These are the most affordable mobile workstations you can buy. But which one deserves your money?

Left to right: Lenovo ThinkPad P14s Gen 3, HP ZBook Firefly G9 14”, and Dell Precision 3570.

There’s a cost to power, but it doesn’t have to be high. Budget-minded mobile workstation seekers can find potent laptops with a potable price.

But which one is right for you?

We compared three entry-level mobile workstations from the three biggest PC manufacturers to see what each has to offer. The contenders are:

We broke down the main differences between these laptops across a variety of categories, including processors, memory and storage, ports, privacy and security, display, battery, weight and size, camera, wireless connectivity, and price.

Each of these laptops is configurable with higher specs, but as this can skyrocket their cost, we primarily considered the base configuration. When notable, we’ll indicate differences in configurability options.

Processors

Performance is the whole point of mobile workstations, which must be robust enough for at least the occasional heavy workload. While the base configuration is never the high point of performance, these laptops should still provide enough power for the job, and that means capable processors.

Each of the three entry level mobile workstations has 12^th-gen Intel processors and optional discrete NVIDIA graphics.

The ThinkPad 14s Gen 3 offers the most powerful base processor, the Intel Core i5-1240P, while the ZBook Firefly G9 14” and Precision 3570 both begin with the less powerful Core i5-1235U. None of the laptops offer discrete graphics with the base configuration.

For users looking to upgrade processor specs, the ThinkPad has the weakest options, maxing out with the Core i7-1260P and NVIDIA T500 graphics. The other two mobile workstations can be maxed out with the stronger Core i7-1280P CPU and NVIDIA RTX A500 GPU.

Winner: ThinkPad P14s Gen 3, for its base configuration

Memory and Storage

The ThinkPad P14s Gen 3 and ZBook Firefly G9 14” have the highest base memory, offering 8GB of DDR4-3200MHz to the Precision 3570’s 4GB. All three laptops start with 256GB of PCIe Gen 4 storage.

Once again, the ThinkPad is the least upgradeable, capped at 48GB DDR4 memory. Both the ZBook and Precision can be upgraded to 64GB of the faster DDR5-4800MHz memory. All three laptops max out with 2TB of storage.

Winner: ThinkPad P14s Gen 3 and ZBook Firefly G9 14”, for their base configuration

Ports

Each of the entry-level mobile workstations provides a similar selection of ports, including two USB-A ports, two USB-C Thunderbolt ports, an HDMI port, and a 3.5mm audio jack.

There are a couple notable differences. If you prefer a wired internet connection, only the Lenovo ThinkPad P14s Gen 3 and Dell Precision 3570 are equipped with an RJ45 Ethernet port. The Precision 3570 is alone in offering an SD card reader.

Winner: Precision 3570, for having the most ports

Privacy and Security

Each of the entry-level mobile workstations includes privacy and security measures, with all three offering a discrete Trusted Platform Module (TPM 2.0), security lock slot, optional fingerprint reader, optional smart card reader, optional infrared sensor for facial recognition, and privacy shutter for the camera. 

The ZBook Firefly 14” and Precision 3570 go beyond these features with additional privacy software (available for select configurations). With a specific display, the ZBook Firefly 14” can implement HP SureView, a privacy feature that limits the screen viewing angle to prevent passersby from snooping. Dell offers a similar feature through its Dell Optimizer software, Onlooker Detection, which uses the infrared sensor to detect prying eyes and alert the user.

The ZBook Firefly 14” also includes TamperLock, which reveals if the bottom of the laptop has been removed, and integration with Tile to track the location of the computer (though a Tile subscription is required). Other Dell Optimizer privacy features include Look Away Detect, which darkens the screen when users take their eyes off it, and ExpressSign-In, which locks the laptop when users walk away and wakes it up when the return.

Winner: ZBook Firefly 14” and Dell Precision 3570, for their software privacy features

Display

The ThinkPad P14s and ZBook Firefly G9 14” are both 14-inch laptops with a 16:10 aspect ratio. The Precision 3570 has a 15.6” display with a squatter 16:9 aspect ratio. (Note that there is a 16-inch version of the Firefly G9 as well as a 14-inch Precision model, the 3470, but these are both more expensive than the laptops under discussion.)

Though display size and aspect ratio is a matter of preference, 16:10 is becoming increasingly popular in mobile workstations as a taller alternative to the common 16:9. In terms of resolution, both the ThinkPad P14s Gen 3 and ZBook Firefly G9 have a standard FHD+ screen, 1920×1200, but the Precision 3570 starts with a surprisingly low res of 1366×768.

Each laptop can be configured with up to a 4K display, but only the Firefly G9 14” can be configured with a 120Hz refresh rate.

Winners: ThinkPad P14s Gen 3 and Firefly G9 14”, for their base displays

Battery

It’s difficult to judge battery life based on specs alone, but in terms of capacity the ZBook Firefly G9 14” takes the top spot with its 51Wh battery. The Precision 3570 comes next with a 41Wh battery and the ThinkPad P14s Gen 3 is last with 39.3Wh. The default power adapter for each laptop provides 65W.

The Precision 3570 can be optionally configured with a 58Wh battery and the ThinkPad P14s Gen 3 with a 52.4Wh battery.

According to the manufacturers’ internal MobileMark battery benchmarks (take them with a grain of salt), the ThinkPad P14s Gen 3 has a 9.7 hour battery life (39.3Wh battery), the ZBook Firefly G9 14” has a 13 hour battery life, and the Precision 3570 has a battery life of 10 hours (58Wh battery; Dell has not disclosed test results for the base 41Wh battery, though naturally it would be lower).

Winner: ZBook Firefly G9 14”, for its battery capacity

Weight and Size

The lightest of the three laptops is the ThinkPad P14s Gen 3 at 3.06lbs, followed by the ZBook Firefly G9 at 3.24lbs. The Precision 3570, since it’s a bigger laptop, is unsurprisingly the heaviest at a (still respectable) 3.5lbs.

The ThinkPad P14s Gen 3 (317.7 x 226.9 x 17.9mm) is also the slimmest of the three laptops, though it’s slightly wider and taller than the ZBook Firefly G9 14” (315.6 x 224.3 x 19.9mm). The Precision 3570 is the biggest in all dimensions (358 x 232 x 21mm).

Winner: ThinkPad P14s Gen 3, for its thinness and lightness

Camera

With virtual meetings virtually inescapable these days, camera quality is an increasingly important consideration when choosing a laptop. The ThinkPad P14s Gen 3 and Precision 3570 both have HD cameras, essentially providing the bare minimum resolution of 1280×720 pixels. The Firefly G9 14”, on the other hand, is equipped with a much sharper 5MP camera, corresponding to 2592×1944 pixels.

Winner: ZBook Firefly G9 14”, for its high-res webcam

Wireless Connectivity

Each of the three mobile workstations supports the latest Wi-Fi 6E standard as well as Bluetooth 5.2.

For an added cost, the laptops also all include an optional SIM card slot for wireless wide area network (WWAN) access. The ThinkPad P14s Gen 3 and Precision 3570 both support 4G LTE, but only the ZBook Firefly G9 14” supports the latest 5G.

Winner: ZBook Firefly G9 14”, for its 5G support

Price

Comparing the prices of these laptops is less straightforward than it would seem for two reasons: one, the manufacturers constantly offer large, fluctuating discounts against the given value; and two, sometimes the base specs are incompatible with one another, requiring users to tradeoff in unexpected ways (for example, if configured with 8GB of memory, the ThinkPad P14s Gen 3 is automatically configured with NVIDIA Quadro T550 graphics. With 16GB memory, it switches to integrated graphics).

With those caveats in mind, we’ll compare what each manufacturer lists as the starting price at time of publication. Surprisingly, the ThinkPad P14s Gen 3 is the lowest-priced option at $1,362. The Precision 3570 is the next most affordable at $1,425, and the ZBook Firefly G9 14” is the priciest entry-level mobile workstation at $1,669.

Winner: ThinkPad P14s Gen 3, for its low starting price

And The Winner Is…

The Lenovo ThinkPad P14s Gen 3. (Source: Lenovo.)

For our money, the Lenovo ThinkPad P14s Gen 3 is the best entry-level mobile workstation currently available. It offers the best base processors in the slimmest package and at the lowest price of the three major brands.

That said, the other two mobile workstations each have notable strengths.

The HP ZBook Firefly G9 14” is loaded with premium features like a high-res camera, 5G support, a high refresh display option, privacy features, and high battery life. It’s also the most stylish of the three laptops, in our opinion.

The Dell Precision 3570 offers a wider range of options and price points than either of its competitors, and it includes the most ports of all three mobile workstations. It’s also got the biggest display of the three entry-level laptops, if you value size over style.

But if you simply value good value, all three entry-level mobile workstations are worth your attention.