Lenovo introduced its first 15-inch virtual reality-ready mobile workstation on Wednesday, June 13, the ThinkPad P52 laptop. It joins the current ThinkPad P52s model but offers better hardware such as up to an eighth-generation Intel Xeon six-core processor, up to a Nvidia Quadro P3200 discrete graphics chip, and up to 128GB of system memory. With that kind of hardware, you should have no problem developing and experiencing top-notch virtual reality applications and games.
Lenovo didn’t provide a full list of processor options prior to the workstation’s introduction, but you will have a choice of five operating system options for your developing needs: Windows 10 Pro for Workstations, Windows 10 Pro, Windows 10 Home, Ubuntu, or Red Hat Linux. Preloaded on the laptop will be Lenovo Vantage and a trial of Microsoft Office 2016.
Lenovo’s generalized hardware list shows that you can cram up to 6TB of storage in the new workstation, some of which relies on PCIe-based connections for crazy-fast data read and write speeds. You will also find two types of memory options: 8/16/32GB non-ECC memory sticks, and 8/16GB ECC memory sticks. The laptop presumably has four memory slots supporting 32GB each.
For the workstation’s port complement, here is what you get:
- 3x USB-A (5Gbps)
- 2x Thunderbolt 3
- 1x HDMI 2.0
- 1x Mini DisplayPort 1.4
- 1x Microphone/headphone combo jack
- 1x SD card reader
- 1x Smart Card reader
- 1x Gigabit Ethernet port
Other bells and whistles in Lenovo’s upcoming workstation include a 15.6-inch touch-capable screen with a resolution supporting up to 3,840 x 2,160, support for 100 percent of the Adobe RGB color space, and a brightness of up to 400 nits. The laptop ships with an infrared camera for facial recognition in Windows Hello, a 720p webcam, Intel 9560 Wireless AC connectivity, Bluetooth 5.0, and 4G LTE connectivity (Cat 9).
Finally, powering this laptop is a 90WHr battery and a 170-watt external power supply. The workstation measures 14.86 x 9.93 x 0.96 inches and weighs around 5.4 pounds.
“When our customers choose Lenovo, we want them to know that means more than just receiving a quality computer,” the company says. “For us, it’s about choosing design innovation, legendary quality and a dedication to detail. Like you, we constantly challenge the conventional to deliver an entirely new level of power, durability, and possibility for our customers.”
Meanwhile, the ThinkPad P52s mobile workstation has a $1,070 starting price and will likely be the cheaper alternative. The baseline configuration includes an Intel Core i5-8350U processor, a discrete Quadro P500 graphics chip, 8GB of system memory clocked at 2,400MHz (DDR4), and a 500GB hard drive. The 15.6-inch IPS screen only supports a 1,920 x 1,080 resolution.
The ThinkPad P52 workstation doesn’t launch until later this month for an unknown starting price. Also made available at launch will be the ThinkPad Thunderbolt Workstation Dock, the Lenovo Passage Backpack, and a 170-watt ThinkPad power supply if something goes wrong with P52’s bundled version (aka kids, pets, vacuum cleaners, etc.).
To see Lenovo’s entire family of P Series workstations, head here.
