Reviews Lenovo ThinkPad P16v Gen 3 review: Powerful, but hard to recommend This machine can do plenty, but so can much cheaper machines that will provide a lot of other quality-of-life upgrades as well. , PDT Intel Core Ultra 9 285H Memory: 32GB DDR5-6400 Graphics/GPU: Nvidia RTX Pro 2000 8GB Display: 16-inch 1920×1200 IPS, Matte, 60Hz Storage: 1TB PCIe 5.0 SSD – Samsung MZVLC1T0HFLU-00BLL Webcam: 5MP + IR Connectivity: 2x Thunderbolt 4 / USB-C with Power Delivery and DisplayPort 2.1, 2x USB-A 5Gbps, 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x SDcard reader, 1x 3.5mm combo audio, 1x GbE Networking: WiFi 7, Bluetooth 5.4 Biometrics: Windows Hello fingerprint, facial recognition Battery capacity: 90 watt-hours Dimensions: 14.23 x 9.79 x 1.04 inches Weight: 4.99 pounds MSRP: $3,997 as-tested ($2,329 base) The Lenovo ThinkPad P16v Gen 3 is a performance workstation boasting ISV certifications and military durability standards aimed at professional users, and therefore there’s really no cheap option. The base model has a starting price of $2,329 (though was discounted to $1,816 at the time of writing — nebulous pricing being a typical Lenovo move). The base configuration starts out with an Intel Core Ultra 7 255H, 16GB of DDR5-5600, a 512GB PCIe Gen 4 SSD, a basic display, an Nvidia RTX Pro 500 GPU, and Windows 11 Home.  Lenovo offers an Intel Core Ultra 7 265H or Intel Core Ultra 9 285H as upgrades as well as an Nvidia RTX Pro 1000 or 2000, though not all CPU and GPU combinations are possible. It also offers a brighter 100 percent sRGB display and a 3840×2400 touchscreen OLED option. While all configurations can support an IR sensor for facial recognition, the mid-tier display makes it optional rather than standard. The biggest area for customization is in storage and memory. The system has two M.2 slots that can be fitted with PCIe Gen 4 or Gen 5 drives ranging in size from 512GB to 2TB. Memory comes in 16GB, 32GB, 48GB, or 96GB capacities. Our test configuration has the specs listed above and tells a confusing price story. We were shared a sales link to CDW for our configuration that has the price at $3,997. But in Lenovo’s own custom configurator, which tends to fall on the more expensive side than pre-configured systems, our configuration shows a $3,874 “Est Value” price and was on sale for $3,021 at the time of writing. The only real difference is that the CDW version uses a single 32GB CSODIMM memory stick while the Lenovo version uses two 16GB CSODIMM sticks. Regardless of that difference, while it’s very possible you’ll be able to get it for about $3,000, the only sure price is closer to $1,000 more.  The Lenovo ThinkPad P16v Gen 3 is made to be a high-performance machine, and you should expect no less from something bearing a nearly $4,000 price tag. Lenovo ThinkPad P16v Gen 3: Design and build quality Foundry / Mark Knapp The Lenovo ThinkPad P16v Gen 3 is a bulky but otherwise quite typical ThinkPad. It has the stylings of other models with its blacked-out design, with a small lip on the display lid that assists in one-handed opening, and the keyboard and trackpad style.  While some more premium ThinkPad models have a carbon fiber-reinforced polymer that’s sturdy and lightweight, the Lenovo ThinkPad P16v Gen 3 opts for more commonplace materials. Its display lid is made with aluminum, but its bottom is a PC-ABS plastic. The keyboard deck has a nice coating that feels a bit better than PC-ABS plastic would normally. Even without the premium materials, it feels plenty sturdy and checks boxes for a few military durability tests. The display hinge wiggles for a few seconds after adjustments, though. The Lenovo ThinkPad P16v Gen 3 is a bit bulky at 14.23 x 9.79 x 1.04 inches. Lenovo kept the bezels around the 16-inch display fairly narrow, so some of the dimensions are pretty much by necessity. But the thickness is considerable. A portion of that is coming from the rubber feet on the bottom, but it does get in the way of sliding easily into laptop bags. At just shy of 5 pounds, the Lenovo ThinkPad P16v Gen 3 is pretty hefty, too. At least its 140W charger is quite light and compact.  The underside of the laptop has two well-filtered intake grilles beneath the two system fans. Exhaust heads out the back, where the display hinge is. While some of that exhaust will head up toward the display, most should go down and behind the laptop. The wide rubber foot at the back should also avoid letting the exhaust recirculate into the laptop.  One thing the bulk of the laptop affords you is extra space inside. Instead of using the soldered-on memory many recent laptops have used, it gets CSODIMM sticks that are user-upgradeable. It also has two M.2 slots for double the storage capacity. The 90Wh battery is also a good get, though large batteries aren’t unheard of in smaller laptops.  Lenovo ThinkPad P16v Gen 3: Keyboard, trackpad Foundry / Mark Knapp The keyboard is pleasant. It has a 1.5mm travel, and a soft but poppy feel with well-stabilized keys. This makes for a comfortable and quick typing feel. I was able to get up to a typing speed of 117 words per minute with 99 percent accuracy in Monkeytype, but it took finding a good, comfortable typing angle. The high keyboard deck can make this a little tricky, but it will largely come down to personal preference. The use of small arrow keys crammed together with Page Up and Page Down keys is a little annoying, especially since Lenovo already offset them and might have just further offset them to allow for bigger keys. On the other hand, the large number pad is great to see and convenient for data entry, even if it’s a little narrower than full-size. For accident-prone users, the keyboard is resistant to spills, preventing small amounts of liquid from reaching key components if spilled onto the keyboard.  Lenovo’s trackpad is fine here. It’s small and almost entirely left of the system’s centerline. For left-handed users that may be more ideal, but for right-handed users, it becomes a crossbody reach that’s not super ergonomic. The size of the trackpad isn’t bad, but it feels small on such a large machine. It’s a classic ThinkPad trackpad with three buttons at the top that work in unison with the trackpoint nib in the center of the keyboard. The nib is a decent tool for mousing around without having to move away from the keyboard, but it may take new users a little getting used to its nuance.  Lenovo ThinkPad P16v Gen 3: Display, audio Foundry / Mark Kn...