Mobile workstation powered by AMD Ryzen Pro looks to hit sweet spot for CAD/BIM
Lenovo has launched the ThinkPad P14s Gen 5 AMD, a 14-inch mobile workstation powered by the new ‘ultra efficient’ AMD Ryzen Pro 8040 HS-Series processor.
The new pro laptop does not appear to be that different to the previous Gen 4 edition. The new AMD processor, which has CPU, GPU, and NPU (Neural Processing Unit) built into the same silicon, has almost identical specs to its predecessor, the AMD Ryzen Pro 7040 Series.
For instance, the new laptop’s top-end AMD Ryzen 7 Pro 8840HS processor has the same AMD Radeon 780M GPU with pro graphics driver, plus 8 cores, 16 threads, and a max frequency of 5.1 GHz.
With CPU, GPU and NPU all on the same chip, and access to a whopping 96 GB of memory, far more than on a discrete laptop GPU, this could present some interesting workflow opportunities for AI
However, it’s a different story when it comes to AI processing, with the NPU said to deliver 39 AI TOPS, almost 3.5x that of the previous generation.
The Lenovo ThinkPad P14s Gen 5 AMD comes with a range of independent software vendor (ISV) certifications and, on paper, looks well suited to running CAD and BIM tools such as AutoCAD, Revit, and Solidworks. The laptop also offers ThinkShield security features and, according to Lenovo, passes comprehensive MIL-SPEC testing for durability.
Other primary specs include up to 96 GB DDR5 memory up to 2TB PCIe SSD, and a choice of 14″ 16:10 displays, up to a 2.8K OLED (2,880 x 1,800) anti-glare 400nit IPS panel with 100% DCI-P3, and X-Rite FCC.
Additional features include Wi-Fi 6E and optional 5G WWAN, and a choice of 39.3Whr battery or customer replaceable 52.5Whr battery.
Elsewhere, it looks like Lenovo has shaved a few millimetres off the chassis, with the ThinkPad P14s Gen 5 coming in at 315.9 x 223.7 x 17.7 mm and 1.31 kg compared to 317.7 x 227.36 x 17.9 mm and 1.34 kg for the Gen 4 edition.
The Lenovo ThinkPad P14s Gen 5 AMD will be available this month, with an expected starting price of $1,379.
What AEC Magazine thinks
On paper, the Lenovo ThinkPad P14s Gen 5 AMD looks to be a great pro laptop for CAD and BIM workflows. It shares the same fundamental processor technology and pro graphics driver as the ThinkPad P14s Gen 4 AMD, which has plenty of performance to run CAD tools like Solidworks, as illustrated in this AEC Magazine article.
Also, with this AMD processor, if you run out of GPU memory, you can borrow more from system memory without the performance penalty you’d typically get from the traditional combination of CPU and discrete GPU.
The ThinkPad P14s Gen 5 AMD might not bring much new to the table in terms of primary processing, but the significantly faster NPU should make the laptop more future proofed.
While we’ve yet to see AEC software developers extract real value from NPUs, with many preferring to use processors in the cloud, architects should certainly derive benefits from NPUs when running general local software, such as Microsoft Copilot, Teams and Zoom.
Of course, for more intensive AI workflows, such as using Stable Diffusion for architectural concept design, powerful discrete Nvidia RTX GPUs will likely be faster. However, as the ThinkPad P14s Gen 5 AMD has the CPU, GPU and NPU all on the same chip, which can potentially access a whopping 96 GB of memory, far more than you get on a discrete laptop GPU, this could present some interesting workflow opportunities for AI in the future.
