Lenovo Launches New P50 And P70 Mobile Workstations With First Mobile Xeon Chips
by Brett Howse on August 10, 2015 11:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
- Lenovo
- Xeon
- Quadro
- Workstations
Today at the SIGGRAPH 2015 Conference and Exhibition, Lenovo unveiled some new mobile workstations. The new ThinkPad P series are aimed at high-end professionals who need a lot of compute on the go. There are two models, with the P50 being a 15.6-inch version, which is a follow-on to the W541. The larger P70 features a 17.3-inch display. Both can pack some serious specifications under the hood, starting with the processor.
Both models will feature a new processor from Intel, which is going to be the first official mobile version of their Xeon line. Intel has not released much information yet, but the Intel Xeon E3-1500M v5 is going to be powering these workstations from Lenovo. While we don’t have exact frequencies yet, the v5 version is going to be based on the just released Skylake architecture, which brings a lot of new technology to the plate. Lenovo will offer the new P series with up to 64 GB of DDR4 memory, arranged in 4 SODIMM slots. One of the reasons to use Xeon is that it supports ECC memory, and these workstations leverage that for the workloads they will be expected to run Also part of the new Xeon will be Thunderbolt 3, and both models have this connectivity. We're not sure yet if Thunderbolt is built into the Xeons, or if something like the Aipine Ridge as an IO controller for this.
On the GPU side, Lenovo has included a Quadro card, however the exact model is not known yet.
There is also up to 1 TB of PCIe SSD storage available, and up to a 2 TB hard drive. In addition to the Thunderbolt, there will also be HDMI 1.4, mini DisplayPort 1.2, ExpressCard, SDXC, and of course what workstation would not have Gigabit Ethernet, so the P Series has this as well.
Wireless is a new card from Intel as well, with the Intel 8260 card which is an 802.11ac model, and Lenovo will be offering it with Bluetooth 4.1 and vPro as well. For those that need connectivity on the go, Lenovo is offering a Sierra EM7445 LTE-A option as well.
Lenovo P Series Mobile Workstations | ||||||
P50 | P70 | |||||
CPU | Intel Xeon E3 1500M v5 Quad-core Skylake ~47W TDP |
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GPU | NVIDIA Quadro Model number unknown |
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Memory | Up to 64 GB DDR4-2133 ECC | |||||
Storage | Up to 1TB PCIe SSD Up to 2TB HDD |
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Display | 15.6" 1920x1080 IPS w/optional touch Optional 3840x2160 IPS X-Rite Pantone Color Correction |
17.3" 1920x1080 IPS w/optional touch Optional 3840x2160 IPS X-Rite Pantone Color Correction |
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Ports | USB 3.0 x 4 Mini DP 1.2 HDMI 1.4 Thunderbolt 3 Docking Connector Smart Card Reader ExpressCard SDXC Headset |
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Networking | Intel 8260 Wireless-AC 802.11ac WiFi Bluetooth 4.11 Optional vPro Gigabit Ethernet Sierra EM7445 4G LTE-A |
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Dimensions | H: 0.96-1.02" (24.5-25.9 mm) W: 14.86" (377.4 mm) D: 9.93" (252.3 mm) |
H: 1.17-1.2" (29.9-31.5 mm) W: 16.4" (416 mm) D: 10.8" (275.5 mm) |
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Weight | Starting at 5.6 lbs (2.5kg) | Starting at 7.6 lbs (3.4 kg) | ||||
Battery Life | 4 Cell 66 Whr Optional 6 Cell 90 Whr |
8 Cell 96 WHr | ||||
Price | $1599+ | $1999+ |
Other than the larger display, the P70 can also be had with a DVD-RW drive, but hopefully but the time it launches they will at least offer Blu-ray as an option.
Speaking of the displays, Lenovo has packed some pretty impressive sounding displays into both models. The P series will offer a 1920x1080p as the base, with optional touch, and there is also a UHD 3840x2160 IPS offering as well. All of the panels are IPS models, and Lenovo has turned to X-Rite to offer Pantone color calibration out of the box, and over the lifetime of the device.
The P series can be had with a good choice of operating systems too, from Windows 10 Pro, Windows 8.1 Pro, or downgrade rights to Windows 7 Professional. If you need Linux for your workstation, they will also be offering Ubuntu and RHEL.
These MIL-SPEC tested and ISV Certified professional workstations will be available in Q4 2015 with the P50 starting at $1599, and the P70 starting at $1999.
Source: Lenovo
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lilmoe - Tuesday, August 11, 2015 - link
Something else, I'm assuming that's Thunderbolt over USB-C on the back right? So is it capable of USB 3.1?MikhailT - Tuesday, August 11, 2015 - link
If it is using Alpine Ridge controller, yes, it is TB3 at 40Gbps via USB-C and USB 3.1 gen 2 is included as well. All TB3 will be via USB-C as it'll use the alt mode of USB-C standard.lilmoe - Tuesday, August 11, 2015 - link
I've found this:https://www.thinkworkstations.com/wp-content/uploa...
Also, PC Word are reporting that Lenovo are indeed using an Alpine Ridge controller. 40Gb/s TB3 and 10Gb/s USB 3.1.
eSyr - Tuesday, August 11, 2015 - link
So, comparing P70 to W701:* looks like they have been inspired by nearly the same chassis; at least, placement of SC reader, DC port, Ethernet port and drive bays are the same;
* port icons, handily doubled on the sides of palm rest on W701 (see http://www.notebookcheck.net/fileadmin/_processed_... for example), are missing on P70
* can't find SDXC card readed placement on provided renders of P70;
* in W701, audio in and out are separate jacks, in P70 they are not;
* no thinklight, digitizer, 16:10 display, esata, second display option, CF card reader option;
* can't find WLAN/WWAN/BT indicators on P70, as well as sleep/power/ac/battery indicators (i suppose latter group is combined in power button light); no indicators on external side of the lid as well (W701 had colorimeter/battery/ac/sleep indicators);
* looks like speakers become even more shitty comparing to W701;
* no comments regarding keyboard layout because nobody cares anyway.
murak01 - Tuesday, August 11, 2015 - link
Just logged in to say that there are people who really do care about the keyboard (among other things thinkpad)http://blog.lenovo.com/en/blog/retro-thinkpad-surv...
Do the surveys (4), make your voice heard, Lenovo is listening :)
bernstein - Tuesday, August 11, 2015 - link
sounds cool & cheap but 3.4kg? no way! i wish they trimmed that port shit down to just USB 3.1 & thunderbolt 3 / mini dp. and dropped that superflous hdd / dvd space...boeush - Tuesday, August 11, 2015 - link
Man, what is it with the whimp nation taking over the world? 3.4 kg too heavy?! What are you, a 10 year old kid, a 90 year old codger, or suffering from muscular distrophy?Mobile workstations aren't meant to be used as frisbees. If you ever wind up having kids, I hope you have enough upper body strength to carry around a 7+ pound newborn - because that's what 3.4 kg is equivalent to. Geez...
boeush - Tuesday, August 11, 2015 - link
Seriously dude, hit the gym every once in a while, or at least do a couple dozen push-ups every morning, or at least carry around a 3.4 lb workstation on avregular basis - and get some muscle mass into those spindly skeletal arms of yours...jbwhite99 - Friday, August 14, 2015 - link
3.4kg is a big improvement! Keep in mind the W701 (referred to above) weighed in at about 4.5kg, and the AC adapter was another kg! 17" notebooks, especially ones with big videocards, need lots of vents, which add weight. The heatsink for a 47w TDP CPU will have a lot of copper.If you want a light, powerful system, get a Lavie Z (weighs less than a kg). But it is only a 14" screen, and has a regular i7, no memory slots, no changeable HDD, no optical.
For those looking for a BluRay, don't hold your breath, I'm afraid. The cost of 9.5mm BR is crazy (don't know if this is 9.5 or 12.7 mm). In terms of keyboards, Lenovo has chosen this as their standard. I'm holding on to my T420 for that reason. But it still beats any other one on the market.
murak01 - Tuesday, August 11, 2015 - link
I like the dedicated buttons below the trackpad.