Hands on: Lenovo ThinkPad E16 Gen 1 review
This review first appeared in Issue 359 PC Professional Edition.
When you buy a ThinkPad, you know you’re buying a trustworthy, reliable machine for your daily work – and it’s a machine that will give it its all, no doubt about it. Business laptop. This is the first generation ThinkPad E16, equipped with AMD or Intel Chips are very cheap now Lenovo Second-generation models are slowly being introduced to the market.
Lenovo’s E-series ThinkPad is designed to be affordable, but despite that, it looks and feels like almost any ThinkPad you can imagine. As usual, it comes in a completely matte black style, which isn’t for everyone, but does make an immediate statement about the company’s intentions. this chassis Aside from the plastic bottom, it’s made of aluminum and feels solid. It comes with one year of Lenovo Premium Support and next-business-day repairs.
You can also expect fast performance. Our review sample included the AMD Ryzen 5 7530U, but it no longer ships, so the prices above include the closest product: the 7430U. It has a lower peak frequency of 4.3GHz to 4.5GHz, but with the same 6 cores and 12 threads, you can expect similar speeds to those in our tests. Those who need more should spend an extra £80 and get the Ryzen 7 7730U, as it offers 8 cores and 16 threads.
The system we tested included 16GB of RAM, but the price includes 24GB: 16GB soldered in, and 8GB via SODIMM. If you need more, you can opt for the 72GB model (40GB/32GB), as it only costs an extra £35 to configure. AMD’s integrated AMD Radeon graphics are less than impressive, especially compared to the discrete graphics seen elsewhere.
When it comes to our test results, “reliable” is the word. this Ryzen 5 AMD graphics are not a good match for Intel’s 12th or 13th generation processors and Intel’s Iris Xe graphics, as is clear from looking at the chart on the p94. Still, it won’t slow you down on office tasks, which is reflected in its fourth-place finish in the PCMark Essentials benchmark and second-place finish in the productivity test. This laptop doesn’t do well at content creation or any task that requires heavy work across multiple cores.
It is worth noting that any focus on graphics chip And dragged it to the table. When it comes to gaming, think ease. The E16 ranked second to last in 3DMark’s Time Spy DirectX 12 benchmark, failing to even hit double-digit frame rates at low settings. Shadow of the Tomb Raider benchmark. Its battery life tested slightly better, usually lasting around 7 hours, but the clunky laptop weighs 1.8kg and isn’t suitable for mobile use.
Put it on a desk, though, and the ThinkPad E16 is the epitome of powerful, feature-focused design. Square lid covers a wide space keyboard, Comes with a numeric keypad and minimal key retraction – there are even separate arrow keys and PgUp/PgDn keys. The keys don’t have the cushioning of more expensive ThinkPads and have a relatively quick 1.5mm of travel, but they’re clearly designed for heavy use over the life of the laptop and feel solid. As always, Lenovo’s TrackPoint cursor controller is located touchpad, And thanks to a pair of buttons, it’s fairly intuitive even for new users.
ThinkPad Camera It’s clear that if a bit undersaturated, its speakers are what you’d expect from a business laptop: fine for video calls, but they lack some low-end features, so headphones or external speakers are the best option for anyone who wants to enjoy music Or movies with deeper audio. this microphone Recording clear audio, our recorded tests came back to us with a completely familiar sound, with no distortion or tonal tilt.
One of the most obvious areas of budget is the screen. sRGB coverage is tied for the lowest at 54%, while its average Delta E is 4.79, again placing it near the bottom of the table. This is not a laptop for photographers. However, its anti-glare coverage ensures it’s always visible, especially when paired with a peak brightness of 348cd/m22 The contrast ratio is as high as 1,159:1. You may notice that text is slightly blurry, and the 16-inch display has a resolution of 1,920 x 1,200, which equates to 141ppi, but at least there’s plenty of room; viewing both windows side by side is tolerable.
Ultimately, business laptops are best suited for business tasks. That’s certainly true for this ThinkPad, it’s very comfortable to use app, Most multitasking outside of office work and content creation. If you want to break the pure office grid line, this isn’t the laptop of choice, but if you’re looking for a primarily desk-based workhorse device with a good warranty, it’s a solid choice
