The Lenovo ThinkPad P15 Gen 2 (2021) is a 15.6-inch mobile workstation. It replaces the first generation Lenovo ThinkPad P15 from 2020 with Intel 10th Gen CPUs and NVIDIA Quadro GPUs. Although there are minor design changes, the P15 Gen 2 is mainly an internal spec bump. This model gets newer Intel 11th Gen CPU options, faster DDR4 3200MHz memory, Thunderbolt 4 support, PCIe Gen 4 SSDs, and more powerful NVIDIA 'Ampere' discrete GPUs up to an RTX A5000.
Our Lenovo ThinkPad P15 Gen 2 has a 1080p display, an Intel Core i7-11800H CPU, an NVIDIA T1200 discrete GPU, 16GB of memory, and 512GB of storage. You can upgrade the display to a brighter 500 cd/m² 1080p panel, a 4k IPS, or a 4k OLED. CPU configurations range from an Intel Core i5-11500H up to a Xeon W-11955M. The NVIDIA T1200 is the base GPU configuration; the other GPU options include the RTX A2000, A3000, A4000, and A5000. Memory configuration range from 8GB to 128GB, and you can choose between non-ECC or ECC RAM (Xeon models only).
Our Verdict
The Lenovo ThinkPad P15 Gen 2 is decent for school use. It has enough processing power to handle nearly every type of workload, including demanding tasks like graphic design and animation. It has a large display for multitasking, a great keyboard and responsive touchpad, and plenty of ports for peripherals. It feels very well-built, but it's bulky, so it isn't very portable. The battery lasts around eight hours of light productivity, which is just enough for a typical school day, though you may have to plug it in if you do anything intensive.
- CPU and GPU can handle demanding workloads.
- Feels well built.
- Comfortable keyboard.
- Wide port selection.
- Decent webcam for video calls.
- Hard to carry around.
- Base display configuration doesn't get bright enough to combat glare.
- Small touchpad.
- Battery lasts only around eight hours of light use.
The Lenovo ThinkPad P15 Gen 2 is decent for gaming. Its Intel 11th Gen CPUs and NVIDIA discrete GPUs are powerful enough to run demanding modern games. However, these professional graphics processors don't always get the best game drivers and lack features like DLSS. Also, there are only 60Hz display options with no variable refresh rate support to reduce screen tearing.
- CPU and GPU can handle demanding workloads.
- Comfortable keyboard.
- GPUs run at high wattage.
- Doesn't get overly hot or loud under load.
- CPU throttles under load.
- 60Hz displays with no VRR support.
- Gaming performance depends on drivers.
The Lenovo ThinkPad P15 Gen 2 is okay for media consumption. You can choose between multiple display options, including a 4k OLED panel with full DCI P3 coverage for viewing HDR content. It also has a battery that lasts around eight hours of video playback, enough to get you through multiple full-length movies. However, it's bulky, making it hard to carry around, and the speakers sound awful.
- OLED display option.
- Battery lasts around eight hours of video playback.
- Hard to carry around.
- Awful-sounding speakers.
- Base display configuration doesn't get bright enough to combat glare.
The Lenovo ThinkPad P15 Gen 2 is an excellent mobile workstation. It's available with various high-power Intel 11th Gen CPUs and NVIDIA discrete GPUs, all of which can handle demanding production workloads. There are also multiple display options for creators, including 4k panels with full Adobe RGB or DCI P3 coverage. It has a fast PCIe Gen 4 SSD for quick file transfers and a wide port selection that includes an HDMI and Thunderbolt 4 ports. It doesn't get hot or loud under load, though there's some thermal throttling on the CPU.
- CPU and GPU can handle demanding workloads.
- Comfortable keyboard.
- 4k display options with full Adobe RGB or DCI P3 coverage.
- GPUs run at high wattage.
- Wide port selection.
- Doesn't get overly hot or loud under load.
- CPU throttles under load.
The Lenovo ThinkPad P15 Gen 2 is good for business use. It has a fairly large screen for multitasking, a comfortable keyboard that you can type on all day, and a small but responsive touchpad. Its Intel CPU and NVIDIA GPU have enough processing power to handle productivity tasks like text formatting, web browsing, spreadsheets, and presentations. Unfortunately, it isn't very portable because it's bulky and heavy, and its battery lasts only around eight hours of light use, so you'll likely have to plug it in for a quick charge during the day.
- CPU and GPU can handle demanding workloads.
- Feels well built.
- Comfortable keyboard.
- Wide port selection.
- Decent webcam for video calls.
- Hard to carry around.
- Base display configuration doesn't get bright enough to combat glare.
- Small touchpad.
- Battery lasts only around eight hours of light use.
Changelog
- Updated Sep 24, 2024: Added mention of the Lenovo ThinkPad P16 Gen 2 (2024) as an alternative with newer, faster CPUs in the CPU section.
- Updated Nov 08, 2022: Added mention of the MSI WS76 (2021) in the Speakers section as an alternative with better-sounding speakers.
- Updated Aug 22, 2022: Added mention of the Dell Precision 3571 (2022) as a more portable alternative.
- Updated Aug 05, 2022: Review published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the Lenovo ThinkPad P15 Gen 2 (model 20YQ0085US) with a 1080p display, an Intel Core i7-11800H CPU, a NVIDIA Quadro T1200 discrete GPU, 16GB of non-ECC memory, and 512GB of storage. The screen, CPU, GPU, memory, and storage are configurable; you can see the available options in the table below. Our review applies only to variants with a model number starting with '20YQ'.
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| Memory |
Non-ECC Memory:
ECC Memory (Intel Xeon models only):
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Our display and performance results are only valid for the configuration we tested. If you come across a different configuration option not listed above, or you have a similar Lenovo ThinkPad P15 Gen 2 that doesn't correspond to our review, let us know, and we'll update it. Some tests, like black uniformity and color accuracy, may vary between individual units.
You can see our unit's label here.
Popular Laptop Comparisons
The Lenovo ThinkPad P15 Gen 2 is an excellent mobile workstation with a lot of processing power for demanding workloads. However, it's very bulky, and among the least portable devices that we've tested so far.
For other options, see our recommendations for the best laptops, the best Windows laptops, and the best business laptops.
The Lenovo ThinkPad P15 Gen 2 (2021) and the Dell Precision 5560 (2021) are both mobile workstations. Choosing between them depends on what you care more about. If you just want performance, the Lenovo is a better choice as it has higher-end GPU configurations, and its more robust cooling system allows the GPUs to run at a higher wattage. On the other hand, if you prefer a sleeker and more portable device that offers a better user experience, then go with the Dell.
The Lenovo ThinkPad P15 Gen 2 (2021) and the Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen 4 (2021) are both mobile workstations with fairly similar features and CPU/GPU configurations. The main difference is that the P1 Gen 4 has a thinner and lighter design for portability, whereas the P15 Gen 2 is a much bulkier device with a more robust cooling system to allow the GPU to run at a higher wattage, resulting in better performance.
Choosing between the Lenovo ThinkPad P15 Gen 2 (2021) and the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M1, 2021) depends on your operating system preference, the applications you use, and whether portability and user experience matter to you. The Apple is a more premium and portable device and generally offers a better user experience. However, the Lenovo might be a good option if you don't travel with the laptop and use it mainly with an external display and peripherals. The performance varies depending on which configuration you get; just keep in mind that the Apple's M1 Pro and Max SoCs have dedicated media encoders and decoders that improve performance significantly in applications that can take advantage of them, which synthetic benchmarks don't always show.
The Lenovo ThinkPad P15 Gen 2 (2021) and the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (M1, 2021) are both mobile workstations designed for demanding production workloads. However, they're quite different. The Apple is a more premium and portable device that offers a better user experience than the Lenovo. The performance will depend largely on which configuration you get and which applications you use. The Lenovo's higher configurations may score better in some benchmarks than the Apple, but keep in mind that it's the dedicated media engines that do most of the heavy lifting on the Apple, so the benchmark scores aren't always indicative of performance. The Lenovo's advantage is that it's more versatile because you can also use it for gaming. You can game on the Apple, but there aren't many games optimized for its M1 SoC.
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