Review: The ThinkPad P1 (Gen 2) brings workstation specs to the X1 Extreme
Source: Windows Central
Lenovo’s attack on the 15-inch powerhouse Ultrabook market includes both the second-gen ThinkPad X1 Extreme and ThinkPad P1, two devices that are almost identical yet are geared for different usage scenarios. I recently reviewed the X1 Extreme (Gen 2), ultimately handing it a Best Award thanks to its balance of design, features, and performance.
While the X1 Extreme’s internal hardware is more geared toward the average user who likes extra power, the ThinkPad P1 (Gen 2) counterpart is a truer mobile workstation with internal hardware meant to work with specialized professional software. I made the switch to the P1 more than a week ago to test it out and decided that a standard full review would be redundant. Instead, I’ll highlight some of the configuration differences and performance levels to help highlight what the P1 does better than the X1 Extreme.
Second-gen Tweaks
Lenovo ThinkPad P1 (Gen 2)
Mobile workstation sibling to the X1 Extreme
Lenovo ThinkPad P1 (Gen 2) at a glance
Source: Windows Central
To put the price into perspective, a similar X1 Extreme model with a NVIDIA GTX 1650 Max-Q GPU and 1TB M.2 SSD costs almost $600 more as configured, though Lenovo’s coupon add-ons bring it down to about $2,628. Considering these two laptops are almost physically identical, it’s good that Lenovo is attempting to keep prices almost the same for similar internal hardware. If you want specialized hardware you’ll pay more, but otherwise there’s not much difference.
Like the X1 Extreme, the P1 has upgradeable SSD and RAM to help keep it relevant longer into the future. You can purchase a high-end CPU and cut costs on supporting hardware, only to upgrade yourself when you find a good deal. If you’d rather just buy straight from the factory and not worry about any DIY upgrades, Lenovo offers a ton of customization options.
Here’s a detailed breakdown of the specs found in our review units of both the ThinkPad P1 and ThinkPad X1 Extreme.
Category | ThinkPad P1 | ThinkPad X1 Extreme |
---|---|---|
OS | Windows 10 Pro | Windows 10 Pro |
Processor | 9th Gen Intel Core i7-9850H vPro Up to 4.6GHz Six cores |
9th Gen Intel Core i7-9850H vPro Six cores Up to 4.6GHz |
RAM | 32GB DDR4-2666MHz Dual channel |
32GB DDR4-2666MHz Dual channel |
Graphics | NVIDIA Quadro T2000 4GB GDDR5 VRAM |
NVIDIA GTX 1650 Max-Q 4GB GDDR5 VRAM |
Storage | 2TB M.2 PCIe SSD RAID 0/1 support for dual SSDs |
1TB M.2 PCIe SSD RAID 0/1 support for dual M.2 SSDs |
Display | 15.6 inches 3840×2160 (UHD) IPS, non-touch, matte Dolby Vision HDR |
15.6 inches 3840×2160 (UHD) OLED, Touch Dolby Vision HDR |
Ports | Two USB-A 3.1 Two Thunderbolt 3 HDMI 2.0 Ethernet extension connector 3.5mm audio UHS-II SD card reader |
Two USB-A 3.1 Two Thunderbolt 3 HDMI 2.0 Ethernet extension connector 3.5mm audio UHS-II SD card reader |
Audio | Dual 2W speakers Dolby Atmos |
Dual 2W speakers Dolby Atmos |
Wireless | Intel Wireless-AX200 (2×2) 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) Bluetooth 5.0 |
Intel Wireless-AX200 (2×2) 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) Bluetooth 5.0 |
Camera | Front-facing 720p | Front-facing 720p |
Security | Smart Card reader (optional) IR camera ThinkShutter webcam cover dTPM 2.0 Fingerprint reader |
Smart Card reader (optional) ThinkShutter webcam cover IR camera dTPM 2.0 Fingerprint reader |
Touchpad | Precision TrackPoint system |
Precision TrackPoint system |
Battery | 80Wh 135W AC adapter |
80Wh 135W AC adapter |
Dimensions | 14.24 x 9.67 x 0.74 inches (361.8mm x 245.7mm x 18.7mm) |
14.24 x 9.67 x 0.74 inches (361.8mm x 245.7mm x 18.7mm) |
Weight | Non-touch: 3.75 pounds (1.7kg) Touch: 4.0 pounds (1.81kg) |
Non-touch: 3.75 pounds (1.7kg) Touch: 4.0 pounds (1.81kg) |
Comparing Lenovo’s ThinkPad P1 and X1 Extreme
The ThinkPad P1 comes with the same perks as the formidable X1 Extreme, but it’s far better cut out for specialized work.
Ports are also exactly the same, offering up solid connectivity with dual Thunderbolt 3, HDMI, dual USB-A 3.1, and an SD card reader handling the brunt of peripherals. There’s still a speedy fingerprint reader to the right of the keyboard for extra security on top of the IR camera for facial recognition. Dimensions and weight are exactly the same between both laptops.
While the X1 Extreme review unit includes an OLED 4K touch display with edge-to-edge glass, the P1 review unit has a non-touch 4K IPS display with matte finish. Instead of the edge-to-edge glass that covers the bezel, there’s a fiber hybrid surround that’s slightly raised. There’s still a front-facing 720p camera and IR camera built into the top bezel, complete with a privacy ThinkShutter cover. This display can also be had on the X1 Extreme, as can the OLED display be configured into the P1. Lenovo simply sent me different builds for a bit of variety.
Whereas the OLED display option offers 100% DCI-P3, 100% sRGB, and 100% AdobeRGB, color gamut coverage, the 4K IPS option brings 100% sRGB, 100% AdobeRGB, and about 86% DCI-P3. If you need accurate DCI-P3 coverage for the work at hand you’ll no doubt want to shell out the extra money for the OLED model, but otherwise the 4K IPS display is still a great option. If you don’t need 4K at all, the P1 has two FHD display options, one with and one without Dolby Vision HDR 400.
Source: Windows Central P1 on the left and X1 Extreme on the right, both set to the same 40% brightness. Notice how much brighter the OLED option is at this setting.
Part of the second-gen improvements in the P1 is a move to NVIDIA Quadro T1000 or T2000 dedicated GPUs. Compared to the NVIDIA GTX 1650 in the X1 Extreme, the Quadro hardware is designed to handle specialized workloads in the professional sector. If you’re working with software like AutoCAD, Revit, and SolidWorks, you’re likely going to want to opt for the P1. It also comes with numerous ISV certifications that guarantee the system is going to perform optimally when handling this type of work.
Both laptops can be configured with up to a 9th Gen Intel Core i9-9880H vPro CPU, but only the P1 has the additional option for an Intel Xeon E-2276M vPro CPU. Like the NVIDIA Quadro, Xeon hardware is designed specifically to handle specialized work. I ran some benchmarks to see how well the second-gen ThinkPad P1 compares to the X1 Extreme and some other laptops we’ve recently reviewed.
CPU
Geekbench 5.0 Benchmarks (Higher is better)
Device | CPU | Single core | Multi core |
---|---|---|---|
Lenovo ThinkPad P1 (Gen 2) | i7-9850H | 1,233 | 5,216 |
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme (Gen 2) | i7-9850H | 1,160 | 4,168 |
Dynabook Portégé X30-F | i7-8665U | 1,236 | 3,473 |
Dynabook Tecra X50-F | i7-8665U | 1,241 | 3,043 |
Dell Inspiron 13 7390 2-in-1 | i7-8565U | 1,111 | 2,965 |
Lenovo ThinkPad P53 | Xeon E-2276M | 1,237 | 6,152 |
Surface Laptop 3 13.5 | Core i5-1035G7 | 1,177 | 4,413 |
Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 7390 | Core i7-1065G7 | 1,209 | 3,571 |
Surface Laptop 3 15 | Ryzen 5 | 769 | 2,720 |
Dell XPS 15 7590 | Core i9-9980HK | 1,176 | 7,624 |
Same CPU, better raw performance seen in single- and multi-core scores in the ThinkPad P1.
PCMark
PCMark 10 Express
Device | Score |
---|---|
Lenovo ThinkPad P1 (Gen 2) | 4,969 |
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme (Gen 2) | 4,915 |
Dynabook Portégé X30-F | 3,881 |
Dynabook Tecra X50-F | 4,128 |
Dell Inspiron 13 7390 2-in-1 | 3,764 |
Lenovo ThinkPad P53 | 5,668 |
Surface Laptop 3 15 (AMD) | 4,006 |
Dell XPS 15 7590 | 5,521 |
Dell Precision 3541 | 3,906 |
The PCMark 10 Express test measures how well the system performs with general tasks, while the Extended version adds in some heavier work. The P1 scored 4,980 in the extended test, while the X1 Extreme managed 4,850.
3DMark
Time Spy
Device | GPU | Score |
---|---|---|
Lenovo ThinkPad P1 (Gen 2) | Quadro T2000 | 2,956 |
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme (Gen 2) | GTX 1650 Max-Q | 3,190 |
Lenovo ThinkPad P53 | Quadro RTX 5000 | 6,760 |
Lenovo Legion Y740 15 | RTX 2070 Max-Q | 6,406 |
Lenovo Legion Y740 17 | RTX 2080 Max-Q | 7,128 |
3DMark
Fire Strike
Device | GPU | Score |
---|---|---|
Lenovo ThinkPad P1 (Gen 2) | Quadro T2000 | 6,632 |
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme (Gen 2) | GTX 1650 Max-Q | 7,198 |
Dell XPS 15 (7590) | GTX 1650 Max-Q | 7,763 |
Lenovo ThinkPad P53 | Quadro RTX 5000 | 16,367 |
Lenovo Legion Y740 15 | RTX 2070 Max-Q | 14,669 |
Lenovo Legion Y740 17 | RTX 2080 Max-Q | 16,303 |
Razer Blade 15 | GTX 1070 | 13,560 |
Cinebench
Cinebench (R20) (Higher is better)
Device | CPU | Range |
---|---|---|
Lenovo ThinkPad P1 (Gen 2) | Core i7-9850H | 1,783 to 2,201 |
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme (Gen 2) | Core i7-9850H | 1,730 to 2,495 |
Dynabook Portégé X30-F | Core i7-8665U | 1,242 to 1,313 |
Lenovo ThinkPad P53 | Xeon E-2276M | 2,686 to 2,701 |
Surface Laptop 3 13.5 | Core i5-1035G4 | 1,584 to 1,606 |
Surface Laptop 3 15 | Core i7-1065G7 | 1,703 to 1,745 |
Running Cinebench four times in a row, the scores show the following ranges. Typically, the results drop on successive runs due to thermal constraints on the processor.
SSD
CrystalDiskMark (Higher is better)
Device | Read | Write |
---|---|---|
Lenovo ThinkPad P1 (Gen 2) | 3,508 MB/s | 3,010 MB/s |
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme (Gen 2) | 3,416 MB/s | 3,016 MB/s |
Dynabook Portégé X30-F | 529 MB/s | 348 MB/s |
Dynabook Tecra X50-F | 3,400 MB/s | 1,952 MB/s |
Lenovo ThinkPad P53 | 3,567.23 MB/s | 2,813.25 MB/s |
Lenovo ThinkPad P52 | 3,120 MB/s | 1,551.5 MB/s |
Dell XPS 15 7590 | 3,000 MB/s | 2,796 MB/s |
MSI PS63 Modern | 3,300 MB/s | 1,875 MB/s |
The Samsung PM981 found here delivers extremely quick read and write speeds, and hardware can be upgraded down the road. Testing with PCMark’s data drive benchmark, I saw a score of 2,119.
Should you buy Lenovo’s ThinkPad P1?
Source: Windows Central
Both laptops have an outstanding keyboard, ports are identical, and the same display options are available. Both bring a combination of durability, security features, and performance in a thin body that’s just plain fun to use. Be sure to check out our full review of the X1 Extreme (Gen 2) for grittier details that apply to both laptops.
Second-gen Tweaks
Lenovo ThinkPad P1 (Gen 2)
Mobile workstation version of the X1 Extreme
Lenovo’s second-gen ThinkPad P1 has the option for specialized hardware meant to handle specific design and development hardware.
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