ThinkPad P50 vs. ThinkPad P70: Lenovo's mobile workstations pack new processors

ThinkPad P50Lenovo

Lenovo has unveiled its P50 and P70 mobile workstations as part of the new ThinkPad series. These two laptops, aside from having top-notch specs, are also the first ones available commercially that use the new processors by Intel. 

Although unable to use a desktop-focused Skylake processor directly, Lenovo did the next best thing to upgrade the ThinkPad series – using Skylake architecture and adapting its technology for mobile workstations. Both the P50 and P70 use an Intel Xeon chipset. The Xeon architecture is previously only available for data centers and desktops, but Intel itself has recognized the growing number of laptop power users, and has adapted an entirely new Xeon chipset for the demand. 

Aside from taking advantage of the new Xeon mobile chipsets, both laptops from the new ThinkPad series also enjoy other Lenovo power-user features. Both the P50 and P70 have Nvidia Quadro GPUs that give better graphics performance. In addition, the two laptops also come with X-Rite Pantone color calibration, so users will see accurate color-keeping features. 

To keep up with the laptops' performance, Lenovo also installed the new FLEX Performance Cooling system in both the P50 and P70. This makes both workstations operate to their optimum without the owners having to worry about noise and heat. 

Meanwhile, although both mobile workstations are under a single laptop series, both the P50 and P70 are built with different target audiences in mind. Those who are always on the go and prefer a compact workstation may go for the smaller P50, with its 15.6-inch UHD 4K display and lightweight built. Meanwhile, power users who want top-notch performance may go for the powerful P70. Aside from the larger 17-inch workstation screen, the P70 can also be configured to match any owner's specifications. Those who want quick access to apps and faster load times may configure the P70 for up to 64 GB of RAM. Meanwhile, those who need plenty of storage may also opt to equip the P70 with up to four combination storages of 1 TB SSD.