Lenovo P1 Gen 3 Review: A Near-Perfect Workstation

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Are you in search of a comprehensive review based on the Lenovo P1 Gen 3’s features and performance? If so, then check out this Lenovo P1 Gen 3 review.

I will be offering you extensive details about the Lenovo P1 Gen 3’s design and specifications in this review article. Also, you will get to know about its processor, storage, memory, graphics card, and battery life.

Furthermore, I will be sharing with you the laptop’s performance in various benchmark tests. Moreover, I will be comparing the Lenovo P1 Gen 3 with other laptops in its category.

That aside, in each section of this review, I will be rating this laptop on a scale of one to ten based on my personal perspective and its performance. Hence, when you are done with this article, you should be able to make an informed purchase decision.

My Initial Thoughts

Lenovo is attempting to change the style of workstations from the known bulky and overweight statures to compact statures. One of such workstation that implemented this change is the Lenovo P1 Gen 3.

As you might already know, workstations are powerful laptops, and with more power comes more expenses. Therefore, the Lenovo P1 Gen 3 is quite pricey.

Specifically, in May 2022, when I wrote this review, the laptop had a starting price of $2,339.00 on Amazon. Now that you have an idea about this laptop’s price, you might be curious to know if it is worth the price.

Well, to find out, let’s proceed to the subsequent sections below.

Lenovo P1 Gen 3 Design, Display, Ports, And Connectivity Review

At first sight, I was intrigued by this laptop’s attractive look, its sleekness, and its compactness. To start with, the Lenovo P1 Gen 3’s casing is made from magnesium material.

This material gives it a sturdy look and a better feel than plastic-built laptops. For its color, you will find the Lenovo P1 Gen 3 in black color, which gives it a formal appearance.

That aside, you will find a ”ThinkPad” logo that cuts across the top-left edge of the laptop’s lid. Although this logo is the only thing you will find on the lid, it makes the laptop look elegant.

At the base of the lid, there is a bar hinge that holds it firmly to the base of the laptop. This hinge makes it possible to open the lid up to 180 degrees.

Thankfully, the hinge isn’t too tight, making it quite easy to open the lid with one hand. Opening the lid will expose you to the beautiful and attractive interior of the Lenovo P1 Gen 3.

One of the interior features of this laptop is its 15.6-inch display. Impressively, this display is available in two resolution options that you can choose from.

Hence, you can get the laptop with either FHD (1920 x 1080 pixels) resolution or 4K UHD (3840 x 2160 pixels) resolution. You can expect that with the 4K UHD resolution, the laptop’s display will be sharper as the resolution features a high number of pixels.

Nevertheless, the FHD display option should also be sufficiently sharp and colorful. Obviously, it won’t be as sharp as the 4K UHD display option.

Another display feature of the Lenovo P1 Gen 3 is that it has wide viewing angles (WVA). Therefore, you can watch the laptop’s display from any angle and still get a clear picture quality.

For display brightness, the two display resolution options have different peak brightness. Specifically, the 4K UHD resolution option has a peak brightness of 600 nits.

On the other hand, the FHD resolution option has a peak brightness of 500 nits. From the peak brightness values on both display resolution options, we can see that the 4K UHD resolution display option is brighter than the FHD display option.

Therefore, the 4K UHD display option should be suitable for outdoor usage as well as well-lit rooms. Although the FHD display option should also be suitable for well-lit rooms, it won’t be as bright as the 4K UHD display option.

Before we move to other aspects of this section, let us talk about the touch ability of the laptop’s display. If case you are wondering if the Lenovo P1 Gen 3 is a touchscreen, the answer is yes.

However, only the 4K UHD display option of this laptop is touch-enabled. This is one reason why the 4K UHD display configuration of the laptop is more expensive than the FHD display configuration.

Before we move away from the display aspect of the laptop, let us discuss the bezels. Impressively, the Lenovo P1 Gen 3’s display is surrounded by very slim bezels.

Despite the bezels being so slim, Lenovo still provided space for an HD 720p webcam on the top bezel. Talking about the webcam, it features an IR light that permits usage at night or in the dark.

Also, this webcam uses the ThinkShutter technology, which closes the camera when not in use to prevent webcam spying. In terms of performance, the webcam is good for taking pictures and conducting video calls.

At this point, let us move away from the top part of this laptop to its base, where the keyboard is located. The Lenovo P1 Gen 3 comes with a full-size spill-resistant keyboard.

This keyboard delivers a comfortable typing experience as it features well-spaced keys that are very responsive. Not only that, but it also has a backlight feature that can help you type better in the dark.

Below the keyboard, you will find a touchpad with integrated click buttons. This touchpad is responsive and easy to use.

Also, its integrated click buttons are very clicky and offer accurate feedback. Apart from these integrated click buttons, there are also three dedicated click buttons at the top of the touchpad.

You may think these dedicated click buttons are also for the touchpad. Well, that’s not true.

Instead, the dedicated click buttons are meant for the laptop’s red Trackpoint, which is located in between the H, B, and G keys. Similar to the touchpad, this Trackpoint can be used for navigation and controlling the cursor on the laptop’s display.

Other than the keyboard and touchpad, another thing you will find on the Lenovo P1 Gen 3’s base is a ”Thinkpad” lettering at the bottom right edge.

Moving on, the Lenovo P1 Gen 3 offers a decent amount of ports that should satisfy most users’ connectivity needs. Specifically, on the right side of the laptop, you will find two USB 3.2 Type-A ports and an SD card reader.

Meanwhile, the left side of this laptop features two Thunderbolts 3 ports (USB Type-C), one HDMI 2.0 port, and a combo audio jack.

Before I round up this section of the Lenovo P1 Gen 3 review, let me talk about the laptop’s size and weight. To start with, the laptop’s size and weight are determined by the display resolution option that you choose.

Specifically, the 4K UHD model of the laptop measures 361.8 x 245.7 x 18.4 mm (W x D x H) and weighs 1800 g. Meanwhile, the FHD resolution model of the laptop measures 361.8 x 245.7 x 18.7 mm (W x D x H) and weighs 1700 g.

Hence, the FHD model is lighter and less thick than the 4K UHD model. Nevertheless, compared with the Dell Precision M6800, both models are lighter and slimmer.

To be more specific, this Dell laptop weighs 3570 g and has a dimension of 416.7 x 270.6 x 39.45 – 43.4 mm (W x D x H).

All things considered, I will offer the Lenovo P1 Gen 3 an eight out of ten rating in this design section of the review.

Lenovo P1 Gen 3 Processor (CPU) Performance Review

The Lenovo P1 Gen 3 offers two processor options. Firstly, you can purchase the laptop with an Intel Core i9-10885H processor.

The Intel Core i9-10885H processor has a base frequency of 2.40 GHz and a boost frequency of 5.30 GHz. Furthermore, it is an octa-core processor that features a 16 MB cache memory.

Secondly, you will get the Lenovo P1 Gen 3 with an Intel Xeon W-10855M processor. This Intel processor offers a base frequency of 2.80 GHz and a boost frequency of 5.10 GHz.

Unlike the previous processor, which has eight cores (octa-core), the Xeon W-10855M has six cores (Hexa-core) and 12 MB of cache memory. Impressively, these processor options are powerful high-end processors that allow a computer to offer optimal performance.

Therefore, whichever processor ships with the Lenovo P1 Gen 3, you should be rest assured to get an impressive performance. However, the Intel Core i9-10885H processor has a better performance than the Xeon W-10855M processor.

That is because it has a higher boost frequency, more cores, and a larger cache memory. Thankfully, my review unit of the Lenovo P1 Gen 3 features an Intel Core i9-10885H processor.

To further verify the laptop’s performance with this CPU, I will be sharing its result in a Cinebench R15 benchmark test. The Cinebench R15 is an app-based cross-platform benchmark test that measures a computer’s processor performance in handling demanding workloads.

Furthermore, this benchmark test measures the processor’s single-core and multi-core performances. For clarity, single-core is used to describe the processor’s performance when only one of its cores is used.

On the other hand, when all the processor’s cores are used to carry out tasks, that is known as multi-core. Another thing that is worth pointing out about this benchmark test is that a high score means better processor performance.

Thus, from the test result, the Lenovo P1 Gen 3 scored 206.7 points in the single-core aspect. On the other hand, the laptop scored 1502 points in the multi-core aspect.

Comparatively, in the same benchmark test, the Dell Precision 3000 3551 offered a single-core score of 197 points. Meanwhile, on the multi-core aspect, this laptop scored 1264 points.

Hence, the Lenovo P1 Gen 3 has a better processor performance than the Dell Precision 3000 3551. It is worth stating that the Dell Precision 3000 3551 also uses an Intel Core i9-10885H processor.

In conclusion, the Lenovo P1 Gen 3 offers two processor options that users can choose from. Also, the laptop beats one of its major counterparts on a processor benchmark test.

Thus, I will be rating the Lenovo P1 Gen 3 a nine out of ten in this processor review section.

Lenovo P1 Gen 3 Memory (RAM) Performance Review

The Lenovo P1 Gen 3 offers a DDR4 memory type which has a speed of 2933 MHz. Furthermore, this laptop comes with dual memory slots and a standard memory of 16 GB.

Also, the laptop supports a maximum memory capacity of 64 GB. As a result, you will be able to upgrade the laptop’s standard memory up to 64 GB – 32 GB RAM on each memory slot.

Meanwhile, this review article focuses on the Lenovo P1 Gen 3 with 32 GB RAM. Hence, with this amount of memory, this laptop should be able to perform heavy multitasking smoothly.

Hence, the laptop will be able to open more than 30 Chrome tabs simultaneously without lagging. Not only that, but with these tabs opened, you can stream YouTube videos, and the laptop still won’t slow down.

To further know how well this laptop can perform, I will be sharing its PCMark 10 test result. Talking about PCMark 10, it is a benchmark test that assesses the performance of a computer when handling real-world productivity tasks.

Also, a high score on this benchmark test means good performance. So, on this benchmark test, the Lenovo P1 Gen 3 delivered a score of 5,490 points.

In comparison, this laptop’s score surpasses that of the ROG Strix Hero III, which delivered a score of 5485 points. Also, the laptop performs better than Dell Precision 3000 3551, which offered a score of 5127 points on the PCMark 10 test.

Hence, I will be rating the Lenovo P1 Gen 3 a nine out of ten in this memory review section.

Lenovo P1 Gen 3 Storage Options And Performance Review

The Lenovo P1 Gen 3 comes with an M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD (Solid State Drive). Impressively, the laptop’s storage drive supports a maximum storage capacity of 4 TB, which should be sufficient for most people.

To make things better, the laptop features an SD card reader for storage expansion.

Having said all that, let us discuss the laptop’s performance on an AS SSD benchmark to assess its storage performance. For clarity, this benchmark test evaluates the performance of the laptop’s SSD by measuring its read and write speed.

For those wondering, read and write speed shows how fast a storage drive can open and save files, respectively. Besides, a high MBps value on the AS SSD test indicates fast read and write speed.

So, according to the benchmark test result, the Lenovo P1 Gen 3 recorded a read speed of 4565 MBps and a write speed of 3400 MBps. Although this laptop’s read and write speeds are super fast, it isn’t as fast as the ones of the Schenker Vision 15, which also uses SSD.

Specifically, the Schenker Vision 15 has a read speed of 5427 MBps and a write speed of 3952 MBps. On a positive note, the Lenovo P1 Gen 3 has a faster read and write speed than the Schenker XMG Neo 15 Tiger Lake.

Precisely, this Schenker XMG laptop has a write speed of 2032 MBps and a read speed of 5464 MBps.

In conclusion, the Lenovo P1 Gen 3 offers a super-fast SSD that supports a whopping maximum storage capacity of 4 TB. Moreover, this laptop comes with an SD card reader for storage expansion.

Thus, I will rate the Lenovo P1 Gen 3 a nine out of ten in this storage review section.

Lenovo P1 Gen 3 Graphics Card Performance Review

Just like the processor, the Lenovo P1 Gen 3 offers multiple graphics card options.

Firstly, the laptop comes with an NVIDIA Quadro T1000 Max-Q graphics card. In terms of speed, this GPU has a base frequency of 765 MHz and a boost frequency of 1350 MHz.

Secondly, you can acquire this laptop with an NVIDIA Quadro T2000 Max-Q graphics card. This graphics card option features a base frequency of 1200 MHz and a boost frequency of 1620 MHz.

Moreover, these graphics card options are both dedicated graphics cards. Hence, they both feature a dedicated VRAM of 4 GB GDDR5 each.

Apart from these dedicated graphics card options, the Lenovo P1 Gen 3 also offers an integrated Intel UHD Graphics 630 GPU. This integrated graphics card features a base frequency of 350 MHz and a boost frequency of 1250 MHz.

However, as an integrated graphics card, this GPU is embedded into the laptop’s processor. Thus, unlike the dedicated graphics card options, the Intel UHD Graphics 630 GPU lacks a dedicated VRAM.

Therefore, in order to perform graphics-related tasks, the graphics card shares the system memory with the processor. Hence, with the Intel UHD Graphics 630, the Lenovo P1 Gen 3 will not be able to effectively handle graphics-demanding apps or title AAA games.

Nevertheless, with either of the dedicated graphics card options, the laptop should be able to smoothly handle graphics-demanding apps and games. For example, with the NVIDIA Quadro T2000 Max-Q GPU, this Lenovo laptop delivered 69.9 fps while playing Dirt Rally 2019.

Also, while playing Far Cry New Dawn 2019, the laptop delivered a smooth frame rate of 55 fps (frame per second).

To further verify the laptop’s performance with the NVIDIA Quadro T2000 Max-Q, let us discuss its result on a 3DMark test. Briefly, the 3DMark test is an app-based graphics benchmark test that measures a computer’s ability to render 3D graphics.

Furthermore, a high score on this app-based graphics benchmark test equates to good graphics rendering performance. Thus, based on the test result, the Lenovo P1 Gen 3 delivered a score of 3518 points.

Comparatively, the Dell Precision 5540, which uses the same GPU, has a better graphics performance than this Lenovo laptop. Specifically, on the 3DMark test, the Dell Precision 5540 delivered a score of 36376 points.

Nevertheless, because it offers multiple GPU options, I will rate the Lenovo P1 Gen 3 an eight out of ten in this GPU review section.

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Lenovo P1 Gen 3 Battery Life And Performance Review

The Lenovo P1 Gen 3 comes with a 6-cell 80 WHr Li-Polymer battery. Lenovo claims that this laptop can last up to 13 hours.

However, after a battery rundown test, we found out that the laptop could last only 7 hours and 6 minutes. Although this battery life is decent and should last almost a full day, it is nowhere near the 13 hours that Lenovo claimed.

By the way, the battery rundown test involves continuously surfing the web on the laptop till its battery runs out. Comparatively, the Lenovo P1 Gen 3 has a longer battery life than the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 2.

Specifically, this Lenovo ThinkPad laptop delivered a battery life of 4 hours and 5 minutes on the same battery rundown test. Once again, the Lenovo P1 Gen 3 has a longer battery life than the Dell Precision M6800.

To be more specific, the Dell Precision M6800 lasted only 5 hours and 52 minutes on the battery rundown test.

After thorough consideration, I will rate the Lenovo P1 Gen 3 an eight out of ten in this battery review section.

Frequently Asked Questions

My Final Thoughts

The Lenovo P1 Gen 3 is an excellent 15.6-inch workstation laptop that has an incredible list of amazing specs and multiple configurations. To give more details, this laptop offers two powerful processor options, three GPU options, and two resolution options.

Also, the laptop features a fast SSD that supports an amazing maximum storage capacity of 4 TB. Apart from that, the Lenovo P1 Gen 3 supports a whopping maximum memory of 64 GB.

However, this laptop is significantly expensive, costing over $2000 when I publish this article. Nevertheless, due to its outstanding features and performance, I can assure you that it is worth the price tag.

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References And Further Reading

1. digitalengineering247.com – Lenovo ThinkPad P1 G3 OLED
2. in3case.com – Lenovo P1 Gen 3 Review
3. ubergizmo.com – Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen 3 Review
4. pcper.com- LENOVO THINKPAD P1 GEN 3 15″ – LONG TERM REVIEW
5. lenovo.com – ThinkPad P1 Gen 3 mobile workstation
6. notebookcheck.net – Samsung SSD 980 Pro 1TB MZ-V8P1T0BW
7. notebookcheck.net – NVIDIA Quadro T2000 Max-Q
8. engineering.com – Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen 3 Review
9. [discourse_topic_url]