- [Mark] Hey everyone it's Mark for Windows Central
and this is the Lenovo ThinkPad P51.
It's a 15.6 inch mobile workstation from Lenovo built
for designers, engineers, or power users
who require top end specifications.
I'm reviewing this laptop from a video editor's perspective.
Let's get started.
(upbeat music)
The Lenovo ThinkPad P51 is an expensive laptop,
but it's not flashy at all.
It's covered in a black glass fiber reinforced plastic
with aluminum magnesium at the bottom.
Surprisingly, it doesn't attract as much fingerprints
compared with other black laptops.
Workstations are expected to last long
and the ThinkPad P51 is no different.
It passes military certification tests for vibrations,
bumps, humidity, high altitude,
extreme temperatures, and more.
I usually take good care of all my devices,
but it's good to know that the ThinkPad P51
is more durable than most devices.
This review unit has a 15.6 inch 4K UHD
non-touch anti-glare display, which looks great
for creating and consuming content.
Lenovo also has options for full HD display
with or without touch functionality.
Designers, graphic artists, and video editors like me
are going to appreciate the built-in color calibrator.
It ensures accurate colors throughout
the life of the system.
You just need to fire up the preinstalled X-Rite
Pantone Calibrator app, and follow the instructions
to close the lid and let the tool calibrate the display.
I have nothing bad to say about this display,
but other people might still prefer a touchscreen.
When it comes to specifications, this unit comes with
a 7th Gen Intel Xeon E3-1535M processor,
Nvidia Quadro M2200 graphics with four gigs of memory,
32 gigs of RAM and 512 gigs SSD4 storage.
The left side has an express card slot
which I don't see that often,
and a four-in-one card reader,
which I love because my cameras use an SD card.
The right side has a headphone-like combo,
two USB 3.0 ports, and a mini display port.
On the back there are two more USB 3.0 ports,
ethernet, USB-C thunderbolt three port,
HDMI, and the AC adapter.
I would've liked more than one thunderbolt three port,
but having one is better than zero.
The bottom has a removable 90 watt battery,
and a dock connector.
With all the ports already on this laptop,
most people won't be needing the optional $300 dock.
I also won't be needing dongles.
The bottom has screws that are easy to remove
and it takes just a few minutes to upgrade
the memory and storage.
The backlit keyboard is very comfortable to type on,
there's plenty of travel for the keys,
and there's even room for the numeric keypad.
However, there's one thing that's
bothering me about this keyboard.
Lenovo decided to switch the function and control keys.
I don't know why they did that, but you can open
the Lenovo settings have to switch it back to normal.
I don't need or use the red trackpoint here
in the middle of the keyboard, but I know some people
like to use that.
The trackpad feels comfortable to touch
and it has precision drivers,
so the built-in Windows gestures are there.
There are six touchpad buttons, which I think is too much,
but I can imagine that that can be useful for many others.
I'd rather have a bigger touchpad, though,
than having more buttons.
There are dual front facing speakers in between
the display and keyboard; they're loud and sound fine.
You could also optimize them for movies, music,
gaming or voice using the Lenovo settings app.
Below the arrow keys is the fingerprint reader
for Windows Hello.
They work as expected, and many people will be glad
to have it to sign into the laptop,
or authenticate apps.
Windows 10 Pro is included and Lenovo
did not include unnecessary bloatware,
which I appreciate a lot.
There's a companion app for checking firmware
and driver updates, and a settings app to tinker
with several aspects off the laptop.
For example, you can optimize the fans
for high-performance or quiet node.
You could also just a cameras contrast and brightness,
and even swap the function and control keys
if you prefer the lower left key as the control key
instead of the function key.
When it comes to everyday tasks,
the ThinkPad P51 just breezes through.
There are no performance issues when switching
between multiple apps or watching 4K videos.
We can thank the Intel Xeon processor
and the 32 gigs of RAM for that.
The Lenovo ThinkPad P51 is excellent for video editors,
having a card reader, built in color calibrator,
and high-end CPU and graphics card
ensure that we can get the job done
even when you're on the go.
Scrubbing and playing back 4K videos on the timeline
is also buttery smooth, and exporting a sample three minute
4K video with color corrected clips
take about eight minutes.
This is not marketed as a gaming laptop,
but you can enjoy less demanding games like,
PlayerUnknown Battlegrounds.
The Nvidia M2200 and this laptop is roughly equivalent
to a GeForce GTX-965 or a GTX-1050.
If you're looking for numbers, here are some
of the benchmark scores from Geekbench, CrystalDiskMark,
PCMark 10, and 3DMark FireStrike.
The fans on the ThinkPad P51 are quiet
even under heavy load.
They certainly make less noise than my razor blade
when exporting videos.
There are exhaust vents on the left and right sides
of the laptop, so you can feel some heat
when resting your hands on the sides,
or if you're using an external mouse.
The Lenovo ThinkPad P51 has a 90 watt hour battery
which lasts about five hours with normal use,
it goes down to under two hours
if I use it for video editing.
The battery is removable, so if you have the money,
you can buy an extra one just in case.
I don't know many laptops that give you that option.
The power adapter is also big,
so it's going to take up a lot of space in your backpack.
Overall I'm very happy with the Lenovo ThinkPad P51.
In addition to having top end specifications
you'll love that it's very easy to add memory and storage
if you ever want to upgrade later on.
It has several ports so you don't have
to carry dongles either.
The display is also wonderful
and the built-in color calibrator will make sure
the display shows accurate colors all the time.
I'm not saying the P51 is perfect though.
The 4K display option is not a touchscreen
and it's bothering me that the control
and function keys have been switched.
His laptop is also big, heavy and has large vessels,
but in the end, designers, engineers, or video editors
can't go wrong with the P51 because
it will get the job done, and they'll know
that they can depend on it day in and day out,
and year after year because of its durability.
Right so that's my review of the Lenovo ThinkPad P51.
Check out the links in the description
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I'm Mark for Windows Central, thanks for watching.