The correct and intuitive way to use the 'red dot' is holding it with the middle finger and hitting mouse buttons with the thumb. As a 20+ year ThinkPad user, I find it easier and more precise than the trackpad or mouse.
Thank you, I have never really tried to use it and I really should/want to. I am going ti try and forget the trackpad is there and force myself to use it
I moved from using a decade of apple macbooks to lenovo thinkpad x1 carbon 6th gen. the new macbook air had butterfly keyboards and they sucked big time. every month the laptop had to go in to get the keyboard fixed. many people on forums had the same issue. i have been so happy with lenovo. amazing keyboard, great build quality and super light and sleek. i feel like batman using it. doesnt have any of the issues i thought windows would, runs smoothly. and instead of me queing up at apple service centre, if any issue arises a lenovo trained techie shows up at my house the next day here in mumbai !
For me, one of the most important features is a fairly standard keyboard. This line of laptops has actual keys for PgUp, PgDn, Home, End, Insert, Delete, so thanks for clearly showing the keyboard. Look at some other models that require a Fn key press, or some HP models that have removed the Insert key entirely. I can’t imagine that I am the only software engineer or sysadmin who still uses Ctrl-Insert, Shift-Insert in the vi editor regularly. And how about Crtl-PgDn Ctrl-PgUp to switch to another browser tab, or Linux terminal window. Extra ports are great too. I would have expected to find an integrated pen somewhere like the Yoga has on the side or the rear.
Yeah, the keyboard is what usually keeps me coming back to thinkpads! The matte screen on my x1 carbon is not touch enabled so a pen wouldn't work but I don't know about the 4k touch model as pens work on the x1 extreme touch models
Nice review, but missing an important point... How is GNU/Linux compatibility? Thinkpads are kinda famous for good support but nowadays it has been not optimal, so I am quite curious...
@@sigmundfreud4472 No, i had other things in life that needed my attention and my T440s is still alive so not for the moment, still it is my main option if i decide to upgrade soon...
Just bought an X1 Carbon 9th Gen, and I am having an issue with the touchpad. When the laptop is running on battery power, it works fine. However, if I plug the AC adapter, the touchpad becomes sluggish and with a 50/100 ms latency which makes it almost unusable. Google Search reveals this is pretty common with this and other Thinkpad models. I find it absolutely unacceptable and I am seriously considering returning the unit.
Do you notice a major difference when lugging the x1 carbon gen 9 around compared to the lighter x1 nano? Or is it negligible in real life use? I'm torn between the two laptops, I want the power and options the carbon offers but I want to feel comfortable when couch surfing or using the laptop laying in bed etc..
Unfortunately I had to sell the T14 to fund the newer laptops as we don’t make a lot of money from the channel. I will try and get a gen 2 though and compare
@@MashITTech you are always the best at replying and engaging with viewers, I know youll grow well. Looking forward to future content like that if you can! Ps This is Chris Collins with a new name. We spoke a bit about the T14 when you were covering it and you were part of that decision to buy one 👍
Hi Chris, yes I remember! Thanks for the kind words 😀 I loved the t14 and was gutted to sell it. Maybe one day if we get big enough we won’t have to sell off a laptop to get the next review unit in 😭
I have Lenovo Yoga 530. But I have always loved Thinkpads. I had the privilege of using one at my previous job... I loved it more than my personal Yoga ultrabook.
Yes, the i7 does run a lot hotter. It doesn’t throttle with cpu load just a little in gpu load. It gives the system 35w until it reaches 100c then dips, it should just give it a more realistic power budget
@@MashITTech If you ask me the 1165G7 is overkill for a thin and light like this. I even worry about the 1135G7 thermal throttling. Of course, you can always downclock/undervolt but what's the point of having an I7 then?
Hi thanks for the review! Which device do you find more comfortable to work with, Nano 13" 16:10 with higher resolution or Carbon 9 14" 16:10 with 1200p? I'm curious mostly about display and keyboard experience. For example imagine carbon having same ports as nano which one would you choose ? I will use dock anyway so wonder about comfort on the go (don't care about weight/size just comfort to work with in coffee shop/train/plane etc), thanks!
Hi David, if you don’t care about ports and you can live with the lower battery life then the nano will be easier to work with. It is more compact and portable so would be easier to cart around with you. I prefer the carbon for the extra battery and ports as I mentioned but there is no one size fits all laptops. I did love my time with the nano and you can’t go wrong with either
Glad to finally see the 16:10 screens on the X1 Carbon. Two questions, though, that I didn't figure out from your performance coverage. Doesn't this not get power profiles in the Lenovo Vantage app, or did you choose no to install it? Edited: had another question, but you answered that in the Davinci section. thanks!
Hi Andrei, No you do not get vantage profiles any more. They have moved power profiles to the windows power slider (you may recall me talking about only two currently available where they normally provide 3).
I spoke to Lenovo and they said the 5G / LTE internal data cards are coming in May to these machines as well as the X1 Nano. When the units have the Data access built in, they have to be tested with the Carriers and that's what takes so much time. I MUST have the data access built in, its just key for me working at an airline, its uniquely secure, we can not use WiFi, its insecure. YOU ARE AN EXCELLENT REVIEWER, But you know that, lol. !! Looking for the next review 🙌
Haha thanks a lot mate. Good news that LTE is coming soon, I may have to return mine and rebuy when it is released as there is no way I can add LTE myself as they have not included the nano sim slot :( I remember the days when lenovo thinkpads always had the slots and antennas so you could buy the card and add it yourself.
@@MashITTech YES, YOU REMEMBER When they did that 👍. They said 5G also, but that depends on the country I am sure. We are pretty much covered with 5G, practically everywhere, here in the US, how is the UK doing with the 5G rollout??.
Great review, thank you. I heard that this new x1 carbon line comes with some kind of TUV blue-light filter screen for all options. Would it effect the color accuracy when one works on art?
Owned several Thinkpads for years, Carbons and T-series. But the fact is their CPUs are underpowered for the price. Bought a decent gaming laptop with H processor and dedicated graphics card and the difference in performance is night and day.
great review, have a x1 carbon 7th gen and upgrading to this 9th gen. had a tough time deciding between the x1 carbon and the nano because of the screen. but finally decided for the x1 carbon with FHD screen.
@@MashITTech I think its possible to make this your niche which separates you from established reviewers as it will allow viewers to feel validated and they will appreciate when you answer their queries. Until you hit a really high subscriber base and it becomes difficult for you to answer all of them, of course.
The main differences are the screen is not 16:10, it uses a tiger lake CPU, the cooling vents now push up through the hinge instead of the side and the keyboard has reduced travel.
It is part of the vantage software, it asked me if I wanted to show battery bar the first time I opened it. When I find the option to enable it in vantage I will let you know
Ok, currently it seems I will not be disappointed except perhaps choosing the 1185G7 :( I will be so happy to receive mine on Monday to upgrade my T440s
Yep. And I think Lenovo will improve the 3D performance. Will be interested to hear how you get on with the 1185g7 when it arrives? Hope you enjoy it 😃
The X1 gen 9 is a much nicer machine but also a lot more expensive. You have much better screen and speakers, better build quality and fan vents out the rear. The T14 is still a good machine but slightly fatter (though gets a ethernet because of the size) and has better keyboard travel.
I was choosing between this and HP EliteBook 840 G8. Went for the latter because of the better keyboard and upgradeability. RAM on this Lenovo is soldiered and capped at 16GB thus not that future proof.
Hi David, I am thinking to buy this laptop. From your experience in general with laptops and X1C9 in particular, do you think if X1C9 would able to run statistics software without any issue? Software like IBM SPSS package, R-language, few VMs concurrently, etc? I would like to understand this in particular from the performance point of view. Also, Lenovo has modified the hinge design in X1C9; how it feels like as compared to previous Thinkpad models? I had a bad experience with a broken hinge with one of the Lenovo laptops that's why bit apprehend of trying some new hinge designs by Lenovo. Cheers David for a nice review; this is one of the only few comprehensive reviews available for X1C9 at the moment. (I don't count those marketing reviews)
Hi Sulaiman, I just took the carbon base off and had a good look at the hinge mechanism. It looks really solid to me with a single bar going right across the base rather than 2 separate hinges. I do not think these would break easily. With regards to the Stat programs, I am sorry but I am not familiar with them, are they just CPU heavy? If so, then they should run fine. I have been using mine with a good mix of blender, VS and unity and it has been snappy throughout and a pleasure to use
@@MashITTech Many thanks David, especially for taking off the base and have a closer look at the hinge mechanism. You are the only one who put in the genuine effort to respond to that hinge query. If X1C9 runs VS smoothly then SPSS will work fine too. Great help man, cheers
what do you plug into the usb dongles? I can't imagine what that is. The last time I used usb ports I used it for share games from my friends when we hadn't an internet, you can imagine how long ago that was. I mean you can transfer files wirelessly now and all the accessories like mouse and keyboard are wirelessly connected
Thanks for this review! I have difficulties downloading the ICC proflile -- after providing my email address I'm not getting the magic link. Could you make it available via another filehosting service? Thanks!
Have you tried screen sharing by video conferencing with Google Meet, Teams or Skype? Connected to the power with the battery selector at maximum performance the laptop is unusable. In my tests I have seen that the system does not have the ability to properly dissipate the heat generated and the performance is very low. Ahh... and I have the latest version of the BIOS. What can you tell us about this?
The widescreen craze was the worst thing to happen to general personal computing. Even for movies and games, 16:10 (and for that matter, 4:3) is superior. How manufacturers and producers determined that a movie be harmed by more detail in the frame, is beyond me.
Great review. A few things I would like to know: If you disable turbo boost and then play a 1080p video: How long time is the laptop running without the fan starting? How is the CPU temp? At which temp does the fan start? About display: Lenovo is known for it panel lottery. Which one do you have?
I really want to purchase this, to upgrade from my Lenovo Thinkpad T440, but I need to be able to add 3 additional 27 inch monitors without issue, and I really need a side numeric keypad, what would you suggest instead?
Thanks, that's very kind of you to say. I haven't got an XPS 9500 on hand at the moment but an X1 extreme gen 3 just arrived would that be worth doing?
Nice review! In the video you mention intel (integrated) graphics, but since you also run Davinci Resolve, there must be an discrete GPU as well. Can you tell us which one it is? And perhaps also the price of this reviewed unit?
Nope, resolve is using the integrated XE graphics. It is slow but you can edit 1080p ok. Premier Pro works better because it is more optimised for quicksync
It looks like you have the Logitech MX Master 3 Mouse in the video. Does your bluetooth mouse lag after 1-2 seconds of inactivity? Have you had any bluetooth keyboard/mouse issues. There are a lot of discussions on the Lenovo X1 Forums about bluetooth mouse / keyboard lag that may be related to Intel Bluetooth drivers/Windows 10/Intel EVO processors. No one can figure out where the blame should be placed. But AMD processor laptops don't seem to have the issue, nor do Intel laptops prior to the current Tiger Lake generation. Any comments would be helpful for those of us considering this laptop. Thank you.
Hey mate, I don’t use it on Bluetooth but use the dongle as it is always so much more precise for the work I do. Have had nothing but problems with Logitech Bluetooth mice on macs though! When I get in the office later I will test it on Bluetooth and see how it behaves 👍
Thanks for your review! Just saw you were running a game at the end there - I've just got the X1 Carbon i7 9th gen, and tried to run CS:GO, but its extremely choppy for me and virtually unplayable. What settings did you run the game on? How would you boost this machine to get a better gaming performance? Cheers!
@@jarrodchan the 9th gen i7 does t have a good graphic powers, the newest Intel i7 processor has the Intel iris Xe graphic cards, and that integrated graphic card is able to handle a lot of games
If ports aren’t a big deal for a user and is mobile with their device daily. This or the nano? What’s the difference between the keyboards? Asking as a writer
That's a tough question! The keyboards are great on both IMHO, they have both lost a little travel on these new models but they still feel better than most other laptop keyboards. The X1 carbon I received felt slightly better than the nano but that could just come down to manufacturing tolerances. The other consideration is the X1 carbon has much better battery but the Nano has a better screen. I would take the carbon for the battery personally as I found the 1200p screen was still great
With Lenovo moving back to 16:10 aspect ratio laptop monitors, are there any indications that they'll release new portable monitors with the 16:10 ratio? (the M14 and M14t are 16:9)
Although I cannot check properly, I am very very sensitive to PWM (usually get migraines within minutes) and had no problems with this 1200p screen so I do not think it has any PWM or it is so high it does not bother me
I have been enjoying the keyboard a lot and it’s a touch better than the nano. There is slightly less travel than my t14 and x1 extreme but it still feels good compared to most other manufacturers 👍
Any ideas about Linux compatibility? I'm assuming the fingerprint-reader probably doesn't work in Linux, and the cam unlock thingy, but what about everything else?
I am considering whether I should get an i5 1135 vs i7 1165 for my x1c gen 9 . I am planning to use it mostly for my business work, heavy excel & ppt, web browsing and video streaming, and a bit of light programming & data analytics. What do you think is the better choice?
I5 is the better choice for most people. As Nikita says the i7 has a slightly better gfx core count and cpu clock speeds but you will only see the difference in burst speeds not extended loads so gaming performance will probably be very similar due to the thermal constraints of the machine
It’s in the review but so far... 10 hours light use web surfing or streaming TH-cam over WiFi. Also managed 2 hours of light gaming. Will update you with more info as I test it 👍
Hi, no pen in the UK but in some regions Lenovo have included it in the past. Screen folds back 180 degrees, if you want one that flips right behind for 2in1 you need the yoga range
The correct and intuitive way to use the 'red dot' is holding it with the middle finger and hitting mouse buttons with the thumb. As a 20+ year ThinkPad user, I find it easier and more precise than the trackpad or mouse.
Thank you, I have never really tried to use it and I really should/want to. I am going ti try and forget the trackpad is there and force myself to use it
Lenovo Carbon X series has been an awesome choice for 6+ years, perfect blend of power and lightness. No complaints after 3 machines...
no pul
I moved from using a decade of apple macbooks to lenovo thinkpad x1 carbon 6th gen. the new macbook air had butterfly keyboards and they sucked big time. every month the laptop had to go in to get the keyboard fixed. many people on forums had the same issue. i have been so happy with lenovo. amazing keyboard, great build quality and super light and sleek. i feel like batman using it. doesnt have any of the issues i thought windows would, runs smoothly. and instead of me queing up at apple service centre, if any issue arises a lenovo trained techie shows up at my house the next day here in mumbai !
10:30 When you unplug the power adapter you will see the other options :) It's just different when it's charging
Yes you are right, but on power Lenovo normally give you 3 different profiles, the middle and right settings perform exactly the same
Excellent review!!!! I will seriously consider this laptop when I am due to upgrade.
It'd be great if you do a comparison of the carbon x1 9th gen and the M1 13 MBP.
I can certainly do that. Give me a few days
@@MashITTech woohoo
Say no more lmao
@@MashITTech How to do boot to your USB on these things to add windows 10?
For me, one of the most important features is a fairly standard keyboard. This line of laptops has actual keys for PgUp, PgDn, Home, End, Insert, Delete, so thanks for clearly showing the keyboard. Look at some other models that require a Fn key press, or some HP models that have removed the Insert key entirely. I can’t imagine that I am the only software engineer or sysadmin who still uses Ctrl-Insert, Shift-Insert in the vi editor regularly. And how about Crtl-PgDn Ctrl-PgUp to switch to another browser tab, or Linux terminal window. Extra ports are great too. I would have expected to find an integrated pen somewhere like the Yoga has on the side or the rear.
Yeah, the keyboard is what usually keeps me coming back to thinkpads! The matte screen on my x1 carbon is not touch enabled so a pen wouldn't work but I don't know about the 4k touch model as pens work on the x1 extreme touch models
Nice review, but missing an important point... How is GNU/Linux compatibility? Thinkpads are kinda famous for good support but nowadays it has been not optimal, so I am quite curious...
Did you end up buying this one? I’m still curious about it
@@sigmundfreud4472 No, i had other things in life that needed my attention and my T440s is still alive so not for the moment, still it is my main option if i decide to upgrade soon...
Totally agree with ports! I cannot yet digest that in our days we have to be checking even for 3.5 jack!!!
Do you have anti-reflection or anti-glare screen? Lenovo doesn't specify whether their screens are glossy or matte on the website anymore.
It'd be great if you do a comparison of the carbon x1 9th gen and the LG Gram 14" or 16".
Excellent and thorough review. Thank you. Well done.
Thanks for the kind words 😃
Would you pick this over the Macbook Pro?
The litte red nub for mouse movement isn't called thinkpoint but TrackPoint.
Doh! Thanks Christoph. I get it wrong every time. I least I didn't call it a nipple this time 😂
Will try and get it right in my next Thinkpad video
@@MashITTech "Nipple" is a frequently used term for this kind of input device :D
The function and control layout is actually the same as on the Macbooks.
Just bought an X1 Carbon 9th Gen, and I am having an issue with the touchpad. When the laptop is running on battery power, it works fine. However, if I plug the AC adapter, the touchpad becomes sluggish and with a 50/100 ms latency which makes it almost unusable. Google Search reveals this is pretty common with this and other Thinkpad models. I find it absolutely unacceptable and I am seriously considering returning the unit.
I have 3th generation from 2015, still work very very well. Very light, quite and fast for 4k video editing.
Isn't the 3rd gen from 2014?
@@slighter In Europe it was released in early springtime 2015. I don't know about the rest of the world
"4k video editing"?
Do you notice a major difference when lugging the x1 carbon gen 9 around compared to the lighter x1 nano? Or is it negligible in real life use? I'm torn between the two laptops, I want the power and options the carbon offers but I want to feel comfortable when couch surfing or using the laptop laying in bed etc..
I would love to see this vs the AMD T14, my favourite laptop.
Unfortunately I had to sell the T14 to fund the newer laptops as we don’t make a lot of money from the channel. I will try and get a gen 2 though and compare
@@MashITTech you are always the best at replying and engaging with viewers, I know youll grow well. Looking forward to future content like that if you can!
Ps This is Chris Collins with a new name. We spoke a bit about the T14 when you were covering it and you were part of that decision to buy one 👍
Hi Chris, yes I remember! Thanks for the kind words 😀 I loved the t14 and was gutted to sell it. Maybe one day if we get big enough we won’t have to sell off a laptop to get the next review unit in 😭
Is LTE even needed when you can use your cellphone as a mobile hotspot?
My 5th gen X1 is still going strong, but this looks so good!
What an excellent, thorough review!
Thanks a lot
I have Lenovo Yoga 530. But I have always loved Thinkpads. I had the privilege of using one at my previous job... I loved it more than my personal Yoga ultrabook.
But as I use Ubuntu, it works pretty well on my Yoga. Not sure if it will work equally well on X1. Moreover, I wanted touch screen too.
I am meaning to test Linux on the carbon, I am just trying to get through my backlog of half finished videos first 😂
@@MashITTech I am looking forward to those AND the linux on Carbon video. Subscribed!
I'm using a X1 Nano and I love it...but I would like a screen just a bit bigger and the ability to stretch out on the keyboard.
I've ordered mine with 1135G7, which will solve the throttling issues straight away hopefully.
Yes, the i7 does run a lot hotter. It doesn’t throttle with cpu load just a little in gpu load. It gives the system 35w until it reaches 100c then dips, it should just give it a more realistic power budget
@@MashITTech If you ask me the 1165G7 is overkill for a thin and light like this. I even worry about the 1135G7 thermal throttling. Of course, you can always downclock/undervolt but what's the point of having an I7 then?
Unfortunately undervolting is locked out since gen 10 CPU’s which is a real shame, you can’t even adjust multipliers in throttlestop any more 😭
@@MashITTech can you adjust the power limits with throttlestop and Tiger Lake CPUs?
Yes, that it about the only option we have left with Tiger Lake :(
Had this as a replacement for X260 and its a great buy.
Are you still happy with this one? Thank you, nice review 👌
Hi thanks for the review! Which device do you find more comfortable to work with, Nano 13" 16:10 with higher resolution or Carbon 9 14" 16:10 with 1200p? I'm curious mostly about display and keyboard experience. For example imagine carbon having same ports as nano which one would you choose ? I will use dock anyway so wonder about comfort on the go (don't care about weight/size just comfort to work with in coffee shop/train/plane etc), thanks!
Hi David, if you don’t care about ports and you can live with the lower battery life then the nano will be easier to work with. It is more compact and portable so would be easier to cart around with you. I prefer the carbon for the extra battery and ports as I mentioned but there is no one size fits all laptops. I did love my time with the nano and you can’t go wrong with either
Glad to finally see the 16:10 screens on the X1 Carbon.
Two questions, though, that I didn't figure out from your performance coverage. Doesn't this not get power profiles in the Lenovo Vantage app, or did you choose no to install it?
Edited: had another question, but you answered that in the Davinci section. thanks!
Hi Andrei,
No you do not get vantage profiles any more. They have moved power profiles to the windows power slider (you may recall me talking about only two currently available where they normally provide 3).
Nice review. Amen on the Matte 16X10 screen. Overall the X1 carbon is one of the best Windows laptops on the market.
Thank you mate. Yes, I have been so impressed with it, the only downside for me is the lack of lte in U.K. at the moment
@@MashITTech On the 6th Gen there was a dual LTE/SD card slot on the rear of the laptop....sounds like that is no longer there?
Do you lose something if you go for x1 yoga gen 6?
Please do a comparison with the XPS 13 9310 :)
Hi Alexander, I haven't got a 9310 in the office at the moment but if I can get one back in I will do that video
@@MashITTech Definitely looking forward to it, appreciate your videos and keep up the good work mate!
3:43 why is it showing" windows isn't activated"?Weren't it shipped with windows
I choose the to not have it installed as I have now put linux on it 👍
I spoke to Lenovo and they said the 5G / LTE internal data cards are coming in May to these machines as well as the X1 Nano. When the units have the Data access built in, they have to be tested with the Carriers and that's what takes so much time. I MUST have the data access built in, its just key for me working at an airline, its uniquely secure, we can not use WiFi, its insecure. YOU ARE AN EXCELLENT REVIEWER, But you know that, lol. !! Looking for the next review 🙌
Haha thanks a lot mate. Good news that LTE is coming soon, I may have to return mine and rebuy when it is released as there is no way I can add LTE myself as they have not included the nano sim slot :(
I remember the days when lenovo thinkpads always had the slots and antennas so you could buy the card and add it yourself.
@@MashITTech YES, YOU REMEMBER When they did that 👍. They said 5G also, but that depends on the country I am sure. We are pretty much covered with 5G, practically everywhere, here in the US, how is the UK doing with the 5G rollout??.
Great review, thank you. I heard that this new x1 carbon line comes with some kind of TUV blue-light filter screen for all options. Would it effect the color accuracy when one works on art?
Owned several Thinkpads for years, Carbons and T-series. But the fact is their CPUs are underpowered for the price. Bought a decent gaming laptop with H processor and dedicated graphics card and the difference in performance is night and day.
10/10 price is the problem
what is a H processor?
Informative, and I also think well made review
Thank you that is very kind of you to say
The one thing that jumps out is that trackpad. I hate an oily track pad and that one seems like a magnet for finger oil.
Yes, it can pick up oils very easily
How about sleep battery drain/overheating? Does it support S3 suspend mode? This is where Macs excel.
Do you know I have been using the machine so much that this isn’t something I have looked at! Let me check into it and get back to you
@@MashITTech Thanks.
everything is perfect, just if Lenovo switch the CTRL and FN key, it would be sublime
You can do that in BIOS settings
@@synvodkona cool but still cant switch the button tho, now i have the answer! thanks man!
Is there a difference in terms of sharpness between the touch and the non-touch screens? (for the 1'200 resolution)
great review, have a x1 carbon 7th gen and upgrading to this 9th gen. had a tough time deciding between the x1 carbon and the nano because of the screen. but finally decided for the x1 carbon with FHD screen.
You made a good choice. I love them both but the carbon is a better laptop
Nice videos. The only reviewer I have seen who actually replies to viewer's queries. Keep up the good work and hope you get more subscribers!
Thanks for the kind words, it’s much appreciated 😀👍
@@MashITTech I think its possible to make this your niche which separates you from established reviewers as it will allow viewers to feel validated and they will appreciate when you answer their queries. Until you hit a really high subscriber base and it becomes difficult for you to answer all of them, of course.
are those oraimo products in the background?👀
Thanks for this video. I just bought one for me and it's very good!
Glad to here you are enjoying it! Such a great laptop 👍
Watching this on my X1 Carbon 3rd gen lol....
Still don't want to upgrade it yet
If a gloss screen is an option, the LG Gram 14 will give you the same benefits with much better battery life.
with worse support, build quality, ports, Linux compatibility, etc
Would you recommend this for someone in the cybersecurity space? As in using Linux and parrot and kali Linux?
I am literally just starting my Linux testing, I can give you an update on how it goes asap
@@MashITTech so how is it going man on that computer I got me a MacBook Pro 16 inch but I want a windows / Lenovo laptop aswell.
I already bought Gen8, so what are the differents between those two?
The main differences are the screen is not 16:10, it uses a tiger lake CPU, the cooling vents now push up through the hinge instead of the side and the keyboard has reduced travel.
Thanks for the great comprehensive review
Great video!! The looks of this laptop are top notch as well.
Thanks mate, it is a fantastic laptop
How does this goes with Linux manjaro??? Excellent review!
Someone else has also asked for fedora, which is usually better on the thinkpads and I will give it a go
@@MashITTech I have been running Manjaro KDE in it it's okay few thing actually need to be changed to make it run...
How is the battery life? Has it improved overtime?
Could you let me know how to get the battery indicator program you use? I'm looking for it for my x1 carbon gen 9 for hours. Please help me!
It is part of the vantage software, it asked me if I wanted to show battery bar the first time I opened it. When I find the option to enable it in vantage I will let you know
Thank you in advance!
Finally I got the battery indicator!! It took 24 hours for Lenovo Vantage to ask me about the battery bar. :)
so where is the carbon material on the laptop?
It is the carbon fibre weave they use to coat the chassis
How to do boot to your USB on these things to add windows 10?
Great review! Keep going 👍🏻
Thank you kind sir 😊👍
Ok, currently it seems I will not be disappointed except perhaps choosing the 1185G7 :( I will be so happy to receive mine on Monday to upgrade my T440s
Yep. And I think Lenovo will improve the 3D performance. Will be interested to hear how you get on with the 1185g7 when it arrives? Hope you enjoy it 😃
How about the Yoga Slim 7 Pro Ryzen 5800H as an alternative? Light, thin, faster, 16:10 matt 2.2k display... ?
is that the 14" or 16" slim you are looking at?
@@MashITTech 14"
How does this X1 gen 9 compared to the T14 gen 2 ? I really need one for school and coding.
The X1 gen 9 is a much nicer machine but also a lot more expensive. You have much better screen and speakers, better build quality and fan vents out the rear.
The T14 is still a good machine but slightly fatter (though gets a ethernet because of the size) and has better keyboard travel.
@@MashITTech tks. hopefully when the T14 AMD gen 2 comes out, you can do a review on it. I can't wait to get my hands on it.
Excelente amigo, te mereces mas suscriptores
I was choosing between this and HP EliteBook 840 G8. Went for the latter because of the better keyboard and upgradeability. RAM on this Lenovo is soldiered and capped at 16GB thus not that future proof.
I can’t use most of the new HP laptops, because they are missing the Insert key.
Hi David, I am thinking to buy this laptop. From your experience in general with laptops and X1C9 in particular, do you think if X1C9 would able to run statistics software without any issue? Software like IBM SPSS package, R-language, few VMs concurrently, etc? I would like to understand this in particular from the performance point of view.
Also, Lenovo has modified the hinge design in X1C9; how it feels like as compared to previous Thinkpad models? I had a bad experience with a broken hinge with one of the Lenovo laptops that's why bit apprehend of trying some new hinge designs by Lenovo.
Cheers David for a nice review; this is one of the only few comprehensive reviews available for X1C9 at the moment. (I don't count those marketing reviews)
Hi Sulaiman, I just took the carbon base off and had a good look at the hinge mechanism. It looks really solid to me with a single bar going right across the base rather than 2 separate hinges. I do not think these would break easily.
With regards to the Stat programs, I am sorry but I am not familiar with them, are they just CPU heavy? If so, then they should run fine. I have been using mine with a good mix of blender, VS and unity and it has been snappy throughout and a pleasure to use
@@MashITTech Many thanks David, especially for taking off the base and have a closer look at the hinge mechanism. You are the only one who put in the genuine effort to respond to that hinge query.
If X1C9 runs VS smoothly then SPSS will work fine too.
Great help man, cheers
great review!
Thanks!
what do you plug into the usb dongles? I can't imagine what that is. The last time I used usb ports I used it for share games from my friends when we hadn't an internet, you can imagine how long ago that was. I mean you can transfer files wirelessly now and all the accessories like mouse and keyboard are wirelessly connected
Which one is more durable and have great performance between thinkpad T series and X series
Can you remove and replace the battery easily?
I haven’t actually removed it but it looks easy. When I get in the office later I will take a look
Can you make a thermal test? My gen5 is horrible.. Is it better? Thanks
Watching it on 6th Gen X1 Carbon :)
What’s the price for this machine
I need to double check to see if they offer LTE in my area.
Yeah I was gutted they don’t offer it in U.K. yet
Thanks for this review! I have difficulties downloading the ICC proflile -- after providing my email address I'm not getting the magic link. Could you make it available via another filehosting service? Thanks!
Have you tried screen sharing by video conferencing with Google Meet, Teams or Skype? Connected to the power with the battery selector at maximum performance the laptop is unusable.
In my tests I have seen that the system does not have the ability to properly dissipate the heat generated and the performance is very low. Ahh... and I have the latest version of the BIOS. What can you tell us about this?
The widescreen craze was the worst thing to happen to general personal computing. Even for movies and games, 16:10 (and for that matter, 4:3) is superior. How manufacturers and producers determined that a movie be harmed by more detail in the frame, is beyond me.
Do they still leave oily fingerprints marks everywhere?
You can change the use of the fucntions keys and multimedia keys with fn and esc.
Great review! Could you please provide the calibrated colour profile for your screen, i.e. the ICM file? Thanks
Yeah sure, will dig it out later 👍
@@MashITTech that'd be great, thanks a bunch!
@@MashITTech any luck?
Sorry mate, haven’t forgotten you, I have just been testing device in Linux and need to put the original ssd back to get the icm for you
@@MashITTech thanks mate, appreciate your help. My CSO screen has a yellowish tint so am eager to see how it looks like after calibration
Great review. A few things I would like to know: If you disable turbo boost and then play a 1080p video: How long time is the laptop running without the fan starting? How is the CPU temp? At which temp does the fan start?
About display: Lenovo is known for it panel lottery. Which one do you have?
Thanks for the questions. Will be back with answers soon
The day Dad left for milk, and never came back.
I really want to purchase this, to upgrade from my Lenovo Thinkpad T440, but I need to be able to add 3 additional 27 inch monitors without issue, and I really need a side numeric keypad, what would you suggest instead?
You are extremely underrated. How about comparison between the XPS 15 9500 and the X1 Carbon?
Thanks, that's very kind of you to say. I haven't got an XPS 9500 on hand at the moment but an X1 extreme gen 3 just arrived would that be worth doing?
xps 15 trackpad has too many issues. not worth the price
Please review x13 gen 2 with wqhd screen
Let me see if it is available in the U.K. now?
Nice review! In the video you mention intel (integrated) graphics, but since you also run Davinci Resolve, there must be an discrete GPU as well. Can you tell us which one it is? And perhaps also the price of this reviewed unit?
Nope, resolve is using the integrated XE graphics. It is slow but you can edit 1080p ok. Premier Pro works better because it is more optimised for quicksync
It looks like you have the Logitech MX Master 3 Mouse in the video. Does your bluetooth mouse lag after 1-2 seconds of inactivity? Have you had any bluetooth keyboard/mouse issues. There are a lot of discussions on the Lenovo X1 Forums about bluetooth mouse / keyboard lag that may be related to Intel Bluetooth drivers/Windows 10/Intel EVO processors. No one can figure out where the blame should be placed. But AMD processor laptops don't seem to have the issue, nor do Intel laptops prior to the current Tiger Lake generation. Any comments would be helpful for those of us considering this laptop. Thank you.
Hey mate, I don’t use it on Bluetooth but use the dongle as it is always so much more precise for the work I do. Have had nothing but problems with Logitech Bluetooth mice on macs though! When I get in the office later I will test it on Bluetooth and see how it behaves 👍
@@MashITTech Thank you. Look forward to hearing if bluetooth is working for you without any lag.
Thanks for your review! Just saw you were running a game at the end there - I've just got the X1 Carbon i7 9th gen, and tried to run CS:GO, but its extremely choppy for me and virtually unplayable. What settings did you run the game on? How would you boost this machine to get a better gaming performance? Cheers!
Hi Jarrod, are you finding it plays well for a few minutes then lags or is yours permanently choppy?
@@MashITTech Seems permanently choppy - i've tried lowering all the in-game settings to the lowest but still no luck. I have 32GB RAM as well
@@jarrodchan the 9th gen i7 does t have a good graphic powers, the newest Intel i7 processor has the Intel iris Xe graphic cards, and that integrated graphic card is able to handle a lot of games
Can you help me to choose T14 Gen 2 vs X1 Carbon Gen 9
just got mine for uni def an amazing laptop
Glad you are enjoying it 👍
If ports aren’t a big deal for a user and is mobile with their device daily. This or the nano? What’s the difference between the keyboards? Asking as a writer
That's a tough question! The keyboards are great on both IMHO, they have both lost a little travel on these new models but they still feel better than most other laptop keyboards. The X1 carbon I received felt slightly better than the nano but that could just come down to manufacturing tolerances.
The other consideration is the X1 carbon has much better battery but the Nano has a better screen. I would take the carbon for the battery personally as I found the 1200p screen was still great
With Lenovo moving back to 16:10 aspect ratio laptop monitors, are there any indications that they'll release new portable monitors with the 16:10 ratio? (the M14 and M14t are 16:9)
I haven't heard anything yet
How do you feel about the squashed keys on the right side (left of the return key)?
I thought it would bother me but so far I have had no issues and even forgot they were squashed until you mentioned it 😀
I wonder if gen 9 screen use PWM to decrease brightness.....
Although I cannot check properly, I am very very sensitive to PWM (usually get migraines within minutes) and had no problems with this 1200p screen so I do not think it has any PWM or it is so high it does not bother me
@@MashITTech
Thank you so much for your quick reply!!
Plz keep on the good work!!
Great review 👍 May I ask, where I can download the screensaver running in the end of the video?
Sorry that wasn't a screensaver but a video playing full screen to show off the screen :)
@@MashITTech ok, thank you for your answer 🙂👍
you forgot to talk about the battery
Great review 👍. Thanks a lot!!
Glad you liked it! 👍
My preorder just got a delivery update . Have to wait until end of June :(
Oh man, that’s terrible! There seems to be a real shortage atm! I have a legion 5 pro I ordered on the 13th and have a delivery date of mid July
I waited 4 months for my last ThinkPad too... it really sours things a bit, considering the price
Thanks a lot for your reviews, super useful! How do you like the keyboard compared to the Nano's?
I have been enjoying the keyboard a lot and it’s a touch better than the nano. There is slightly less travel than my t14 and x1 extreme but it still feels good compared to most other manufacturers 👍
@@MashITTech thank you!!!
Do they ever change anything? Seems like the same laptop 8 years ago
haha I thought they actually changed quite a lot for them this year!
Any ideas about Linux compatibility? I'm assuming the fingerprint-reader probably doesn't work in Linux, and the cam unlock thingy, but what about everything else?
Downloading fedora and POPOS now.
I am considering whether I should get an i5 1135 vs i7 1165 for my x1c gen 9 . I am planning to use it mostly for my business work, heavy excel & ppt, web browsing and video streaming, and a bit of light programming & data analytics. What do you think is the better choice?
i5 will be colder( less fan noise etc), but i7 will give you more futureproof and fps ( especiallly Iris® Xᵉ that has 96 EU vs 80EU in i5).
I5 is the better choice for most people. As Nikita says the i7 has a slightly better gfx core count and cpu clock speeds but you will only see the difference in burst speeds not extended loads so gaming performance will probably be very similar due to the thermal constraints of the machine
could you share the laptop specs?
Sure, my config was:
14” 1920x1200 400nit display
I7 1165g7 cpu
Intel XE graphics
16gb ddr4
256gb ssd
@@MashITTech Thank you! I would like to know the battery life. Pls test and share.
It’s in the review but so far...
10 hours light use web surfing or streaming TH-cam over WiFi.
Also managed 2 hours of light gaming.
Will update you with more info as I test it 👍
@@MashITTech thanks so much
It ’s good that Thinkpad started to have PCIE4＆thunderbolt4
Does it come with a pen and does, touch screen and does the screen fold all the way back ?
Hi, no pen in the UK but in some regions Lenovo have included it in the past. Screen folds back 180 degrees, if you want one that flips right behind for 2in1 you need the yoga range