When people hear the word Xeon (well, technical people at least), they imagine huge data centers or fancy workstations that can do everything imaginable. After all, this processor is widely known for its amazing efficiency and its ability to handle even the biggest of workloads. So you can probably imagine how exciting it could be for this processor to be available for laptops. Well, that sense of excitement can finally be felt as Intel unveils the E3-1500M v5, the Xeon processor meant for laptop use.
Now that the news is out, no one would wonder if you’re itching to run to nearest stores that sell electronics so that you can get your hands on the Lenovo P50 and P70. Yes, the mobile Xeon processor will first be coming out within the new laptops in Lenovo’s popular product line. Based on Skylake, this processor will empower users with a capacity of 64GB of RAM.
These laptops will now be called mobile workstations, considering the specs that they have and the mobility added onto it. These are perfect for those who work on huge data sets and render 3D models while they are on the go. Just like any Xeon processor that came before it, it offers remote management and has error-correcting memory. What’s new in this series, however, is the new Thunderbolt connector that allows users to have USB Type-C devices and dual 4K displays all in one port.
As for the laptops that would be housing it, you can expect the Lenovo ThinkPad P70 to have a 17-inch display that allows both 4K and FHD resolutions. It will also carry Nvidia Quadro graphics cards. It has the ability to support up to four external storage devices in one go, with the capacity to support either a 2TB HDD or a 1TB SSD. There is an option to add a DVD-RW drive to it. It uses 8-cell 96WHr batteries and weighs a total of 3.4 kilos.
Shifting our attention towards the Lenovo ThinkPad P50, this one has a 15.6-inch 4K display. The rest of the specs match the P70, except for the option to add a DVD-RW drive. It weighs a mere 2.5 kilos, a real treat considering everything that it can do. It also houses 4-cell 66Whr batteries.
Seeing this huge shift that Intel has introduced through this new release, it has become even more evident how huge of an impact mobile technology has brought to the world. Where real pros used to favor bulky workstations over laptops because of the limits and restrictions that the latter brings, this could open up a whole new world of followers for mobile devices that have the same capacity as a real high spec workstation.
The new laptops were first unveiled during the SIGGRAPH 2015 Conference and Exhibition, which was held earlier this week in Los Angeles. They will not be available to consumers until later this year, with the P50 having price tags that start at $1,599 and the P70 starting at $1,999.
