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Review [Review] Lenovo ThinkPad T15g Gen 2, Mobile Workstation with RTX GPU

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TSalexander3133
post Aug 15 2021, 09:28 PM, updated 2 months ago

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Preface

The pace of technology is going fast that it made my 7 years old laptop can't catch up today's video and and graphics demands.
4K dashcam footage encoded with H.265 encoding playback is not smooth on my old laptop, so as the YouTube 4K video playback.
Together with some minor hardware defects on my old laptop, that triggered me to looks for a new laptop.

I was provided Lenovo ThinkPad laptop for work use, that is where I lean towards Lenovo ThinkPad series due to its build quality and professional looks.
As an occasional, but not heavy gamer myself, I am therefore looking for a ThinkPad laptop with discrete gaming graphics card.

This is where I am landed with Lenovo ThinkPad T15g Gen 2, which fits what I needed.


The Purchase
During this pandemic, online purchasing made up significant portion of all my purchases.
To ensure this expensive laptop actually arrive my front door, purchase from Lenovo Malaysia Official Store is the way to go.

Lenovo ThinkPad T15g Gen 2 Product Page (Malaysia):
https://www.lenovo.com/my/en/laptops/thinkp...l/p/WMD00000484

Lenovo ThinkPad T15g Gen 2 Product Specifications Reference Page:
https://psrefstuff.lenovo.com/Product/Think...kPad_T15g_Gen_2

Here is the hardware configuration for my laptop:
» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «


The purchase on Lenovo Malaysia Official Store was smooth and good.
Before I go further, I would like to thank ZM Fong for helping me during my laptop purchasing.

I have covered the order shipment and waiting progress in the below two posts, so I won't repeat here.
https://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopi...ost&p=101915039
https://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopi...ost&p=101976873


Design and Look

This machine is not a typical light and thin workstation, with its weight around 2.8 KG, and thickest point being around 3.15 CM.
What you get from this laptop is just a regular black ThinkPad design.

The hinge looks sturdy but you can open the lid with just one hand.
With the lid lifted up, you will see the 15.6 inches screen with huge bezels, just like the old ThinkPad.

This laptop comes with a maintenance hatch at the bottom, which allows you to access two RAM slots and two M.2 slots.

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While the laptop itself already heavy, the 230 Watt power adapter that comes along with it also add significant weight if you plan to carry the laptop around.
The power adapter is in thin rectangular size with slim tip, and it weight around 880 grams together with the power cord.

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Connectivity

This laptop comes with handful amount and variety of ports, which translates to convenient when you have large amount of devices to connect to the laptop.

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On the left side of the laptop: HDMI Port, USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 (always on) Port, Optional Nano-SIM card Slot, and Headphone / mic combo

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On the back side of the laptop: RJ45 Port, Power In Port, 2x Thunderbolt 4 Ports (Both supports display output), and USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 Port (Support display output)

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On the right side of the laptop: Full size SD card reader slot, and USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 Port

SD Card Reader
The SD Card reader on T15g Gen 2 is a full size reader.
The SD Card reader works fine on read write test with my Sandisk Extreme Pro MicroSD card.
More important for me is that the SD Card slot allows the full size SD card to get slotted in fully, this can prevent the SD card from accidentally getting hit or bend.


Networking

This mobile workstation equipped with WiFi 6E from Intel, throughout the period of my usage, I did not face any problem with the wireless connectivity with my Netgear wireless AC router.
Since I do not have the right equipment or router, therefore I could not perform test on WiFi 6E.

Along with wireless networking, T15g Gen 2 also comes with a 2.5GbE wired network adapter.
Similar case with the WiFi 6E, testing both 2.5GbE and WiFi 6E required expensive router which I do not have it currently, therefore no test is done on this 2.5GbE Ethernet.

For Bluetooth, it is working fine too, no problem with transferring photos from my mobile phone to this laptop.
Also, I am able to successfully paired and use my Logitech M590 wireless mouse using Bluetooth, aside from using the Logitech universal receiver dongle.



Input Devices

Keyboard
The keyboard is part of why I like ThinkPad series laptop, although the position of the "Fn" and "Ctrl" key does not really suit my typing technique, but I kind of used to it.
The typing sound is on the quiet side for me, I have mechanical keyboard with silent key which make louder typing sound than this ThinkPad keyboard.
The keyboard comes with backlight that allows you to work in the dark environment.

Touchpad and TrackPoint
Nothing much to talk about on this section, the touchpad feel smooth when using it.
The red trackpoint, which marks the unique identifier to ThinkPad, also works fine with not much comment.

Attached Image


Display

For my laptop, I have chosen the most basic display panel in the available configuration, as I am not particular on the colour or screen, and mostly I will be using this laptop with external monitor connected.
This display panel is a full HD (1920 x 1080) display with 300 nits brightness and wide viewing angle, but without touch support.
The laptop screen is physically connected to Intel Integrated Graphics.
If there is a full HD screen with touch support configuration, I will definitely choose that.

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This post has been edited by alexander3133: Aug 16 2021, 08:14 PM
TSalexander3133
post Aug 15 2021, 09:29 PM

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Continuation from "[Review] Lenovo ThinkPad T15g Gen 2"

Performance and Benchmark


Note: All of my benchmark are done in the following configuration and environment, unless stated otherwise.
- BIOS version: LENOVO N37ET28W (1.09), 24/6/2021
- Nvidia VBIOS version: 94.04.51.00.2d
- Nvidia Driver version: 30.0.14.7168 (GeForce 471.68)
- External monitor (Dell U2720Q) connection using Type-C cable, running at 3840 x 2160 resolution and 60 Hz refresh rate.
- Display output is selected to shown only on external monitor.
- Laptop is on AC mode, with battery fully charged.
- Ambient temperature between 29 and 31 degree Celsius.
- Selected Windows power plan: Balanced
- Power mode shown by Windows battery icon: Better Performance
- Laptop placed on a wooden table with no extra cooling device.
- Data collection such as power, temperature and etc, are from HWINFO64 version 7.06.


Processor

The Intel Core i7-11800H "Tiger Lake" processor is a 45 Watt processor manufactured on a 10 nm SuperFin process.
Coming from a i5-4210U processor on my old laptop, this processor is definitely a huge performance bump for me.

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The "Power Mode" in Windows battery icon did affect processor performance by altering both PL1 and PL2 value.

Power ModePL1PL2
Better Battery45 Watt55 Watt
Better Performance109 Watt109 Watt
Best Performance109 Watt135 Watt

Processor's benchmark result:

WorkloadPower Mode: Better PerformancePower Mode: Best Performance
Cinebench 23 (Single Core)1433 points1478 points
Cinebench 23 (Multi Core)9649 points10772 points
Geekbench 5 (Single Core)1505 points1566 points
Geekbench 5 (Multi Core)8252 points8663 points

This chart is the "CPU Package Power" and "CPU Package Temperature" for Cinebench 23 benchmark run in "Better Performance" power mode:

Attached Image

CPU Package Power Chart for Prime95 (30.3 build 6) Stress Test running in 3 different power mode:

Attached Image


Graphics Card

Normally, the mobile workstation comes with workstation grade graphics card, but T15g Gen 2 took different path and equipped with gaming graphics card.
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Max-Q the comes with my laptop configuration is sufficient for my gaming and graphics processing need.
Since this is a Max-Q version of RTX 3070, the TGP should be on the low side.
Although Lenovo did not include the TGP number in their product specification page at the time of writing, but through the benchmark, I am guessing it to be 90 Watt.

Aside from this Nvidia discrete graphics, this laptop has hybrid-mode, that paired with the Intel integrated graphics present in the processor chip.
The two thunderbolt ports and one type-C port that are capable of display output located at the back of the laptop, they are physically connected to the Nvidia discrete graphics card.
Only the built-in laptop display is physically connected to integrated graphics card.

Attached Image Attached Image

Graphics Card Gaming Benchmark Result:

Thanks to Nvidia's FrameView software, which allowed the game FPS (Frame Per Second) and other useful information to be logged into an spreadsheet file for later analysis.

ApplicationGame Graphics PresetResolutionDisplayRuntimeAvg FPS90th %95th %99th %GPU0Clk(MHz)GPU0 Util%GPU0 Temp ©GPU NV Power (Watts) (API)CPUClk(MHz)CPU Util %CPU Temp ©CPU Package Power(Watts)
Cyberpunk 2077Ray Tracing: Ultra1920x1080Full ScreenD3D1250.51144.05141.54436.1221282.61895.35571.992752584.64258.36676.87923.602
Cyberpunk 2077Ray Tracing: Ultra3840x2160Full ScreenD3D1227.74225.67224.85222.5541228.86298.13683.64873753.24421.94898.31129.159
CS:GOAuto3840x2160Full ScreenD3D9175.364136.506123.518105.9341269.16894.82483.251873927.00312.48297.39930.456
DOTA 2Best Looking3840x2160WindowedD3D11104.22864.16860.79254.7931266.89678.6685.529833929.90115.5397.47329.572


Graphics Card Synthetic Benchmark Result:

Unigine Superposition v1.1 (8628)Better BatteryBetter PerformanceBest Performance
1080P Medium14000 points16113 points17577 points
1080P Extreme4675 points5730 points5984 points
4K Optimzed6074 points7362 points7701 points

Recorded Max GPU Power:
Unigine Superposition v1.1 (8628)Better BatteryBetter PerformanceBest Performance
1080P Medium96.963 Watt100.673 Watt111.981 Watt
1080P Extreme95.308 Watt123.437 Watt112.695 Watt
4K Optimzed96.380 Watt102.615 Watt112.941 Watt

Chart for "Better Performance" Power Mode:
Attached Image

Graphics Card Workstation Benchmark Result:

Power ModeBetter PerformanceBetter PerformanceBest PerformanceBest Performance
SPECviewperf 2020 2.0 Viewset1900 x 1060 Windowed3800 x 2120 Windowed1900 x 1060 Windowed3800 x 2120 Windowed
3dsmax-0783.75 FPS58.07 FPS91.96 FPS70.24 FPS
catia-0655.40 FPS32.86 FPS59.96 FPS34.58 FPS
creo-0381.07 FPS66.74 FPS91.71 FPS74.25 FPS
energy-0321.84 FPS17.15 FPS23.33 FPS18.64 FPS
maya-06305.22 FPS169.05 FPS347.67 FPS190.42 FPS
medical-0330.77 FPS11.74 FPS31.66 FPS12.13 FPS
snx-0418.56 FPS15.28 FPS19.55 FPS16.21 FPS
solidworks-06196.60 FPS86.03 FPS222.52 FPS95.07 FPS
Other Info
Max GPU Power Recorded121.256 Watt114.448 WN/AN/A
Max GPU Clock Recorded1740 MHz1740 MHzN/AN/A

Storage

The 1 TB M.2 SSD that I got on this laptop is KXG7AZNV1T02 from KIOXIA.
This is the first time I get to know about this SSD brand, and apparently the brand is coming from Korea.
Update: Thanks sanderz and ktek for pointing out that KIOXIA is previously Toshiba / OCZ.

This M.2 SSD is running on PCIe 4.0 x4 port, which we will see significant read/write speed boost over SSD running on PCIe 3.0.
Unfortunately, the other three M.2 SSD slots are running on PCIe 3.0 ports.

Benchmark result for the SSD running on PCIe 4.0 port is as follow:

Attached Image

This post has been edited by alexander3133: Sep 5 2021, 09:25 AM
TSalexander3133
post Aug 15 2021, 09:29 PM

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Continuation from "[Review] Lenovo ThinkPad T15g Gen 2"

Battery and Charging

This laptop comes with 6 cells, 94 Watt-Hour battery to feed the power hungry machine.
Charging the battery from 5% to 100 % while the laptop is in idle or light workload, uses a little more than 2 hours.

The only way to charge this laptop is through the given flat tip charger.
Charging this laptop through USB-C port is not possible.

The following charts show the battery charge rate and the battery charge level, the charge rate looks different on both charging occasion.

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There is a setting in Lenovo Commercial Vantage app called "Battery Charge Threshold", which can limit the battery charging to certain percentage so that the battery lifespan can be prolonged.

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As for the battery life, I did not do much testing, but here is what I roughly observed:
- With the laptop not connecting to external monitor, the battery seems to be able to last between 6 to 8 hours under a mix of idle and light usage.
- With the laptop connected to external monitor, the battery can only last between 2 hours to 3 hours under light to medium usage.

This section will be updated when there is more testing done in the future.


Software

This laptop comes with Windows 10 Home Edition 64-bit with version 20H2, but I quickly upgraded the Windows 10 to version 21H1 without any problem.

The Lenovo Commercial Vantage app also gets included to allow user to view/manage their device, and most importantly keep their device up-to-date with latest firmware and drivers.

Surprise to me that there is no other non-essential apps (or bloatware) that is being installed in the system, so the system is in pretty clean state.

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BIOS Page

The BIOS page can be access by interrupting the normal boot up sequence, when the Lenovo logo shown up shortly after the device getting powered up.

By default, the BIOS is GUI based, but can be configured into text-based.
In GUI based BIOS page, you are able to navigate the BIOS page using both mouse and keyboard.

There are many settings in the BIOS page that can be configured, which is a good point for me.

Update: Includes some BIOS page screenshots.

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Certifications

This laptop comes with several certifications to ensure purchasers that the product meets certain quality and environment standards.
Note that this laptop is not ISV certified.

Green CertificationsWeb Link
EPEAT™ Goldhttps://www.epeat.net/product-details/9c198e4bc95b4b3fa615a747fbd2eb39
ENERGY STAR® 8.0https://www.energystar.gov/productfinder/product/certified-computers/details/2377776
TCO Certifiedhttps://tcocertified.com/product-finder/index/?product=N821060364ThinkPadT15gGen2
RoHS compliantN/A

Mil-Spec Test
- MIL-STD-810H military test passed

This post has been edited by alexander3133: Sep 5 2021, 09:30 AM
TSalexander3133
post Aug 15 2021, 09:31 PM

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Continuation from "[Review] Lenovo ThinkPad T15g Gen 2"

Performance benchmark between Windows 10 and Windows 11

OS VersionMicrosoft Windows 10 Home Build 19043Microsoft Windows 11 Home Build 22000
Core IsolationN/AOn
Power ModeBetter PerformanceBalanced
BIOS VersionN37ET36W (1.17), 22/11/2021N37ET36W (1.17), 22/11/2021
NVidia Graphics Driver Version30.0.14.9729 (497.29)30.0.14.9729 (497.29)
Intel Graphics Driver Version30.0.100.986430.0.100.9864
MonitorDell U2720Q (TypeC)Dell U2720Q (TypeC)
Display Resolution3840 x 2160 @ 60Hz3840 x 2160 @ 60Hz
Ambient Temperature30°C30°C


Benchmark Result Comparison:

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This post has been edited by alexander3133: Dec 26 2021, 07:37 AM
TSalexander3133
post Aug 16 2021, 08:13 PM

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QUOTE(ktek @ Aug 16 2021, 06:04 PM)
wish u can show new GUI bios. i never use new generation of thinkpads
*
Thread updated:
- Included some BIOS pages.
- Included certification section.
- Minor corrections.
TSalexander3133
post Aug 17 2021, 08:33 PM

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QUOTE(Icehart @ Aug 17 2021, 07:43 PM)
Why not get the Legion 5 Pro? Curious.
*
I wanted a business grade laptop with gaming graphics card.
Which is why so far this is the only option I got.
TSalexander3133
post Aug 17 2021, 09:45 PM

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Updated:
- Added CPU PL1 and PL2 for different power mode.
- Added SPECviewperf benchmark for missing viewset and Best Performance power mode.
TSalexander3133
post Aug 19 2021, 07:06 PM

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Updated:
- Included "CPU Package Power" chart for Prime95 stress test in 3 different power mode.
- Included "Unigine Superposition" benchmark result and "Max GPU Power" table in 3 different power mode.
TSalexander3133
post Aug 23 2021, 05:16 PM

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Updated:
- Added more benchmark result for the 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 SSD.
TSalexander3133
post Aug 24 2021, 07:06 PM

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QUOTE(sHawTY @ Aug 24 2021, 09:12 AM)
Care to show us the internals of the laptop by popping up the back cover?
Very interested to see how the heatsink is laid up for both the i7 & RTX 3070

Hopefully, it's not using a single heatsink sweat.gif
*
Well, I don't dare to open up my laptop sweat.gif

Anyway, from the hardware maintenance manual, here is how the heatsink will look like.

Attached Image
TSalexander3133
post Sep 5 2021, 09:31 AM

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Updated:
- Updated games benchmark result for Cyberpunk 2077, DOTA 2, and CS:GO logged using Nvidia FrameView.
- Added brief description on "Battery Charge Threshold".
TSalexander3133
post Sep 5 2021, 10:53 AM

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QUOTE(ALeUNe @ Sep 5 2021, 10:18 AM)
What is the price?
*
Price can vary from time to time.

Here is the price as of now for my configuration:

Attached Image

The price can be bring down further by using eCoupon Code and ShopBack.
TSalexander3133
post Sep 12 2021, 05:10 PM

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QUOTE(lembucat @ Sep 12 2021, 01:44 PM)
Do you want selling your lappy? can order direct lenovo but waiting time are killing me
*
Currently my primary rig, can't let off this one.
TSalexander3133
post Sep 12 2021, 05:11 PM

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QUOTE(noztimecafe @ Sep 12 2021, 05:04 PM)
Also can you test screen response time ?
www.testufo.com/mprt
*
Any extra settings that are needed to take care of?
What kind of result to be shared? Just the MPRT value?
TSalexander3133
post Sep 12 2021, 08:05 PM

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QUOTE(noztimecafe @ Sep 12 2021, 05:34 PM)
Here is the result:
Running on MS Edge Browser, internal graphics, and laptop screen.

Attached Image
TSalexander3133
post Sep 18 2021, 10:23 PM

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QUOTE(MangO @ Sep 18 2021, 04:24 PM)
Thanks for sharing your thought process. I am also going through this process.

Unfortunately my 2 year old Huawei laptop is giving me problems and I am doing some homework on a suitable laptop to replace it. My plan is going have this laptop for productivity, content creating + gaming hence the Legion 7i is attractive and seeing your T15 Gen2 build is also interesting but currently there are no promotions on Lenovo site so I can't get the same price. Thunderbolt 3/4 is important for my setup so AMD systems are not an option for me.

1. Did you reduce your warranty to 1 year? What warranty option did you select?
2. Considering the similar price point did you consider a Legion 7i? (I have outgrown RGB lighting so thats not a selling feature but the price point is very similar for the specs and I believe the RTX3070 on the 7i will be more powerful together with a nicer screen. Its also lighter than the t15 so from a portable aspect thats good but the smaller battery + higher consumption limits its battery life.
3. It seems your decision for the T15 was for the reliability of a business laptop, longer battery life and working oriented design. Were there any other considerations?

The other option would be an Asua Zyphyrus M16 however there is no stock in sight.
*
Currently there is a little promotion code for T15g Gen 2, for the same spec as mine, the final price as of now is cheaper than the price that I bought.

Here is the price with exact configuration that I am having, with 1 year onsite warranty selected:
» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

With Shopback you can get a little more discount on top through cashback.

My answer for your questions:
1. For T15 Gen2, I have unchecked the 3 years premier onsite support, and chosen the 1 year normal onsite support.

2. Gaming laptops was not my first choice at that time when I search for my old laptop replacement.
Also at the time when I bought my T15g Gen 2, the Legion 7i was still not yet available for purchase.
Yea, so if this T15g Gen 2 laptop does not exist, I will have high change getting Legion 7i.
One time I have thought of considering business laptop + eGPU option, but that option was scrubbed due to my table space limitation, and also the external graphics card price and availability.
For my usage, I rarely move my laptop around, so the weight of laptop is not much concern for me.

3. Other than what you have mentioned, here are some reasons that I have chosen T15g Gen 2 (over other laptops including gaming laptops):
a) I don't game regularly, so I don't really need very powerful GPU, and also fast screen. I am fine with games running at 30 FPS. Powerful GPU (more watts) means more power consumption.
b) I don't really like RGB lighting (although I think that can be turned off), and I like my laptop to look professional, white colour backlit keyboard is perfect for me.
c) I like business grade laptop, as it is built to meet certain quality standards and certifications, and also because of business laptop tends to get more firmware/driver update supports for longer time.
d) I am used to Intel + Nvidia system, and so far I have no major problem with them, so I might as well just continue to stick with this combination.



TSalexander3133
post Dec 26 2021, 07:38 AM

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Update:
- Included performance benchmark comparison between Windows 10 and Windows 11
TSalexander3133
post Feb 29 2024, 04:18 PM

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QUOTE(haroldz123 @ Feb 29 2024, 03:21 PM)
Are u still using this?

How the performance after 3 years?
*
Still using.
But I did not run benchmark on it recently, and I use this as file backup/sync server mostly, so no heavy usage at the moment.

 

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