For general use, the Lenovo ThinkPad P16 offers a longer battery life and a higher resolution screen, making it suitable for everyday tasks and productivity. However, if you're interested in gaming, 3D rendering, or machine learning, the Lenovo Legion 5 16 with its more powerful Nvidia RTX 4060 GPU and higher refresh rate screen is the better choice, despite its shorter battery life. The Legion 5 also has a more robust cooling system to handle intensive tasks without overheating. For engineering tasks, the ThinkPad P16's superior screen colors coverage and resolution are advantageous for detailed work, but the Legion 5's superior GPU and CPU will provide faster performance for simulations and rendering. Consider the Legion 5 for its gaming capabilities and the ThinkPad P16 for its business-oriented features and longer battery life. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Lenovo Legion 5 16 (2024)
Excellent for engineering and design
Very good for gaming and AI
Advantages of the Lenovo ThinkPad P16
Very good overall build quality
Very good battery life
Excellent speakers
Excellent keyboard
Key differences
Gaming and AI
8.5/10
6.9/10
8.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.5/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
240Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
6.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.5/10
The Lenovo Legion 5 16 (2024) is very good for gaming and AI, while the Lenovo ThinkPad P16 is only fair.
PerfectRec’s Gaming and AI Score strongly emphasizes graphics processing capability, while also taking into account other factors that impact suitability for gaming and AI work.
Engineering and Design
9.0/10
8.3/10
9.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
8.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.5/10
32.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Lenovo Legion 5 16 (2024) is excellent for engineering and design, while the Lenovo ThinkPad P16 is very good.
PerfectRec’s Engineering and Design Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for graphic design and 3D rendering work.
Screen Quality
8.7/10
8.2/10
16.0in
SIZE
16.0in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
240Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
500.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
569.0 nits
The Lenovo Legion 5 16 has a better screen than the Lenovo ThinkPad P16 for gaming and AI, while the Lenovo ThinkPad P16 has a better screen for engineering and design, and content creation.
PerfectRec’s screen quality scores take into account various important factors that are relevant for different use cases.
Battery
3.5 Hours
10.0 Hours
The Lenovo Legion 5 16 has 3.5 hours of battery life. The Lenovo ThinkPad P16 has 10 hours of battery life.
Battery life estimate is based on a mix of common use patterns. More portable and higher performing laptops tend to have less battery life.
Portability
Fair
Poor
16.0in
SIZE
16.0in
5.6 lbs
WEIGHT
6.5 lbs
0.9in
THICKNESS
1.2in
The Lenovo Legion 5 16 (2024) has only fair portability, while the Lenovo ThinkPad P16 has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.4/10
8.5/10
The Lenovo ThinkPad P16 has very good build quality, while the Lenovo Legion 5 16 (2024) has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,200
$1,449
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
The Lenovo Legion 5 16 (2024) has a price of $1,200 and the Lenovo ThinkPad P16 costs $1,449.
The Lenovo Legion 5 16 (2024) and Lenovo ThinkPad P16 are both very good for general use.
PerfectRec’s General Use Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for general productivity, web browsing, streaming, video calls, and running a wide variety of apps and programs.
Content Creation
8.2/10
8.2/10
9.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
32.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Lenovo ThinkPad P16 and Lenovo Legion 5 16 (2024) are both very good for content creation.
PerfectRec’s Content Creation Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for photo editing, video editing and other content creation tasks.
Software Development
8.0/10
8.4/10
9.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.6/10
32.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The Lenovo ThinkPad P16 and Lenovo Legion 5 16 (2024) are both very good for software development.
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software developers.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Lenovo Legion 5 16 (2024) and the Lenovo ThinkPad P16 compare to other laptops
"It's only a few months since we gave the MSI CreatorPro X17 one of our rare 4.5-star ratings and our top mobile workstation honor, but the Lenovo ThinkPad P16 Gen 1 matches that achievement in a more premium overall build. Ultimately, its build quality, screen, and keyboard give our latest Editors' Choice nod to the Lenovo—it's enough of a monster on almost all fronts that it simply cannot be ignored."
Get a great deal on the Lenovo Legion 5 16 (2024) or the Lenovo ThinkPad P16
About Lenovo
Lenovo is a Chinese technology company, and one of the largest personal computer vendor. They are well known for a variety of technology products, including laptops. Their consumer series include their entry level IdeaPad and LOQ series and mid-to-high-end Yoga and Legion series. On the business-oriented side, their series include their entry-level ThinkBook series and mid-to-high-end ThinkPad series. Lenovo laptops offer strong performance for reasonable prices, and are often on sale.
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec laptops team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest laptop information and makes it digestible for you.
By the numbers
380
Laptops evaluated
48,640
Laptops stats compiled
13
Proprietary Laptops ratings developed
117,495
Recommendations made
25,458
Consumer hours saved
About the laptop team
Joe Golden, Ph.D
CEO and Laptops Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
Jason Lew
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Jason is a staff expert and software engineer that has been making laptop recommendations for 7 years and moderates one of the largest laptop subreddits.
Chandradeep Chowdhury
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.
Craig Russell
Laptops Expert
Craig is a UK-based laptops expert. Craig works in IT, where he recommends and supports laptops and PCs for clients and has been recommending laptops on Reddit for five years.