Lenovo ThinkPad P15 & P53 Hands-on 

Thanks for the warm comment. Was hoping this video does not come across too critically of the model, the L15 G2 sounds reasonable. 👍

Oh dear. 🤣🤭 Was in a rush so edited it in the mobile.

Thanks for the comment.

One tends to agree - having a dedicated button helps. Having said that, once I start to using it on a desk - a Logitech MX mouse - is a useful (almost a must) upgrade for productivity.

That's the reason P15 is a no-go for me and I will be going with HP Zbook 15 or 17 . I was afraid buttons will be removed in upcoming models, but happy to see they are still there in G8. I am exclusively a touchpad user and I really need the buttons. Some CAD programs make use of both right and left button presses at the same time e.g. drag with a left button, then while still holding it, make adjustments holding both buttons, then release right button and continue dragging using left button only. Try doing that on a clickpad. Dell Precision 7000 series is another option. Other than that apart from some gaming laptops, everything else is without physical touchpad buttons now.

Totally agree with you, without the physical touchpad buttons, performing many operations that must be done in the field is torture, this is like removing the space bar from the keyboard, complete madness you are "improvements", I just hope that this practice don't become a permanent fad, because the only ones affected are those of us who can't afford to use a mouse in certain circumstances. For me, the existence of the buttons on the touchpad is what has the last word between deciding or not to buy a certain model of laptop.

Thanks for watching. This is just a quick hands-on rather than a review. Re: keypad, I'll check in the week. If I recall they're not cross compatible between the P53/P15. Will reply if this changes.

@@GreenGreenStore Thanks!

@@GreenGreenStore I take it they're not cross compatible. That was my assumption. I wonder if P15 keyboards made by other manufacturers are just as good as the P53 kbd you had. Have you tested a P15 Gen 2?

The P53 is an excellent model. 👍🙂

I’m actually in the market for a new workstation, would you recommend the p53? I won’t be using it to its full potential.

It's more likely to come to 1) what brand is likely to have better service in your area & the regional pricing (they're reasonably homogeneous professional products); 2) are the Dell and the HP durable / robust enough for your use case (thinner and lighter is the latest trend, visible especially on the HP and the Dell; the ThinkPad P15 is a more incremental update; it's a bit early to know which is more durable. To me, the ThinkPad's bigger chassis might feel more reassuring). 3) if you value speakers - HP and Dell may do a bit better. 4) if performance matters, I think whilst the difference is marginal, reading online, it will be Dell to HP to Lenovo (the fastest first). Keypad wise. Err probably Dell / Lenovo - followed by HP. Highly subjective though.

@@GreenGreenStore Thanx for the info, I've ordered the HP a and it just got delivered. I'm very happy with this one! 😊

More keypad travel in the future would be nice. 👍 Fury 15 is a lighter system with decent performance. Thin base cover on that has some flex though.

Err watch the video?

Both are excellent choices. 👍🙂

Hey it's 2024,is it still worth it to get this laptop for college course like engineering and graphics design? How's the battery life too? Reply me please.Thanks

L14/L15/T14 etc have not degraded vs previous Gen. However if you use an usb keypad, it's a way around this.

It's personal preference. Nothing wrong with the P1/X1E Gen 1 series' keyboards as I'm typing on one. Also, the P1/X1E are virtually identical except mainly for CPUs/GPUs.

@@mchan1007 He's referring to the Gen 4/5. They went from 1.8mm travel to 1.5mm. I'm not sure what the other models have for travel. I know that the earlier T/W models had greater than 1.8mm, even after the switch to 6 rows island kbds in x3x gen.

The T15 Gen 2 is the same machine as the P15s Gen 2, just sans DGPU. They should have the same kbd. Are you saying the T15 Gen 2 is same or better kbd than the T15 Gen 1 and P15 Gen 1/2? Do you know the travel mm for any of these models?

Thanks for the reply. 🙂 I would definitely do that on the P15 just so I could type as accurately as say on the P52/P53 (via the external keypad). Would expect some end users to rely on the internal keypad, otherwise the 94Wh battery would be see as very generous.

The P53 is a very decent unit. So the bar to succeed it is high (with a reasonable expectation for the improvements to be across the board, with as little generational regressions as possible). I hope the video didn't come across as too one sided. 🙂 The P15 indeed houses some welcomed improvements over its predecessor, the popular P53 (e.g. modular GPU, improved cooling) - but it also has some trade-off as with most generational changes (2x M.2 slots, down from 3 on the RTX P53; a different keypad feel). It's just less fortunate that the keypad change, is something which many users touch everyday. Personally, the keypad is very important. I've initially had more marginal typing errors on the P15 (this will reduce as you get used to it). Some people will use external keypads (less of an issue for them). However, some users don't have the luxury of being able to use the external keypad frequently or need to frequently switch between internal/ external keypad, for them - the difference will be more significant). The difference, arguably will be less noticeable if you don't have P53 to compare with. If you're coming up from a P50 or P51, it will give quite a performance boost (which hopeful will mask some of the inconvenience).

@@GreenGreenStore The keyboard issue with the P15 really turned me off. I literally was about to purchase it. I will research the P53 now. Do you have any opinions on the ThinkPad P1 Gen 3 (Part no. 20TJS1RX00)? I was considering this one as a replacement to my first choice P15.

P1 G3 is more of a thinner/lighter model for the prosumers who need portability. It's more comparable to a Dell XPS 15 7590 / Precision 5540 to a fully fledged P53. Some constraints vs P53 if you want the absolute performance (P1 G3 has 2 RAM slots; P53 has 4).

@@Mike01010011 just buy THINKPAD P53. P1 is not workstation or for heavy loads. P1 is for light tasks. instead you can take THINKPAD X1 EXTREME GEN2 ( BUT i don't know about keyboard quality). I purchased P53 just because of more buttons on trackpad and keyboard

It's definitely not soldered.

🤓

Some Thinkpads don't have a numberic keypad and is centered. The trackpoint is a feature found and famous on Thinkpads. Look at the X, P & T series meant for business and engineering users.

I, too, hate the num keypad and the off centerness it causes for keyboard and pointing. Check out the P1 and X1 Extreme series. They are also 15.4", but sans keypad and are thin and light workstation/prosumer models.