Lenovo ThinkPad P70 Mobile Workstation Review: Xeon And Quadro On The Go

Performance Summary: Lenovo wasn't messing around when it designed the ThinkPad P70, a true mobile workstation with Xeon (CPU) and Quadro (GPU) hardware inside. From start to finish, the ThinkPad P70 put up big numbers in our gauntlet of benchmarks. It was particularly impressive in Specviewperf 12 where it trounced the competition with scores that were always at least twice as high as the next closest competitor.


You can't talk about the ThinkPad P70 without addressing its size. At 16.38 inches (W) by 10.85 inches (D) by 1.18-1.35 inches (H) and 7.3 pounds, this 17.3-inch laptop is big. However, Lenovo wasn't being lazy with its design. That size and weight is the result of a well equipped mobile workstation that would give some desktop workstations a run for their money.

This is a case where performance trumps portability in the sense that the ThinkPad P70 has little in common with an Ultrabook or any number of thin and light laptops on the market. The pitch here is true workstation grunt in a package that you can more easily tote to the work site than a desktop tower and all of its necessary accessories. On that level, the ThinkPad P70 succeeds with room to spare.

Lenovo hit all of the necessary checkpoints with this one. Performance? You betcha. Security and IT friendly features? Those are there as well in the form of vPro, TPM, and Mil-Spec certifications. Throw in a 4K Ultra HD display that folds back 180 degrees, a spill-resistant keyboard with a great typing experience and an LED backlight, and plenty of ports and you have a true workhorse that won't feel lethargic or under equipped in the field.

We do have some quibbles. Forget about the size and weight—either you're okay with those trade offs or you're not. A tougher pill to swallow is the poor battery life, albeit that's not totally unexpected in a 17.3-inch powerhouse. You'll want to carry around a spare for any kind of serious work, or make sure you're near a power outlet. Perhaps most perplexing is why Lenovo equipped this particular SKU with just a single stick of RAM rather than two, so it could operate in dual-channel mode.

A few shortcomings aside, we like what Lenovo has built here. The Lenovo ThinkPad P70 is a stout workstation that will keep professionals just as productive in the field as they are back in the lab. If you have the requisite coin for a machine of this caliber and need a workhorse, pull the trigger and don't look back.