Lenovo ThinkPad 14" T14s Gen 6 Review

This ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 is a weird one. It's got the fastest CPU you can get right now, but it's trapped in a body that doesn't really know what to do with all that power. The one thing you need to know? This isn't a laptop for everyone. It's a niche machine for people who need insane CPU performance on battery power and don't care about gaming or a flashy screen.

The CPU performance is in the 100th percentile, which is wild. It absolutely shreds through spreadsheets, code compilation, and multitasking. But that's where the magic stops. The integrated GPU lands in the 37th percentile, so don't even think about gaming. It's a classic case of a brainiac athlete who can't run a mile. The raw CPU power is impressive, but the overall experience feels unbalanced.

Worth it? Only if you find it on sale. The price swings from $1699 to $1939, so shop around. At the low end, it's a compelling productivity machine. At the high end, you're paying a premium for that CPU in a package with other compromises. Don't pay full price.

If you want raw power and a great screen, the 14" MacBook Pro with an M4 chip is a more balanced and polished machine, though you lose Windows. The ASUS Zenbook Duo offers way more screen real estate and versatility for creative work. And if you need any graphical power at all, skip this and look at the Lenovo Legion or MSI Vector gaming laptops, which will crush this in GPU tasks while still having great CPUs.

This is a specialist's tool. Buy it if you're a business user or developer who lives in terminals and spreadsheets, needs max battery life, and values portability above all else. For anyone else, especially if you ever want to play a game or edit a photo, there are better, more well-rounded options for your money.