Announcing ThinkPad P-Series - P50 and P70

This page ( https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/pr...-p-series-laptops/thinkpad-p50/parts/PD101140) has interesting wording: "5 Thunderbolt™ 3 connector If there is an Near Field Communication (NFC) logo on the trackpad The Thunderbolt 3 connector is compatible with USB Type_C standard. It enables you to connect your computer to a device that is compatible with the Thunderbolt 3 interface, such as a projector, an external monitor, or an HDTV. With the Thunderbolt 3 connector, you can transfer data and run an external display simultaneously."

Are all models Type-C compatible or they haven't released them yet?

 

Regarding WWAN: is EM7445 white-listed or I can use another LTE modem?

 

EM7455 is whitelisted (EM7445 is NOT being used here), as well as the Huawei ME906s

All models come with a Thunderbolt 3 port and all models are compatible with USB Type C.

 

Huh?

• WLAN: Intel® 8260 2x2 AC, Bluetooth® 4.1; WWAN: Sierra Wireless EM7445 4G LTE-A

 

Thats a mistake. EM7445 was originally supposed to be used on Skylake ThinkPads, but was later replaced by the better EM7455.

See the PSREF: http://psref.lenovo.com/syspool/Sys... P50/ThinkPad_P50_Platform_Specifications.pdf

No mention of EM7445, only the EM7455 listed there. Huawei ME906s may be a special option for Europe only, we will see.

 

I am torn - should I order P50 now or wait in hopes of more configuration options to become available. I built it with two cheapest HDD's to get both UR835 and UR836 cables and two M.2 trays. $2,458.63 after SAV15THINKPAD coupon. 64KiB question: will Lenovo add more options to the online configurator in the nearest future or this config represents something they will sell for a long time? I'll add my own RAM and replace HDD with SSD, obviously.

 

PSREF shows E3-1535M as an option, will there be 1545M option? Seems a good idea for the Iris P580 ....

 

I just talked with Josh (Rep ID is 2900720460). And he said that P50 will receive updates in the areas of CPU, Display, Graphics Card and maybe an optical drive in ... September 2016. Sigh...

 

I don´t think so. Lenovo in general does not use Iris GPUs for ThinkPads, and I don´t see that changing.

I can´t imagine they would update it already this year. But curious to see if something will happen then.

 

I haven't used it much, I sent it in because of the speaker issues (the reps called it a hardware issue, but Lenovo released a fix recently). I'm also waiting for SSD caddies for the M.2 slots before a reinstall. I'll check it out when I get it back.

 

I think its over priced, despite what I suspect is about $100 price drop since I last checked 10 days ago. A comparable Dell 7510 will be about $400 cheaper.
With the rumors about a 9/16 update and the new Dell Precision w/ TB3 coming out this month, I would give you the same advice as I give myself - If you can wait, wait.

 

P50 is a very sweet spot for me: light, thin, keyboard with numpad, RJ45, QuadCore CPU, 32+GB RAM, 2.5" SSD. No precision can do this at the moment. I'd take 5510 in a heartbeat if hey had RJ45 and numpad, I can't live without these...

 

I'm talking about the 7510. It has RJ45 and numpad. Quadcore CPU, 64GB Ram, TB3 soon to arrive.
http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/precision-m7510-workstation/pd?oc=xctomp751015us

 

That's right, but 7510 is too thick/heavy for my liking. I have 7.2 lbs HP dv7t 17" with extended battery and tired of lugging it around. I should've said "no thin precision can do this atm"

 

4.5% (120g) difference in weight and 13% (3.4mm) difference in thickness. Lol

 

maybe I should look at it again

Eh, if only 5510 would have RJ45, I'd figure something out for the numpad

 

Can anyone else comment on whether they have observed the Lenovo ThinkPad P50 hinge clicking problem?

Video:

 

Haven't heard that with mine.

 

What is the solution to the speaker issue? Is it software?

Edit: A Lenovo rep posted that it's an audio driver fix.

 

Sounds pretty bad. I'd have Lenovo tech come and fix that.

How do you like the laptop other than that? FHD uhd?

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

 

Thanks for your response. I have the regular FHD Non-Touch Samsung. It has a considerable backlight / IPS glow issue. I posted a photo earlier and I might complain about that as well. But since the hinge is part of the screen, I might just get a whole new screen anyway.

I haven't used it too much yet since I am waiting for my M.2 Trays to arrive so I can put in the 950 Pro SSD.

Overall it feels really solid. Keyboard is very good but not up to the standard from Ye Olde T41p. Touchpad is very smooth. I'm not used to the 3 button touchpad and I'm still acclimating to it.

 

Thanks. I'm very interested in it. I have w550s, not powerful enough, so selling. Picked up an Alienware 17 R3, which is really good and screen is honest best thing my eyes have laid eyes on. But I still need a workstation build and look. Customer sites and gaming laptops don't mix.
Down to precision and p50. Both just seem sub par. Lean heavily Lenovo, my w550s is just great, only needs quad core and I'd be staying with it.
Haven't really heard much about them from user perspective except on here which is normally troubleshooting errors and such.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

 

Can I get a straight answer as to why the Samsung non-touch FHD display is better than the LG non-touch FHD display on the P50? Surely there's not a huge difference between them.....is there?

Also - has anyone successfully managed to get the RAID option to become available in the BIOS on the P50 yet - if so how did they do it?

Thanks.

 

The Samsung LCD is actually 72% NTSC gamut (according to panelook). I don't own a calibrator so I can't measure it myself but I believe the panel is similar to that used in the HP Zbook 15 G2 (SDC5344) which is definitely higher than the measured gamut of the LG panel.

 

For anyone who is interested I have two brand new M.2 SSD trays that I do not need, if you do not want to wait the 2-3 weeks for Lenovo to deliver them. Cost is just $26 (the price I paid for them + shipping via USPS Priority). I can take a picture and stick it in the FS/T but figured I would post here as most new owners would look here first.

 

Just got this today for my M.2 tray order:
"
We are reaching out to you regarding your order for an ThinkPad M.2 SSD Tray P/N 4XB0K59-917.

We need to apologize and let you know order is now cancelled, we are very sorry for this inconvinience. Which is now End of Life. This Product is no longer available to ship it to you and we are not able to fulfill this order.
"

That's not good! Now what?

Went to their forums and saw this: https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/ThinkP...ile/Lenovo-M2-SSD-Tray-Cancelled/td-p/2268419

No resolution so far.

*Update - contacted support and got this:
"The reason being is that the tray was released to soon and it does not include the adapting cable that connects from the hard drive to the motherboard. This capable has not been made yet so even if the tray had arrived there would have been no way for it tow work. The only way for you to have this set up is by configuring it to come this way and you can then change out the drives your side "
and
"Unfortunately no there is no way to get the M2 drive without customizing it to come built this way. They insert a different motherboard for you. So if you would like we can get a new order in the system for you with the correct configuration and check additional savings options due to the inconvenience and then set up a return to have a full refund "

 

That's a serious problem! So if you don't order the system with M.2 storage, you'll never be able to use the slots? That's an absolutely horrible decision by Lenovo!

 

I think that representative is confusing the M.2 drive with the 2.5 inch drive. The 2.5 inch drive DOES need a cable and rubber shock absorber (which fits in the screw holes and keeps the drive from moving around in its slot as it is not screwed in). The M.2 just needs the plastic tray to sit in which allows the drive to plug directly into the mainboard connector.

Edit: Here is a post from an official Lenovo rep. Looks like its just being redesigned and a new part number should eventually be available to order them again.

https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/ThinkP...for-M-2-SSD-Install-on-P50/m-p/2268479#M56114

 

Thats not the case I think.

I don´t think the mainboard is different. You should be able to upgrade with the try and the cable later. Even if you don´t have the M.2 SSD from factory, the ports on the mainboard should be there. Look at this picture: http://www.notebookcheck.com/fileadmin/_processed_/csm_Thinkpad_P50_DSC00992_36fb9041d7.jpg You can see the port on the mainboard, this is for the SATA HDD cable. The M.2 is connected under the mainboard it seems.

As a Lenovo employee said:
"Keep checking back with support. It's certainly not a case where we're going to stop supporting the M.2 carrier, but rather I think that carrier is currently going through some redesign and/or EC changes. The part number and FRU are also likely changing as well in that case. Support should be able to help you find the correct information for the new part as there should be a FRU swap set up in the back end system."

https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/ThinkP...for-M-2-SSD-Install-on-P50/m-p/2268514#M56121

However,I don´t have my P50. Will definitely check how this looks on mine when I get it.

 

I've been trying to upgrade my Xeon P50 to 64GB with this crucial RAM . It will only take three of the four sticks but not all four. It would seem that I have to keep the one 8GB ECC stick I ordered with the build otherwise it won't boot. This is really annoying. Can anyone suggest how I can get around this? I spoke to Lenovo but they were really unhelpful verging on rude as I'm not using Lenovo RAM.

The performance of the P50 is fantastic. I just wish I could update the BIOS to get the RAID option and now this RAM issue sorted. Also waiting on my HDD cables which is making things more difficult.

 

I was able to get my m2 thinkpad ssd tray mind you I ordered it a few weeks ago. The tray fits just fine and it detected my 950 pro ssd.

 

I have to agree with win32asmguy here in thinking that the rep was confused.

I ordered my ThinkPad P50 with 1 mechanical drive only. I opened it up today (and btw those snaps holding the bottom plate in place are a terrible design "feature") and the physical connectors for the two M.2 SSDs are present. I see no need for a "cable" for connecting the M.2 SSDs in this design. Furthermore, other people who ordered their machine with mechanical drives reported successfully installing the M.2 SSD after getting their trays.

The only way the "different motherboard" theory makes sense is if the two M.2 connections might not be physically connected to anything, and a different motherboard is necessary to provide the necessary internal connectivity.

Of course I received a message today from Lenovo stating that the trays are EOL'd. So hopefully we hear about new M.2 trays being available sooner rather than later.

 

Can someone just take some measurements of the trays so we can 3d print them?

 

It's Friday night and the Monday is a US Holiday. We won't hear anything until next week Tuesday Feb-16 at the earliest for sure.

 

M.2 Trays Shipped...

OK, now I am doubly confused! Earlier today, I received the e-mail for my M.2 Trays saying "We need to apologize and let you know order is now cancelled, we are very sorry for this inconvinience. Which is now End of Life. This Product is no longer available to ship it to you and we are not able to fulfill this order. "

And just a few moments ago, I received a shipping confirmation with a UPS tracking number for my "cancelled" M.2 trays. So confused right now...

 

Hahah me too.

 

Has anyone else had problems getting their P50 CPU to activate Turbo Boost? I have the Xeon E3-1505M v5 and it seems to sit just below 2800 MHz no matter what I test it with. I tried running Prime95 for over an hour and could see the CPU maxed out at 100% in device manager but all cores sitting just below 2800 MHz within HWinFo64 CPU window.

 

Is your BIOS version up to date?

 

It came with 1.15 which is the latest I think - I'd really like to know if others are getting Turbo Boost to work

 

Notebookcheck reported similar problems in their review.

 

Yeah that's what made me check it out. It would be helpful if others with a P50 could try and activate Turbo Boost.

 

I just tested mine (Core i7-6700HQ) with Cinebench R15 - CPU clocks at 3.05 - 3.08 GHz while running the benchmark, and I also get higher clocks of up to 3.5 GHz afterwards. So the turbo is definitely working here.

 

Thanks for testing. I'll try testing with Cinebench R15 and see what happens. Would be good if someone else with a Xeon could try and access Turbo Boost.

 

I tried running Cinebench R15 still no Turbo Boost. So I tried running it with Prime95 and still no Turbo Boost. Something is not right. I'm into my second week with the P50 now so I'm going to have a talk with Lenovo about this Turbo Boost issue. I also need to find out about getting the RAID option in the BIOS and getting all of the Crucial RAM I bought to get accepted (I can only add 3 of the 4 sticks of 16GB I bought as the system wont boot unless the one Lenovo stick that came with the P50 is present). I can tell that the P50 will be really fantastic if I could just get past these annoying issues.

Still interested to see if there are any other Xeon P50 users that can get Turbo Boost to work.

 

Does the P50 & P70 come with RAID configuration even if I select only 1 drive? Then I'll buy my own SSD

 

I'm not 100% but I am pretty sure that if you only buy 1 drive with the system RAID will not be available in the BIOS. However it also depends on where you are buying. I bought my P50 in the UK and there is currently no RAID option to select when checking out even if you select three hard drives with the build. It is different in the US where RAID is available but the price difference is insane. Best to call sales and speak to them.

 

I can confirm that if you buy a system with only one drive, RAID will NOT be there. I learned that the hard way on my now former P70 (returned, didn't want to wait another 4 weeks). I guess that's the way Lenovo does that, which is unfortunate. Liked the machine, but couldn't wait another 4 weeks for a revised one to be built with the RAID option.

 

I'm in a similar boat - if you don't mind, what did you go for instead?

 

Only the P70 has RAID in the uk

 

I ended up purchasing a like-new W530. P70 was overkill for my uses, and the money I saved can be served elsewhere. i7-3720QM, 1 TB SSD, 2 TB HDD, 32 GB RAM, K1000M 2GB graphics. Not on the same level as the P70, but I'd rather be in this for $1,000 with upgrades instead of $5,300 with upgrades when my most intense thing I do is encode movies and run 3-5 VM's at once.