Lenovo ThinkPad 14.5" P14s Gen 5 Black 2024

The ThinkPad P14s Gen 5 nails the fundamentals with a 91st percentile port selection and an 87th percentile display, backed by a 4.9/5 buyer rating. The Core Ultra 7 and RTX 500 handle business workloads well, but 16GB RAM and 512GB storage are just average. Shop the price spread carefully, USD 731 separates the cheapest and most expensive US listings.

The Core Ultra 7 155H is a 16-core chip running at 1.4GHz base, and it lands in the 76th percentile for CPUs in our database. That's well above average, and for most business workloads, it'll chew through spreadsheets, code compiles, and VM spins without breaking a sweat. The RTX 500 Ada Generation with 4GB of VRAM sits at the 74th percentile for GPUs, which is solid but not earth-shattering. It'll handle CAD work, light rendering, and the occasional game at medium settings, but don't expect it to replace a proper gaming rig.

The 16GB of DDR5 is where things get interesting. It's in the 62nd percentile for RAM, which is middle of the pack. For a machine marketed at 'business level applications,' that's fine for now, but it's soldered in many ThinkPad configs, so you can't always upgrade later. The 512GB SSD is also about average at the 53rd percentile. If you're working with large datasets or video files, you'll be reaching for an external drive sooner than you'd like. The 90Hz display makes everything feel snappy, and the 350 nits brightness is enough for most indoor environments, though direct sunlight will wash it out.

Stacked against the Apple MacBook Pro M4 Max, the ThinkPad gets absolutely smoked on raw performance, but it also costs a fraction of the price and gives you ports the MacBook can only dream about. The ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 brings a much stronger GPU and higher refresh display for gaming, but it's heavier on the gamer aesthetic and lighter on the business credibility. The HP OMEN Transcend 14 is a closer match on specs, but the ThinkPad's 91st percentile port selection and 4.9 rating give it an edge for actual work. The Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro has a gorgeous OLED screen, but the ThinkPad's touchscreen and dedicated GPU make it more versatile. The MSI Prestige is thinner and lighter, but you're giving up the Ethernet port and some durability. For a business machine that needs to dock, travel, and occasionally crunch graphics, the P14s holds its own.

Pricing on this thing is all over the map. In the US, you'll see it listed anywhere from USD 1,699 to USD 2,430 depending on the vendor, and that USD 731 spread is not pocket change. If you're in Canada, the gap is even wider at CAD 1,118 between the lowest and highest listings. The best US deal we're seeing is at the USD 1,699 mark, and at that price, the port selection and display quality make a strong case. At the top end near USD 2,430, you're paying a premium for availability rather than hardware. Shop around before you commit, because the same exact config is sitting at very different price points depending on where you look.

The Lenovo ThinkPad P14s Gen 5 lands with a 4.9 out of 5 rating from 14 reviews, and honestly, that tracks. You're getting an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H with 16 cores, 16GB of DDR5, a 512GB NVMe SSD, and a dedicated RTX 500 Ada GPU in a 1.61kg chassis. The 14.5-inch 2560x1600 touchscreen hits 90Hz with 350 nits and full sRGB coverage, which puts it in the 87th percentile for screens in our database. That's a serious panel for a business machine.

But the real story here is the port situation. Two Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB-A, HDMI 2.1, Ethernet, and Wi-Fi 6E put this thing in the 91st percentile for connectivity. For a workstation-class laptop that's supposed to live in docks, conference rooms, and server closets, that's the kind of flexibility that saves you from dongle hell. The 75Wh battery is decent, and the 512GB SSD is about average for the category, but the RAM at 16GB feels a little tight for a machine with 'workstation' ambitions.

If you're doing serious AI work or running local LLMs, look elsewhere. The AI and LLM score is 36.3 out of 100, which is the weakest area by a wide margin. The 4GB of VRAM on the RTX 500 is a hard ceiling for larger models, and 16GB of system RAM doesn't help. Creative professionals working with 4K video or complex 3D scenes will also feel the squeeze from the 512GB SSD and mid-pack GPU. And if you're a gamer first, the 75.5 gaming score and 4GB VRAM mean you'll be compromising on settings more than you'd like. This is a business machine with some graphics capability, not a graphics machine with business features.

The ThinkPad P14s Gen 5 is a genuinely good business laptop with a few asterisks. The port selection is best-in-class, the screen is a standout, and the 4.9 rating from actual buyers says people are happy with what they got. The Core Ultra 7 handles everyday work with ease, and the RTX 500 gives you enough GPU muscle for light creative tasks. But the 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD feel like cost-cutting measures on a machine that's supposed to be a workstation. If you can find it at the lower end of that USD 1,699 to USD 2,430 range, it's a solid buy. At the top end, you're overpaying.