Lenovo ThinkPad P16s Gen 4 16" Black 2024

The ThinkPad P16s Gen 4 is a developer's dream with 96GB of RAM, a 16-core Core Ultra 7 255H, and a 2TB SSD. It scores 91.7 for developer workloads and 90.3 for creators, with port selection that's among the best we've seen. The weak spots are AI/LLM performance and a mediocre 45% NTSC display. At around $5,239 USD, it's expensive but owners consistently call it a great value for the specs.

The Core Ultra 7 255H is the star here. It sits at the 85th percentile for CPU performance in our database, which puts it in the 'one of the best on the market' tier. The hybrid architecture with P-cores boosting to 5.10 GHz and E-cores at 4.40 GHz means it can chew through single-threaded tasks like code compilation while still handling background workloads without breaking a sweat. Paired with 96GB of RAM, you're looking at a machine that can run multiple VMs, Docker containers, and a full IDE without ever touching a swap file. That RAM figure is the highest we've seen in this category, and it's the kind of spec that makes this laptop relevant for years.

The RTX PRO 500 Blackwell GPU is a bit more of a mixed story. It lands at the 76th percentile, which is solid but not spectacular. The 6GB of GDDR7 is the new hotness in memory tech, but the GPU itself is aimed at professional workloads like CAD rendering and AI inference rather than gaming. Our AI/LLM score of 48.9 out of 100 is the weakest area by far, so if you're planning to run large language models locally, this isn't the machine for that. For CUDA-accelerated professional apps, it'll do fine. Just don't expect it to push high frame rates in modern games at native resolution.

Stacked against the MacBook Pro M4 Max, the ThinkPad holds its own in raw CPU performance and absolutely demolishes it in RAM capacity at this price point. The MacBook has a better display, better battery life, and a more efficient chip for sustained workloads, but you're paying Apple tax and giving up the ability to upgrade anything. The M4 Max is also significantly better for AI/LLM work thanks to its unified memory architecture, which is something the ThinkPad's discrete GPU can't match.

Against the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 and HP OMEN Transcend 14, the ThinkPad is a different animal entirely. Those are gaming machines with high-refresh displays and GPUs tuned for frame rates. The ThinkPad's 60Hz panel and professional GPU make it worse for gaming but far better for workstation tasks. The Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro is closer in spirit, but it's an ultrabook with integrated graphics and nowhere near the RAM or storage capacity. If you need a portable workstation with serious memory headroom, the ThinkPad is in a class of its own among these competitors.

Here's where things get tricky. The US listing shows $5,239, and the Canadian listing is at CAD 9,489. That's a lot of money, no matter how you slice it. But context matters. A MacBook Pro M4 Max with comparable RAM and storage will run you well into the same territory, and you're locked into Apple's ecosystem. The ThinkPad gives you upgradeability, Windows 11 Pro, and that massive 96GB of RAM, which is genuinely hard to find at any price in a laptop form factor.

Is it a great value? The user sentiment data says yes, with multiple owners calling it a great value for the price, and the social proof lands at the 88th percentile. But that's relative to other workstation-class machines, not budget laptops. If you don't need 96GB of RAM or the ISV certifications that come with the ThinkPad P series, you can spend half as much and get 90% of the performance. The value proposition here is really about longevity and headroom. This is a machine built to be relevant in five years, and that's worth something.

The ThinkPad P16s Gen 4 is one of those machines that makes you do a double take at the spec sheet. 96GB of DDR5 RAM. A 2TB NVMe drive. Intel's new Core Ultra 7 255H with 16 cores. And an RTX PRO 500 Blackwell GPU with 6GB of GDDR7. That's a serious mobile workstation, and it lands in our database at the 100th percentile for RAM, which is about as maxed out as a laptop gets right now. Lenovo clearly built this for people who live in CAD software, compile massive codebases, or run multiple virtual machines without flinching.

Who's this for? Developers, mostly. Our scoring puts it at 91.7 out of 100 for developer workloads, and 90.3 for creators. The 16-inch 1920x1200 IPS panel gives you a bit more vertical room than a standard 1080p screen, which is nice for reading code or timelines. It's not a gaming laptop despite the RTX branding, and the 82.7 gaming score reflects that. This is a tool first, entertainment device second.

The interesting thing here is the balance Lenovo struck. You get workstation-class internals in a 1.82kg chassis, which is lighter than most 16-inch machines with this much horsepower. The port selection is genuinely excellent, hitting the 95th percentile in our database. Thunderbolt, dual USB-C, dual USB-A, HDMI 2.1, Ethernet, and Wi-Fi 7. You won't need a dongle for anything. And the 75Wh battery is a reasonable size for the class, though real-world battery life seems to be a bit of a coin flip depending on what you're running.

If your work involves AI, machine learning, or running large language models locally, this is not the machine for you. The 48.9 AI/LLM score is the weakest area by a wide margin, and the 6GB of VRAM on the RTX PRO 500 will bottleneck any serious model training or inference. Look at the MacBook Pro M4 Max with its unified memory architecture, or a desktop workstation with a high-VRAM GPU like an RTX 4090 or better.

Color-critical creators should also think twice. The 45% NTSC display is fine for coding and general productivity, but it won't cut it for professional photo or video work where color accuracy matters. You'd be better served by a machine with a higher-gamut panel, or at minimum budgeting for a quality external monitor. And if you're just looking for a general-purpose laptop for web browsing, email, and office work, this is massive overkill. You'd be paying workstation prices for performance you'll never use.

For developers and CAD professionals, this is one of the best machines you can buy right now. The 91.7 developer score isn't just a number, it's a reflection of how well this thing handles real workloads. 96GB of RAM means you can run every service, container, and IDE you need simultaneously without ever thinking about memory pressure. The keyboard is classic ThinkPad, which means it's among the best laptop keyboards on the market. And the port selection means you can dock it to multiple monitors and peripherals without a single adapter.

For creators, it's a bit more nuanced. The 90.3 creator score is strong, but the 45% NTSC display is a real limitation if you're doing color-critical work. You'll want an external monitor for anything involving print or video color grading. And if your creative work leans toward AI or machine learning, the 48.9 AI/LLM score is a dealbreaker. Look at the MacBook Pro M4 Max or a desktop workstation with a beefier GPU instead. For everyone else, this is a machine that'll serve you well for years.