This is my actual computer. It's freaking awesome. I have it with 64 GB of RAM and all the trimmings. It is the fastest thing I've ever used, and plays Elite Dangerous at the highest resolutions with no issues whatsoever. The keyboard is amazing. Plus it has a real escape key. As an ex Apple fanboi of nearly 30 years, they need to reminded what Pro actually means. This is Pro.
Andrew van der Stock . I considering switching to P51. I have the lastest macbook pro 15, spec'ed out. I hate it gets really loud when I run Adobe Lightroom. Did you switch from macbook to P51? Any isues?
Yes - it has 4 PCIe lanes - here is an example of using eGPU: egpu.io/forums/implementation-guides/2017-thinkpad-p51-msi-gtx1080-gaming-x-8g-sonnet-breakaway-box/
The P51 is not a quiet computer when it's busy. It has at least a few fans and they mean business when things get hot. Because they are properly spec'd, it never really gets out of hand noisy or thermally throttled down, but it's also not a MacBook Air. I switched from a MacBook Pro 2012 i7/16GB/1TB SSD, MacBook Air 2015. I delayed buying a new MBP for over a year because I knew I needed more than 16 GB of RAM, but when Apple didn't release anything Pro with the new keyboard MBPs, I bought an interim maxxed out Lenovo T460s. That couldn't play Civ 6 or Elite Dangerous properly, and 24 GB of RAM was still a little squeezy for me. When Apple released the updated new keyboard MacBook Pros last year, I realized Apple has given up on anything Pro, and I gave in and spent $1k less than top end MBP, but a computer that is easily twice as fast, 8-10 as fast GPU wise, and 4x the amount of RAM. Apple really needs to step up in the mobile Pro sector. They have missed out on two purchases so far, and they'll keep on missing out on more purchases until they realize there are people who need a LOT of RAM, a LOT of GPU, and a fair amount of CPU grunt. Like video creators and gamers. You know, people with money.
Andrew van der Stock Thinking of buying one tomorrow. Still hesitating between this one and the new Dell precision 7530. Still happy with it? The one thing holding me back, is the fact that I don’t know how the cooling on the Dell is.
My P50, the review machine's predecessor, has given me four years of trouble-free service. I've paired it with a ViewSonic 27" 4K LED display and Logitech wireless keyboard and mouse. (The P50 resides behind the display -- I never use its keyboard or screen.) This combination is both an excellent graphics workstation and an unbeatable all-round PC. When I first started working in tech in the late 1980s, nobody could have envisioned such a combination of computer power in such a tiny form factor. To understand just how far we've come, you've got to be an old guy like me.
Back in the day when this was an IBM Thinkpad, I swore by them for day to day use....now that I'm retired, not so much, just too much of everything for anything I'd use it for anymore. Still, this is a nice piece of kit, decked out this is truly a great notebook and I'm sure a great workhorse, I wish whoever does grab one the best. Great review as always, Lisa :-)
I set up a couple P51 workstations for researchers and while working on them I was struck by how noticeably AWESOME they were. By the time they left my office... much wants. They're just really nice for the size and weight. FWIW the researchers loved them too, word got out more requests followed. And they're picky. Great review as always Lisa.
I'm semi-retired, and I still swear by ThinkPads. I have quite a bias though - I use Linux exclusively, and ThinkPads tend to run Linux extremely well.
Definitely it's overkill for day-to-day use but to paraphrase the Dutchess of Windsor: "You can't be too rich, too thin, or have too much computing power at your disposal."
Thanks for covering workstations! There is indeed a FEW of us geeks who need this class of machine - and especially the variety of legacy IO options afforded by ExpressCard! Ironically, its the IO that is most often the limiting/determining factor rather than the graphics that can often be accommodated by the higher end GTX 1070/80 options. Great review as usual!
The interface provides what is essentially a PCI expansion slot for laptops. Various devices are available via the interface while the bandwidth provides an optimal interface for various data acquisition technologies. In particular, many data acquisition platforms were designed for a particular interface, be it serial, parallel, Firewire, etc., interfaces depending upon what was current at the time of release and the transfer characteristics necessary. Many of these technologies cost MANY times that of the PC, and as the port topologies of the PC change, it becomes cost prohibitive to replace the DA tools simply to change the connection topology! Simple examples include the myriad legacy audio interfaces built upon Firewire. But this is even more of an issue for high-end DA platforms utilized in engineering and physics. Most casual users will not need the capabilities, but for those who actually need a portable workstation and especially those who require data acquisition tools, such an interface can easily become crucial.
I come back to these 4 or 5 years later. I've gotten older T series laptops that were really expensive new for peanuts after they become "obsolete". They are great computers to get used.
I picked this up for $720 last week (FHD display). With some patience you can get great deals. It was used (only for a few months, it still has a 3 yr Lenovo warranty), and mint condition. Running Ubuntu on it primarily now. All driver detected from the get-go except for the fingerprint reader which wasn't a big deal for me.
For what you get, it is well priced. Think about the Precision 5000 series or gulp.. Apple. We all know that XPS like workstations are fairly expensive, but for the money this thing simply offers more for it and with great dividends, clearly not as sexy. But, it's a fair compromise. Especially with battery life. Wow.. I am a Dell guy, but I wouldn't be complaining about that purchase.
Great review. Lenovo Thinkpad workstations are great. I picked up a P71 with a Quadro P5000, 3TB storage, and a 4K monitor during the Black Friday sale for less than the price of an Alienware 17" with a GTX 1080 and much less than a Dell workstation. I use it for CAD, rendering, video editing, gaming, and nothing slows this thing down. The quality is phenomenal and it's easy to upgrade. Yes it's large but I'l take the performance any day. The track point is great for navigation plus it has a trackpad which isn't as nice as my MacBook Pro, but makes it very versatile. There is not a lot I would change in this machine and I am glad that Lenovo has not drastically changed their Thinkpad design. Customer service has been phenomenal. I had a software issue that wasn't even Lenovo's fault yet the Service Manager called me on my cell phone when I was out of the country. No regrets here!
It makes sense that Lenovo would put a lot of effort into supporting its commercial customers, since a misstep in that arena can result in a lot of lost money. Sadly the reputation of their support for consumer products is notoriously bad.
Thank you so much for this review Lisa. I was waiting for a P51 review from you. Always great to see you review the more professional tools because no other reviewers do it quite like yourself.
Great review, I have a P51 with Xeon 1535 processor, 16GB ECC RAM and 3x SSDs fitted, dual booting Windows 10 and Ubuntu 17.10. Performance is excellent. Thunderbolt 3 supports 4 data lanes and latest Lenovo Thunderbolt software eGPU operation. I use an Aorus Gaming Box / GTX1070 graphics card with my P51 and it works well. Nvidia have also upped their game with latest drivers supporting eGPU operation, so you install both sets of drivers with matched release numbers and Quadro drivers are loaded for the internal Quadro M2200 card and GeForce drivers for the external GTX 1070 card.
It's good. Good control & smooth scrolling. The Windows 10 precision drivers have a slight edge, but it's very subjective. I primarily use a mouse, but that's a personal preference from over 20 years of PC usage.
Why dual boot? For me there are a couple reasons. Firstly, I grew up with CP/M, DOS, DEC VMS and UNIX computers and I am also a long term user of Mac OSX where UNIX underpins the OS, hence I am comfortable with both GUI and command line interfaces. Ubuntu / Linux offers the best of both worlds, being very similar to UNIX (even Mac OSX) with regards command line interface, but also has a great desktop GUI. Also many of the programming applications I like to run on my MacBook Pro, are readily available for Linux (and vice versa). Secondly, dual booting Windows and Linux provides you with access to far greater range of software compared with running Windows alone, and most of the Linux applications; productivity, programming, science based, games, etc; are free, very reliable and well supported by the community. I've tried a few Linux distros, but I always come back to Ubuntu, since it installs simply out of the box, correctly identifying your hardware, configuring the approxiate drivers, and works especially well with modern Thinkpads. P51 performance is excellent running either Windows 10 or Ubuntu, as Lenovo certify this product to use either. Yes, there a few minor technical issues you need to resolve for a smooth dual booting experience. Such as, setting Windows to use UTC rather than local time, so both Windows and Linux OS system clocks remain in sync and not 1 hour apart, or for example, copying a bluetooth mouse security key Vs its MAC address from Windows to Linux, so you don't have to continually re-pair the mouse every time you swap between OSs, but there is plenty advice available on the Internet on how to resolve such issues. Overall, the extra effort is worth it and fun. Plus you come away with greater understanding of how a modern PC works and loads operating systems, increasing your confidence with resolving any future technical issue, should they arise.
Lisa, thank you thank you thank you for making this video. I have been on the fence about buying this machine and I think this video has helped me make up my mind. I haven’t found a consumer machine that could keep up with my multitask heavy workflow without getting laggy, but it looks like this just might be the one up to the task. Thanks for all your great vids
Get it. Option it up, get the lot. I have the Xeon with 64 GB and even if I don't use all of that now, I do use more than 32 GB of RAM and nothing seems to slow it down. The keyboard, the screen and the raw performance is amazing. Very happy owner here.
I virtualize a lot, and I containerize full stacks inside those containers for various tasks, including programming and keeping my skills up to date. On top of that, I just like having spare RAM is handy for memory pigs like browsers (although Firefox 59 Developer Edition is a lot better than Chrome, especially on the 8 thread Xeon, where the new multi-core render engine not only uses a lot less RAM, it's around 4-8 times faster than Chrome on complex pages). I'm definitely not using 64 GB today, but I often go over 32 GB of RAM.
i love the style/size of that, realistically thin, looks sturdy, loads of performance and upgradability. would be amazing at that price from a different company
Brad Haines The HP ZBook 15 G4 is thinner and feels stiffer than the P51 (though its wider and deeper than the Thinkpad). Both can be configured to the same specs, and the ZBook is arguably more upgradeable since IIRC it has an MXM GPU and it doesn't require special adapters for the M.2 drives.
Get it. It's completely worth it. Best computer I've ever owned. My Xeon/64GB/1TB/4k took a while to come, but I ordered it with EVERY SINGLE OPTION, so I bet they had to make it from scratch.
I have got one, purchased on 2017 Black Friday , I absolutely love the power, the design (clean, discrete, business “style”). I use it for programming and data science & running models. Beats my MBP 2015 in every aspect except the screen... despite getting the 4k screen, it looks great but it isn’t as bright as the MBP so the “retina” display still looks better than this 4k screen, but i always plug this to the dock at home or office which i expand to dual monitors + the laptop screen, so it doesn’t bother me, although I expected a beautiful bright screen like the macs for the price I paid.
Lisa, I love these videos. I'm not exactly sure why, but I love the way you review the laptops. I've got an MSi GT73VR Titan Pro on the way and your smack-down was the reason I chose it. Keep doing what you're doing.
Expresscard is "old fashioned"????? Not if you are doing data acquisition and REQUIRE a variety of legacy IO options that have been eliminated on the newer machines (and where the outboard DA costs as much or, in many cases, many times more than the laptop itself)! The addition of an ExpressCard slot alone would enable most higher end laptops with a GTX1070/80 to function as a true workstation. A nice unit, but it lacks higher-end Quadro options, for which I assume one must go to the P7x series, needed for higher-end 3D volumetric imaging, fluid dynamic modeling, etc.
sdushdiu Yep. P71 for Quadro P3000/4000/5000. I think it's cooling. IIRC the TDP of the P5000 is around 100 W -- equal to the TDP of both the CPU and GPU in this laptop. Frankly, I like how quiet this laptop is, so I don't mind sacrificing some power. If you wanted a smaller form factor, is there a way to offload the simulations to a compute server? And surely this would be able to do the work, just more slowly than a higher end GPU. Not real-time, perhaps.
I really love your detailed and honest review which seems to be is really unbiased. I love that you focus on the positives but do shade light on some that that may be negative but in a way that does not hurt the feelings of those who are married to the device (fan boys).
I bought one a few months ago. My config is:Xeon E3-1505M v632GB RAM 4k DisplayWWAN Card Cost around $3,000 USD, but if you're someone who needs power in the field & office with little compromise, It's awesome. I use it with the docking station for a three monitor set up, which it handles no problem. I've never felt less limited when away from the office. Keyboard is also great. One thing I was surprised about, this does not support windows hello face unlock. Not a huge deal when you tether it to your phone via Bluetooth and the finger print sensor is a little less responsive than my S8+... But none the less, I love this laptop.
I got 3 of these in a row. 1st one came with a crooked hinge cap, 2nd one came with horrendous backlight bleed, and I'm now on my third. It has backlight bleed, but I'm not sure it's as bad (4K screen too). Someone at Lenovo upgraded some of my specs for my troubles, but the screen seems pretty disappointing when viewing super dark screen elements because there is just so much bleeding. I think I'm just going to keep it because the screen is fine otherwise and it seems like backlight bleed is normal. I can't tell if mine is excessive or not. But, I bought this mostly for engineering school work and it will get the job done. The screen and quality control is just not as high as I have originally hoped.
right on. cooling is awesome. this one has everything done right. easily one of their best in recent years. only thing ii can pick on is the keyboard layout. But still excellent work.
I JUST GOT THIS UNIT TO LENOVO THE TOUCHSREED REPLACED A MSI UNIT THAT THE HINGES FAILED. MY unit has a touchscreen. HINGES ON LAPTOPS ARE TOO TIGHT NOW.
I have the P50, and don't like several things about it. First the full HD display, second the display aspect ratio, third - the trackpad that doesn't compare to a mbp. Other than that, it's a pretty solid laptop
Lenovo really paid attention to slimming down their workstations. They have been doing forever. On the part of DELL, what they offer as their most powerful workstation is actually the Precision 7520. Compared to P51, Precision 7520 lacks expandability too much. It only has one m.2 port and one hdd port which makes it pale compared against the 3 m.2 pcie ports in its Alienware 15 which is also offered by DELL. I really doubt Precision 7520 can be called work station because its limited expandability. So does the precision 5520 which does not have spill resistant keyboard. You can't slab a 3 year warranty on any laptops, putting a Quadro GPU and call them workstations, can you?
Since Lenovo watered down the x280 and T470, where is the P31? My x250 is okay but I really miss the rigid magnesium chassis of my old x200. It's refreshing to see the "old" build quality on this P51 but I want a smaller workstation laptop with an outdoor bright display.
I think that Lenovo is not interested in releasing a P-line workstation in smaller form factors. Given that they have cancelled the T-series p models while the P40 is still stuck with 2016 hardware.
That P40 actually has interesting hardware inside but it's not a "thinkpad". Get rid of the touch screen. Gimme a chunky magnesium chassis, an ethernet jack and internal and external battery packs like the x250. I'll gladly take the 14" 2560x1440 screen though. Oh and a traditional screen hinge with the extended run time battery that sticks out the back to give me something to hold onto when I'm in the field. I guess what I really want is either a proper P31 or P41.
Great review Lisa! What is your opinion on the new quad-core lenovo ultrabooks, the X yoga series? I work with CAD and I am interested to get an ultrabook with an eGPU. I feel like it’s a new alternative. What is your opinion? Thanks X Mimi
Hello Lisa! Please do a review of the Lenovo ThinkPad P52 with the 4K screen, and if possible a follow-up comparison video between it and the ThinkPad P1. I'm currently undecided as to which of these two workstations I should get as my new daily driver. You're objective input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
As an owner of P51, .... I would suggest FHD (not 4K) - battery use, and W10 dpi issues. Although, colorimeter and 100% color-space is nice :). Both use same good 4K screen, so only suggestion is: go with P52 - if you need 6-core CPU and never GPU. But if you got a good deal for P51, and your workload is RAM-dependent, go with 64GB RAM and second m.2 tray (for whichever m.2 SSD you like - I would opt for Sammy 970 EVO Plus 2TB). 7820HQ differs from Xeon just slightly - well does not support ECC RAM - but you have to need ECC'd RAM (financial calculations). Otherwise, case almost identical, as P52 supports two Thunderbolt 3 ports and it has different cutouts. Therefore - due to better Intel controller (for two-port: Intel JHL7440) I would definitely bought P52. Change in CPU core count plus Nvidia newer Pascal architecture and this third gen. low power Thunderbolt3 controller - this is nice. One step back is.... keyboard, now if you want to replace RAM under keyboard, you need to pry-up two upper mouse buttons (they are not part of keyboard) - this could be broken. So this is solved better in P51. But otherwise, I would choose P52. It is also worth noting that if you turn Air-plane mode, you need to turn it off - not just connect power-brick. This is due to assumption, that you may use power-brick in plane, with plane-mode - but it will not charge your battery - as 170W PSU this size can blow up seat fuse. So, charging comes back, when you turn Airplane mode in W10 off.
Thinkpads forever! I've never owned anything else since buying my first X22 followed by: T40, X200, T420s, W520, P50, T480s. I am unable to type on inferior laptop keyboards.
Hello! I have been searching for a better laptop (used) and i have two óptions 1.- the p51 and the lenovo 5520. Both with practically the same specs ram 32gb, ssd512, intel i7 7820hq. The only difference its about the graphics the p51 whith quadro m1200 and the lenovo whit m1200m so whats the difference on them? Both are a good choice at this year (2020) with intention to keep it for at least 2 or 3 years to the next change? which one did you recomend most for activities of a civil engineer (cad, csi products, rhino, solidworks, etc) im 50% of the time at the desk and the other on field. Or do you have another option on a budget around $800.? Thanks for your help 😁
If I wanted to upgrade the RAM, and the 2.5" harddrive.. which would anyone recommend? I currently have 1TB SSD PCIe TLC OPAL2. I am considering upgrading and want to get another one but do not want to pay $400+ for them. Also with the 2.5" HDD; can one put another SSD in there?
I thought like you as well. But the Lenovo's Thinkpad keyboard is not that bad. Just like half point down from the IBM''s. Not that bad, still high tier laptop keyboard out there.
Like you, I've used the old style keyboards (W510, T420), and thought they were the bees knees. But honestly, after a few days on my old T460s and now this P51, I prefer the new keyboard to the old keyboards. The keyboard feeling is more tactile, and I like the better use of space around the function key row. I know some don't like the islands, but as I've come from owning a bunch of Macs in the past, the island style keys were not a big deal compared to the awesome tactility and comfort of long typing sessions.
I switched from my X201 and my lab's X220 to X1Y2 8 months ago, and while the island keyboard is not as bad as I imagined, I am still not used to it--still making many typos and not typing as fast as before. I also dislike the new layout for Home, End, Insert, PgUp, PgDn, and top row Function keys. I use these buttons very often while coding and the new layout kinda disemphasizes these keys.
Realy i can't understand this company, thinkpad x1 p50, thinkpad x1 p51, thinkpad x1 p50s; thinkpad x1 p70, thinkpad x1 p71, thinkpad x1 carbon, thinkpad x1 extrem ....etc, why not build one best laptop Lenovo ? and which the best laptop to buy ????
Now that March is coming closer and closer, I really hope Lisa could also review the 3rd gen Thinkpad X1 tablet when it comes out... Sorry for being irrelevant to the topic except for the fact that they're all Lenovo's...
Dear Mobile TechReview, i am in UAE,i want to purchase this think pad p51,i can not order from lenvoo site directly or from amazan,as they only dispatch it locally in US or CANADA,mostly they say this part can not be shipped to UAE,i really need your help in getting this laptop. any one may help me.
Hi Lisa, I was just wondering what program you use to calibrate your screen, cause I just got a new monitor for my desktop and I want to get the best picture I can. Any help would be appreciated.
The P51 comes with the Pantone calibration tool. It does a pretty decent job. I know Lisa uses a pro calibration tool for all her reviews, but that should not be necessary, as unlike 99% of laptops out there, this comes with a calibration device built in.
Christopher Pecoraro P52 hasn't been released, and it won't be until Intel releases 9th generation CPUs. P52s had been released in select markets, but that's not really the same thing.
Lol you know which ones are the old school users in the comments. I use an X1 Carbon (4th gen) for work and it's pretty good. It's very light but sturdy. Not as powerful as I'd like though. It stutters sometimes.
This is my actual computer. It's freaking awesome. I have it with 64 GB of RAM and all the trimmings. It is the fastest thing I've ever used, and plays Elite Dangerous at the highest resolutions with no issues whatsoever. The keyboard is amazing. Plus it has a real escape key. As an ex Apple fanboi of nearly 30 years, they need to reminded what Pro actually means. This is Pro.
Does it support eGPU ?
Andrew van der Stock . I considering switching to P51. I have the lastest macbook pro 15, spec'ed out. I hate it gets really loud when I run Adobe Lightroom. Did you switch from macbook to P51? Any isues?
Yes - it has 4 PCIe lanes - here is an example of using eGPU: egpu.io/forums/implementation-guides/2017-thinkpad-p51-msi-gtx1080-gaming-x-8g-sonnet-breakaway-box/
The P51 is not a quiet computer when it's busy. It has at least a few fans and they mean business when things get hot. Because they are properly spec'd, it never really gets out of hand noisy or thermally throttled down, but it's also not a MacBook Air. I switched from a MacBook Pro 2012 i7/16GB/1TB SSD, MacBook Air 2015. I delayed buying a new MBP for over a year because I knew I needed more than 16 GB of RAM, but when Apple didn't release anything Pro with the new keyboard MBPs, I bought an interim maxxed out Lenovo T460s. That couldn't play Civ 6 or Elite Dangerous properly, and 24 GB of RAM was still a little squeezy for me. When Apple released the updated new keyboard MacBook Pros last year, I realized Apple has given up on anything Pro, and I gave in and spent $1k less than top end MBP, but a computer that is easily twice as fast, 8-10 as fast GPU wise, and 4x the amount of RAM. Apple really needs to step up in the mobile Pro sector. They have missed out on two purchases so far, and they'll keep on missing out on more purchases until they realize there are people who need a LOT of RAM, a LOT of GPU, and a fair amount of CPU grunt. Like video creators and gamers. You know, people with money.
Andrew van der Stock Thinking of buying one tomorrow. Still hesitating between this one and the new Dell precision 7530. Still happy with it? The one thing holding me back, is the fact that I don’t know how the cooling on the Dell is.
My P50, the review machine's predecessor, has given me four years of trouble-free service. I've paired it with a ViewSonic 27" 4K LED display and Logitech wireless keyboard and mouse. (The P50 resides behind the display -- I never use its keyboard or screen.) This combination is both an excellent graphics workstation and an unbeatable all-round PC. When I first started working in tech in the late 1980s, nobody could have envisioned such a combination of computer power in such a tiny form factor. To understand just how far we've come, you've got to be an old guy like me.
Another great non-biased review as always. Thank you Lisa for all the time and effort you put into these videos.
Back in the day when this was an IBM Thinkpad, I swore by them for day to day use....now that I'm retired, not so much, just too much of everything for anything I'd use it for anymore. Still, this is a nice piece of kit, decked out this is truly a great notebook and I'm sure a great workhorse, I wish whoever does grab one the best. Great review as always, Lisa :-)
What would you get instead?
I set up a couple P51 workstations for researchers and while working on them I was struck by how noticeably AWESOME they were. By the time they left my office... much wants. They're just really nice for the size and weight. FWIW the researchers loved them too, word got out more requests followed. And they're picky. Great review as always Lisa.
I'm semi-retired, and I still swear by ThinkPads. I have quite a bias though - I use Linux exclusively, and ThinkPads tend to run Linux extremely well.
Definitely it's overkill for day-to-day use but to paraphrase the Dutchess of Windsor: "You can't be too rich, too thin, or have too much computing power at your disposal."
Thanks for covering workstations! There is indeed a FEW of us geeks who need this class of machine - and especially the variety of legacy IO options afforded by ExpressCard! Ironically, its the IO that is most often the limiting/determining factor rather than the graphics that can often be accommodated by the higher end GTX 1070/80 options. Great review as usual!
sdushdiu what do you even do with the express card?
The interface provides what is essentially a PCI expansion slot for laptops. Various devices are available via the interface while the bandwidth provides an optimal interface for various data acquisition technologies. In particular, many data acquisition platforms were designed for a particular interface, be it serial, parallel, Firewire, etc., interfaces depending upon what was current at the time of release and the transfer characteristics necessary. Many of these technologies cost MANY times that of the PC, and as the port topologies of the PC change, it becomes cost prohibitive to replace the DA tools simply to change the connection topology! Simple examples include the myriad legacy audio interfaces built upon Firewire. But this is even more of an issue for high-end DA platforms utilized in engineering and physics.
Most casual users will not need the capabilities, but for those who actually need a portable workstation and especially those who require data acquisition tools, such an interface can easily become crucial.
@@30x173mm Plug a big ass external GPU into it
Mkbhd-"here's some tech most of you can't afford, but it's cool."
Lisa- "here's useful tech most of you can afford"
Keith Jennings
I wish more people had your intelligence to recognize what's seems obvious to us.
They are both absolutely necessary. It's called balance.
I come back to these 4 or 5 years later. I've gotten older T series laptops that were really expensive new for peanuts after they become "obsolete". They are great computers to get used.
I picked this up for $720 last week (FHD display). With some patience you can get great deals. It was used (only for a few months, it still has a 3 yr Lenovo warranty), and mint condition. Running Ubuntu on it primarily now. All driver detected from the get-go except for the fingerprint reader which wasn't a big deal for me.
For what you get, it is well priced. Think about the Precision 5000 series or gulp.. Apple. We all know that XPS like workstations are fairly expensive, but for the money this thing simply offers more for it and with great dividends, clearly not as sexy. But, it's a fair compromise. Especially with battery life. Wow.. I am a Dell guy, but I wouldn't be complaining about that purchase.
Great review. Lenovo Thinkpad workstations are great. I picked up a P71 with a Quadro P5000, 3TB storage, and a 4K monitor during the Black Friday sale for less than the price of an Alienware 17" with a GTX 1080 and much less than a Dell workstation. I use it for CAD, rendering, video editing, gaming, and nothing slows this thing down. The quality is phenomenal and it's easy to upgrade. Yes it's large but I'l take the performance any day. The track point is great for navigation plus it has a trackpad which isn't as nice as my MacBook Pro, but makes it very versatile. There is not a lot I would change in this machine and I am glad that Lenovo has not drastically changed their Thinkpad design. Customer service has been phenomenal. I had a software issue that wasn't even Lenovo's fault yet the Service Manager called me on my cell phone when I was out of the country. No regrets here!
Wow...that is nice...Professional Grade.
Yes Lenovo thinkpad is great
It makes sense that Lenovo would put a lot of effort into supporting its commercial customers, since a misstep in that arena can result in a lot of lost money. Sadly the reputation of their support for consumer products is notoriously bad.
+seraph127 commercial businness is main business for all companies .
I've been using ThinkPads for 23 years and found their customer support to be excellent.
Thank you so much for this review Lisa. I was waiting for a P51 review from you. Always great to see you review the more professional tools because no other reviewers do it quite like yourself.
Lisa, your laptop reviews are the gold standard. Thank you for the continued quality content you deliver.
When we will get a review for p52 or a comparative test with P51? Thank you!
Great review, I have a P51 with Xeon 1535 processor, 16GB ECC RAM and 3x SSDs fitted, dual booting Windows 10 and Ubuntu 17.10. Performance is excellent. Thunderbolt 3 supports 4 data lanes and latest Lenovo Thunderbolt software eGPU operation. I use an Aorus Gaming Box / GTX1070 graphics card with my P51 and it works well. Nvidia have also upped their game with latest drivers supporting eGPU operation, so you install both sets of drivers with matched release numbers and Quadro drivers are loaded for the internal Quadro M2200 card and GeForce drivers for the external GTX 1070 card.
Keith Mann how is the trackpad in Ubuntu??
It's good. Good control & smooth scrolling. The Windows 10 precision drivers have a slight edge, but it's very subjective. I primarily use a mouse, but that's a personal preference from over 20 years of PC usage.
Why dual boot? For me there are a couple reasons. Firstly, I grew up with CP/M, DOS, DEC VMS and UNIX computers and I am also a long term user of Mac OSX where UNIX underpins the OS, hence I am comfortable with both GUI and command line interfaces. Ubuntu / Linux offers the best of both worlds, being very similar to UNIX (even Mac OSX) with regards command line interface, but also has a great desktop GUI. Also many of the programming applications I like to run on my MacBook Pro, are readily available for Linux (and vice versa). Secondly, dual booting Windows and Linux provides you with access to far greater range of software compared with running Windows alone, and most of the Linux applications; productivity, programming, science based, games, etc; are free, very reliable and well supported by the community. I've tried a few Linux distros, but I always come back to Ubuntu, since it installs simply out of the box, correctly identifying your hardware, configuring the approxiate drivers, and works especially well with modern Thinkpads. P51 performance is excellent running either Windows 10 or Ubuntu, as Lenovo certify this product to use either. Yes, there a few minor technical issues you need to resolve for a smooth dual booting experience. Such as, setting Windows to use UTC rather than local time, so both Windows and Linux OS system clocks remain in sync and not 1 hour apart, or for example, copying a bluetooth mouse security key Vs its MAC address from Windows to Linux, so you don't have to continually re-pair the mouse every time you swap between OSs, but there is plenty advice available on the Internet on how to resolve such issues. Overall, the extra effort is worth it and fun. Plus you come away with greater understanding of how a modern PC works and loads operating systems, increasing your confidence with resolving any future technical issue, should they arise.
Lisa, thank you thank you thank you for making this video. I have been on the fence about buying this machine and I think this video has helped me make up my mind. I haven’t found a consumer machine that could keep up with my multitask heavy workflow without getting laggy, but it looks like this just might be the one up to the task.
Thanks for all your great vids
Get it. Option it up, get the lot. I have the Xeon with 64 GB and even if I don't use all of that now, I do use more than 32 GB of RAM and nothing seems to slow it down. The keyboard, the screen and the raw performance is amazing. Very happy owner here.
+Andrew van der Stock what do u do for 64 GB RAM ?
I virtualize a lot, and I containerize full stacks inside those containers for various tasks, including programming and keeping my skills up to date. On top of that, I just like having spare RAM is handy for memory pigs like browsers (although Firefox 59 Developer Edition is a lot better than Chrome, especially on the 8 thread Xeon, where the new multi-core render engine not only uses a lot less RAM, it's around 4-8 times faster than Chrome on complex pages). I'm definitely not using 64 GB today, but I often go over 32 GB of RAM.
Why am I watching this? I already own one
Congrats, I'm envious!
same here but ...:))
Great,.. now give it to me
Lucky :
Can it handle gaming? And if yes let's say like apex legends how much fps?
I have been waiting for mobile workstations reviews for a long time. thanks!!!
i love the style/size of that, realistically thin, looks sturdy, loads of performance and upgradability. would be amazing at that price from a different company
Brad Haines The HP ZBook 15 G4 is thinner and feels stiffer than the P51 (though its wider and deeper than the Thinkpad). Both can be configured to the same specs, and the ZBook is arguably more upgradeable since IIRC it has an MXM GPU and it doesn't require special adapters for the M.2 drives.
Finally! I waited and waited for this one, but I bought it last summer so almost a bit late! I wish you made this video before then. ;)
That's exact model I am looking for to get one. Thank you!
Get it. It's completely worth it. Best computer I've ever owned. My Xeon/64GB/1TB/4k took a while to come, but I ordered it with EVERY SINGLE OPTION, so I bet they had to make it from scratch.
I have got one, purchased on 2017 Black Friday , I absolutely love the power, the design (clean, discrete, business “style”). I use it for programming and data science & running models. Beats my MBP 2015 in every aspect except the screen... despite getting the 4k screen, it looks great but it isn’t as bright as the MBP so the “retina” display still looks better than this 4k screen, but i always plug this to the dock at home or office which i expand to dual monitors + the laptop screen, so it doesn’t bother me, although I expected a beautiful bright screen like the macs for the price I paid.
Nice, i might get this for programming and running dual monitors.
How much did it cost on Black Friday?
Lisa, I love these videos. I'm not exactly sure why, but I love the way you review the laptops. I've got an MSi GT73VR Titan Pro on the way and your smack-down was the reason I chose it. Keep doing what you're doing.
Expresscard is "old fashioned"????? Not if you are doing data acquisition and REQUIRE a variety of legacy IO options that have been eliminated on the newer machines (and where the outboard DA costs as much or, in many cases, many times more than the laptop itself)! The addition of an ExpressCard slot alone would enable most higher end laptops with a GTX1070/80 to function as a true workstation. A nice unit, but it lacks higher-end Quadro options, for which I assume one must go to the P7x series, needed for higher-end 3D volumetric imaging, fluid dynamic modeling, etc.
sdushdiu Yep. P71 for Quadro P3000/4000/5000. I think it's cooling. IIRC the TDP of the P5000 is around 100 W -- equal to the TDP of both the CPU and GPU in this laptop. Frankly, I like how quiet this laptop is, so I don't mind sacrificing some power. If you wanted a smaller form factor, is there a way to offload the simulations to a compute server? And surely this would be able to do the work, just more slowly than a higher end GPU. Not real-time, perhaps.
Great review! Love your Lenovo coverage. T470 user here.
I really love your detailed and honest review which seems to be is really unbiased. I love that you focus on the positives but do shade light on some that that may be negative but in a way that does not hurt the feelings of those who are married to the device (fan boys).
I bought one a few months ago. My config is:Xeon E3-1505M v632GB RAM
4k DisplayWWAN Card
Cost around $3,000 USD, but if you're someone who needs power in the field & office with little compromise, It's awesome. I use it with the docking station for a three monitor set up, which it handles no problem. I've never felt less limited when away from the office. Keyboard is also great.
One thing I was surprised about, this does not support windows hello face unlock. Not a huge deal when you tether it to your phone via Bluetooth and the finger print sensor is a little less responsive than my S8+... But none the less, I love this laptop.
I got 3 of these in a row. 1st one came with a crooked hinge cap, 2nd one came with horrendous backlight bleed, and I'm now on my third. It has backlight bleed, but I'm not sure it's as bad (4K screen too). Someone at Lenovo upgraded some of my specs for my troubles, but the screen seems pretty disappointing when viewing super dark screen elements because there is just so much bleeding.
I think I'm just going to keep it because the screen is fine otherwise and it seems like backlight bleed is normal. I can't tell if mine is excessive or not. But, I bought this mostly for engineering school work and it will get the job done. The screen and quality control is just not as high as I have originally hoped.
Ordering one of these tonight. I know the P52 comes out soon, but this P51 looks like a great machine!
The moment Lenovo make one of these bad boys without the numeric pad, I'll buy one.
right on. cooling is awesome. this one has everything done right. easily one of their best in recent years. only thing ii can pick on is the keyboard layout. But still excellent work.
Great video! I have the higher-end P71 and I am more than happy with it. Haven't had a hick-up since I got it. A powerful machine it is ... no doubt.
I really wish you could do mobile workstations often...
Thank you Lisa, I've been waiting for this review!
I wonder how much different it is from P50. I have for more than a year and it’s been a great machine!
I JUST GOT THIS UNIT TO LENOVO THE TOUCHSREED REPLACED A MSI UNIT THAT THE HINGES FAILED. MY unit has a touchscreen. HINGES ON LAPTOPS ARE TOO TIGHT NOW.
Don't need it, want it
Need it. Cant afford the 9000 price tag here in Oz. Edit, that price is for the P15.
If it didn't come with the number pad or came with an option to not have it, I'd buy it.
Lenovo has some great prices on these now. I got one for 1300, awesome specs, and the keyboard is the best I've ever used.
That's why I'm watching this now. They're $1169 today, meaning I can get a P51 for less than I paid for my iPhone 10SMax - that's crazy.
So cool about the express card slot, it means people can use FireWire audio interfaces with the TI adapter :) not many laptops have them anymore
I wish I could use it looks so nice. Top-shelf stuff from Lenovo.
I have the P50, and don't like several things about it. First the full HD display, second the display aspect ratio, third - the trackpad that doesn't compare to a mbp. Other than that, it's a pretty solid laptop
Got this one for work. Quite heavy, but worth lugging it around.
Lenovo really paid attention to slimming down their workstations. They have been doing forever. On the part of DELL, what they offer as their most powerful workstation is actually the Precision 7520. Compared to P51, Precision 7520 lacks expandability too much. It only has one m.2 port and one hdd port which makes it pale compared against the 3 m.2 pcie ports in its Alienware 15 which is also offered by DELL. I really doubt Precision 7520 can be called work station because its limited expandability. So does the precision 5520 which does not have spill resistant keyboard. You can't slab a 3 year warranty on any laptops, putting a Quadro GPU and call them workstations, can you?
I added RAM so I got 64 and it works amazing!!
Can i still consider in 2k24
Just in $312 with 16gb ram 512gb nvme ssd & condition is still 10/10
Since Lenovo watered down the x280 and T470, where is the P31? My x250 is okay but I really miss the rigid magnesium chassis of my old x200. It's refreshing to see the "old" build quality on this P51 but I want a smaller workstation laptop with an outdoor bright display.
I think that Lenovo is not interested in releasing a P-line workstation in smaller form factors. Given that they have cancelled the T-series p models while the P40 is still stuck with 2016 hardware.
That P40 actually has interesting hardware inside but it's not a "thinkpad". Get rid of the touch screen. Gimme a chunky magnesium chassis, an ethernet jack and internal and external battery packs like the x250. I'll gladly take the 14" 2560x1440 screen though. Oh and a traditional screen hinge with the extended run time battery that sticks out the back to give me something to hold onto when I'm in the field.
I guess what I really want is either a proper P31 or P41.
touch screen has been an option on thinkpads since before the lenovo days though...
I have the core i7 7800hq with nvidia quadro m1200 graphics intel HD 630 and a touchscreen display
I bought the I7 7700HQ, 16GB, 128 NVMe m.2 + 1 TB SSD, M1200 4gb model. Thanks a ton for your review. Might take 2 weeks to get from china :(
What kind of ssd m.2??
@@dwinithakusuma956 i do not own this model any more 1 year ago i bought a p53. I upgrade when new versions come out.
Another solid review as usual. Thanks.
Pepper rifle headline place absolute chronic generally quality serving
Good review, I was disappointed when I knew that I have the base model. with M1200
I want this computer badly.
Great review - covered all the bases
Amazing reviews. ´Thank you very much. Any chance you'll review the dell precision 5530?
Thanks for the video, looking at buying this or the new P1 :)
Lisa! Can we get a review of the Mi Notebook Air 13.3 2018 edition?
Beautiful machine! But, I’m good with my new one. Great review! Thanks again!
Great review Lisa! What is your opinion on the new quad-core lenovo ultrabooks, the X yoga series? I work with CAD and I am interested to get an ultrabook with an eGPU. I feel like it’s a new alternative. What is your opinion?
Thanks
X Mimi
Hello Lisa! Please do a review of the Lenovo ThinkPad P52 with the 4K screen, and if possible a follow-up comparison video between it and the ThinkPad P1. I'm currently undecided as to which of these two workstations I should get as my new daily driver. You're objective input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
As an owner of P51, .... I would suggest FHD (not 4K) - battery use, and W10 dpi issues. Although, colorimeter and 100% color-space is nice :). Both use same good 4K screen, so only suggestion is: go with P52 - if you need 6-core CPU and never GPU. But if you got a good deal for P51, and your workload is RAM-dependent, go with 64GB RAM and second m.2 tray (for whichever m.2 SSD you like - I would opt for Sammy 970 EVO Plus 2TB). 7820HQ differs from Xeon just slightly - well does not support ECC RAM - but you have to need ECC'd RAM (financial calculations). Otherwise, case almost identical, as P52 supports two Thunderbolt 3 ports and it has different cutouts. Therefore - due to better Intel controller (for two-port: Intel JHL7440) I would definitely bought P52. Change in CPU core count plus Nvidia newer Pascal architecture and this third gen. low power Thunderbolt3 controller - this is nice. One step back is.... keyboard, now if you want to replace RAM under keyboard, you need to pry-up two upper mouse buttons (they are not part of keyboard) - this could be broken. So this is solved better in P51. But otherwise, I would choose P52. It is also worth noting that if you turn Air-plane mode, you need to turn it off - not just connect power-brick. This is due to assumption, that you may use power-brick in plane, with plane-mode - but it will not charge your battery - as 170W PSU this size can blow up seat fuse. So, charging comes back, when you turn Airplane mode in W10 off.
Can you please review the updated version of this laptop, the P52s? I'm struggling between this and the X1 Carbon 2018. The P52s is so much cheaper.
Lisa if you have time can you do a review on your screen color calibrator.
Please Lenovo Thinkpad x280 next, lightweight version of 1.1kg.
More laptops should have Ethernet ports. I've been in quite a few situations where they would have come in really handy.
I bought this computer because of this video. Can you please teach me how to calibrate this machine madam. Thanks
Any chance of seeing a t580 review? Can't find one from anywhere and would love to see one from you!
PLEASE review the new Thinkpad X1 Carbon (6th gen)!!!!!
If she can review Linux laptop?
Please Lisa review the new ThinkPad X1 Carbon (6th gen)!!
Thinkpads forever! I've never owned anything else since buying my first X22 followed by: T40, X200, T420s, W520, P50, T480s. I am unable to type on inferior laptop keyboards.
Pity about the poor speakers. Is there another 15 inch model in the ThinkPad range that is as good otherwise and still has a removable battery?
It’s a smart card reader slot, express card is a thing of the past. Also this is to be compared to dell precision 75x0 series, not the xps.
It's an Expresscard/34 slot. There's also a SmartCard reader (optional) towards the front of the laptop on the same side.
Hello! I have been searching for a better laptop (used) and i have two óptions 1.- the p51 and the lenovo 5520. Both with practically the same specs ram 32gb, ssd512, intel i7 7820hq. The only difference its about the graphics the p51 whith quadro m1200 and the lenovo whit m1200m so whats the difference on them? Both are a good choice at this year (2020) with intention to keep it for at least 2 or 3 years to the next change? which one did you recomend most for activities of a civil engineer (cad, csi products, rhino, solidworks, etc) im 50% of the time at the desk and the other on field. Or do you have another option on a budget around $800.? Thanks for your help 😁
If I wanted to upgrade the RAM, and the 2.5" harddrive.. which would anyone recommend?
I currently have 1TB SSD PCIe TLC OPAL2. I am considering upgrading and want to get another one but do not want to pay $400+ for them. Also with the 2.5" HDD; can one put another SSD in there?
The one thing that is really annoying is that FN is bottom left. I keep clicking it instead of CTRL.
Change order in BIOS. Problem solved.
MINE IS A 4K TOUCH SCREEEN
Can this handle multiple screens for trading with the Nvidia Quadro m1200 and play GTA 5?
That keyboard though. I really dislike it. I still have a T420 and prefer the old design
Everytime I typed on my x200 after using my x250 a bunch, it made me miss that chassis but I love the battery life on the x250.
I thought like you as well. But the Lenovo's Thinkpad keyboard is not that bad. Just like half point down from the IBM''s. Not that bad, still high tier laptop keyboard out there.
Like you, I've used the old style keyboards (W510, T420), and thought they were the bees knees. But honestly, after a few days on my old T460s and now this P51, I prefer the new keyboard to the old keyboards. The keyboard feeling is more tactile, and I like the better use of space around the function key row. I know some don't like the islands, but as I've come from owning a bunch of Macs in the past, the island style keys were not a big deal compared to the awesome tactility and comfort of long typing sessions.
I switched from my X201 and my lab's X220 to X1Y2 8 months ago, and while the island keyboard is not as bad as I imagined, I am still not used to it--still making many typos and not typing as fast as before. I also dislike the new layout for Home, End, Insert, PgUp, PgDn, and top row Function keys. I use these buttons very often while coding and the new layout kinda disemphasizes these keys.
Realy i can't understand this company, thinkpad x1 p50, thinkpad x1 p51, thinkpad x1 p50s; thinkpad x1 p70, thinkpad x1 p71, thinkpad x1 carbon, thinkpad x1 extrem ....etc, why not build one best laptop Lenovo ? and which the best laptop to buy ????
Will you be reviewing the T480s?
BagelMaster5000 she has a history of reviewing the T4X0s.
Hi, great review. By the way, your shirt is awesome :), where I can get one?
Lisa please review new Xiaomi air 2017 i7-8500u. Ty
Now that March is coming closer and closer, I really hope Lisa could also review the 3rd gen Thinkpad X1 tablet when it comes out...
Sorry for being irrelevant to the topic except for the fact that they're all Lenovo's...
Dear Mobile TechReview,
i am in UAE,i want to purchase this think pad p51,i can not order from lenvoo site directly or from amazan,as they only dispatch it locally in US or CANADA,mostly they say this part can not be shipped to UAE,i really need your help in getting this laptop.
any one may help me.
Another great review.
Hi Lisa, I was just wondering what program you use to calibrate your screen, cause I just got a new monitor for my desktop and I want to get the best picture I can. Any help would be appreciated.
The P51 comes with the Pantone calibration tool. It does a pretty decent job. I know Lisa uses a pro calibration tool for all her reviews, but that should not be necessary, as unlike 99% of laptops out there, this comes with a calibration device built in.
is this the color gamut for your review unit the same as the one on the i7 version?
Give me a yoga version of this with a digitizer and it would be perfect!
Please review Lenovo T470p with i7 7820x processor
Would buy in a hot second if I could get it with a centered keyboard.
Could you review the Thinkpad T570 please? Thank you!
Didn't they send you a P52?
Christopher Pecoraro P52 hasn't been released, and it won't be until Intel releases 9th generation CPUs. P52s had been released in select markets, but that's not really the same thing.
When is the P92 coming out? Complete with like 50 cores and the latest NVIDIA...a rederer's dream. Oh yeah, they make desktops that do that.
anyone also wish that silver joint could be more gunmetal or darker?
Lol you know which ones are the old school users in the comments. I use an X1 Carbon (4th gen) for work and it's pretty good. It's very light but sturdy. Not as powerful as I'd like though. It stutters sometimes.
please review the P53
Hi Lisa. What modern accessories can you get today that use a PCMCIA port?
eGPU expansion cables, external PCI'e connectors ... which means "any PCIe cards" :) ...
Love you Lisa :)
That 2009-era intro tho
great review
Hey Lisa is this possible to slap LTE cards on it?
P50 vs P51? should i pay more for a P51?
Does this machine comes with wacom active stylus
This is a durable gaming laptop!
It's not a gaming laptop. It's a reliable, durable business laptop. If you want a shitty gaming laptop, go elsewhere.
Best TP ever
Nice review