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Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen3 Review – with Linux

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Re: Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen3 Review – with Linux

#61

Post by Avamander »

tim-- wrote: post #49

I recently acquired a ThinkBook 16p Gen 2, and while a different machine entirely to the ThinkPad, I must say that this is an _absolute beast_ of a machine. It's a total joy to use. It's the most fun I have had using a laptop since my first MacBook. Moving from the MBP to the ThinkBook has made me realize how... boring MacBooks are - not saying that's a bad thing. MacBooks do 'just work'. But the ThinkBook? The machi…

You have no issues with thermal throttling or inane power limits on Linux?

Which kernel version are you running?

Re: Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen3 Review – with Linux

#62

Post by schipplock »

lukego wrote: post #30

I have one of these with a Nvidia GPU and my complaint is that the fan runs hard all the time while driving a pair of 4K displays (one HDMI and one USBC.) Drives me nuts.

You should be lucky it isn't throttling, a common issue with several models of Lenovo :).

Re: Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen3 Review – with Linux

#63

Post by dehugger »

gabereiser wrote: post #45

I find it rather peculiar that tech folks think a plastic laptop is good build quality considering what we have from Apple and others. I wish more linux laptops had the build quality and support of macbooks. This isn't a rant from an Apple fan, this is a rant from a laptop fan. ThinkPad's aren't good laptops despite what the guy with the pocket protector says. They are flimsy and feel cheap. They still have 20th cent…

I think you just look for different features in a laptop then the Thinkpad crowd does. I love the track point, you get a mouse you never have to take your fingers off the keyboard to use.

I've used a plethora of modern latoptops, and to this day my favorite laptop is an ancient x200. It has not trackpad, only a track point. I upgraded it to heck, with a new ips screen, ram, new wireless card, storage, etc. The keyboard is wonderful, the screen looks great, The foot print of the laptop is quite small. I only wish I could have that laptop with a modern processor, as that's where it's fallen behind.

I've never enjoyed MacBook as much as that thing. I'm definitely not a granpa either.

Re: Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen3 Review – with Linux

#64

Post by noisy_boy »

Stratoscope wrote: post #13

I have two of these machines. They are very nice. Actually, one is an X1 Extreme Gen 3, and the other is a P1 Gen 3. Same machine with different GPUs. My work provided me with the X1E with Ubuntu preinstalled (that is our standard dev environment). But I found the hardware support very unsatisfactory. I use a specific display configuration. Three monitors in total: the ThinkPad's 4K display, with a 24" 4K display abo…

I have a similar setup - X1E Gen 2 with two Dell monitors - the secondary one on the right rotated to portrait mode. The primary monitor connects directly to the laptop via USB-C (and it is able to charge the laptop too over the same cable so thats a bonus). The secondary connects over HDMI via a hub[0] that connects to the laptop over USB-C. These two + my laptop screen work fine though I usually keep my laptop closed (though I have noticed that the GDM login screen appears sideways on the secondary but once I login, everything is fine).

The main issue with this setup is that both my USB-C ports are taken up but since most of my peripherals are wireless, it is not a problem for me. Another issue is that if I try to use the Intel graphics to drive this setup, everything basically crawls and is unusable so I can only use NVIDIA graphics with this (switching to Intel graphics is fine when I'm away from my desk).

[0]: https://www.amazon.sg/dp/B083RQHF3Y/ref=pe_12283492_38132264...

Re: Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen3 Review – with Linux

#65

Post by delta_p_delta_x »

frant-hartm wrote: post #8

For developers, going with Intel only (no Nvidia discrete card) is the most sensible choice. I have P15 and it's riddled with issues - not that they are not solvable, but it needs workarounds, restarts of X (logout/login), or running discrete only (which eats battery). The problem is they don't make the larger workstation laptops with Intel only.

> The problem is they don't make the larger workstation laptops with Intel only.

This might be a Lenovo-only problem. With Dell, you can customise-to-order a Precision 7760 with an 8-core Xeon, 128 GB unbuffered ECC memory, a lot of storage, and no discrete graphics card, if you so desire.

Many of these options aren't available on the site, but you can always call/chat in and from my experience, Dell will be happy to customise a machine to your requirements.

Re: Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen3 Review – with Linux

#66

Post by Avamander »

byefruit wrote: post #43
adamors wrote: post #10

> 7-9 hours of typing, browsing and some programming. > 3-4 hours of video/audio conferencing or other CPU intensive tasks. This is one of the primary reasons I can't even consider moving away from an M1 Mac. I used to love ThinkPads but not being able to use the machine for 10+ hours without charger is a dealbreaker in 2022.

For what it's worth this is comparing against a 10th gen Intel. The 12th gen ones look like they'll outperform the M1s on a similar battery life: https://www.notebookcheck.net/Dell-XPS-13-Plus-with-i7-1280P... Note that that is a 12th gen P. I suspect the U CPUs won't perform quite as well but will offer much better battery life than the MBP.

You'll get similar battery life only if the Intel gets severely power limited.

A newer AMD would be more comparable.

Re: Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen3 Review – with Linux

#67

Post by plafl »

faeriechangling wrote: post #52
plafl wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a usually cited concern for so many people and I'm curious to know why because I rarely unplug my laptop, like most people I know.

When I owned a Mac laptop a decade ago, I always had my laptop positioned near a power outlet. When I got laptops with more battery life, the charger is now used to charge the laptop overnight so I can use it throughout the next day. If you never use your battery, why own a laptop at all? Why not buy a Mac mini or an iMac?

> If you never use your battery, why own a laptop at all? Why not buy a Mac mini or an iMac?

Sometimes I need to move, for example while travelling, otherwise I would use a desktop computer.

Re: Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen3 Review – with Linux

#68

Post by narmontas »

raffraffraff wrote: post #57

Why does GPU get a green dot (ie: "good") if the reviewer opted for the non-NVIDIA model and doesn't require GPU for their workload? The biggest issue I had with the Gen2 (aside from the atrocious trackpad) was the fact that with the GPU enabled, battery life was miserable, with it disabled HDMI didn't work (no external monitor!) and switching modes required a restart of Xorg, unless you spend a week trying to figure…

This choice of GPU (Intel) works with Linux perfectly, that's why it's a green dot.

Re: Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen3 Review – with Linux

#69

Post by Avamander »

lukego wrote: post #30

I have one of these with a Nvidia GPU and my complaint is that the fan runs hard all the time while driving a pair of 4K displays (one HDMI and one USBC.) Drives me nuts.

At least it's not throttling because it never runs the fans fast enough unless forced.

Re: Lenovo ThinkPad P1 Gen3 Review – with Linux

#70

Post by Okawari »

notemaker wrote: post #32
plafl wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a usually cited concern for so many people and I'm curious to know why because I rarely unplug my laptop, like most people I know.

This mindset is similar to what people with wired headphones think of Airpods et al. It's not an apparent benefit when you're in the bubble of thinking it's normal to have a wire going across your torso all day and hearing the thuds and bumps propagate through the wire to your ears. But when you buy a pair of wireless buds and have them for a week - you don't go back. You've discovered freedom. Likewise, with battery…

I don't think this is true for a large majority of us. Use cases and therefore priorities differ, its not that we just haven't "seen the light".

My laptop lasts a good 6-7 hours doing normal tasks, but I hardly ever use more than an hour or two at most as that is as much time as I usually spend in meetings. Anything above that is wasted on me as I prefer my dual monitor and keyboard setup too much and subsequently can keep it connected pretty much 24/7.

It's much similar in the case of wired headphones. I bought a wireless headset many years ago. As the battery has deteriorated a bit since then I feel that I too often had to stop listening to music during work hours because they needed to charge. If I forgot to charge them when not at work, they would have to charge during work hours when I would much rather use them. I decided that this annoyance was greater than having a cable that I didn't notice was there. The sound is better too so yay

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