Hello, I hate to ask, but this is the place to do it. I love the T430, it's what got me into thinkpad and upgrading etc. Currently I have it with the i7-3632qm, 16GB of ram, ssd and all jazz.

I am looking a T480, i7-8650u, 16GB ram.

I'm a little concerned I am not going to a reasonable in power relative to the cost, where I am they are expensive. Like $1199NZD.

A big part of upgrading was to move to lower power usage, I am on solar power only, would like more USB-C action from my laptop because it is easier.

The whole other end of the scale I suppose is to to go to a p52 at the same price with i7-8850H with 32GB and just eat the turd sandwich on the power buzz so I actually get a decent power upgrade for the money.

I'm more of Linux sys admin nerd than anything, a little virtualization, setting up services etc. Split the time using vlc, Firefox, vim, and the command line.

Would appreciate hearing from any T430 users about their experiences upgrading to what they upgraded and any thoughts on general.