Lenovo reveals ThinkPad P50 and ThinkPad P70 laptops with Intel Xeon processors

Premium-priced mobile workstations with Intel's new chip family to launch Q4 2015

Lenovo has unveiled the ThinkPad P50 and ThinkPad P70 laptops, the first announced devices to include Intel's new Xeon E3-1500M v5 processor family.

The two "mobile workstations" are premium machines designed for the most demanding professional tasks. To this end, they will feature CPUs from the Xeon E3-1500M v5 range, Intel's attempt to bring its top-end Xeon line - typically found in servers and desktop workstations - to portable laptops.

Specs and model numbers for the new Xeon chips have not been detailed by Intel or Lenovo, but the ThinkPad P70 (shown above) and ThinkPad P50's (shown below) other specs have been partially revealed.

Both will come with Windows 10 Pro as standard, although Windows 8.1 Pro, Windows 7 Pro, Ubuntu Linux or Red Hat Enterprise Linux will also be offered.

Hardware-wise, the ThinkPad P70 will include up to 64GB of DDR4 error-correcting code RAM, and will support up to four storage devices simultaneously - including up to a 1TB SDD. Two Thunderbolt 3 ports, Intel's customised USB-C platform, will be integrated, and two 17in display options will be available: a 4K UHD display or a FHD touchscreen.

The ThinkPad P50 is supposedly Lenovo's "thinnest and lightest" mobile workstation to date, and features a 15.6in 4K display. Both laptops will also include a new dual-fan cooling system as well as Nvidia Quadro GPUs which, unlike the graphics hardware firm's gaming-focused GeForce line, are built specifically for digital design and content creation.

"We are excited to bring Intel Xeon's legacy of performance, manageability and reliability to mobile workstations," said Navin Shenoy, vice president and general manager of Intel's Mobility Client Platforms Group.

"Now the power of Intel Xeon is in a notebook that can handle the unique compute and graphics intensive needs of engineers and designers."

The ThinkPad P70 goes on sale throughout Europe, Asia and the Middle East from November, while the ThinkPad P50 will launch in the same markets in December. Lenovo did not confirm UK pricing, but elsewhere the ThinkPad P70 will start at $1,999 while the ThinkPad P50 starts at $1,599.