Lenovo ThinkPad T16 Gen 3 21MN005XGE
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Price comparison
Average of 1 scores (from 3 reviews)
Reviews for the Lenovo ThinkPad T16 Gen 3 21MN005XGE
The Lenovo ThinkPad T16 G3 is the big guy among in the office: With a 16-inch screen, numpad and large 86 Wh battery, it is made to make people more productive. Sadly, the performance of this Lenovo laptop does not quite live up to our expectations.
Source: Laptop Media
Support, online available, Short, Date: 10/10/2024
Source: Laptop Media
The Lenovo ThinkPad T16 Gen 3 is a solid business offer. Its chassis is rigid, the input devices are comfortable, and you also get a 5MP Web camera with a privacy shutter. The device feels snappy even with the Core Ultra 5 125U which is the least powerful CPU for this Lenovo series. This is possible because processor clocks are high in short and medium loads (and still acceptable in longer stress). Because of that, the basic cooling is pushed to its limits and the CPU reaches 100°C after just 30 seconds of max stress. On the bright side, the fan isn’t loud and the keyboard feels slightly warm, not hot.The port selection is adequate with a pair of Thunderbolt 4s and two Type-As.
Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 10/04/2024
Foreign Reviews
Source: Laptopmedia CN
zh-CN→ENPositive: Great built quality; nice performance; beautiful display; rich set of ports; good ergonomics. Negative: Overheats while using.
Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 10/04/2024
Comment
Model:
The latest Lenovo ThinkPad T16 Gen 3 introduces significant design updates while maintaining the core elements that defines the ThinkPad line. With a sleek all-black chassis, thoughtful usability features, and a focus on repairability, it caters to business users. However, it leaves room for improvement in performance and battery efficiency. As for its design, Lenovo's "clean sheet redesign" gives the ThinkPad T16 Gen 3 a stealthy aesthetic with darker paint, black hinges, and logos, while retaining the iconic red accents and silver Lenovo branding. A new camera bump, inspired by the discontinued ThinkPad Z series, doubles as a handle for opening the screen.
The chassis, built from reinforced plastic and magnesium, feels sturdy, though keyboard stability issues on the test unit were disappointing. Despite the design’s strengths, the black finish attracts smudges and stains, requiring frequent cleaning. The hinge mechanism is robust, allowing a 180-degree opening angle, and the port layout is practical, with Ethernet and other essentials in ergonomic positions. Apart from that, the keyboard of this model also retains ThinkPad's hallmark 1.5 mm key travel and concave keycaps, delivering a comfortable typing experience. Few changes include a new Copilot key and swapped positions for the FN and Ctrl keys, though users can customize the layout. Haptic markers enhance accessibility for visually impaired users. On the other hand, the TrackPoint, with its dedicated buttons, remains precise and functional, especially in cramped settings. Meanwhile, the glass-like Mylar touchpad offers smooth navigation but is limited in size and prone to smudging.
In terms of its display, the ThinkPad T16 Gen 3 offers multiple 16-inch, 16:10 screen options ranging from WUXGA (1920x1200) IPS panels to WQUXGA (3840x2400) OLED displays. The low-power WUXGA model strikes a balance between brightness (433 nits) and efficiency, making it suitable for business users. While the OLED variant offers superior visuals and comes at a higher cost and power consumption. As for its processor, this device utilizes Intel’s Meteor Lake CPUs, offering eight options from U-series to H-series processors. These CPUs provide improved multithreaded performance as compared to older Intel chips but fall behind AMD Ryzen 7000 processors in single-core speed. Unfortunately, the lack of dedicated GPUs limits performance potential, and the system may not meet the demands of power users.
The memory and storage options are customizable though, with support for up to 64 GB of DDR5-5600 RAM and a single M.2-2280 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD up to 2 TB. Despite a sizable battery, the ThinkPad T16 Gen 3 offers average longevity, lasting 13 hours in Wi-Fi tests at moderate brightness. Competing models like HP’s EliteBook 865 G10 achieve better results, highlighting efficiency gaps in Lenovo’s design. In conclusion, the Lenovo ThinkPad T16 Gen 3 excels in durability, usability, and customization, making it a practical choice for business users. However, its lackluster performance and average battery life may deter those seeking a high-efficiency, powerhouse laptop in the 16-inch category. While it delivers on ThinkPad traditions, it misses the mark on advancing efficiency and processing power.
Hands-on article by Jagadisa Rajarathnam
Intel Graphics 4-Core: Integrated graphics card based on the Xe LPG architecture (similar to the dedicated Arc GPUs, but with a focus on efficiency). Provides 4 Xe cores (64 Xe vector engines) and 4 ray tracing units.
Modern games should be playable with these graphics cards at low settings and resolutions. Casual gamers may be happy with these cards.
» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Graphics Cards and the corresponding Benchmark List.
Ultra 5 125U: A lower mid-range Meteor Lake chip that debuted in December 2023. This 1st Gen Core Ultra processor has come to replace 13th generation Core processors; it has 12 cores (2 + 8 + 2) and 14 threads at its disposal. Its Performance cores, of which there are 2, run at up to 4.3 GHz while its Efficient cores, of which there are 10 (8 main cores plus 2 extra ones found in the Low Power Island) run at up to 3.6 GHz. The 4-core Intel Arc Graphics, just out of the oven, serves as the integrated graphics adapter - this runs at up to 1.85 GHz - and there is a bevy of other brand-new technologies on offer as well including the integrated AI Boost NPU with two Gen 3 engines for hardware AI workload acceleration. This laptop processor's Base power consumption is 15 W, with 57 W being its maximum Intel-recommended Turbo power consumption.» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Processsors.
16.00":
15-inch display variants are the standard and are used for more than half of all laptops.
The reason for the popularity of mid-sized displays is that this size is reasonably easy on the eyes, often allows high resolutions and thus offers rich details on the screen, yet does not consume too much power and the devices can still be reasonably compact - simply the standard compromise.
» To find out how fine a display is, see our DPI List.Lenovo: Lenovo ("Le" from English legend, novo (Latin) for new) was founded in 1984 as a Chinese computer trading company. As of 2004, the company was the largest laptop manufacturer in China and, after acquiring IBM's PC division in 2005, the fourth largest in the world. In addition to desktops and notebooks, the company manufactures monitors, projectors, servers, etc, and specializes in developing, manufacturing and marketing consumer electronics, personal computers, software, enterprise solutions and related services.
In 2016, the company ranked first in the world in computer sales. It still held it in 2023 with about 23% global market share. Important product lines are Thinkpad, Legion and Ideapad.
In 2011, it acquired a majority stake in Medion AG, a European computer hardware manufacturer. In 2014, Motorola Mobility was purchased, which gave Lenovo a boost in the smartphone market.
85.6%: This is an above-average rating. Nevertheless, it should not be forgotten that about one fifth of all tested models receive a better rating.
» Further information can be found in our Notebook Purchase Guide.
