The Lenovo ThinkPad P15 Gen 2 benefits from the new RTX A3000 GPU

Users looking for a lot of performance and reliability will usually find this in mobile workstations. The ThinkPad P15 Gen 2 from Lenovo is a very traditional example that combines a large case with the strongest components in the mobile sector. However, the new laptop looks quite outdated at first glance, which is partly due to the dimensions, but also to the extremely wide screen bezels. It definitely hasn't caught up with the trend towards thinner display bezels yet.

The CPU performance of the Core i7-11800H is good, but Lenovo has slightly modified the TDP configuration compared to previous models. The focus is now more on the dedicated graphics card, which is why the processor performance could definitely be a bit higher. We would've liked to see a more dynamic configuration here that would allow for more headroom under pure CPU load.

Things look different for the graphics card, because the transition from the Quadro RTX GPUs to Nvidia's new RTX A models provides a massive performance boost. Compared to the old Quadro RTX 3000, the new RTX A3000 GPU is over 50% faster in many areas, and it can often even compete with the former high-end model, the Quadro RTX 5000 Max-Q.

The cooling system left us a bit disappointed as well. Despite the loud fans, high surface temperatures can not be prevented under load (over 60 °C (~140 °F) in some places). Some gaming laptops perform better in this regard, and Lenovo should pay more attention to this in the follow-up model.

The optional 1080p display with its brightness of just under 500 cd/m² makes a very good impression in the test, and it also allows image editing in the small sRGB color space. However, two 4K displays with wider color spaces (AdobeRGB or DCI-P3) are optionally available.

You can find further information regarding the ThinkPad P15 Gen 2 in our detailed review:

• Lenovo ThinkPad P15 Gen 2 in review (i7, RTX A3000, 1080p)