Lenovo ThinkPad P1 (Xeon E-2176M, Quadro P2000 Max-Q) Workstation Review

[Redaktion]

Today, we turn our sights to the workstation sibling of the critically acclaimed ThinkPad X1 Extreme. Our decked-out $4,220 configuration features a Xeon E-2176M CPU, Quadro P2000 Max-Q GPU, 2 TB NVMe SSD, and 32 GB of RAM. How does it handle our comprehensive array of tests?

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Lenovo-ThinkPad-P1-Xeon-E-2176M-Quadro-P2000-Max-Q-Workstation-Review.337120.0.html

[LAAN]

As far as I can tell, the display of the reviewed P1 is identical to the 4K display in the X1 E. How come there is a significant difference in response time?

[Table fan]

Allen,

Not too sure who at NBC is reviewing the i5 FHD X1E. I believe the team based in US is reviewing the 8400h variant while the team in Germany is reviewing a 8300h variant unless I'm mistaken.

But anyways, just wanted to say am a huge fan of your tables. Like the ones where you compare CPU/GPU clocks vs temps across Prime95, Furmark, Prime95+Furmark and Witcher 3 stress tests. I hope the same treatment is given to the i5 FHD X1E review as it makes it easier to objectively compare to other laptops.

It'll be interesting to see how the thermals/performance fare to laptops of similar form factor (e.g. Razer Blade 15 gtx 1060 max q) and bigger/heavier laptops such as the Legion Y730 17.

My guess is in this similar form factor they all roughly are the same thermally speaking as there's only so much you can do with such limited ventilation and breathing room for air. The slightly bigger and heavier laptops will run abit more cooler and be able to sustain more consistent clocks (like said in this very review).

Also, did the i5 FHD x1E unit you received come with SATA3 or PCIe-NVME type SSD storage?

[techno7]

Are there any differences in trackpad and keyboard between P1 and X1 Extreme?

[Steve Schardein]

Hey guys,

Thanks for the feedback as always! Glad you enjoyed this review :-)

@techno7:

I don't have both machines together here, but at least from the documents and evidence I've seen I would not expect any differences between the two whatsoever. It appears the case design is identical between the two models and that only the internal components have changed.


@Table fan:

Glad you enjoy our affinity for exhaustive graphs and tables. Thank you for reading! ;-)

Andreas Osthoff on the other side of the globe is handling the X1 Extreme reviews (including the new FHD SKU), and all we've published thus far about his new config is available here:
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Lenovo-ThinkPad-X1-Extreme-4K-vs-FHD.338800.0.html

However the review should be posted very soon. I don't imagine we'll see much of a difference thermally as, like you said, the size of the case specifically is the primary constraint here. However sometimes the lower-powered CPUs perform nearly as admirably in sustained testing as their more expensive counterparts thanks to the thermal limitations, so it could be illuminating as to the sort of value the user is getting by paying up for the pricier components.


@LAAN:

I'm not sure the difference we've measured between the two is really that significant (30.8ms vs. 32ms; 55.6ms vs. 61.6ms -- that's 1.2ms and 6ms difference, or differences of 5% and 10% roughly). It's something, but it may have to do with how the measurements are recorded. I would need to check with the lab as I don't personally perform the display measurements before analyzing and publishing the review itself.

In short, though, both screens are quite slow in terms of response times. Whether the real values are 61.6, 55.6, or (most likely) someplace in between (say, 58 ms), it's quite simply sluggish at any rate.


Hope this helps answer your questions! Thanks for reading.

-Steve

[AF]

Can anyone explain for me why the energy consumption is close to Dell M5530 and P1's battery capacity is only 15W less, but the battery life is far worse. .

Is that possible to fix this by software  by any change?

I keen to buy the P1, but its battery life hesitates me.

[Vance]

HP ZBook Studio x360 G5 review please, hopefully with top specs this time - Xeon, P2000, DreamColor UHD, 96Wh battery etc. Seems like a worthy competitor to the P1 and 5530.

[Adagio]

Lenovo websites don't mention anything about P1 using Max-Q graphics. Honest mistake or blatant false-advertising?

[Read Productions]

Buyers Beware:
On paper, this is an amazing computer. However, the tech specs on Lenovo list the UHD screen as 10bit, but it is not, this is an 8 bit panel and so unsuitable for color critical applications. In addition to which, the panel is natively Adobe RGB but has no hardware throttling to work in sRGB, which means all the colors in Windows and most apps - including color critical apps - will be grossly saturated.
This machine does't meet the needs of Digital Content Creators. Pass.

[sticky]

@Read Productions,

P1 is unanimously regarded as one of the best workstation laptops available in its category. By all means If you can suggest a laptop you believe is perhaps better suited for Digital Content Creators, please go ahead.

[Read Productions]

@Sticky
Like we said, on paper it's fantastic. We've just tested on for the week and are returning it. We do colour critical work and the P1 falls very short of what's expected of a workstation. The display is 8bit and not 10bit - all the tests we could run indicate so - and the Adobe RGB gamut needs to be managed or all the colours will be improperly displayed. Your photos and videos will look akwardly saturated.
So no, we can't creat content on a screen that shows the wrong colours with 64x less precision than a 10bit panel.
We really wanted this to be the replacement for our Macbook Pros (great design, weight, graphic card, processor etc), but it's not yet up to scratch for pros. Maybe the P2? meanwhile, moving on.

[sticky]

@Read Productions
Thank you for explaining, I had no idea 10 bit was that essential for color critical work. I hope the manufacturers pay more attention into future component selection. From your testing, is there anything else the MBPs excel at over P1 and other high end laptops?

[sticky]

@Read Productions
Did some research on bit depth on laptop displays. Apparently there is tremendous confusion as to whether the MBP 15 (post 2016) actually has true 10-bit. Multiple sources indicate both 2017 and 2018 models use 8-bit displays with only supporting 10-bit eDP output, much like the P1. Could you possibly illuminate on this matter from your experience?

Source:
reddit.com/r/apple/comments/6vvysu/2017_vs_2016_macbook_pro_display/
forums.macrumors.com/threads/no-10-bits-panel-macbook-pro-15-1018.2135562/

[michelvd]

Thanks for this review, it's been a great read and really helped me with deciding which laptop I should choose. Typing this review actually on a brand new P1, and wished I would have believed what you wrote  ;D about the fan regularly kicking in. What an annoyance (imho). Having it one day out of the box with spotify on and chrome with 5 tabs open, the fan kicks in every 2 minutes. What will that be when I start working?
I really love this machine, the looks, the keyboard, all of it... but the fan is killing it, and will also kill the friendliness of my colleagues nearby I'm afraid. Sounds like a 8 year old dusted laptop which is pushed to it's limits. Well, I do know now where I can find reviews for my next laptop (because this one will be returned).

[Pezolo]

Dear Steve,
Thank you very much for the review  :)

Do you believe the screen reviewed is the same as the 4k touch display available for the Thinkpad P52?

I'm considering buying the P52 but there is no review for the 4k display and I'm concerned about its colour accuracy
Thank you very much in advance for the reply