Lenovo ThinkPad P Series

The P Series is Lenovo's professional line: ThinkPads with a dedicated NVIDIA graphics card, more generous memory slots and cooling designed for hours at full power. The same chassis quality as the rest of the ThinkPad line, with hardware a class heavier.

What the letter after the number means

That is the first thing to look at, because it tells you more than the number does:

• s (P14s, P16s) - the slim version. The weight and battery life of an ordinary ThinkPad, with professional graphics inside. For people who travel and work on medium-sized models.
• v (P16v) - the middle ground. Clearly more processing power than an s, without the price and the weight of the top model.
• no letter (P15, P16) - full power. The heaviest graphics cards and the most memory capacity, and you will feel that in the weight.

Which one suits your work

If you mostly draw in 2D, work with architectural models of limited size or edit photographs, a P14s or P16s is more than enough and easy to carry. If you render, simulate or work with large assemblies, choose a P16v or higher - that is where the difference in waiting time is greatest.

Memory matters more in this line than anywhere else: 32 GB is the starting point, not the ceiling.

New or refurbished

Refurbished pays off particularly well in this line. A P15 that is a few years old still handles work that brings a new office laptop to a halt, for a fraction of what the latest generation costs. Look above all at the graphics card: it determines what your software can handle, and it ages more slowly than you might think.

The ThinkPad T15g belongs in this class technically, but does not carry a P name. You will find it under mobile workstations.