— 6 min read

At 80 to 230 euros on the EU refurbished market, the Lenovo ThinkPad T470 is the cheapest laptop in this comparison. But lowest price does not mean best value, especially when a small bump in budget unlocks quad-core CPUs, simpler battery architecture, or open-firmware support. Here is how the T470 compares against the ThinkPad T480, Dell Latitude 7490, and HP EliteBook 840 G5 for daily Linux use in 2026.

Refurbished pricing in the EU market

The T470 remains the price floor in this tier. Private seller or lower-spec units start around 80 to 100 euros, while professionally refurbished Grade-A machines with an i5-6300U, 16GB RAM, and a 512GB SSD cluster between 150 and 230 euros.

The ThinkPad T480 sits one tier higher. Refurbished touchscreen i5 units start around 170 euros on promotion, but typical quad-core i5 and i7 configurations range from 220 to 400 euros depending on battery health and screen spec.

Dell's Latitude 7480 and 7490 span a similar range. The dual-core 7480 (i5-6300U, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) sits around 190 to 200 euros, while the quad-core 7490 runs between 220 and 300 euros.

HP's EliteBook 840 G5 sits between 120 and 280 euros depending on grade. At roughly 200 euros for a mid-spec quad-core i5 unit, it costs virtually the same as a T480 or Latitude 7490 despite offering higher setup friction under Linux.

Linux support: driver maturity and setup friction

The T470 delivers near-complete out-of-the-box support under current Linux kernels (Ubuntu 24.04 and 26.04). Graphics, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, audio, trackpad, TrackPoint, and USB-C docks work without manual configuration. The only documented gap is the Validity fingerprint reader, which requires the open-fprintd driver stack.

The T480 matches the T470 in component compatibility, backed by official Lenovo Linux certification and extensive ArchWiki documentation. As of October 2025, the T480 also gained official coreboot open-firmware support, making it an appealing choice if you want open bootloader firmware.

Dell's Latitude 7480 and 7490 carry official Ubuntu certification from Dell. Hardware support is solid once you make one initial BIOS change: switching storage SATA mode from RAID on CPU to AHCI, and installing the non-free Wi-Fi firmware package (firmware-iwlwifi). Community reports highlight the 7490 as a smooth development host, with a dim screen on some units as the one recurring complaint.

The HP EliteBook 840 G5 has the highest friction. Core components like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, webcam, and touchscreen function normally, but the Synaptics fingerprint sensor has no out-of-the-box Linux driver. Units configured with the optional AMD Radeon RX 540 discrete GPU exhibit weaker Linux driver stability and higher power draw than under Windows.

Performance and upgrade ceilings

CPU architecture marks the largest gap in this comparison. The T470 uses 6th or 7th-gen Intel dual-core processors. Under sustained workloads like Docker builds or local LLM inference, it throttles quickly. The T480, Latitude 7490, and EliteBook 840 G5 feature 8th-gen quad-core CPUs, offering roughly double the multi-threaded performance for heavy multitasking.

Upgrade flexibility also varies across models:

  • ThinkPad T470 and standard T480: Both feature two DDR4 SO-DIMM slots. While Lenovo officially specifies a 32GB ceiling, memory vendors and user reports confirm 64GB (2x32GB) runs stably. Both support M.2 NVMe SSDs in the main drive bay via a caddy adapter.
  • The T480s trap: The slighter T480s model has 4GB or 8GB of memory soldered to the motherboard plus a single SO-DIMM slot, capping total RAM at 20GB or 24GB. If you need 32GB or 64GB headroom, verify you are buying a standard T480, not a T480s.
  • Dell Latitude 7490: Features two SO-DIMM slots (up to 32GB official, 64GB community-tested) and a standard M.2 NVMe slot for drives up to 2TB.
  • HP EliteBook 840 G5: Offers two SO-DIMM slots for up to 32GB RAM, but lacks a secondary storage slot for WWAN drive expansion.

Battery architecture: Power Bridge vs single internal pack

The ThinkPad T470 and T480 feature Lenovo's Power Bridge system, combining an internal 24Wh battery with a swappable external battery (24Wh, 48Wh, or 72Wh). A healthy 72Wh setup delivers up to 15 hours of light real-world use. However, Linux power management tools like TLP can occasionally misread battery handoff logic, requiring a system management controller reset or upower checks.

Dell's Latitude 7480 and 7490 use a single internal battery (42Wh or 60Wh). While hot-swapping is not possible, the single-pack design eliminates the dual-battery reporting bugs Linux sometimes hits on the ThinkPads, and real-world reports describe the battery life as good, if not Power-Bridge-extreme.

The HP EliteBook 840 G5 uses a single non-removable 50Wh internal battery. Independent tests measured roughly 7.5 hours of Wi-Fi web browsing when new, but real-world reports on aged packs put everyday runtime at 3 to 4 hours, making it the weakest battery performer in this lineup.

Head-to-head breakdown and verdict

Each laptop fills a specific role depending on your priority:

  • ThinkPad T470: The budget baseline. Buy this if spending under 150 to 200 euros is your absolute priority and your workload does not require quad-core performance.
  • ThinkPad T480: The enthusiast pick. Worth the price premium for 8th-gen quad-core performance, Power Bridge battery endurance, 64GB RAM potential, and open coreboot firmware support. Just avoid the soldered T480s.
  • Dell Latitude 7490: The hassle-free daily driver. Matches the T480 in quad-core performance and RAM capacity, while avoiding dual-battery firmware quirks. Requires only a single BIOS SATA toggle.
  • HP EliteBook 840 G5: The one to pass on unless heavily discounted. It costs as much as the T480 and Latitude 7490 while delivering weaker Linux GPU support, unsupported fingerprint hardware, and lower real-world battery life.

What to buy and where it fits

As an Amazon Associate, House of Agile earns from qualifying purchases. Prices and availability change, so check the current listing before buying.

These searches cover refurbished listings for each laptop in the comparison. Check the CPU generation, RAM, battery health, and warranty in each listing, and compare prices against the ranges above.

  • Refurbished ThinkPad T470 (Budget baseline). Best for: Light daily Linux use when price is the top priority. In short: aim for 16GB RAM and a tested battery. Watch out: Dual-core only. Compare options on Amazon
  • Refurbished ThinkPad T480 (Enthusiast pick). Best for: Quad-core performance, Power Bridge endurance, and coreboot support. In short: 8th-gen quad-core, two SO-DIMM slots. Watch out: Make sure it is a T480, not the T480s with soldered RAM. Compare options on Amazon
  • Refurbished Dell Latitude 7490 (Hassle-free daily driver). Best for: Quad-core performance with a single battery and no dual-battery quirks. In short: switch SATA mode to AHCI before installing Linux. Watch out: Some units have dim screens; check the panel spec. Compare options on Amazon
This article is independent analysis by House of Agile, based on published specifications, community Linux compatibility reports, and current EU refurbished-market listings, not a paid endorsement.

Sources and method

Method

This comparison combines EU refurb marketplace listings, each vendor's own Linux/Ubuntu support documentation where available (Dell explicitly, Lenovo via certification and community testing, HP via community reports only), and hardware-specific troubleshooting threads for known quirks like Power Bridge hot-swap failures and the T480s soldered-RAM configuration. Community consensus language ("no regrets," "the one to skip") reflects the balance of sourced reports gathered across all six research passes for this series, not a single reviewer's opinion. Full sourced claim list at 02-research/research-notes.md in this topic's workspace pack.

Read more