Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (6th Gen) review: A business laptop that’s tops in its class - billingsdairriortand

Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Carbon (6th Gen) continues its tradition as a premier, though pricey, business laptop that weighs as weeny as some tablets. Rather simply, it exudes quality.

Around the identical good 14-inch display can embody plant a variety of ports, including a pair of fast Bolt of lightning connectors ideal for impulsive outer displays. Battery life is also very satisfactory, though that's assisted past the somewhat underlying 1080p display that accompanied our reassessmen unit. Under the exhaust hood, there's an 8th-gen quad-kernel Intel Kaby Lake-R processor that accomplishes quite an enough for most business tasks. It May be be a hardly a hundred dollars more than than the competition, but that hasn't prevented it from earning our Editors' Choice award. Read on for wherefore.

This review is part of our best laptops roundup. Go at that place for details some competing products and how we well-tried them.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (6th gen): Primary specs

• Display: 14-edge (1920×1080) IPS technology (every bit tested); 2560×1440 (with ex gratia HDR)
• Processor: Intel Core i5-8250U, i5-8350U, i7-8550U, i7-8650U (quadruplet-core 1.8-GHz i7-8550U (Kaby Lake-R) as tested)
• Graphics: Intel HD 620 (as tested)
• Memory: 8GB-16GB LPDDR3 (2,133MHz) (8GB as tested)
• Storage: 256GB, 512GB, PCIe-NVME OPAL2.0 M.2 SSD, 1TB PCIe-NVME OPAL2.0 SSD (256GB as tested)
• Surety:dTPM; fingerprint reader
• Ports: USB 3.1 (2, 1 always connected), USB-C (2, Thunderbolt 3), nanoSIM, microSD, NFC, HDMI, Gigabit ethernet extension Gen2, earpiece/mic
• Wireless: Intel 8265 802.11ac (2×2), Bluetooth 4.1
• Cameras: 720p HD (front), with shutter; optional Inland Revenue camera (w/Windows Hello); no rear camera
• Bombardment: 57Wh
• Operational organization: Windows 10 Pro
• Dimensions: 12.8 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches
• Weights: 2.46 pounds (notebook computer), 3.10 lb (notebook + courser), as measured
• Facultative Accessories: ThinkPad USB 3.0 Ultra DockRemove not-cartesian product link ($199.99), ThinkPad X1 Wireless Touch MouseRemove not-product link ($69.99)
• Price:$1,869.00 as testedRemove non-product link; after Web discount, $1,401.75

Cadaverous and oh so light, with a variety of ports

According to Lenovo, the Thinkpad X1 Carbon paper is constructed of four layers of carbon vulcanized fiber, together with a magnesium alloy ramble-cage. In our day-to-solar day handling, that meant that it felt solid: both alight and completely sturdy, with nary the slightest wiggle in the chassis. (It's rugged plenty to pass the armed forces's MIL-STD-810G ruggedized tests, Lenovo says.)

The carbon paper construction too pays dividends in terms of weight. One of the theoretical advantages of a Windows tablet look-alike the sturdy 2017 HP Wraith x2 is its mobility, at 2.48 pounds on our scale leaf. But the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 6th Gen weighs even little: 2.46 pounds, and it's far sturdier along the lap. All told, you'll all but certainly atomic number 4 openmouthed with how thin and light it feels in the hired man.

Check off Hachman / IDG

The near-hand side of the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon copy 6th Gen boasts a diversity of ports, including the USB-C and Gen 2 ethernet port that can be victimised with one of Lenovo's physical docks.

Though information technology's optionally available in silver, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon 6th Gen is most frequently offered in ThinkPad's signature blackamoor. It's non technically a convertible, but the display reclines to a flat Angle, serving as a writing surface if you choose. (Lenovo doesn't bundle a stylus with the X1 Carbon, nonetheless, nor does information technology list one among its accessories.) The Carbon's effective hinge too resists any movement when flopping about.

Open the Carbon's continue, and you're met with the ThinkPad X1 Carbon copy's display, non typically matchless of Lenovo's time-honored strengths. Quartet options are available, all 14-in panels: The 1920×1080 display generated 309 nits victimisation our tests. We mostly test with a brightness between 250 and 260 nits arsenic a comfortable level for daily function, and metre battery life consequently. Hitting that target was a smart decision on Lenovo's part, every bit IT maximizes battery life without sacrificing additional brightness.

Home run Hachman / IDG

Another USB-A porthole is tucked on the right of the Lenovo X1 Carbon (6th Gen), on with some large fan vents. There's a Kensington dock and a earphone jak, too.

Hold open in mind, though, that the base display doesn't offer touch. For that, you'll pay up $85 additional for a 1080p, 300-nit (rated) display, which was on the model we reviewed. You can also pay Thomas More for a high-res 2560×1440, 300-nit showing (a $138 adder) or $180 more for a 500-nit, 2560×1440 bright display boasting the Dolby Vision HDR capabilities. All of the let down-cost panels feature anti-glare coating, which works as advertised.

Maybe I'm just used to high-res panels, but the 1080p 14-inch panel looked a bit as well squished for an mundane, lin notebook. And to my eye, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon 6th Gen's mental image choice looked a bit too yellow, even when Lenovo's software rumored a maximum coloration temperature of 6500K. Turn on Eyeball Care mode (the tantamount of Windows' "night light" settings) inside the Lenovo Vantage substitute software package really dialed down the blue light (4500K). But, like Windows, you do have the ability to make adjustments via a slider block off.

In terms of ports, the X1 Atomic number 6 offers a smorgasbord of options. Increasingly notebook computer and tab makers are mobile to USB-C charging, and the ThinkPad X1 Carbon 6th Gen is no exception. One of the nice older traditions inside the ThinkPad line was the consistency of its chargers; Lenovo shipped America the same 65-watt charger in cardinal different models of Lenovo notebooks we're testing.

The left-handed side of the chassis is where the X1 Carbon 6th Gen includes that USB-C port, which is Thunderbolt 3.0 enabled—meaning that it can supply (or receive) power, render USB 3.0 data transfers, and king up to two 4K monitors at 30Hz refresh rates apiece. An HDMI larboard and a more traditional USB 3.1 A connector provide legacy connections.

Right in the in-between, though there's also Lenovo's proprietary tying up connector, which includes a second, Thunderbolt 3.0 port plus a special ethernet Gen 2 jack, some physically designed for Lenovo's 90W Pro Dock, which we didn't test. It's whol a bit inconvenient if you don't buy into Lenovo's dock vision; the USB-C port is standard, merely you'll just about certainly need to buy a dongle to fit the specific ethernet adapter, which wasn't shipped with our review unit, or just connect wirelessly. In my mind, this is the only matter that annoyed me about the X1 Carbon, though an ethernet-to-USB-C donglePolish of non-intersection link is really just $25 or thus more.

The righthand side of the physical body includes the arcsecond USB-A connexion, a Kensington lock, large fan vents, and the 3.5mm earpiece/mic jack.

And don't forget just about the combination SD card and WLAN SIM card holder, which is tucked inaccurate inside the flexible joint, and somewhat inaccessible unless the laptop is straight fair-and-square sol. Naturally, you'll need to supply your own SIM, and the Fibocom L850-GL 4G LTE-A guy 9 card that enables it is a $100 option. The Thinkpad X1 Carbon 6th Gen too includes a hardware dTPM (Trusted Platform Module) chip, besides, for additional security.

Mark Hachman / IDG

The combination SD/WWAN slot on the X1 Carbon (6th Gen) is unseeable near the hinge. You'll need a pushpin, staple, or SIM prong to remove it.

2 other key features were also designed with security in mind. First, on that point's the fingerprint reader to the right of the trackpad, Lenovo's choice for allowing users to log in victimisation Windows Hello. We were pleased to find it as trustworthy arsenic some other Lenovo fingerprint readers we've used. Lenovo also offers an upgrade to an IR depth photographic camera that should allow Windows Hello to be used via the front line-cladding camera, too, though our review unit lacked that potentiality.

Here's a slightly more unusual security department feature. Lenovo's X1 Carbon copy 6th Gen—for those models without the IR camera—now includes something called "ThinkShutter," a sliding energetic shutter that you can close, a nod to those WHO are obsessed that someone may hack their webcam without their knowledge. I found the ThinkShutter to comprise really beautiful stiff when I firstly started sliding information technology back and forth using the integrated divot, though it loosened up over time. When shut, a red ring surrounds the elflike lens, notifying you that the television camera is obscured.

Mark Hachman / IDG

You can use your fingernail or a coin to slide the ThinkShutter over. But information technology's corpse sufficient that you English hawthorn represent concerned about breakage a nail.

Whatever audio propelled upwards by the X1 Carbon's speakers sounds flattish and somewhat along the little side, though the the breathy lyrics of Suzanne Vega's "Tom turkey's Dining car" didn't look to lose any lucidity when played back over the laptop's speakers. There's more than enough volume to fill in a normal group discussion elbow room, though IT tends to blare without a lot of depth.

IT's worth noting that the X1 Carbon includes the Dolby Atmos audio enhancement algorithmic program, which improves the audio both over the speakers and headphones. Still, even headphones produced audio frequency that wasn't all that ennobling, and the volume controls didn't actually seem to elevate the audio book in the upper echelons of the audio controls. Granted, this is a business PC first and fore.

Keyboard and typing: ThinkPad quality

Lenovo's keyboards undergo earned an elite reputation, and the X1 Carbon continues that tradition. The X1 Carbon's keys feel a bit springier than those of its cousin, the X1 Lozenge, thought apiece key is actually a bit smaller than I expected. Other notebooks such as the Huawei Matebook X Favoring compress some of the control keys and usage the extra space to addition the size of the main, lettered keys. There are two levels of backlighting.

Mark Hachman / IDG

Naturally, thither's a familiar ThinkPad keyboard nether the cowling of the X1 Carbon.

Again, the extra routine of resilience may weary some fingers a bit—IT did for me, although I usual myself to it in a day surgery two. Some keyboards allow your fingers to glide over them, mildly depressing each key. Another way to take information technology would be to say that the X1 Carbon more approximates a desktop keyboard than opposite notebooks serve.

Mark Hachman / IDG

Depth cameras are great, but this fingermark sensor on the X1 Carbon 6th Gen reliably does the job. The small ridge to the top is an LED, which lights white while you log in, or red to indicate that the login failed. The process takes less than a forward.

Equally you might ask, the X1 Carbon likewise includes the the painting red Trackpoint gist, as well as the physical leftover, right and center buttons higher up the trackpad. The trackpad feels a trifle smoother and cheat than those connected other Lenovo products I had handy, simply it's proportionally a bit smaller, excessively. Don't draw a blank about the small fingerprint sensor to the right of the trackpad, which serves as a accessible agency to log in that's also compliant with Windows Hello. Totally of these are typical of most Lenovo notebooks. Remember that Lenovo too places the Office key in the left-hand recess, while others reserve this for the Operate key. This can be focused using the Advantage software.

As befitting a business notebook computer, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon copy foregoes about each unnecessary apps, save for what Windows itself provides. Lenovo's same Vantage software continues to be worth perusing, both every bit a means to upgrade drivers and firmware, besides as to toggle switch specific features on and off.

Performance: excellent virtually crosswise the board

Aside nonpayment, Lenovo's X1 Carbon optimizes its performance settings to hike up performance when you motivation it. In reality, this means that the ultrabook's fan runs rather a act, either in a fully revved-up mood or in a rather quiet, background state. Tied in a quiet office with important heating and air, the X1 Carbon's revved-up buff noise was mildly annoying. The accompanying Lenovo Vantage software (go to the Computer hardware Settings icon, then Cagy Settings) allows you to turn off this self-winding Nimble Cooling fashion and place information technology into a "Cool & Quiet" state. Unfortunately, the X1 Carbon copy's fan often kept quietly yet noticeably hissing outside.

If you occasionally work in a home bas (and WHO doesn't?) be sensitive that I received some abnormal results that I believe were laced to the close temperature, due to a malfunctioning air conditioner. At a warm house temperature of 78 degrees, the X1 Carbon's Cinebench lots dropped away a full 25 percent, and our extended HandBrake video conversion scores fell well, too. All of our final numbers, however, represent testing that we performed at PCWorld's systematically aura-in condition office in San Francisco, where the system could employment cooler, close air to chill the system of rules.

Still, we noticed that subsequently resuming the X1 Carbon copy from a prolonged sleep state, installing some software, and rebooting (including a Windows update) the X1 Atomic number 6 immediately began power throttling to avoid going terminated its voltage threshold.

Atomic number 3 we normally cause, we measured the X1 Carbon 6th Gen's performance using our trio of PCMark's benchmarks: Work, Home, and Creative. Call up, with a quad-core 1.8GHz Core i7-8550U (Kaby Lake-R) chip inside it, the X1 Atomic number 6 should plow through general office tasks hands down, and in our experience, it did and then. The Work mental testing measures Web browsing, practical with Excel spreadsheets, and more. Clear, its 8th-gen Effect splintering elevates it to the top of the heap.

Mark Hachman / IDG

The Interior test emphasizes light gaming and photo manipulation. We normally test consumer products victimization the Creative test as well, though some of our clientele-class products drop this run. (Though we don't show it here, the X1 Carbon 6th Gen finished at the top of the small number of thin-and-lights we tested using the Yeasty test.) In totally of these, the X1 Carbon copy 6th Gen performed praiseworthily. Again, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon copy A-one the others.

Mark Hachman / IDG

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 6th Gen tops the heap in our Home test, which we don't always apply to business concern-focused PCs.

Maxon's Cinebench benchmark, which asks the system to render a 2D vista, is the closest to a universal benchmark that we use, stressing the four-core, eight-thread Congress of Racial Equality i7 8550U to its utmost. We stress-test using all of the cores enabled. Over again, this was a test that we found was susceptible to ambient heat, which may have reduced the X1 Carbon's performance somewhat. Still, information technology's in the top tier.

Mark Hachman / IDG

Low-level the Cinebench interpretation test, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon copy 6th Gen can be saved near the top of the heap.

The HandBrake open-reference tool pushes all four cores, converting a tip-level Hollywood movie into a resolution that can comprise used happening an Android tablet. It's a good, drawn-out tension test for how the laptop will hold up over prolonged exertion, and the X1 Carbon is almost at the top.

Mark Hachman / IDG

Our prolonged Handbrake test shows off the power of the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon copy (6th Gen) and its 8th-gen Core crisp.

Finally, we take 3D carrying out using the interracial HD 620 GPU. We don't have a bun in the oven much Here out of a business sector laptop, and its performance near the bottom reflects that.

Mark Hachman / IDG

3D performance is one of the few pallid spots for the Lenovo X1 Carbon 6th Gen, overshadowed by other notebooks with discrete 3D GPUs.

With a battery-sipping 8th-gen C.P.U. under the hood, as well as a 1080p panel, we expected battery life to be many than satisfactory. IT is, motor-assisted aside the large 57Wh battery. Keep in mind that if you opt for a high-declaration panel, though, that battery life will twilight accordingly. Its duration with an FHD display of just nether 9 hours is a chip disappointing compared to the competition, which is hovering around 10 hours or so.

Mark Hachman / IDG

At nearly 9 hours of battery life, the Lenovo X1 Carbon paper 6th Gen should last through a full day of work, though it pales a bit to few of its competition.

Conclusion: A chancellor business automobile

Information technology's hard to find any fault with Lenovo's in vogue entry into the X1 Carbon line, specially if you're sounding for a moderately powerful business car with dandy stamp battery life. One of its drawbacks, its soaring price, testament likely be erased if an Information technology department budget is footing the invoice, instead than a consumer. Options like WWAN capabilities, a high-resolution screen, and a faster processor will naturally elevate the toll. The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 6th Gen receives our PCWorld Editors' Choice award as a thin-and-unchaste laptop computer that deserves to be on your desk.

Source: https://www.pcworld.com/article/402406/lenovo-thinkpad-x1-carbon-6th-gen-review.html

Posted by: billingsdairriortand.blogspot.com

Share this post