Lenovo announces new business workstations from the ThinkPad series, surfing the AI ​​marketing wave. With the top model ThinkPad P1, Lenovo is also switching to a new type of RAM memory.

Lenovo announces four new ThinkStation P1 series workstations. As with any PC announcement, the marketing term “AI PC” is eagerly thrown around, no matter how little it may actually mean. According to the manufacturer, the ThinkPad P16v i Gen 2, P16s i Gen 3 and P14s i Gen 5 are “AI-ready”, while the top model ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 is labeled as a fully-fledged AI PC. The announcement comes just days after the launch of the new ThinkCentre desktops.

Lenovo backs up this claim with the presence of an Intel Core Ultra processor with an integrated NPU. It is primarily the NVIDIA RTX 3000 Ada GPU that should make the difference. The NPU handles light AI-based tasks, allowing the GPU to focus on the heavier work. The ThinkPad P1 should therefore be able to handle a wide range of tasks, from 3D modeling to AI inference, with ease.

Memory shovel

All AI marketing aside, the special feature of the Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 may be its memory. For the first time, Lenovo dares to abandon the well-known DDR5 standard and switches to CAMM2 memory. The RAM is no longer soldered onto the mainboard, but is housed in a replaceable module.

The advantage of CAMMM2 is that it takes up less space on the motherboard and consumes less power, up to sixty percent less according to Lenovo. One disadvantage is that current CAMMM2 modules are limited to 64 GB. The Lenovo ThinkPad P1 therefore offers less RAM memory than the other models in the series, which still rely on classic DDR5 memory (max. 96 GB). The workstation more than makes up for this with up to 8 TB of storage.

The ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 also features a liquid metal thermal design for better cooling performance. The 16-inch display features a 16:10 aspect ratio in various configurations, from FHD+ IPS (60 Hz, 400 nits) to QHD+ IPS (165 Hz, 500 nits) to a UHD+ OLED option (60 Hz, 400 nits). This is the only laptop that is WiFi 7 compatible.

ThinkPad P16v, P16s and P14s

The ThinkPad P1 Gen 7 is flanked by the P16v i Gen 2, P16s i Gen 3 and P14s i Gen 5 models. Common features include Intel Core Ultra processor, Nvidia Ada GPU and Wifi 6E compatibility.

The P16v is one step higher up the ladder. This model also has a 16-inch screen that is configurable up to UHD+ IIPS, 60 Hz and 800 nits. It differs from the P16s in having a larger battery (90Wh) and more storage (up to 4TB). The P16s and P14s are almost identical under the hood, but the P16s has a 16-inch screen compared to the P14s’ 14-inch.

Prices and availability

The four new models will launch in the U.S. this spring at the following suggested retail prices for base configurations:

• ThinkPad P1 Gen 7: $2,619,
• ThinkPad P16v i Gen 2: $2,279,
• ThinkPad P16s i Gen 3: $1,859,
• ThinkPad P14s i Gen 5: $1,829.

We contacted Lenovo about pricing and availability for the Benelux and Europe. We will update this article as soon as we receive a response.