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MagyarThe Best Mobile Workstation Laptops
A wide range of extended support options, system-specific accessories, long-lasting availability of spare parts, and extended warranty options are staples in this category. In addition, these notebooks often come with ports that have been all but eradicated on other devices but are still fairly common in businesses worldwide. Product cycles tend to be very long, and a case can easily remain current for three or more years. Prices more often than not start significantly above $1,000 and can quickly rise to seeming exorbitant levels.
The main driving cost factors, in addition to above-mentioned characteristics, are the professional-level GPUs often found in these devices. Unlike the more common consumer-level GPUs they have special capabilities and are optimized for stability, compatibility, and reliability when used with certified software. And while this may not be relevant for home users businesses tend to have very different priorities, and these GPUs can make or break a purchase decision. Please consider the following lists as well:
- The Best Business Notebooks (premium office laptops)
- The Best Budget Office Notebooks (affordable office laptops for less than 800 Euros)
- The Best Subnotebooks (small and mobile laptops, less than 14-inch)
The Best Mobile Workstation Notebooks
Position | Total Rating | Date | Image | Model | Height | Weight | Size | Resolution | Screen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 90.3 % | 10/2021 |  | HP ZBook Fury 15 G8 Intel Core i9-11950H NVIDIA RTX A5000 Laptop GPU 32 GB Memory, 1024 GB SSD | 25.9 mm | 2.5 kg | 15.60" | 3840x2160 | matte |
| 2 | 89.8 % | 11/2021 |  | Lenovo ThinkPad P1 G4-20Y4S0KS00 Intel Core i7-11850H NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU 32 GB Memory, 1024 GB SSD | 17.7 mm | 2 kg | 16.00" | 3840x2400 | matte |
| 3 | 89.7 % | 02/2022 New |  | HP ZBook Fury 17 G8-4A6A9EA Intel Core i9-11950H NVIDIA RTX A3000 Laptop GPU 0 GB Memory, 1024 GB SSD | 27 mm | 2.9 kg | 17.30" | 3840x2160 | matte |
| 4 | 88.6 % | 12/2021 New |  | MSI WE76 11UM-456 Intel Core i9-11980HK NVIDIA RTX A5000 Laptop GPU 32 GB Memory, 2048 GB SSD | 25.9 mm | 2.9 kg | 17.30" | 3840x2160 | matte |
| 5 | 88.3 % | 10/2021 |  | Dell Precision 5000 5560 Intel Core i7-11850H NVIDIA RTX A2000 Laptop GPU 32 GB Memory, 2048 GB SSD | 18 mm | 2 kg | 15.60" | 3840x2400 | glossy |
| 6 | 87.8 % | 10/2021 |  | Lenovo ThinkPad P17 G2-20YU0025G Intel Core i7-11800H NVIDIA RTX A2000 Laptop GPU 16 GB Memory, 512 GB SSD | 28.38 mm | 3.6 kg | 17.30" | 1920x1080 | matte |
| 7 | 87.3 % | 08/2021 |  | HP ZBook Studio 15 G8 Intel Core i9-11950H NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU 32 GB Memory, 2048 GB SSD | 18 mm | 1.9 kg | 15.60" | 3840x2160 | glossy |
| 8 | 87.2 % | 10/2021 |  | Lenovo ThinkPad P15 G2-20YQ001JGE Intel Core i7-11800H NVIDIA RTX A3000 Laptop GPU 32 GB Memory, 512 GB SSD | 31.5 mm | 2.9 kg | 15.60" | 1920x1080 | matte |
The table above contains an overview over the best portable workstation laptops reviewed by Notebookcheck over the course of the past 12 months as well as still relevant and available older products. In cases of identical score the more recent device is listed first. All prices in above table and price comparisons are updated daily and can thus differ.
Link: all devices in this class reviewed
Editor's Comments
When reviewing a mobile workstation performance is of utmost importance. Accordingly, the category of mobile workstations trimmed for mobility and more akin to Ultrabooks is seldom to be found among the top contenders in this specific category, even though they are without a doubt decent laptops.
1st – HP ZBook Fury 15 G8
Once again, we find HP at the very top of our workstation top list. However, the outgoing occupant, the ZBook Studio G7, is replaced with the HP ZBook Fury 15 G8 instead of its own successor.
The ZBook Fury 15 G8 stems from HP’s traditional series of high-end 15-inch workstations. It combines a high-quality metal case with plentiful connectivity, good input devices, a matte 120 Hz 4K display, and last but not least extremely high performance thanks to vapor chamber cooling. As is expected of a workstation it also offers great upgradability.
HP’s Fury 15 series is an excellent alternative to other portable workstions, such as the MSI WS66, the Razer Blade Studio, the ZBook Firefly, or the Lenovo ThinkPad P1, all of which choose function over form.
The device is available through the usual retail channels, such as Amazon, with prices starting at around $3,000.
Pricecompare
2nd – Lenovo ThinkPad P1 G4
Previously, Lenovo’s workstation flagships used to be large, beefy, and quite chunky. With the Lenovo ThinkPad P1 G4 the tables have turned, and we have a new king among ThinkPad workstations. The most recent redesign comes with significant internal upgrades, such as for example the new 16:10 16-inch display (a first among ThinkPad workstations) and improved performance thanks to the new vapor chamber cooling that opened the door for much more powerful Nvidia GPUs.
In return, the keyboard isn’t as good as it used to be, and the secondary M.2-2280 and WWAN slots had to make way for the vapor chamber design. If you need either of them, you will have to opt for a less powerful SKU without vapor chamber cooling.
Lenovo’s new ThinkPad P1 G4 offers a few benefits, such as the larger 16-inch display or the improved speakers. However, we are very skeptical regarding the new input devices. The keyboard isn’t bad, per se, but it is no longer as good as it used to be.
The device is sold among others through Lenovo’s own webstore with prices starting at $1,700.
Pricecompare
3rd – HP ZBook Fury 17 G8
Like its predecessor, the HP ZBook Fury 17 G8 secured a very high rating in our review. It is identical to its predecessor in design and just like its predecessor it comes with plenty of workstation features by default. It features a robust metal case, good input devices, good connectivity, a powerful performance, and last but not least the excellent Dreamcolor display. Nevertheless, we feel that the ZBook Fury 17 could do with an overhaul given that neither its 16:9 display, nor its 2.5-inch slot are state of the art any longer. In addition, its SD card reader turned out to be slower than before.
Decent performance paired with moderate emissions. The ZBook Fury 17 G8 is a solid portable workstation with a very conservative choice of GPU. Considering its bulky case it could have used a bit more power in this regard.
The eight generation of HP’s workstation laptop is currently not yet available in North America.
Pricecompare
4th – MSI WE76
The MSI WE76 represents the reentry of MSI onto this workstation top 10 list. It features almost everything we would expect of a workstation laptop, and then some. For example, its excellent matte 4K displays runs at a refresh rate of 120 Hz. Its performance, connectivity, and input devices are on a par with its competitors. On the flipside its battery life and noise emissions are fairly poor.
An extremely fast GPU, high system performance, a matte 4K display, and a great keyboard. The MSI WE76 is a portable workstation with a focus on power and performance.
Pricecompare
5th – Dell Precision 5560
A compact design in a workstation-class laptop sounds like an oxymoron at first glance. However, Dell’s Precision 5560 proves that it is indeed possible. The Precision 5000 is based on the compact 15-inch 16:10 design of its consumer-class sibling, the Dell XPS 15 9510 and includes the latter’s almost non-existent display bezels. Accordingly, the Precision 5560 is king of the hill when it comes to size. In return, Dell had to make various connectivity compromises (only USB-C available), especially when compared to the larger Precision 5760.
Why would you even want the Precision 5560 given that it looks just like the Precision 5550? Mainly because of its improved GPU performance.
The Dell Precision 5560 is available through Dell’s own web shop as well as the usual retail outlets, such as Amazon.
Pricecompare
6th – Lenovo ThinkPad P17 G2
No other Lenovo workstation of ThinkPad laptop comes even close to the ThinkPad P17’s size. Compared to its siblings, the Lenovo ThinkPad P17 G2 is ginormous but also very well equipped. After all, it comes with enormous CPU and GPU performance potential unlike any other ThinkPad, and it comes with the usual high-quality keyboard, great upgradability, and connectivity. In return, its design and particularly its thick display bezels are a bit old fashioned, and the ThinkPad P17 G2 is very large and heavy when compared to other 17-inch workstations.
Large and heavy but very fast and upgradeable. Lenovo’s ThinkPad P17 G2 is a traditional workstation laptop.
When purchased through Lenovo’s own webstore the device can be freely configured if so desired. Alternatively, a number of preconfigured SKUs are available as well.
Pricecompare
7th – HP ZBook Studio 15 G8
Among its HP workstation siblings, the ZBook Studio 15 G8 is the thin and lightweight premium workstation competing against Dell’s Precision 5560 and Lenovo’s ThinkPad P1 G4. It offers comparable build and case quality and comes with an OLED display. Unfortunately, HP thought it’d be a great idea to offer a workstation with soldered RAM, less than ideal connectivity, and PWM for its OLED display.
The reliable ZBook Studio G8 runs great and looks even better despite its aging design. Unfortunately, its GeForce RTX 3070 is disappointing, and its OLED panels comes with a few downsides when compared to cheaper IPS panels.
At the time of writing, the HP ZBook Studio 15 G8 was not yet available in North America.
Pricecompare
8th – Lenovo ThinkPad P15 G2
The Lenovo ThinkPad P15 G2 is the P17 G2’s smaller sibling, a powerful Lenovo workstation with a 15.6-inch display. This second generation P15 comes with minor CPU and GPU updates. It continues to come with traditional ThinkPad strengths and benefits, such as the robust case, great upgradability, and excellent performance. Unfortunately, Lenovo failed to address its predecessor’s weaknesses, aka the clattery keyboard and its high temperatures, resulting in a score slightly below “very good”.
The ThinkPad P15 G2 is great but ultimately disappointed us with its high temperatures and loud fans under load. The new RTX A3000 performs very well and offers a significant performance improvement over last gen’s Quadro GPUs.
When purchased through Lenovo’s own webstore the device can be freely configured if so desired. Alternatively, several preconfigured SKUs are available as well.
Pricecompare
The Best Mobile Workstation Laptops in Comparison
Test Results
| HP ZBook Fury 15 G8 | Lenovo ThinkPad P1 G4-20Y4S0KS00 | HP ZBook Fury 17 G8-4A6A9EA | MSI WE76 11UM-456 | Dell Precision 5000 5560 | Lenovo ThinkPad P17 G2-20YU0025G | HP ZBook Studio 15 G8 | Lenovo ThinkPad P15 G2-20YQ001JGE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | ||||||||
| Display P3 Coverage | 95.9 | 85.7 | 99.1 | 82.1 | 94.9 | 67.9 | 99.9 | 68.6 |
| sRGB Coverage | 100 | 99.4 | 100 | 99.3 | 100 | 87.3 | 100 | 99.8 |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 87.3 | 98.9 | 86.8 | 96 | 100 | 63.9 | 95.3 | 70.6 |
| Response Times | ||||||||
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 14.8 ? | 55.2 ? | 67.6 ? | 17.6 ? | 47.2 ? | 39.2 ? | 2.4 ? | 37.6 ? |
| Response Time Black / White * | 11 ? | 31.2 ? | 26.8 ? | 10.8 ? | 30.4 ? | 22.4 ? | 2.4 ? | 16 ? |
| PWM Frequency | 240.4 ? | 26040 ? | ||||||
| Screen | ||||||||
| Brightness middle | 626 | 630 | 568 | 419 | 501.5 | 361 | 379.6 | 498 |
| Brightness | 589 | 622 | 564 | 416 | 467 | 334 | 380 | 490 |
| Brightness Distribution | 87 | 90 | 88 | 93 | 83 | 87 | 95 | 95 |
| Black Level * | 0.58 | 0.41 | 0.33 | 0.34 | 0.44 | 0.35 | 0.39 | |
| Contrast | 1079 | 1537 | 1721 | 1232 | 1140 | 1031 | 1277 | |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 5.41 | 2.2 | 1 | 1.5 | 4.73 | 5.4 | 5.15 | 2.1 |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 9.05 | 5 | 2.4 | 4.7 | 8.45 | 9.9 | 7.79 | 5.6 |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated * | 0.6 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 0.51 | 3.2 | 3.1 | 0.8 |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 6.2 | 2.7 | 1.7 | 2 | 3.6 | 6.5 | 2.6 | 3.4 |
| Gamma | 2.66 83% | 2.26 97% | 2.18 101% | 2.17 101% | 2.08 106% | 2.23 99% | 1.99 111% | 2.32 95% |
| CCT | 6101 107% | 6886 94% | 6461 101% | 6629 98% | 6447 101% | 7351 88% | 6166 105% | 7162 91% |
| Noise | ||||||||
| off / environment * | 24.1 | 23.8 | 24.5 | 24.7 | 23.4 | 26.4 | 23.5 | 24.3 |
| Idle Minimum * | 24.1 | 23.8 | 24.5 | 24.7 | 23.6 | 26.4 | 25.3 | 24.3 |
| Idle Average * | 24.1 | 23.8 | 24.5 | 24.7 | 23.6 | 26.4 | 25.3 | 24.3 |
| Idle Maximum * | 24.8 | 28.3 | 26.8 | 27.5 | 23.6 | 26.4 | 25.3 | 28.6 |
| Load Average * | 37.8 | 38.6 | 41.8 | 43.7 | 25.8 | 38.1 | 41.2 | 47.5 |
| Witcher 3 ultra * | 44.2 | 47.4 | 44.9 | 46.6 | 40.1 | 38.1 | 49.4 | |
| Load Maximum * | 44.2 | 47.4 | 47.1 | 47.7 | 41.4 | 45 | 49.4 | 54.9 |
| Heat | ||||||||
| Maximum Upper Side * | 45.6 | 51 | 41.9 | 48.4 | 48.2 | 49.6 | 49 | 49.7 |
| Maximum Bottom * | 57.6 | 53.5 | 52.9 | 56.2 | 42.6 | 52.1 | 54.2 | 63.2 |
| Idle Upper Side * | 26 | 28.8 | 28.2 | 28.6 | 34.8 | 26 | 26.2 | 27.1 |
| Idle Bottom * | 28.8 | 29.3 | 30.7 | 31.8 | 35.2 | 27.6 | 30.2 | 29.8 |
| Battery Runtime | ||||||||
| Reader / Idle | 722 | 774 | ||||||
| WiFi v1.3 | 370 | 417 | 445 | 377 | 380 | 588 | 369 | 596 |
| Load | 74 | 119 | 79 | 110 | 84 | 106 | 78 | |
| Power Consumption | ||||||||
| Idle Minimum * | 8.3 | 8.1 | 7.6 | 10.5 | 6.2 | 6.1 | 11 | 6.3 |
| Idle Average * | 19.9 | 20.2 | 16.7 | 18.6 | 13.9 | 10.9 | 18.8 | 10.7 |
| Idle Maximum * | 21.8 | 21.9 | 17.5 | 20 | 23.8 | 12.3 | 31.7 | 11.6 |
| Load Average * | 110.9 | 88.2 | 117 | 132.4 | 95.7 | 106.3 | 105.2 | 99.3 |
| Witcher 3 ultra * | 165 | 149 | 150 | 232 | 87 | 124 | 148 | 154 |
| Load Maximum * | 171.8 | 170.6 | 202 | 281.6 | 132.6 | 168.9 | 171.8 | 210 |
* ... smaller is better
Benchmarks
| SPECviewperf 12 | |
| 1900x1060 Solidworks (sw-03) | |
| HP ZBook Fury 15 G8 | |
| Dell Precision 5000 5560 | |
| HP ZBook Studio 15 G8 | |
| 1900x1060 Siemens NX (snx-02) | |
| HP ZBook Fury 15 G8 | |
| Dell Precision 5000 5560 | |
| HP ZBook Studio 15 G8 | |
| 1900x1060 Showcase (showcase-01) | |
| HP ZBook Fury 15 G8 | |
| HP ZBook Studio 15 G8 | |
| Dell Precision 5000 5560 | |
| 1900x1060 Medical (medical-01) | |
| HP ZBook Fury 15 G8 | |
| HP ZBook Studio 15 G8 | |
| Dell Precision 5000 5560 | |
| 1900x1060 Maya (maya-04) | |
| HP ZBook Fury 15 G8 | |
| HP ZBook Studio 15 G8 | |
| Dell Precision 5000 5560 | |
| 1900x1060 Energy (energy-01) | |
| HP ZBook Fury 15 G8 | |
| HP ZBook Studio 15 G8 | |
| Dell Precision 5000 5560 | |
| 1900x1060 Creo (creo-01) | |
| HP ZBook Fury 15 G8 | |
| Dell Precision 5000 5560 | |
| HP ZBook Studio 15 G8 | |
| 1900x1060 Catia (catia-04) | |
| HP ZBook Fury 15 G8 | |
| Dell Precision 5000 5560 | |
| HP ZBook Studio 15 G8 | |
| LuxMark v2.0 64Bit | |
| Sala GPUs-only | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad P15 G2-20YQ001JGE | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad P17 G2-20YU0025G | |
| Room GPUs-only | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad P15 G2-20YQ001JGE | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad P17 G2-20YU0025G | |
