The Lenovo ThinkPad P16 Gen 2 (2024) is a 16-inch mobile workstation. This '21FA/21FB' model replaces the Lenovo ThinkPad P16 Gen 1 from 2023 (Intel 12th Gen). It's available with Intel 13th and 14th Gen HX CPUs paired with integrated graphics, an Intel Arc A30M discrete GPU, or NVIDIA RTX discrete GPUs, up to an RTX 5000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU. Memory configuration maxes out at 128GB (ECC or non-ECC), though it's user-upgradeable to 192GB. You can get up to 4TB of storage; some options are available in a RAID 0/1 array. Ports include two USB-As, three USB-Cs (two Thunderbolt 4s), an HDMI 2.1, an SD Express 7.0 card reader, and a headphone jack. A Smart Card reader, NFC support, and cellular connectivity are available as optional features.
See our unit's specifications and the available configuration options in the Differences Between Variants section.
Our Verdict
The Lenovo ThinkPad P16 Gen 2 (2024) is good for school use. It provides a pretty good user experience overall with its large 16-inch display, comfortable keyboard, and small but responsive touchpad. Performance is outstanding; it's available with fast CPUs and discrete GPUs that can handle intensive workloads, making it suitable for students in fields like engineering and 3D modeling. Unfortunately, the fans get pretty loud, which isn't ideal for quiet settings like classrooms and libraries. Also, the laptop is bulky and heavy, making it hard to carry around, so it's best suited as a desktop replacement. Its battery life is decent, though, lasting around 10 hours of light use.
- Multiple display options, including a 4k+ IPS panel with high brightness and an OLED panel.
- Comfortable keyboard with numpad, small but responsive touchpad.
- Battery lasts around 10 hours of light use.
- Can handle demanding tasks.
- Bulky and heavy.
- Gets hot and loud under load.
- Can't charge laptop via USB-C.
The Lenovo ThinkPad P16 Gen 2 (2024) is good for gaming. It's available with fast CPUs and GPUs that can deliver a relatively smooth gaming experience; however, the performance can still vary depending on the game, as the GPUs are designed for professional workloads, so they don't always have the best game drivers. They also lack gaming features like DLSS and Frame Generation. As for the display, although there's a 165Hz QHD+ panel option, it doesn't support VRR to reduce screen tearing. Unfortunately, the laptop gets hot and loud under load.
- Can handle demanding tasks.
- Wide port selection, including two Thunderbolt 4s.
- 165Hz display option.
- User-replaceable RAM and storage.
- No VRR support.
- Gaming performance can vary due to driver optimization; no gaming features like DLSS.
- Gets hot and loud under load.
The Lenovo P16 Gen 2 (2024) is good for media consumption. It has a large 16-inch display, and there are multiple panel options, including a sharp, colorful 4k+ OLED touchscreen. As for the speakers, although they get very loud with minimal compression, they're only good for spoken content, as they sound boxy with almost no bass. Battery life is pretty good at around six hours of video playback, but this laptop is bulky and heavy, so it isn't the best for on-the-go use.
- Multiple display options, including a 4k+ IPS panel with high brightness and an OLED panel.
- Battery lasts around six hours of video playback.
- Loud speakers.
- Bulky and heavy.
- Speakers sound boxy with almost no bass.
- Can't charge laptop via USB-C.
The Lenovo ThinkPad P16 Gen 2 (2024) is an outstanding workstation. It's available with high-performance CPUs and discrete GPUs that can handle even the most demanding workloads, like 3D modeling and simulations. There are multiple display options, including 4k+ panels that are suitable for color work. You can configure the laptop with up to 128GB of RAM and 4TB of storage, and these components are user-replaceable, so you can upgrade or add more later on. The CPU throttles a bit despite the laptop's robust cooling system, and unfortunately, the laptop gets hot and loud under load.
- Can handle demanding tasks.
- Wide port selection, including two Thunderbolt 4s.
- 4k+ display options with full DCI P3 coverage.
- User-replaceable RAM and storage.
- Gets hot and loud under load.
- Some CPU throttling under load.
The Lenovo ThinkPad P16 Gen 2 (2024) is great for business use. It provides a good user experience overall, as it has a large display for multitasking, a comfortable, full-size keyboard with a numpad, and a small but responsive touchpad. There's a wide port selection, so you can easily plug in multiple peripherals and external displays. Performance is outstanding; all of the available CPUs and GPUs can easily handle productivity tasks like text processing, spreadsheets, and presentations. They can even handle demanding video editing if you need to make videos for your business. The main downside is that it's hard to carry around due to its bulky design.
- Multiple display options, including a 4k+ IPS panel with high brightness and an OLED panel.
- Comfortable keyboard with numpad, small but responsive touchpad.
- Battery lasts around 10 hours of light use.
- Optional cellular connectivity.
- Bulky and heavy.
- Gets hot and loud under load.
- Can't charge laptop via USB-C.
Changelog
- Updated May 07, 2025: We've updated this review to Test Bench 0.8.3, which removes the viewing angle tests and adds a GPU Total Graphics Power comparison in the GPU section. The Pen Input test in the Extra Features section has also changed, as it now shows whether the laptop supports pen input rather than the inclusion of a stylus in the box. See the changelog for more details.
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Updated Dec 03, 2024:
Added the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2024) as a faster workstation alternative in the Geekbench 5 (Synthetics) section.
- Updated Sep 24, 2024: Review published.
- Updated Sep 18, 2024: Early access published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the Lenovo ThinkPad P16 Gen 2 (model 21FA0050US) with a 4k+ IPS display, an Intel Core i7-14700HX CPU, an NVIDIA RTX 1000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage. The display, CPU, GPU, memory, and storage are configurable; the options are in the table below. This review applies to all variants with a model number starting with '21FA' and '21FB'.
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See our unit's label.
Popular Laptop Comparisons
The Lenovo P16 Gen 2 is an outstanding mobile workstation. It has a wide range of configuration options, with the top-end models providing enough processing power for the most demanding tasks. However, its bulky and heavy design makes it better suited as a desktop replacement rather than a laptop for on-the-go use. Also, the quality of certain parts, like the speakers, touchpad, and webcam, aren't nearly as good as other laptops in its class.
For more options, see our recommendations for the best workstation laptops, the best laptops for video editing, and the best laptops for graphic design.
The Lenovo ThinkPad P16 Gen 2 (2024) and the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (M3, 2023) are both outstanding 16-inch workstation laptops. In terms of the overall build and user experience, the MacBook Pro comes out ahead, as it has a sturdy all-aluminum chassis, a larger and more responsive haptic touchpad, better-sounding speakers, and a higher-quality webcam. It also has longer battery life and doesn't get as hot or loud under load. Both laptops can handle demanding workloads; however, the Lenovo is a better option if you're looking for raw GPU performance, as its higher-end GPU configurations, like the NVIDIA RTX 4000 and 5000 Ada Generation Laptop GPUs are much faster than the M3 Max SoC's GPU. The Lenovo has a few advantages over the MacBook Pro: its memory and storage drive are user-replaceable, and it's available with cellular connectivity.
The Lenovo ThinkPad P16 Gen 2 (2024) and the Dell XPS 16 (2024) are both high-end laptops designed to handle demanding tasks. However, the Lenovo is better suited for professional workloads like 3D modeling and simulations because it's available with NVIDIA RTX Ada Generation Laptop GPUs, whereas the Dell is better suited for content creation because it's available with the more mainstream NVIDIA GeForce GPUs. As for the CPU, you'll get more performance out of the Lenovo's Intel Raptor Lake CPUs, but the Dell's Meteor Lake CPUs have a Neural Processing Unit to speed up A.I. tasks and low-power E-cores to help prolong battery life. Each laptop has its pros and cons when it comes to the user experience; the Dell has a more premium, sleeker design, but the Lenovo has a wider port selection, and its keyboard and touchpad are easier to get used to. The Lenovo also has more optional features, like cellular connectivity and NFC support.
The Lenovo ThinkPad P16 Gen 2 (2024) and the Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 (2024) are both 16-inch mobile workstations; however, they're quite different, as the P16 is a much bulkier model intended as a desktop replacement, whereas the P1 Gen 7 is much more compact and better suited for on-the-go use. The latter's sleeker and more compact design comes at the cost of performance, though, as its Intel Meteor Lake CPUs aren't nearly as fast as the P16's Intel 14th Gen HX processors, and its GPU configuration maxes out at an RTX 3000 running at 60W, while the P16 Gen 2 is available with up to an RTX 5000 running at 115W. The user experience is better on the P1 Gen 7; it has a larger and more responsive haptic touchpad, a higher-quality webcam, and longer battery life. On the other hand, the P16 has more optional features, like cellular connectivity, NFC support, and a Smart Card reader.
The Lenovo ThinkPad P16 Gen 2 (2024) is better than the Dell Pro Max 16 (2025). Although the Lenovo uses older-generation components (Intel 14th Gen and NVIDIA Ada Generation), it can still provide more performance if you get a higher-end model with an Intel Core i7-14700HX and RTX4000/5000 discrete GPU. The Lenovo also has a more comfortable keyboard and higher-quality display options, including two 4k panels (IPS and OLED) with full P3 coverage.
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