Lenovo ThinkBook 16p Gen 3 review: A stylish and powerful AMD laptop for creators
There’s been a new wave of 16-inch laptops recently designed for what I like to call “everyday creators”. The HP Envy 16 that I recently reviewed is a good example, and then there’s even the Dell XPS 17 which came before that new surge. Those are all great laptops in terms of specs, but they do seem pretty boring when you consider the overall designs. They’re also powered by Intel CPUs. The new Lenovo ThinkBook 16p Gen 3, which the firm sent to me for review isn’t quite like that at all.
Powered by the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX CPU, 32GB of RAM, and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 graphics, this laptop is trying to shake up the market for creator laptops. It has a really unique slate-like design, inspired by Lenovo’s Legion gaming laptops. And, instead of going for Intel’s H-series CPUs, Lenovo opts for an AMD Ryzen 6000 HX series CPU which prove to be much more efficient and better on battery life.
- The Lenovo ThinkBook 16p Gen 3 is the perfect laptop with a great display, amazing performance and battery life, and a stylish design
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Pros: Cons: |
Navigate this review:
- Lenovo ThinkBook 16p Gen 3 pricing and availability
- Lenovo ThinkBook 16p Gen 3 specs
- Design: It’s stylish and different
- Display: High refresh, colorful, accurate, and tuned by X-Rite
- Keyboard: Quite comfy
- Performance: I really love AMD Ryzen 6000 Series
- Should you buy the Lenovo ThinkBook 16p Gen 3?
Lenovo ThinkBook 16p Gen 3 pricing and availability
- Lenovo did not provide me with specific pricing and availability at the time of this review being published
- A product page is available for the Lenovo ThinkBook 16p Gen 3, and it has the system as “coming soon,” but Lenovo Australia has the product for sale
At the time of writing this review, Lenovo didn’t have pricing or availability for me on this Lenovo ThinkBook 16p Gen 3. I asked the company for confirmation on pricing and will update this review when I hear back. A product listing page from Lenovo Australia is available but the pricing is not in United States dollars.
Lenovo ThinkBook 16p Gen 3 specs
| Specs | Additional information |
|---|---|
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX (8 cores, 16 threads, 4.9GHz turbo, 4MB L2 / 16MB L3) |
| Graphics | Integrated: AMD Radeon Graphics
Discrete: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 6GB GDDR6 |
| Display | 16-inch, 2560 x 1600, 500 nits, 100% sRGB, 165 Hz, HDR400, Color Calibration, X-Rite Pantone Certified, TUV Rheinland Low Blue Light, TUV Eyesafe Certified, Dolby Vision, Ambient Light Sensor |
| Dimensions & weight | 13.96 x 9.92 x 0.73 inches / 4.38 lb |
| Memory | 32GB Soldered LPDDR5-6400 |
| Storage | 1TB SSD M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0×4 NVMe |
| Battery | 71Wh, 230W Slim Adapter, supports Rapid Charge Pro (up to 50% in 30 min) |
| Ports | 1 x USB Type-C 1 x USB4 2 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 1 x Combo Audio Jack 1 x HDMI 2.1 1 x SD Card Reader |
| Audio & microphones | 2x2W Harman Brand Speakers with Dolby Atmos |
| Connectivity | Up to Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0 |
| Camera | Up to FHD + IR Camera |
| Color | Mineral Gray |
| Material | Three-sided metal construction. Diamond cut power button and touchpad |
| OS | Windows 11 Pro |
Design: It’s stylish and different
- It has a slate-like look
- The back part of the laptop houses ports which also have backlit indicators
- It’s quite compact and portable for a 16-inch laptop
If you look at our list, you’ll see that a lot of creator laptops end up looking the same, with an all aluminum chassis in one common color. It’s why the design section of my laptop reviews tends to focus on weight or ports. It is true that this Lenovo ThinkBook 16p Gen 3 keeps the same design as last year’s Gen 2 model, but it is still different from any other creator laptop of the same class on the market, and for three reasons that you’ll notice as soon as you unbox it.
Kicking things off is the dual-tone color. While a lot of laptops come in single color options, this ThinkBook shines differently. The top aluminum cover has a dual-tone mineral gray look that’s really stylish. One half of the lid is darker than the other. Lenovo has done this in its other products, too, like the original Chromebook Duet, and it really sets this ThinkBook apart from competing creators-first products like the HP Envy 16 that come in a single silver color.
The design of this laptop stands out in three ways you'll notice as soon as you unbox it.
The second impressive thing about this laptop is the way the screen is attached to the base. Instead of sitting at the very rear, Lenovo has placed the two hinges so they hang a bit closer to the keyboard, on top of a slate-like surface. This surface blends the hinges with the keyboard deck. It’s a really unique and clean look that Lenovo has used in the past on Legion gaming laptops like the Legion 5i, and I’m glad to see it on a creator laptop, too. It’s certainly fancy and sets this laptop visually apart from even the very best Windows laptops like an XPS 17.
Traditional creator laptops have ports on the left and right side, but this one from Lenovo also has ports on the back part, too. It’s a design choice thanks to the slate-like design, and it’s also what makes this laptop special. The left side has a full-size SD card slot and a headphone jack. The right side has two USB-C Gen 2 ports and a Kensington security lock.
The back is where the party is at, though with a USB 3.2 Gen 2 port, an always-on USB 3.2 Gen 2 port, HDMI 2.1, and a power connector. The indicators for these ports have a backlight, so you can find them in the dark. I really like the rear ports, as the mess of cables doesn’t need to run to the left or right of my desk. My cables and accessories are always facing away from me and out of my sight.
If I have one thing to complain about, it’s the lack of Thunderbolt. That’s because this is an AMD-powered laptop, and Thunderbolt is an Intel technology, so you can’t blame Lenovo. Though I don’t use it, some creators might want to hook up an external GPU to their laptops. This won’t work on AMD machines like this one so it is worth mentioning. USB-4 will change that in the future, but for now, this laptop only has USB 3.2. Other than that, this is a well-connected machine with everything you need for connections to monitors, USB drives, printers, and beyond.
This is even a really portable laptop for its size. The overall dimensions are 13.96 x 9.92 x 0.73 inches and the weight is 4.83 pounds. Compare that to HP’s Envy 16, and it has a slightly smaller profile. HP’s laptop is slightly bigger and much heavier at 14.07 x 9.94 x 0.78 inches and 5.91 pounds. Lenovo’s laptop is so much more portable. I even took it on the road with me to a press event, without it messing with my back and feeling too heavy in my bookbag.
Lenovo tells me that this design choice helps dissipate heat efficiently. The vents are to the sides of the laptop. and the aluminum bottom cover can keep the laptop running cool. Unlike with the HP Envy 16, I never felt this laptop getting warm, and I barely heard the fans kick in. It’s really a well-ventilated system even when gaming.
Display: High refresh, colorful, accurate, and tuned by X-Rite
- The 2560 x 1600 resolution 165 Hz 16-inch 16:10 aspect ratio screen has a lot of room for multitasking
- The display is bright, is tuned by X-rite, and has various color profile modes
- The top of the display has an FHD webcam
When it comes to displays on creator laptops, I’ll always argue that OLED displays are best. The color accuracy is unmatched, but that technology often takes a big drain on the battery life. It’s why you see a lot of laptop makers go with traditional IPS or LCD panels with higher refresh rates, or just work with partners on technology that can improve color accuracy instead. (HP has a DreamColor display, for example.) Lenovo did just that here. This 2560 x 1600 resolution 165 Hz screen really impresses me.
Everyday things are a joy to look at on this laptop. With a 165Hz refresh rate on this display, Windows 11’s animations looked and felt alive. The 16:10 aspect ratio also means I was able to comfortably stack my windows side by side and multitask in Microsoft Edge and other open apps, without connecting to a monitor. Even the multimedia experience is great. I pulled up a video showcasing San Francisco landmarks and when I saw a shot of the Golden Gate Bridge, it looked as life-like as I remember from my trip there in December. If you look at the results I got on my colorimeter, you’ll see why.
Everyday things from webpages to YouTube videos are a joy to look at on this laptop.
I tested the display in the “default” mode set by X-Rite as the Lenovo laptop came in this mode out of the box, and it’s what I think most people will use. Other content-creator first profiles for Rec 709, sRGB, and “not calibrated” are also available and improve the numbers to cover higher parts of the color spectrums. The sRGB mode hit 100% of sRGB, 80% NTSC, 90% Adobe RGB, and 80% P3. Otherwise speaking, the standard results are below. It hit some really good numbers 69% of Adobe RGB, 64% of NTSC, 70% of P3, and 91% of sRGB. This is within the range of most consumer laptops, and, as I said, tweaking the other display profiles helps boost the color profile numbers even more for creators.
On brightness, Lenovo says this panel can hit 500 nits. I got just under that in my testing to around 493 nits. This helps with contrast levels, and it really makes the laptop great for use outdoors or in situations where you think you might have a lot of glare.
At the top of the display is an FHD webcam with a Windows Hello sensor. This webcam isn’t exactly high quality when put up against the 5MP webcam on the HP Envy 16, but it’s above the 720p standard that used to come on most laptops. This is also paired with AI Meeting Manager software, which can do real-time interpretations and translations, voice dictation, and translated subtitles to help overcome language barriers on web calls. The webcam also has a privacy shutter.
Keyboard and trackpad: Typing is quite comfy, but clicking isn’t
- The keyboard is full-size and fantastic
- The trackpad seems to be in the wrong spot and isn’t exactly the best
Lenovo makes the best keyboards on ThinkPads, so it’s no surprise to me that the one on this ThinkBook is amazing, too. The keycaps are curved, and perfectly line up with my fingers when speed tying. Keycaps go into the chassis with a nice smooth action, too. There’s also a number pad to the right, which has media controls in the function row. I really loved that addition, as I often listen to music when working, so the keys mean I don’t need to mess with the in-app controls to skip songs.
The trackpad, though, isn’t exactly the best. It’s set closer to the left side of the laptop since Lenovo has to leave room for the arrow keys and the number pad. This means that I sometimes triggered it by accident when typing. The trackpad also makes a loud clicking sound and isn’t as soft when pressed down. XPS laptops are better with this. I often found myself using a mouse with this laptop when at my desk.
I do think there’s a reason for the trackpad being where it is, though. There’s a speaker bar right above the keyboard deck so Lenovo has to push the trackpad further down closer to the edge of the laptop. The speaker bars are s a nice touch as I found it helps make audio feel more immersive, particularly during voice meetings. On other laptops, like the XPS 17, or the HP Envy 16, the speakers are to the right of the keyboard. This is a great design change to help set the laptop apart from others.
Performance: I really love the new AMD Ryzen CPU
- The AMD Ryzen CPU on this laptop is powerful and efficient on power
- On battery, the AMD Ryzen CPU drops performance a bit
I’m a person that really loves laptops with Intel chips. Intel’s new 12th generation Core i7 H-class processors can run up to 45 watts and have mindblowing 14-cores with a boost of up to 4.7Ghz. It’s a lot of raw power, but I’ve found laptops with those CPUs (like the HP Envy 16) suffer from poor thermals, as well as bad battery life. These aren’t an issue on the Lenovo ThinkBook 16p Gen 3. It’s why I am happy that Lenovo again went for AMD CPUs. Last year’s models had either the Ryzen 5 5600H or the Ryzen 7 5800H.
The CPU on this laptop is AMD’s best mobile CPU for creators. It doesn’t have as many cores as Intel’s H-class CPU (those have 14 thanks to the combo of performance and efficiency cores) on the last laptop I reviewed (the Envy 16,) but it doesn’t need them. The AMD CPU in this Lenovo just ends up being much more power efficient anyway. The 8 cores, and 16 threads help this AMD CPU in the ThinkBook perform just as good in multicore tests as any Core i7 Intel H-class processor in creator’s laptops like the XPS 17, and the HP Envy 16. Single-core performance, though, is better on an Intel machine, which has always been Intel’s strength.
Our PCMark 10 benchmarks which simulate productivity tasks can back this up, as well as CrossMark, and Cinebench multicore which stresses the CPU. The Geekbench scores might look lower, and could fool you, but in 3DMark, which tests the GPU and CPU strength when combined together for gaming, the AMD- powered ThinkBook excels.
| Test Run | Lenovo ThinkBook 16p Gen 3 | HP Envy 16 (Intel Core i7-12700H, RTX 3060) | Dell XPS 17 Core i7-12700H, RTX 3060 |
Acer Predator Triton Core i9-12900H, RTX 3080 Ti | ThinkPad Z13 Ryzen 7 PRO 6850U |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PC Mark 10 | 6,336 | 6,829 | 6,789 | 6,955 | 6,281 |
| 3DMark: Time Spy | 7,078 | 6,729 | 6,250 | 11,192 | 2,357 |
| 3DMark: Time Spy Extreme | 3,418 | 3,311 | DNR | 5,270 | DNR |
| VR Mark (Orange/Cyan/Blue) | 8,610/6,515/1,989 | 9,331/2,750/2,097 | 8,689/2,752/1,902 | 12,758 / 9,361 / 3,207 | DNR |
| Geekbench 5 (Single/Multi) | 1,554/9,206 | 1,712/10,848 | 1,753/12,992 | 1,881 / 12,938 | 1,507/8,697 |
| Cinebench R23 (Single/Multi) | 1,556/13,064 | 1,814/12,149 | 1,767/11,714 | 1,815 / 12,886 | 1,504/10,092 |
| CrossMark (overall / productivity / creativity / responsiveness) | 1,494/1,465/1,635 | 1,731/1,608/1,981/1,444 | 1,871/1,702/2,157/1,624 | 2,001 / 1,854 / 2,196 / 1,901 | 1,499 / 1,466 / 1,636 / 1,233 |
The AMD CPU in this laptop paired with Nvidia graphics performs just as good but with better thermals when compared to a laptop with Intel Core i7 H-class CPU
Those are just generic benchmarks, though. In my actual use, I was very happy with the performance. Hooked up to a 4K monitor, and pushing through my daily workflow of juggling around tons of Microsoft Edge tabs posed no issues on this laptop. Gaming, on the other hand, was butter smooth. My favorite game, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 ran amazing on this laptop on high settings and the native resolution. I never got any dropped frames or freezing, and paired with the 165Hz display, the game was super smooth, and it felt like I was in the cockpit myself. On 1440p settings, my other favorite titles like GTA V also performed smoothly without issue. Again, much like with the HP Envy 16, this isn’t a gaming laptop, but it can be used for gaming if you want, and exceed expectations for video editing or photo editing, since the GPU can perform well in games, too.
Two other things are great about this AMD CPU on the Lenovo ThinkBook 16p Gen 3. The first is the thermals. I never noticed the thermal throttling that you end up getting when running benchmarks on a system with Intel processors. This CPU is able to punch out power when under heavy load, which is why the Cinebench multi scores are so high, and the overall responsiveness in CrossMark. The second is fan noise. Even when under heavy loads, the fans on this system aren’t that loud.
Do note that I did notice the usual battery throttling that some have experienced with CPUs. On power, the PCMark Benchmarks are scored at 6,336. On battery, that same test down by 1,008 points to 5328. On an Intel laptop like the HP Envy 16, the difference is less substantial and around 608 points. That laptop tested with 5,482 on power and 4,874 on battery.
That throttling is why the Lenovo ThinkBook 16p Gen 3 passed my expectations. Even with such a bright display and power-hungry graphics card, I managed to push out 7 hours of battery life for my daily day-to-day tasks which include web browsing, as well as playing games (for under an hour.) That’s impressive. Even connected to a 4K display, I got to 4 hours of battery, which is above the 3 hours that I usually expect. Of course, it comes at the expense of some CPU power as a result.
Should you buy the Lenovo ThinkBook 16p Gen 3?
Yes, the Lenovo ThinkBook 16p Gen 3 is a serious laptop. It packs a lot of power, an amazing display, and really good battery life.
Who should buy the Lenovo ThinkBook 16p Gen 3
- Anyone in search of a laptop with a color-accurate display
- You want a really good 16-inch laptop with RTX graphics and a lot of raw power
- You want a laptop with good battery life
- You’re a casual gamer
Who should not buy the Lenovo ThinkBook 16p Gen 3
- Someone who will spend a lot of time using the laptop detached from a monitor. The trackpad isn’t the best.
While I really disliked the trackpad on this laptop, everything else about it is beyond perfect and I found myself using it more than I should. The display is amazingly bright and colorful, the battery life goes beyond my expectations, and the raw power for gaming and photo editing is perfect.
- The Lenovo ThinkBook 16p Gen 3 is the perfect laptop with a great display, amazing performance and battery life, and a stylish design
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Features: |
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Pros: Cons: |
The post Lenovo ThinkBook 16p Gen 3 review: A stylish and powerful AMD laptop for creators appeared first on XDA.
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