Lenovo Has a Fantastic Trio of Professional ThinkPads on the Way, One Vr-Ready


After just discussing the interesting display technologies inside of the Yoga A12 convertibles, I had to rewind and remember, not all consumers are after the offbeat and the super visionary. Some folks just need a reliable, high-performance workstation, and many of these folks are professionals. Hence, more Lenovo computing devices will be hitting the shelves soon- an array of three brand new ThinkPads, actually.

Today we will be taking a good look at the ThinkPad P51, P51s, and P71 laptops. All high-end, all designed for the ones who need serious power and serious graphics- including architects, engineers, 3D animators, etc. Luckily, all three formations of the new ThinkPad series have their own special calling, including one particularly primed for VR production.

Let’s start with the headliner of this pro workstation trio. The 17-inch 4K display Lenovo ThinkPad P71 measures 1.2-inches thick, and weighs 3.44kg. It is certified VR-ready by HTC, Nvidia, and Oculus, meaning it will be able to meet the demands of those who are into creating virtual environments in film, gaming, or other ways. The P71 is packed to the brim with power, supporting up to an Xeon E3-v6 processor and Quadro P5000 workstation graphics. There is support for up to 64GB of RAM, and four (yes four), storage units for every type- from SSDs to conventional devices. Ports include Thunderbolt 3 for peripherals and docks, as well as 4K display “for crisper non-VR visuals”. Wow, this thing is packed, but it won’t be available until April, with a starting price around $1,849.

The other two laptops launching are the ThinkPad P51, and ThinkPad P51s. While not as premium as the bigger brother of the trio, these are still designed with an intensity to get real work done. Also aimed at professionals, like 3D animators and architects, portability is on their side. The P51s features a 15-inch display with the choice of 1080p, 1080p with touchscreen, or 4K resolution options. As the lightest option of the three, this laptop weighs 1.95kg and measures a mere .79-inches thick (making it ultrabook “worthy”, don’t you think?). That doesn’t stop it from housing a seventh gen Intel Core i7 CPU with Nvidia Quadro M520M graphics, accompanied by 32GB of RAM. All of that is next to perfect specs for anyone living that life glued to their laptop. It becomes available starting in March, the Thinkpad P51s starts at $1,049.

This of course leaves us with the ThinkPad P51. We’d first consider this to be the least appealing option of all three, but guess what, besides a slightly larger body, the P51 actually houses better hardware than the P51s. Also sporting a 15-inch display, this laptop weighs 2.54kg and measures just over an inch thick, at 1.02 inches. It supports up to an Intel Xeon E3 chip (same as the P71), Nvidia Quadro M2200M graphics, and 64GB of RAM. As you can tell, this is significantly better specs than the middle child, although all three seem to be ultra premium. As far as storage, three devices are offered, including support in RAID 0 or RAID1. Availability on this piece is set for April, with pricing just around $1,399.

Of course, the star of the bunch is the VR-ready ThinkPad P71, however, an easy second place contender goes to the lightest and thinnest mobile workstation to date from Lenovo, the Thinkpad P51s. As far as the ThinkPad P51, though a bit heftier, this PC a great option for anyone looking for a more conventional option with faster processors, and a bunch of memory. Lenovo couldn't have gotten it better releasing these three options. All are nearly perfect for the professional worker.

Topics: Technology News Laptop Trends Laptops & Ultrathin Ultrabooks Tech Reviews

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