Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Laptop Review

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Design

My first PC had a 15-inch screen, and however much I liked the screen capacity it offered, that thick block of a gadget was too substantial to even think about pulling around. At the point when the time had come to upgrade, I, like so many, rode the flood of little screened PCs that had gotten mainstream in the course of the last decade. Presently, my friends, it’s an ideal opportunity to get back to the big screen, since 15-inch PCs like the ThinkPad X1 Extreme demonstrate that a huge presentation doesn’t mean a major case. Indeed, the X1 Extreme has a lot bigger impression than something like the XPS 13 or even the 14-inch ThinkPad X1 Carbon, however, at 0.7 inches thick, it’s slim enough to slip into a satchel or knapsack.

I’m much more dazzled by its anything but; a 15.6-inch PC weighing 3.8 pounds would have been unbelievable only a couple of years prior. Lenovo didn’t roll out any significant improvements to the plan for this sophomore exertion. This current machine’s smooth, dainty and lightweight suspension stays the best show (close by the X1 Carbon) of Lenovo’s notable ThinkPad aesthetic. You’re likely acquainted with the look at this point, however, we’ll go over the nuts and bolts: On the X1 Extreme’s top is a power outage ThinkPad logo enlightened by a sparkling red “I” inverse some sleek X1 marking. Open the cover, and you’ll discover the marked red ThinkPad trim on the touchpad fastens and pointing stick.

There’s more marking on the deck and show bezels, however, it’s all cautious and doesn’t detract from the X1 Extreme’s covert, moderate appearance. New to the current year’s model is a carbon-fiber weave on the X1 Extreme’s cover. This equivalent example, presented on the most recent ThinkPad X1 Carbon, highlights the X1 Extreme’s rich, carbon-fiber material and gives the PC a similar forceful edge as those carbon-fiber decals on sports vehicles. The ThinkPad X1 Extreme is an appealing PC, yet I have a couple of objections to the design. For one, the X1 Extreme hasn’t accepted flimsy screen bezels as other premium PCs have done. The base bezel is particularly stout and takes away from a generally smoothed-out structure.

I likewise wish the unique mark sensor were more articulated and the power button wasn’t so recessed. The matte-dark delicate touch surfaces draw in fingerprints like no other. The ThinkPad X1 Extreme is bigger than the XPS 15 (14.1 x 9.3 x 0.7 inches, 4.5 pounds) and even the 16-inch MacBook Pro (14.1 x 9.7 x 0.6 inches, 4.3 pounds). The HP Specter x360 15 (14.2 x 9.8 x 0.8 inches, 4.6 pounds) is about a similar size as the Lenovo, however, that will change when HP delivers the upgraded 2020 model. You should note, in any case, that regardless of being on the bigger side of this class, the X1 Extreme is essentially lighter than its rivals.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Ports

Business clients who keep the ThinkPad X1 Extreme docked at the workplace will not have any issues interfacing with screens, cell phones, or different peripherals at home. On the right half of the ThinkPad X1 Extreme are two Thunderbolt 3 ports, an HDMI 2.0 info, and an RJ45 Ethernet dongle (which requires a connector).

Move over to one side of the PC, and you’ll discover two USB 3.1 ports, an SD card reader, a Kensington lock, and a discretionary smart card reader.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Durability and Security

The X1 Extreme demonstrates that a PC doesn’t have to feel like an iron block to endure a drop. Supported with four layers of carbon fiber and an aluminum-amalgam base cover, the X1 Extreme is tried to 12 military-grade toughness guidelines, including high elevations, over-the-top mugginess, and testing temperatures. This is as yet a $3,000 laptop, so you ought to do everything humanly conceivable to try not to drop it, however, it’s ideal to realize that the X1 Extreme satisfies the name.

The X1 Extreme’s equipment secures what’s outwardly, yet in addition to the touchy information contained inside the machine. An IR camera on the top showcase bezel considers quick and secure login through Windows Hello. Stressed over that camera getting hacked? The X1 Extreme has a webcam cover that closes you out with a basic slide to one side. You would then be able to utilize the fingerprint sensor as an option login strategy. Other safety efforts are housed inside the ThinkPad X1 Extreme, including a discrete TPM 2.0 chip and Intel vPro technology.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Display

The 15.6-inch, 4K HDR screen on our ThinkPad X1 Extreme is beautiful, brilliant, and sharp. The counter glare board probably won’t have a similar picture quality as the new OLED screen choice, however, it’s an incredible decision for business clients, programmers, or content makers who get irritated by reflections. The 3840 x 2160-pixel board was sharp to the point that I could see the sewing in Harley Quinn’s cap when I stopped a nearby scene in Birds of Prey. Distinctive color burst off the screen when the Ace Chemicals plant detonated and surges of turquoise, red, and lime emitted into the air.

Those immersed colors didn’t pop however much they did on the Razer Blade 15 Studio’s polished OLED display that my associate was seeing close to me, yet essentially the X1 Extreme’s anti-glare screen didn’t mirror my face back at me. Our colorimeter estimated a superb 163% of sRGB feature when we put the gadget on the ThinkPad X1 Extreme’s presentation. That implies the PC’s board is more soaked than those on the 16-inch MacBook Pro (114%) and the HP Specter x360 15 (157%). Just the XPS 15’s 4K board is more bright (210%).

These PCs, with the exception of the MacBook Pro, top the class normal (122%). Arriving at 384 nits, the ThinkPad X1 Extreme’s display is very bright, despite the fact that it was surpassed by the XPS 15’s 4K screen (418 nits) and the MacBook Pro’s 16-inch board (429 nits). The Specter x360 15’s screen (247 nits) was disappointingly faint and well underneath the class normal (367 nits).

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Performance

I tossed all that I could at the ThinkPad X1 Extreme, yet the Intel Core i7-9850H CPU with 32GB of RAM inside this savage machine didn’t feel the pain. I didn’t see a trace of slack as I stacked 15 Google Chrome site pages, four of which played 4K videos behind the scenes. In any event, when I streamed a Carabao Cup match between Aston Villa and Leicester City, the X1 Extreme was so unbothered by the responsibility that its fans didn’t start off. The ThinkPad X1 Extreme worked effectively on our benchmarks, pulverizing record transfer, registering, and designing tests.

This second-generation model scored a 23,533 on the Geekbench 4.3 generally speaking execution test, missing the mark regarding the XPS 15 (28,882) and MacBook Pro (31,178), the two of which were arranged with Core i9-9980HK processors. Last year’s Specter x360 15 (21,889; Core i7-8750H) couldn’t keep up, in spite of the fact that it beat the classification normal (21,889). The ThinkPad X1 Extreme did that job in a short time and 19 seconds, simply defeating the Specter x360 15 (10:45). The bursting high speed of the XPS 15 (8:00) and MacBook Pro (8:00) delineate the amount more force a Core i9 CPU brings over the Core i7 chip. At last, we have a Windows PC with a hard drive that rivals the speed of a MacBook Pro.

The 1TB M.2 2280 PCIe NVMe Opal2 SSD inside the ThinkPad X1 Extreme copied 4.97GB of interactive media records in 2.5 seconds, for a rankling pace of 2,035.7 megabytes each second. Contending PCs that draw near or top the superior PC normal (1,023.4 MBps) — including the Specter x360 15 (565.5 MBps, 1TB SSD), MacBook Pro (2TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD; 1,017.9 MBps), and XPS 15 (1TB PCIe SSD, 508 MBps) — don’t approach the Lenovo.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Graphics

The ThinkPad X1 Extreme wasn’t made for gaming, however, this machine’s Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q graphics chip with 4GB of VRAM is a huge improvement over an integrated card. On our 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited test, the Thinkpad X1 Extreme landed a 175,005, falling just short of what the XPS 15 (177,158) netted. Both of these rankings trounce the top-class computer average (99,248). On our real-world gaming test, the ThinkPad X1 Extreme zoomed thru Dirt 3 at 170 frames per second.

That’s two times as clean because the XPS 15 (80 fps, GTX 1650) and outraces the Spectre x360 15 (61 fps) and the top class computer average (58 fps). Our Hitman benchmark results were not a pretty resounding success, however, the ThinkPad X1 Extreme did an excellent task nonetheless, hitting 47 fps. The Spectre x360 15 (46 fps) accomplished approximately the same, however, neither laptop reached the class average (63 fps).

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Audio

The four bottom-firing audio systems at the ThinkPad X1 Extreme pump out first-rate sound. While they were not pretty able to fill a medium-size lab, the quality of the audio produced was above average. There was a pleasing meatiness in the midrange of The Killers’ “Run for Cover” that saved the up-tempo rock/alternative tune from sounding thin. Don’t anticipate miracles withinside the lower range, however, a pleasing bass kick gave Juice Wrld’s “Lucid Dreams” the intensity it merits.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Keyboard and Touchpad

Lenovo’s ThinkPad keyboards are simply great in the enterprise, in an equal manner Apple’s iPads are the great tablets or Logitech’s C920 is the best webcam worth mentioning. The Extreme’s lightly scalloped keys hug your fingertips, and their beneficial tour is apparently deeper than the pc itself. It’s the mixture of a robust tactile click-on that bounces your fingers from one key to the next and a luxurious landing while you actuate the keys that make the X1 Extreme’s keyboard this sort of pride to type on.

Lenovo merits props for resisting the temptation to create a brand new low-travel key switch as a lot of different manufacturers have done. These keys are not broken; please do not attempt to repair them. I typed at a hundred and ten phrases per minute, with an accuracy rate of 97% at the 10FastFingers.com typing test. That end result is slower than my traditional 119-wpm velocity average however with fewer typos than my traditional 5% error rate.

Under the keyboard is a three. 9 x 2.7-inch touchpad, which’s smaller than the ones on maximum 15-inch laptops. I did not thoughts the smaller length, due to the fact the square-fashioned floor has sufficient vertical and horizontal area to execute Windows 10 gestures, like pinch to zoom and three-finger swipe to change windows.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Battery Life

Something needed to crash the party. The ThinkPad X1 Extreme lasted a measly 5 hours and 28 mins on our Laptop Mag battery test, which entails non-stop internet browsing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits. We count on brief runtimes from gaming laptops and workstations, not laptops made for creators and commercial enterprise users.

In comparison, the XPS 15 with a 4K display lasted 8 hours and 48 mins, a bit longer than the 4K Spectre x360 (8:09). If the MacBook Pro (10:55) had continued for 1 minute longer, it might have doubled the ThinkPad X1 Extreme’s runtime. The X1 Extreme also falls woefully brief of the class common (8:38). So much for extreme.

Webcam

The ThinkPad X1 Extreme’s 720p IR webcam captures colorful pictures and videos, however, my face appeared blurry in a selfie I snapped in our dimly lit office. I could not make out plenty of elements in my face, and there has been an ugly haziness to the photograph. The webcam is best if it is all you have, however you may want a proper external webcam in case you need to impress a brand new boss or long-distance girlfriend.

Heat

Poor cooling became one of the few lawsuits we had with the first-gen ThinkPad X1 Extreme. Fortunately, the brand new version did a lot higher in our heat test, topping out at ninety-nine tiers Fahrenheit. That’s nonetheless above our 95-degree consolation threshold however nowhere close to the 123 tiers the Gen 1 model reached the equal test (playing a 15-minute, 1080p video). The second Gen ThinkPad X1 Extreme’s touchpad (82 degrees) and the middle of the machine’s keyboard (92 degrees), locations you regularly rest your hands, had been best heated to the touch.

Software and Warranty

Lenovo does an excellent process packaging utility, tools, and aid into one clean, easy-to-use software referred to as Vantage. There are all kinds of information to rummage thru withinside the app, from guarantee facts to support files and machine specs. It’s now no longer a terrible concept to visit the Vantage app once in a while to make sure your machine has modern-day updates. The most effective other Lenovo-branded app preinstalled at the X1 Extreme is Lenovo Display Optimizer, which you could use to quick cycle display modes to get the photograph that great fits your desires and preferences.

Alongside the default Native setting are Photo, Video, and Blue Light modes. The X1 Extreme runs Windows 10 Pro, however, even this business-centered OS comes with bloatware, which includes Candy Crush Friends and Farm Heroes Saga apps. The ThinkPad X1 Extreme ships with a one-yr warranty. See how Lenovo fared in our Best and worst manufacturers and Tech guide showdown unique reports.

Pros	Cons
Attractive, lightweight chassis	Poor battery life (on 4K HDR model)
Gorgeous 4K HDR anti-glare display	Storage limited to 1TB
World-class keyboard
Blistering performance

Conclusion

The ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 2 is one slip-up away from being the best 15-inch PC available. That flaw, however, lies with poor battery life when contrasted with other 4K adversaries. On the off chance that a long runtime is imperative to you, you can pick a 1080p board, yet you’ll pass up the ravishing 4K HDR screen choice. Aside from baffling battery life, the ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen is right around an ideal PC for content makers, programmers, and business clients. Its smooth structure looks extraordinary, and it’s shockingly solid yet convenient. Execution is likewise amazing because of a Core i7 CPU and GTX 1650 Max-Q designs. You can even outfit the X1 Extreme with 64GB of RAM, despite the fact that capacity maximizes at just 1TB.

We suggest Dell’s XPS 15 over the ThinkPad X1 Extreme, on the grounds that the Dell has a more extended battery life and a lower cost. You ought to likewise consider the Specter x360 15, despite the fact that we’d sit tight for the overhauled model with ninth Gen processors. Mac’s 16-inch MacBook Pro is another acceptable choice in case you’re not on a careful spending plan; it has long battery life and epic performance, yet it’s impressively heavier than the X1 Extreme and has a less vivid display. Taking everything into account, the second Gen ThinkPad X1 Extreme is a superb PC with one glaring imperfection that numerous clients will discover hard to ignore.