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The Lenovo ThinkPad P14s G2 AMD finally offers similar features as the Intel model - almost

The Lenovo ThinkPad P14s G2 AMD finally offers similar features as the Intel model - almost
The Lenovo ThinkPad P14s G2 AMD finally offers similar features as the Intel model - almost
The story of AMD CPUs in Lenovo's ThinkPad laptops is a story of inequality. AMD systems were disadvantaged from the beginning, particularly in the displays. Finally Lenovo has remedied this disparity, so there's not much missing anymore until all the features are the same.

The Lenovo ThinkPads have a long history in combination with Intel processors. The combination with AMD CPUs is still relatively new. Even though there were already the first AMD ThinkPads since 2010, these were purely targeted for the budget sector. In the core segment of the brand, which are business/enterprise laptops, AMD processors only arrived in 2017 with the Lenovo ThinkPad A275 and A475.

Despite their new name, the ThinkPad A's were not complete novelties: The A275 was based on the ThinkPad X270, and the A475 on the ThinkPad T470. However, they did not represent equal values, since both of them used more affordable Realtek network cards instead of the better Intel modules.

With the first Ryzen models such as the ThinkPad A485, Lenovo introduced the option to also configure the AMD models with Intel Wi-Fi. However, at the same time a new disparity was also introduced: 2K LCDs were introduced with the ThinkPad T480, but these 2560 x 1440 pixel displays were not offered for the AMD version. Buyers of the A485 had to be content with Full-HD LCDs (1920 x 1080 pixels) with a low color space coverage.

Together with the integration of the A series into the T/X series and the ThinkPad T495, better Full-HD displays also arrived in the AMD ThinkPads. However, the 2K LCDs that were available for the T490 remained reserved for that. The same was also the case a year later for the 4K UHD display of the ThinkPad T14 G1 and the new workstation sprout, the ThinkPad P14s G1. Choosing AMD meant that you had to accept a Full-HD LCD.

This finally ends in 2021, and there is no disparity in this area anymore. We recently tested the Lenovo ThinkPad P14s G2 AMD, and our test unit was equipped with an excellent, matte 4K UHD display. (Note by the translator of this article: the US website for Lenovo currently only shows the FHD display.)

The AMD ThinkPad does not lack much until full feature parity with Intel. Thunderbolt is one function that is still missing, but that is supposed to be added to the AMD platform next year. Ironically, the Realtek Wi-Fi cards are back, but at least users can remedy this by adding an Intel Wi-Fi module later.

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2021 09 > The Lenovo ThinkPad P14s G2 AMD finally offers similar features as the Intel model - almost
Benjamin Herzig, 2021-09-21 (Update: 2021-09-19)