Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 4: Intel version without performance punch

With the Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 3 Intel (available from Amazon for $900), many model variants used P28 CPUs from Intel. Those stronger processors improved the performance, but at a cost: more unwanted emissions like increased heat and noise. Also, Alder Lake ThinkPads often had a lower battery life than their Tiger Lake predecessors.

The newer 2023 Raptor Lake models still have the P28 options, but most variants of the Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 4 Intel instead use U15 CPUs with less cores - at least the ones on sale here in Germany.

In our comprehensive review of the ThinkPad T14 Gen 4 Intel, this model convinced us with low temperatures, noise emissions and long battery life numbers. The performance however suffers on the newest model, especially when there is load on all cores. Certainly, the U15 series of Raptor Lake simply has a lower amount of the more powerful P cores, but the power limit set by Lenovo should be questioned. 22.5 W sounds like a lot, but for the Intel Raptor Lake chips, this is not enough.

The manufacturers, in this case Lenovo are not really to blame here though. A higher power limit would increase performance, but it would lead to a higher power consumption and lower battery life numbers as well as increased heat and noise emissions.

One could argue: Lenovo could simply put in a stronger cooling system and a bigger battery. This would definitely help with the battery life and emissions, but it would counteract the idea of a compact and lightweight business laptop. In the end, one has to admit that this category of laptops is not served well with the current crop of Intel chips. At least if buyers want the ideal mix of high performance, low emissions and long battery life.