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MagyarRadeon RX 6550M performance debut: Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 laptop review
The ThinkPad Z16 G2 succeeds the one-year old ThinkPad Z16 G1 with new AMD Zen 4 CPU options, faster Radeon RX graphics, and a new 2400p OLED touchscreen. It also happens to be one of the very few laptops with the uncommon entry-level Radeon RX 6550M. The chassis is otherwise identical to the ThinkPad Z16 G1 and so we recommend checking out our existing review on the first generation model to learn more about the physical features and connectivity options of the series.
Our specific review unit is the highest-end configuration with the Ryzen 9 Pro 7940HS, Radeon RX 6550M, OLED touchscreen, and 64 GB of RAM for approximately $2600 USD. Lesser SKUs start with the Ryzen 5 Pro 7640HS, integrated graphics, and a 1200p IPS display for $1600. The ThinkPad Z16 can be considered as a semi-professional multimedia or content creator laptop since it carries Ryzen Pro CPUs instead of the typical non-Pro options.
Alternatives to the ThinkPad Z16 G2 include other high-end 16-inch content creator laptops like the MSI Creator Z16P, Apple MacBook Pro 16, Asus Vivobook Pro 16X, or the Dell XPS series.
More Lenovo reviews:
Potential Competitors in Comparison
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Size | Resolution | Best Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 88.6 % | 12/2023 | Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 R9 PRO 7940HS, Radeon RX 6550M | 1.8 kg | 15.8 mm | 16.00" | 3840x2400 | |
| 87.3 % | 10/2022 | Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 R7 PRO 6850H, Radeon RX 6500M | 1.9 kg | 15.8 mm | 16.00" | 1920x1200 | |
| 85.7 % | 11/2023 | Lenovo ThinkBook 16 G6 ABP R5 7530U, Vega 7 | 1.8 kg | 17.5 mm | 16.00" | 1920x1200 | |
| 83.7 % | 06/2022 | MSI Creator Z16P B12UHST i9-12900H, GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU | 2.4 kg | 20.4 mm | 16.00" | 2560x1600 | |
| 93.7 % | 11/2023 | Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023 M3 Pro Apple M3 Pro 12-Core, M3 Pro 18-Core GPU | 2.1 kg | 16.9 mm | 16.20" | 3456x2234 | |
| 86.2 % | 07/2023 | Asus Vivobook Pro 16X K6604JV-MX016W i9-13980HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU | 2.1 kg | 22.8 mm | 16.00" | 3200x2000 |
Case
SD Card Reader
| SD Card Reader | |
| average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
| Asus Vivobook Pro 16X K6604JV-MX016W | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook 16 G6 ABP (Angelbird AV Pro V60) | |
| MSI Creator Z16P B12UHST (AV PRO microSD 128 GB V60) | |
| maximum AS SSD Seq Read Test (1GB) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
| Asus Vivobook Pro 16X K6604JV-MX016W | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook 16 G6 ABP (Angelbird AV Pro V60) | |
Communication
Lenovo has swapped out the Qualcomm WCN685x from last year's model for a MediaTek MT7922 on this year's model. Transfer rates remain steady and excellent when paired to our Wi-Fi 6 or Wi-Fi 6E networks.
| Networking | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| Asus Vivobook Pro 16X K6604JV-MX016W | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook 16 G6 ABP | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| Asus Vivobook Pro 16X K6604JV-MX016W | |
| MSI Creator Z16P B12UHST | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook 16 G6 ABP | |
| iperf3 transmit AXE11000 6GHz | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| Asus Vivobook Pro 16X K6604JV-MX016W | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| iperf3 receive AXE11000 6GHz | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| Asus Vivobook Pro 16X K6604JV-MX016W | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
Webcam
Although Lenovo advertises a 2 MP webcam, we're only able to select up to 0.5 MP with the built-in camera app as shown by the screenshot in the right. We've notified Lenovo of the bug and will update this section should we receive a response.
Maintenance
Removing the bottom panel shows no major internal differences between the Gen 1 and Gen 2 versions. Our Gen 2 configuration, however, does not include WAN support and so the M.2 WAN slot and antenna are absent. This unfortunately means that users cannot purchase a WAN-less SKU with the intention to add a WAN module in the future.
Display
Lenovo offers four display options as follows all of which are 60 Hz only and with no FreeSync support:
- 1920 x 1200, IPS, matte, non-touch, 100% sRGB, 400 nits
- 1920 x 1200, IPS, glossy, touch, 100% sRGB, 400 nits
- 3840 x 2400, OLED, glossy, touch, 100% DCI-P3, 400 nits, HDR400
The same Samsung ATNA60YV04-0 OLED panel on our review unit can also be found on the recent ThinkPad P1 G6 and so the viewing experience is similar between these two models. It's not uncommon for a manufacturer to deploy the same panel options across multiple models.
When compared to the 1200p panel on our Gen 1 unit, the OLED panel offers deeper black levels, HDR support, faster black-white response times, more vibrant colors, and a higher native resolution. No matter the option, we're glad to see full sRGB coverage come standard with no low-end SKUs to avoid. We're hopeful that future revisions will include high refresh panels a la the Asus VivoBook series.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 97 %
Center on Battery: 390.1 cd/m²
Contrast: ∞:1 (Black: 0 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 1.41 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 2 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
96.7% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
100% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
99.7% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.22
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 Samsung ATNA60YV04-0, OLED, 3840x2400, 16.00 | Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 NE160WUM-N62 , IPS LED, 1920x1200, 16.00 | Lenovo ThinkBook 16 G6 ABP LEN160WUXGA, IPS, 1920x1200, 16.00 | MSI Creator Z16P B12UHST AUOD298, IPS True Pixel (~100% DCI-P3), 2560x1600, 16.00 | Asus Vivobook Pro 16X K6604JV-MX016W Samsung SDC4178 ATNA60BX01-1, OLED, 3200x2000, 16.00 | Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023 M3 Max Mini-LED, 3456x2234, 16.00 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | -18% | -52% | -4% | -1% | -1% | |
| Display P3 Coverage | 99.7 | 70 -30% | 40.4 -59% | 97.6 -2% | 98.4 -1% | 99.2 -1% |
| sRGB Coverage | 100 | 99.7 0% | 59.8 -40% | 99.9 0% | 99.7 0% | |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 96.7 | 72.1 -25% | 42 -57% | 86.8 -10% | 95.8 -1% | |
| Response Times | -1637% | -1414% | -417% | 47% | 6330% | |
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 1.86 ? | 40 ? -2051% | 32.8 ? -1663% | 12.9 ? -594% | 1.6 ? 14% | 66.9 ? -3497% |
| Response Time Black / White * | 1.89 ? | 25 ? -1223% | 23.9 ? -1165% | 6.4 ? -239% | 1.4 ? 26% | 43.6 ? -2207% |
| PWM Frequency | 60 ? | 120 ? 100% | 14877 24695% | |||
| Screen | -3% | -185% | -23% | -5% | 25% | |
| Brightness middle | 390.1 | 487 25% | 310 -21% | 428 10% | 347 -11% | 630 61% |
| Brightness | 393 | 446 13% | 290 -26% | 394 0% | 346 -12% | 604 54% |
| Brightness Distribution | 97 | 83 -14% | 86 -11% | 86 -11% | 97 0% | 94 -3% |
| Black Level * | 0.31 | 0.22 | 0.42 | 0.06 | ||
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 1.41 | 1.8 -28% | 6.2 -340% | 1.67 -18% | 1.89 -34% | 1.2 15% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 3.43 | 3.3 4% | 24.7 -620% | 5.71 -66% | 3.26 5% | 2.8 18% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 2 | 2.3 -15% | 3.8 -90% | 3.1 -55% | 1.55 22% | 1.9 5% |
| Gamma | 2.22 99% | 2.16 102% | 2.22 99% | 2.195 100% | 2.39 92% | 2.29 96% |
| CCT | 6324 103% | 6867 95% | 6011 108% | 6498 100% | 6458 101% | 6812 95% |
| Contrast | 1571 | 1409 | 1019 | 5783 | ||
| Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated * | 0.8 | 5.3 | 0.71 | 1.97 | ||
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | -553% /
-304% | -550% /
-372% | -148% /
-90% | 14% /
9% | 2118% /
1914% |
* ... smaller is better
The OLED display is well-calibrated out of the box with average grayscale and color deltaE values of just 2.0 and 1.41, respectively. An end-user calibration is therefore not necessary for the vast majority of users.
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1.89 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ ms rise |  |
| ↘ 0.89 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 5 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (21.5 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 1.86 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 0.96 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 0.9 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.2 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 5 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (33.7 ms). | ||
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
| Screen flickering / PWM detected | 60 Hz | ≤ 100 % brightness setting |  |
The display backlight flickers at 60 Hz (worst case, e.g., utilizing PWM) Flickering detected at a brightness setting of 100 % and below. There should be no flickering or PWM above this brightness setting. The frequency of 60 Hz is very low, so the flickering may cause eyestrain and headaches after extended use. In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 17903 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured. | |||
Viewing angles are wider than IPS while the deeper black levels help to maintain colors when under bright ambient lighting. Even so, glare from the glossy overlay is unavoidable and maximum brightness isn't any brighter than the base 1200p IPS configuration. In comparison, the display on the MacBook Pro 16 is 50 percent brighter for better outdoor visibility.
Performance
Testing Conditions
We set Windows to Performance mode prior to running the benchmarks below. The pre-installed Lenovo Commercial Vantage software does not include any additional power profile settings atop the usual Windows selection. It is nonetheless vital for BIOS updates and adjusting battery charging behavior.
Processor
The Ryzen 9 Pro 7940HS performs identically to the Ryzen 9 7940HS as found on the Asus TUF Gaming A16. Thus, users won't need to sacrifice performance to take advantage of Pro features. Overall performance is comparable to last year's 12th gen Core i9-12900H in both single- and multi-threaded workloads.
The performance differences between our Zen 4 Ryzen 9 Pro 7940HS and the Zen 3+ Ryzen 7 Pro 6850H in last year's ThinkPad Z16 Gen 1 can be quite significant at 35 to 45 percent for multi-threaded workloads due to the larger number of cores. Thus, the performance uptick with Zen 4 is one of the main reasons for choosing the Gen 2 version of the ThinkPad Z16 instead of Gen 1.
Lower-end configurations offer the Ryzen 7 Pro 7840HS or Ryzen 5 Pro 7640HS instead. The Ryzen 7 option performs almost identically to the Ryzen 9 option based on our time with the Lenovo Legion Slim 5 16 and so it is recommended to choose a Ryzen 7 configuration to save on costs. In fact, the Ryzen 7 Pro 7840HS shares the exact same number of cores and features as the Ryzen 9 Pro 7940HS with only very minor 100 to 200 MHz differences in target clock rates.
Downgrading to the Ryzen 5 Pro 7640HS configuration is expected to impact processor performance more significantly by about 30 to 35 percent based on our time with the HP ZBook Firefly 14 G10. The performance deltas across the Ryzen 5, Ryzen 7, and Ryzen 9 options are therefore heavily skewed between the Ryzen 5 and Ryzen 7 SKUs.
Cinebench R15 Multi Loop
Cinebench R23: Multi Core | Single Core
Cinebench R20: CPU (Multi Core) | CPU (Single Core)
Cinebench R15: CPU Multi 64Bit | CPU Single 64Bit
Blender: v2.79 BMW27 CPU
7-Zip 18.03: 7z b 4 | 7z b 4 -mmt1
Geekbench 5.5: Multi-Core | Single-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
Cinebench R23: Multi Core | Single Core
Cinebench R20: CPU (Multi Core) | CPU (Single Core)
Cinebench R15: CPU Multi 64Bit | CPU Single 64Bit
Blender: v2.79 BMW27 CPU
7-Zip 18.03: 7z b 4 | 7z b 4 -mmt1
Geekbench 5.5: Multi-Core | Single-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
* ... smaller is better
AIDA64: FP32 Ray-Trace | FPU Julia | CPU SHA3 | CPU Queen | FPU SinJulia | FPU Mandel | CPU AES | CPU ZLib | FP64 Ray-Trace | CPU PhotoWorxx
| Performance Rating | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Asus Vivobook Pro 16X K6604JV-MX016W | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| MSI Creator Z16P B12UHST | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook 16 G6 ABP | |
| AIDA64 / FP32 Ray-Trace | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS (24034 - 27411, n=3) | |
| Asus Vivobook Pro 16X K6604JV-MX016W | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook 16 G6 ABP | |
| MSI Creator Z16P B12UHST | |
| AIDA64 / FPU Julia | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Asus Vivobook Pro 16X K6604JV-MX016W | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS (101262 - 116960, n=3) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook 16 G6 ABP | |
| MSI Creator Z16P B12UHST | |
| AIDA64 / CPU SHA3 | |
| Asus Vivobook Pro 16X K6604JV-MX016W | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS (4418 - 4944, n=3) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| MSI Creator Z16P B12UHST | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook 16 G6 ABP | |
| AIDA64 / CPU Queen | |
| Asus Vivobook Pro 16X K6604JV-MX016W | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS (112873 - 124565, n=3) | |
| MSI Creator Z16P B12UHST | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook 16 G6 ABP | |
| AIDA64 / FPU SinJulia | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS (14147 - 15304, n=3) | |
| Asus Vivobook Pro 16X K6604JV-MX016W | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| MSI Creator Z16P B12UHST | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook 16 G6 ABP | |
| AIDA64 / FPU Mandel | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS (54003 - 62357, n=3) | |
| Asus Vivobook Pro 16X K6604JV-MX016W | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook 16 G6 ABP | |
| MSI Creator Z16P B12UHST | |
| AIDA64 / CPU AES | |
| Asus Vivobook Pro 16X K6604JV-MX016W | |
| MSI Creator Z16P B12UHST | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS (76133 - 88705, n=3) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook 16 G6 ABP | |
| AIDA64 / CPU ZLib | |
| Asus Vivobook Pro 16X K6604JV-MX016W | |
| MSI Creator Z16P B12UHST | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS (976 - 1079, n=3) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook 16 G6 ABP | |
| AIDA64 / FP64 Ray-Trace | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS (12715 - 14590, n=3) | |
| Asus Vivobook Pro 16X K6604JV-MX016W | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook 16 G6 ABP | |
| MSI Creator Z16P B12UHST | |
| AIDA64 / CPU PhotoWorxx | |
| Asus Vivobook Pro 16X K6604JV-MX016W | |
| MSI Creator Z16P B12UHST | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS (24030 - 37800, n=3) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook 16 G6 ABP | |
System Performance
CrossMark: Overall | Productivity | Creativity | Responsiveness
WebXPRT 3: Overall
WebXPRT 4: Overall
Mozilla Kraken 1.1: Total
| PCMark 10 / Score | |
| MSI Creator Z16P B12UHST | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS, AMD Radeon RX 6550M () | |
| Asus Vivobook Pro 16X K6604JV-MX016W | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook 16 G6 ABP | |
| PCMark 10 / Essentials | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS, AMD Radeon RX 6550M () | |
| MSI Creator Z16P B12UHST | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook 16 G6 ABP | |
| Asus Vivobook Pro 16X K6604JV-MX016W | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| PCMark 10 / Productivity | |
| MSI Creator Z16P B12UHST | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS, AMD Radeon RX 6550M () | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook 16 G6 ABP | |
| Asus Vivobook Pro 16X K6604JV-MX016W | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| PCMark 10 / Digital Content Creation | |
| MSI Creator Z16P B12UHST | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS, AMD Radeon RX 6550M () | |
| Asus Vivobook Pro 16X K6604JV-MX016W | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook 16 G6 ABP | |
| CrossMark / Overall | |
| Asus Vivobook Pro 16X K6604JV-MX016W | |
| Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023 M3 Pro | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS, AMD Radeon RX 6550M () | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook 16 G6 ABP | |
| CrossMark / Productivity | |
| Asus Vivobook Pro 16X K6604JV-MX016W | |
| Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023 M3 Pro | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS, AMD Radeon RX 6550M () | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook 16 G6 ABP | |
| CrossMark / Creativity | |
| Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023 M3 Pro | |
| Asus Vivobook Pro 16X K6604JV-MX016W | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS, AMD Radeon RX 6550M () | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook 16 G6 ABP | |
| CrossMark / Responsiveness | |
| Asus Vivobook Pro 16X K6604JV-MX016W | |
| Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023 M3 Pro | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS, AMD Radeon RX 6550M () | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook 16 G6 ABP | |
| WebXPRT 3 / Overall | |
| Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023 M3 Pro | |
| MSI Creator Z16P B12UHST | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS, AMD Radeon RX 6550M () | |
| Asus Vivobook Pro 16X K6604JV-MX016W | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook 16 G6 ABP | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| WebXPRT 4 / Overall | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS, AMD Radeon RX 6550M () | |
| Asus Vivobook Pro 16X K6604JV-MX016W | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook 16 G6 ABP | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| Mozilla Kraken 1.1 / Total | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook 16 G6 ABP | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS, AMD Radeon RX 6550M () | |
| Asus Vivobook Pro 16X K6604JV-MX016W | |
| MSI Creator Z16P B12UHST | |
| Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023 M3 Pro | |
* ... smaller is better
| PCMark 10 Score | 7777 points | |
Help | ||
| AIDA64 / Memory Copy | |
| Asus Vivobook Pro 16X K6604JV-MX016W | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| MSI Creator Z16P B12UHST | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS (34339 - 66740, n=3) | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook 16 G6 ABP | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Read | |
| Asus Vivobook Pro 16X K6604JV-MX016W | |
| MSI Creator Z16P B12UHST | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook 16 G6 ABP | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS (30289 - 50398, n=3) | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Write | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Asus Vivobook Pro 16X K6604JV-MX016W | |
| MSI Creator Z16P B12UHST | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS (39877 - 91516, n=3) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook 16 G6 ABP | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Latency | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Average AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS (102.2 - 121.3, n=3) | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook 16 G6 ABP | |
| MSI Creator Z16P B12UHST | |
| Asus Vivobook Pro 16X K6604JV-MX016W | |
* ... smaller is better
DPC Latency
LatencyMon shows minor DPC issues when opening multiple browser tabs of our homepage. 4K video playback at 60 FPS is otherwise perfect with no dropped frames recorded unlike what we experienced on the recent Intel-Nvidia-powered ThinkPad P1 G6.
| DPC Latencies / LatencyMon - interrupt to process latency (max), Web, Youtube, Prime95 | |
| Asus Vivobook Pro 16X K6604JV-MX016W | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook 16 G6 ABP | |
| MSI Creator Z16P B12UHST | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
* ... smaller is better
Storage Devices
Our test unit ships with the Kioxia XG8 whereas our older ThinkPad Z16 Gen 1 would ship with the Samsung PM9A1. Nonetheless, the two SSDs are high-end PCIe4 x4 NVMe drives with similar maximum read rates of ~7000 MB/s each.
Unfortunately, the Kioxia drive would also exhibit performance throttling issues after a few minutes of stress much like with the Samsung drive on our ThinkPad Z16 Gen 1 as shown by the comparison graph below. Read rates would drop from ~7000 MB/s to ~5800 MB/s over time likely due to insufficient heat dissipation. Including a large thermal pad between the SSD and metal bottom cover may help with performance.
RAM is soldered and there is no support for a second SSD unlike on the MSI Creator Z16P which integrates two RAM slots and two M.2 SSD slots.
| Drive Performance Rating - Percent | |
| MSI Creator Z16P B12UHST | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Lenovo ThinkBook 16 G6 ABP | |
| Asus Vivobook Pro 16X K6604JV-MX016W | |
* ... smaller is better
Disk Throttling: DiskSpd Read Loop, Queue Depth 8
GPU Performance
The relationship between the Radeon RX 6550M and RX 6500M is akin to the GeForce RTX 3050 Ti and RTX 3050; their differences are minor and within 10 percentage points on average. Indeed, the two Radeon GPUs share the same 64-bit memory bus width, RDNA2 architecture, 1024 stream processors, 4 GB GDDR6 VRAM, and more. The Radeon RX 6550M reaches slightly higher target clock rates (2560 MHz vs. 2191 MHz) and maximum TGP (60 W vs. 55 W) than the 6500M., but that is it.
The minor increase in clock rates leads to just minor increases in benchmark scores as shown by the comparison chart below.
Running on Balanced mode instead of Performance mode impacts performance just slightly as shown by our Fire Strike results in the table below. Running on battery power would reduce graphics performance much more significantly than processor performance.
| Power Profile | Physics Score | Graphics Score | Combined Score |
| Performance Mode | 26753 | 14696 | 4923 |
| Balanced Mode | 26333 (-2%) | 13975 (-5%) | 4776 (-3%) |
| Battery Power | 25622 (-4%) | 9649 (-34%) | 3114 (-37%) |
Keep in mind that the RDNA2-based Radeon RX 6550M is coming right off the heels of the launch of the high-end RDNA3-based Radeon RX 7900M which means that more midrange RDNA3 GPUs are coming soon. RDNA3 is a significant improvement over RDNA2 in terms of performance, power consumption, AI upscaling support, and especially ray-tracing capabilities.
| 3DMark Performance Rating - Percent | |
| Asus Zephyrus Duo 16 GX650PY-NM006W | |
| Alienware m16 R1 AMD | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad P1 G6 21FV001KUS | |
| MSI Raider GE68 HX 13VG, i7-13700HX | |
| MSI Raider GE68HX 13VF | |
| HP Victus 16-r0076TX -1! | |
| MSI Creator Z16P B12UHST -1! | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 -1! | |
| Asus VivoBook Pro 16 -1! | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Average AMD Radeon RX 6550M | |
| HP Victus 15 fa0020nr | |
| Asus VivoBook Pro 16X OLED N7600PC-L2026X -1! | |
| LG Gram 2in1 16 16T90R - G.AA78G -1! | |
| 3DMark 11 Performance | 19932 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Score | 12994 points | |
| 3DMark Time Spy Score | 4955 points | |
Help | ||
| Blender | |
| v3.3 Classroom METAL | |
| Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023 M3 Pro | |
| v3.3 Classroom HIP/AMD | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| v3.3 Classroom OPTIX/RTX | |
| Asus VivoBook Pro 16 | |
| HP Victus 16-r0076TX | |
| MSI Raider GE68HX 13VF | |
| MSI Raider GE68 HX 13VG, i7-13700HX | |
| Alienware m16 R1 AMD | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad P1 G6 21FV001KUS | |
| Asus Zephyrus Duo 16 GX650PY-NM006W | |
| v3.3 Classroom CUDA | |
| MSI Raider GE68 HX 13VG, i7-13700HX | |
| MSI Raider GE68 HX 13VG, i7-13700HX | |
| Asus VivoBook Pro 16 | |
| HP Victus 16-r0076TX | |
| MSI Raider GE68HX 13VF | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad P1 G6 21FV001KUS | |
| Alienware m16 R1 AMD | |
| Asus Zephyrus Duo 16 GX650PY-NM006W | |
| v3.3 Classroom CPU | |
| LG Gram 2in1 16 16T90R - G.AA78G | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| Asus VivoBook Pro 16 | |
| HP Victus 16-r0076TX | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad P1 G6 21FV001KUS | |
| Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023 M3 Pro | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Average AMD Radeon RX 6550M () | |
| MSI Raider GE68 HX 13VG, i7-13700HX | |
| MSI Raider GE68HX 13VF | |
| Alienware m16 R1 AMD | |
| Asus Zephyrus Duo 16 GX650PY-NM006W | |
* ... smaller is better
Gaming Performance
Performance when gaming can range from being almost identical to the Radeon RX 6500M to being up to 30 percent faster depending on the title and settings. For example, Final Fantasy XV would perform nearly the same between our Radeon RX 6550M and 6500M models while other titles like Far Cry 5 or F1 22 can run up to 15 to 30 percent faster. Meanwhile, Tiny Tina's Wonderlands can run up to 30 percent faster only if on higher graphical settings. Results are therefore very dependent on the application, but the performance advantages are generally higher than what the 3DMark scores would otherwise suggest which is great news for gamers.
Interestingly, overall performance is neck-to-neck with the MacBook Pro 16 M3 Pro when testing newer games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Baldur's Gate 3. When considering that our Radeon is a larger discrete GPU, this speaks volumes about the efficiency of the integrated Apple SoC solution.
| Performance Rating - Percent | |
| Asus Zephyrus Duo 16 GX650PY-NM006W | |
| Alienware m16 R1 AMD -1! | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad P1 G6 21FV001KUS -1! | |
| MSI Raider GE68 HX 13VG, i7-13700HX | |
| MSI Raider GE68HX 13VF -1! | |
| MSI Creator Z16P B12UHST | |
| HP Victus 16-r0076TX -1! | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 -1! | |
| Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023 M3 Pro -4! | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| LG Gram 2in1 16 16T90R - G.AA78G | |
| The Witcher 3 - 1920x1080 Ultra Graphics & Postprocessing (HBAO+) | |
| Asus Zephyrus Duo 16 GX650PY-NM006W | |
| Alienware m16 R1 AMD | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad P1 G6 21FV001KUS | |
| MSI Raider GE68 HX 13VG, i7-13700HX | |
| MSI Raider GE68HX 13VF | |
| HP Victus 16-r0076TX | |
| MSI Creator Z16P B12UHST | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023 M3 Pro | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| LG Gram 2in1 16 16T90R - G.AA78G | |
| GTA V - 1920x1080 Highest Settings possible AA:4xMSAA + FX AF:16x | |
| Asus Zephyrus Duo 16 GX650PY-NM006W | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad P1 G6 21FV001KUS | |
| MSI Raider GE68 HX 13VG, i7-13700HX | |
| MSI Creator Z16P B12UHST | |
| Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023 M3 Pro | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| LG Gram 2in1 16 16T90R - G.AA78G | |
| Final Fantasy XV Benchmark - 1920x1080 High Quality | |
| Asus Zephyrus Duo 16 GX650PY-NM006W | |
| Alienware m16 R1 AMD | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad P1 G6 21FV001KUS | |
| MSI Raider GE68 HX 13VG, i7-13700HX | |
| MSI Raider GE68HX 13VF | |
| MSI Creator Z16P B12UHST | |
| HP Victus 16-r0076TX | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| LG Gram 2in1 16 16T90R - G.AA78G | |
| Strange Brigade - 1920x1080 ultra AA:ultra AF:16 | |
| Alienware m16 R1 AMD | |
| Asus Zephyrus Duo 16 GX650PY-NM006W | |
| MSI Raider GE68 HX 13VG, i7-13700HX | |
| MSI Raider GE68HX 13VF | |
| MSI Creator Z16P B12UHST | |
| HP Victus 16-r0076TX | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| LG Gram 2in1 16 16T90R - G.AA78G | |
| Dota 2 Reborn - 1920x1080 ultra (3/3) best looking | |
| MSI Raider GE68HX 13VF | |
| Asus Zephyrus Duo 16 GX650PY-NM006W | |
| MSI Raider GE68 HX 13VG, i7-13700HX | |
| Alienware m16 R1 AMD | |
| MSI Creator Z16P B12UHST | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad P1 G6 21FV001KUS | |
| HP Victus 16-r0076TX | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| LG Gram 2in1 16 16T90R - G.AA78G | |
| X-Plane 11.11 - 1920x1080 high (fps_test=3) | |
| MSI Raider GE68HX 13VF | |
| MSI Raider GE68 HX 13VG, i7-13700HX | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad P1 G6 21FV001KUS | |
| Asus Zephyrus Duo 16 GX650PY-NM006W | |
| Alienware m16 R1 AMD | |
| HP Victus 16-r0076TX | |
| MSI Creator Z16P B12UHST | |
| LG Gram 2in1 16 16T90R - G.AA78G | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Cyberpunk 2077 2.0 Phantom Liberty | |
| 1280x720 Low Preset (FSR off) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Average AMD Radeon RX 6550M () | |
| LG Gram 2in1 16 16T90R - G.AA78G | |
| 1920x1080 Low Preset (FSR off) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Average AMD Radeon RX 6550M () | |
| Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023 M3 Pro | |
| LG Gram 2in1 16 16T90R - G.AA78G | |
| 1920x1080 Medium Preset (FSR off) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Average AMD Radeon RX 6550M () | |
| Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023 M3 Pro | |
| LG Gram 2in1 16 16T90R - G.AA78G | |
| 1920x1080 High Preset (FSR off) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad P1 G6 21FV001KUS | |
| Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023 M3 Pro | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Average AMD Radeon RX 6550M () | |
| LG Gram 2in1 16 16T90R - G.AA78G | |
| 1920x1080 Ultra Preset (FSR off) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad P1 G6 21FV001KUS | |
| Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023 M3 Pro | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Average AMD Radeon RX 6550M () | |
| LG Gram 2in1 16 16T90R - G.AA78G | |
| 2560x1440 Ultra Preset (FSR off) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad P1 G6 21FV001KUS | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Average AMD Radeon RX 6550M () | |
| Baldur's Gate 3 | |
| 1920x1080 Low Preset | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Average AMD Radeon RX 6550M () | |
| 1920x1080 Medium Preset | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Average AMD Radeon RX 6550M () | |
| 1920x1080 High Preset | |
| Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023 M3 Pro | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Average AMD Radeon RX 6550M () | |
| 1920x1080 Ultra Preset | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad P1 G6 21FV001KUS | |
| Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023 M3 Pro | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Average AMD Radeon RX 6550M () | |
| 2560x1440 Ultra Preset | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad P1 G6 21FV001KUS | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 | |
| Average AMD Radeon RX 6550M () | |
Witcher 3 FPS Chart
| low | med. | high | ultra | QHD | |
| The Witcher 3 (2015) | 277.2 | 171.5 | 83.2 | 49.4 | |
| Dota 2 Reborn (2015) | 137.1 | 127.3 | 112.3 | 103 | |
| Final Fantasy XV Benchmark (2018) | 129.3 | 67.4 | 47.8 | 31.2 | |
| X-Plane 11.11 (2018) | 53.7 | 41.2 | 33 | ||
| Far Cry 5 (2018) | 115 | 91 | 84 | 79 | |
| Strange Brigade (2018) | 319 | 122.5 | 101.1 | 88.4 | |
| Tiny Tina's Wonderlands (2022) | 124.1 | 95.5 | 59.7 | 30.3 | 27.2 |
| F1 22 (2022) | 132.5 | 120.8 | 87.5 | 19.3 | 11.3 |
| Baldur's Gate 3 (2023) | 61.6 | 52.9 | 44.7 | 43 | 29 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 2.0 Phantom Liberty (2023) | 62.8 | 45.9 | 34.7 | 28.6 | 17.3 |
Emissions
System Noise
Fan noise behavior is highly dependent on the power profile selected. For example, the fans are only truly silent when on the Power Saver profile as they are otherwise always active at almost 30 dB(A) no matter the onscreen load. Similarly, fan noise if gaming on Balanced mode would be around 41 to 45 dB(A) compared to 52 dB(A) if on Performance mode which is a significant difference despite the minor performance differences between the two profiles as mentioned above. Performance mode in particular is noticeably louder than many other 16-inch laptops like the MSI Creator Z16P or MacBook Pro 16.
Fan pulsing is otherwise kept to a minimum. When running 3DMark 06, for example, fan noise would be at a steady 29.5 dB(A) throughout the entire first benchmark scene with no sudden spikes.
Noise Level
| Idle |
| 22.9 / 29.4 / 29.4 dB(A) |
| Load |
| 29.5 / 52 dB(A) |
 | ||
30 dB silent 40 dB(A) audible 50 dB(A) loud |
||
min:  , med:  , max:  Earthworks M23R, Arta (15 cm distance) environment noise: 22.6 dB(A) | ||
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 Radeon RX 6550M, R9 PRO 7940HS, Kioxia XG8 KXG8AZNV1T02 | Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 Radeon RX 6500M, R7 PRO 6850H, Samsung PM9A1 MZVL21T0HCLR | Lenovo ThinkBook 16 G6 ABP Vega 7, R5 7530U, SK hynix HFS512GEJ9X125N | MSI Creator Z16P B12UHST GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU, i9-12900H, Samsung PM9A1 MZVL22T0HBLB | Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023 M3 Pro M3 Pro 18-Core GPU, Apple M3 Pro 12-Core, Apple SSD AP0512Z | Asus Vivobook Pro 16X K6604JV-MX016W NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU, i9-13980HX, Solidigm P41 Plus SSDPFKNU010TZ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noise | 9% | 11% | -8% | 12% | -18% | |
| off / environment * | 22.6 | 23.7 -5% | 24.3 -8% | 26 -15% | 24.4 -8% | 25.2 -12% |
| Idle Minimum * | 22.9 | 23.7 -3% | 24.3 -6% | 27 -18% | 24.4 -7% | 26.6 -16% |
| Idle Average * | 29.4 | 23.7 19% | 24.3 17% | 29 1% | 24.4 17% | 26.6 10% |
| Idle Maximum * | 29.4 | 23.7 19% | 24.3 17% | 31 -5% | 24.4 17% | 29.2 1% |
| Load Average * | 29.5 | 25.9 12% | 29.7 -1% | 43 -46% | 26.9 9% | 53.4 -81% |
| Witcher 3 ultra * | 52 | 46.9 10% | 32.1 38% | 43 17% | 25.1 52% | |
| Load Maximum * | 52 | 46.9 10% | 41.4 20% | 46 12% | 50.4 3% | 56.9 -9% |
* ... smaller is better
Temperature
Surface temperatures rise and fall rather quickly and by wider extremes since most of the chassis is metal. When running demanding loads like games, hot spots can be as warm as 47 C and 43 C on the keyboard center and bottom plate, respectively, but this can be even warmer at over 50 C depending on the ambient temperature like what we observed on the ThinkPad Z16 Gen 1. Results are nonetheless much cooler than what we recorded on the MSI Creator Z16P which would get way too hot for its own good.
(±) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 43 °C / 109 F, compared to the average of 36.9 °C / 98 F, ranging from 21.1 to 71 °C for the class Multimedia.
(±) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 41.6 °C / 107 F, compared to the average of 39.1 °C / 102 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 20.3 °C / 69 F, compared to the device average of 31.2 °C / 88 F.
(-) Playing The Witcher 3, the average temperature for the upper side is 38.1 °C / 101 F, compared to the device average of 31.2 °C / 88 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are cooler than skin temperature with a maximum of 30 °C / 86 F and are therefore cool to the touch.
(±) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 28.8 °C / 83.8 F (-1.2 °C / -2.2 F).
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS, AMD Radeon RX 6550M | Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850H, AMD Radeon RX 6500M | Lenovo ThinkBook 16 G6 ABP AMD Ryzen 5 7530U, AMD Radeon RX Vega 7 | MSI Creator Z16P B12UHST Intel Core i9-12900H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU | Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023 M3 Pro Apple M3 Pro 12-Core, Apple M3 Pro 18-Core GPU | Asus Vivobook Pro 16X K6604JV-MX016W Intel Core i9-13980HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heat | -33% | -30% | -49% | -2% | -36% | |
| Maximum Upper Side * | 43 | 56.8 -32% | 40.8 5% | 67 -56% | 38.1 11% | 39.7 8% |
| Maximum Bottom * | 41.6 | 53.3 -28% | 50.5 -21% | 69 -66% | 37 11% | 60 -44% |
| Idle Upper Side * | 21.2 | 28.2 -33% | 29.3 -38% | 29 -37% | 24.2 -14% | 30.9 -46% |
| Idle Bottom * | 21.4 | 29.4 -37% | 35.2 -64% | 29 -36% | 24.6 -15% | 34.7 -62% |
* ... smaller is better
Stress Test
When running Prime95 stress, the CPU would boost to 4.6 GHz and 82 W for just a few seconds before falling and stabilizing at 4.4 GHz, 69 W, and a toasty 100 C. It's clear that the CPU is running as fast as it can within the limits of the overlying cooling solution.
GPU clock rates and board power draw when running on Performance mode would stabilize at 2630 MHz and 59 W, respectively, compared to 2133 MHz and 39 W when running on Balanced mode. Most notably, the performance deficit between the two modes when running Witcher 3 is minimal at just a few frames even though the fan noise differences are significant. Thus, users may want to consider gaming on Balanced mode for the much quieter fans and slightly cooler core temperatures.
| CPU Clock (GHz) | GPU Clock (MHz) | Average CPU Temperature (°C) | Average GPU Temperature (°C) | |
| System Idle | -- | -- | 32 | 33 |
| Prime95 Stress | 4.2 | -- | 100 | 64 |
| Prime95 + FurMark Stress | 2.5 - 4.0 | 750 - 1000 | 64 - 100 | 62 - 72 |
| Witcher 3 Stress (Balanced mode) | ~0.2 | 2133 | 62 | 71 |
| Witcher 3 Stress (Performance mode) | ~0.2 | 2630 | 64 | 76 |
Speakers
Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (84.8 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(±) | reduced bass - on average 13% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (11.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | higher mids - on average 5.5% higher than median
(+) | mids are linear (4.9% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 4.7% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (5.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (14.8% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 28% of all tested devices in this class were better, 5% similar, 67% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 18%, worst was 45%
Compared to all devices tested
» 16% of all tested devices were better, 4% similar, 80% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2021 M1 Pro audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (84.7 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(+) | good bass - only 3.8% away from median
(+) | bass is linear (5.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 1.3% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (2.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 1.9% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (2.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (4.6% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 0% of all tested devices in this class were better, 0% similar, 100% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 18%, worst was 45%
Compared to all devices tested
» 0% of all tested devices were better, 0% similar, 100% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%
Energy Management
Power Consumption
The 4K OLED panel impacts power consumption by a notable amount. For example, power consumption would be just 7 W when idling on an all-black screen while an all-white screen at maximum brightness can demand almost 19 W compared to just 10 W on the IPS configuration. The power consumption differences between IPS and OLED are explored in more detail here.
Consumption when running CPU or GPU intensive tasks is slightly higher than on the ThinkPad Z16 Gen 1 even after accounting for the more demanding OLED panel. However, the differences are minor relative to the large performance boosts that the Zen 4 Ryzen 9 CPU offers.
We're able to measure a maximum consumption of 132 W from the medium-sized (~14.6 x 7.7 x 2.3 cm) 135 W USB-C AC adapter. Gaming already demands almost 120 W meaning the charging rate will slow to a crawl if running demanding loads simultaneously.
| Off / Standby | 0.02 / 0.65 Watt |
| Idle | 7.5 / 9.6 / 18.5 Watt |
| Load |
57.1 / 131.7 Watt |
   
| |
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 R9 PRO 7940HS, Radeon RX 6550M, Kioxia XG8 KXG8AZNV1T02, OLED, 3840x2400, 16.00 | Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 R7 PRO 6850H, Radeon RX 6500M, Samsung PM9A1 MZVL21T0HCLR, IPS LED, 1920x1200, 16.00 | Lenovo ThinkBook 16 G6 ABP R5 7530U, Vega 7, SK hynix HFS512GEJ9X125N, IPS, 1920x1200, 16.00 | MSI Creator Z16P B12UHST i9-12900H, GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU, Samsung PM9A1 MZVL22T0HBLB, IPS True Pixel (~100% DCI-P3), 2560x1600, 16.00 | Asus Vivobook Pro 16X K6604JV-MX016W i9-13980HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU, Solidigm P41 Plus SSDPFKNU010TZ, OLED, 3200x2000, 16.00 | Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023 M3 Max Apple M3 Max 16-Core, M3 Max 40-Core GPU, Apple SSD AP8192Z, Mini-LED, 3456x2234, 16.00 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power Consumption | 15% | 45% | -60% | -71% | -17% | |
| Idle Minimum * | 7.5 | 5.3 29% | 3.7 51% | 11 -47% | 13.8 -84% | 5.2 31% |
| Idle Average * | 9.6 | 8.6 10% | 7.1 26% | 17 -77% | 16 -67% | 16.9 -76% |
| Idle Maximum * | 18.5 | 9.5 49% | 7.7 58% | 26 -41% | 19 -3% | 17.2 7% |
| Load Average * | 57.1 | 65.2 -14% | 43.9 23% | 124 -117% | 147 -157% | 90.5 -58% |
| Witcher 3 ultra * | 115.8 | 93.6 19% | 40.8 65% | 133.5 -15% | 147.8 -28% | 109 6% |
| Load Maximum * | 131.7 | 133.81 -2% | 66.6 49% | 212 -61% | 244 -85% | 145.2 -10% |
* ... smaller is better
Power Consumption Witcher 3 / Stresstest
Power Consumption external Monitor
Battery Life
Runtimes are generally shorter than on last year's model due largely to our more demanding OLED panel. Since most web pages are predominantly white in color, power consumption can be 10 W higher even if the active applications are undemanding as mentioned in the Power Consumption section above. We're only able to record a WLAN runtime of 6 hours compared to 10 hours on the ThinkPad Z16 IPS configuration or over 16 hours on the MacBook Pro 16.
Charging from empty to full capacity is slower than usual at about 2.5 hours compared to 1.5 to 2 hours on most Ultrabooks. This is one of the few laptops with both Ryzen 9 and discrete graphics to be powered by USB-C.
| Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 R9 PRO 7940HS, Radeon RX 6550M, 72 Wh | Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 G1 21D5S00T00 R7 PRO 6850H, Radeon RX 6500M, 72 Wh | Lenovo ThinkBook 16 G6 ABP R5 7530U, Vega 7, 45 Wh | MSI Creator Z16P B12UHST i9-12900H, GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU, 90 Wh | Asus Vivobook Pro 16X K6604JV-MX016W i9-13980HX, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU, 90 Wh | Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023 M3 Max Apple M3 Max 16-Core, M3 Max 40-Core GPU, 99.6 Wh | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battery Runtime | 44% | 69% | -28% | -2% | 75% | |
| Reader / Idle | 612 | |||||
| WiFi v1.3 | 357 | 594 66% | 605 69% | 310 -13% | 390 9% | 999 180% |
| Load | 101 | 123 22% | 58 -43% | 88 -13% | 71 -30% | |
| H.264 | 715 | 696 | 345 | 319 | 1221 |
Pros
Cons
Verdict — Great Design Held Back By A Mediocre GPU
In our review of the original Gen 1 model, we praised the ThinkPad Z16 for its sturdy and attractive build and comfortable keyboard and trackpad. The Gen 2 model retains all these advantages while adding a much faster Ryzen Pro CPU and a high quality OLED touchscreen for noticeably better performance and colors, respectively. These two additions are the primary reasons for choosing the Gen 2 version over Gen 1.
The ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 is definitely sleek and sexy and the new Zen 4 Pro CPU is no slouch. The Radeon RX 6550M, however, is too little too late especially at this price range.
The new Radeon RX 6550M also helps to distinguish between the two model versions, but its performance is unimpressive especially when you factor in the high $1600+ asking price. Not only is the GPU of an older AMD architecture, laptops with the GeForce RTX 3050 Ti can be found for under a grand while offering a similar level of performance. The Radeon GPU is definitely one of the weakest aspects of the ThinkPad Z16 series thus far.
If you don't care for Ryzen Pro, then the Asus Vivobook Pro 16X or even HP Spectre x360 16 series can serve as excellent alternatives to the ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 as each offer similar OLED and discrete graphics options in thin chassis designs. Hopefully future revisions from Lenovo will include either GeForce RTX or newer RDNA3 options.
Price and Availability
Lenovo is now shipping the ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2 starting at $1600 USD for the Ryzen 5, integrated GPU, and 1200p IPS configuration up to over $2600 as reviewed.
Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 Gen 2
-
12/16/2023 v7
Allen Ngo
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The present review sample was made available to the author as a loan by the manufacturer or a shop for the purposes of review. The lender had no influence on this review, nor did the manufacturer receive a copy of this review before publication. There was no obligation to publish this review.
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