Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 4 Review

[@jvm-tv]

2021 is the year of great 16" laptops. Apple, Lenovo and Dell all releases 16" laptops with sensible port selection and great design.

[@papagen00]

And LG Gram 16

[@stevetrick]

Which model from Dell?

[@jvm-tv]

@@stevetrick Inspiron 16

[@chuyistheshiz6811]

Can this run solitaire while watching peppa pig?

[@idrisb07]

Been waiting ages for this particular one. The M1 macs are crazy fast but sadly some of us use proprietary software that are windows only.

[@arlencarlson]

So buy both! I picked up a P1 Gen2 last year. And will almost definitely get one of the new MBP’s.

[@lt6986]

Asus ROG has some fast laptops

[@tnypxl]

@@arlencarlson Don't be ridiculous.

[@CarlosLBaron]

@@arlencarlson whatttt?

[@djsnowpdx]

@@arlencarlson Yes. Definitely.

[@slighter]

This one will be really sought after in like three years on the second-hand market once the first one come out of waranty and company leasing contracts. They probably will be a goto-device over the next 8 years or so with that pefect package of power, mobility, upgradability and port selection.

[@niner8275]

Besides this being a very good and informative review AGAIN, thank you very much for not using those heavily annoying jump cuts with zooming which became a complete plague in youtube.

[@karthik3685]

9:22 - AFAIK with the vapor chamber, there is no option to add a second M2 SSD. And the model shown here is indeed the one with the vapor chamber.

[@mrskwrl]

Ordered an X1 Carbon 9gen with 32gb ram. I've been using a gen6 with 16gb ram for 2 years now and I can't wait for upgrade!

[@Piketom1]

I am so happy that more laptops are using 1440+ displays. It is the ideal resolution for most people as it looks noticeably sharper than 1080P while not using as much power as 4k. Also, if you actually need 4K, just connect it to an external display. You really need at least 27" to appreciate the extra pixel count.

[@wandererstraining]

I'd be willing to give the lower res screen a shot, but that 600 nits brightness is really appealing. My current laptop has a 15" 4K screen right now, too, and I gotta say, I really enjoy it.

[@likewaterforcoffee1570]

Definitely the best of the ThinkPad X1 series! I’m so glad you review a lot of ThinkPads each year.

[@henninghoefer]

9:40 With a 3050Ti or the 3060, you get the regular cooling solution shown here. However, with the 3070 and 3080 you do get vapor chamber cooling ... which uses more space, so those have only the single M.2 slot and no WWAN option.

[@TachibanaKyosuke]

Even just 3060 you will already got vapor chamber. You can see in the config page, once 3060 was selected, you lose 2nd ssd option.

[@henninghoefer]

@@TachibanaKyosuke But this very video shows the 3060 version - and has no vapor chamber?

[@TachibanaKyosuke]

@@henninghoefer that is weird because I saw posted of people with 3060 that got vapor chamber. Even PSPREF said 3060 and above will lose ssd slot and wwan

[@TachibanaKyosuke]

Wait… this one did have vapor chamber.. I’m taking this image from notebookcheck review of P1 G4 Base model with no VC: www.notebookcheck.net/fileadmin/_processed_/e/e/csm_IMG_2219_5fcc34295b.jpg 3070 model with VC: www.notebookcheck.net/fileadmin/_processed_/a/e/csm_IMG_2486_4867cb354c.jpg The one in this video did look more like the latter with VC

[@TachibanaKyosuke]

You can see that “2” covered another M.2 slot. Just like in the video

[@Beastw1ck]

This laptop has everything I want as a gamer and occasional content creator EXCEPT high refresh rate display. Dang it. Literally everything else is perfect.

[@akintosh8481]

Except Ethernet port too

[@DanielRodriguez-fg5ll]

I agree but in this instances I have learn to blink slower. So relative to my blinking a 60hz looks like a 120hz. Feel free to copy the trick

[@egegl]

Wow, I just watched a 10-year old video of yours on Lenovo Thinkpad X220 and after watching it I just googled the latest Thinkpad version and this is the first video I see! What a nice coincidence :D

[@trollerbladdering]

I just grabbed one of these off ebay for a decent price. even at the end of 2022 this is still a rock solid machine.

[@dietmarbrantl8628]

This lady is a true professional! Not even turning red when shamelessly lying about the battery runtime. Mine runs 3 hours brand new and Lenovo refuses to take action because this is normal. Forums prove that nobody on earth has ever squeezed more than 6.5hrs of runtime out of this - in idle mode! Lisa holds products in the camera, reads the brochure data and lies that she has actually used them. Calling this "reviews" is a joke.

[@keyboard_g]

I think they did drop the key travel from 1.8 to 1.5. The T series still have the 1.8mm travel keys.

[@steveacfield6131]

Fantastic as always. Would love to see a comparison between the new extreme and the P1. Thank you for your review.

[@seonwookang9153]

Hello, I first saw your video back in year 2012 when you reviewed the newest thinkpad back then. I also remember you had a video about samsung notebook 9 back then. Then this video by you suddenly appeared out of nowhere on KZbin. Good to see you've been doing it until now. Keep it up!

[@tyler22courtney]

Mine just came in today. I'm so happy with it!

[@GaryJohnWalker1]

I've got one. And am very happy with it. Took advantage of an even better discount from Lenovo than usual. And I am happy that they do work those fans - my work supplied 10th gen cpu xps15 is pretty good and stays quiet but does it get hot. Did consider an xps17, but this Thinkpad with the 16in screen and not being silly thin like the Dell is for me a much better bet.

[@DoubleOhSilver]

I got a whopping 54% off. Can't wait for it to arrive 😎

[@ddvt_dh]

Hi @Gray Walker, does the 4th still get hot even not using many programs? How about the temp for your normal work?

[@thomasamos4055]

I love ThinkPads so much.. only another 8 years before I can afford a used one of these.

[@matthew6994]

This is my next laptop i need to start saving for, costs over 2K in the UK

[@bibby42]

I recently got 2 Lenovo laptops, they are *AMAZING!*

[@gyozakeynsianism]

Excellent review. This is truly a golden age for clamshell laptops!

[@klwthe3rd]

That shirt that Lisa is wearing is funny as hell. Where does she get all these humorous T's?

[@jimobrien780]

I have a P1 Gen 4 coming my way; hopefully it will be similar to what you found with the X1. Thanks for all your reviews; your’s are always the best and most complete…

[@mchan1007]

The X1E/P1 are cousins to each other. The main differences are the CPUs & GPUs, esp. in the P1.

[@narakusdemon.88]

Bought the first gen X1 extreme and have loved it. A few issues (not sleeping and dying in my bag) and other quirks mostly related to Windows. But overall it's a fantastic line. If mine broke today I'd be torn over this or one of the new MacBooks.

[@svinatraktore]

It's not a Windows issue. Switch to Linux sleep mode in BIOS. It will disable "Connected" mode and your laptop will sleep fine :)

[@wandererstraining]

@@svinatraktore And install Linux instead of Windows, ha ha.

[@mavericky1543]

Thank goodness for no numpad. In all my years of programming, I’ve used the numpad like…never.

[@viagem-voyage-travel8514]

I was to have my X1 replaced last September, but my company was advised that due to lack of chips on the market all delivery by Lenovo was cancelled so my X1 Carbon was cancelled.

[@AngadAnand1]

The only drawback if you get anything apart from the 3050Ti is that you lose one one M.2 Slot so if you go for 3060 or higher you only get one hard drive slot :( Bought XPS 15 :D, can't say I am complaining. If this had a higher refresh rate then I'd go for this one.

[@technicallysteve7484]

love the channel. I will be upgrading my X1

[@dmitriymorozov2680]

Owning a gen2 and it's sick. However an upgrade to 4th gen would cost too much since the tech tends to become too cheap through time

[@jvm-tv]

Great video Lisa. Any plans to review ThinkBook 16p? It's quite comparable to this one.

[@eurodudenj]

@MobileTechReview. Good review Lisa, thanks! One correction - Key travel is 1.5 mm on the Gen 4 (not the 1.8 mm you noted), that is why you felt it seems less, because it is less. :) That being said, I prefer the Gen 4 keys to the keys on my prior Gen 1 (the latter had a high actuation force). One huge complaint - The case / deck of this laptop is a huge fingerprint magnet and they can be a pain to remove... I experimented with rubbing alcohol and with a mixture of water with a few drops of dish detergent (one worked, one did not).

[@HEADRUSH444]

This is the Thinkpad I've been waiting for!

[@jasoncroasdell8212]

i like the specs but still want to wait for Alder lake laptops. they should be shown off in early January. The Intel 12th Generation alder lake desktop CPU's were released on the 4th of November 2021. Alder lake laptops should be at CES Las Vegas in early January

[@andrescarrasco1248]

Imagine how great it would be with a Ryzen option

[@wandererstraining]

Ryzen + Nvidia would have been awesome. But one downside is I think that the Ryzen laptops don't have Thunderbolt.

[@megasoid]

As always, thank you for a very professional and straightforward review without all the noise and snark. A lot of us would rather be informed than entertained. You are best in class Lisa.

[@davidcrowe3486]

Glad to know you gave this such a good review; I just bought one today. I've been waiting for a better GPU than the previous gen's 1650. This has everything that I want with a good GPU, relatively light weight but also being capable of upgrading the RAM and adding a secondary SSD so I don't have to outfit this for the max specs I'd ever want at the time of purchase (looking at you, XPS and Mac).

[@bradhaines3142]

my laptop (aero 15x) i got the base with the best soldered hardware, and upgraded the rest myself. didnt take long either, most time consuming part was migrating the OS (and making new drive read as 1tb) after changing the 512 drive to 1tb, which i did after adding 2tb and replacing 16gb with 32gb ram. oh and i even changed with wifi card out lol

[@mrparts]

how hot does it get under heavy load? I hate typing on scorching hot keyboards...

[@jacobnoori]

It doesn't outperform the new gen Macs though.

[@davidcrowe3486]

@@jacobnoori True, I don't think much if anything in the Windows world can beat the M1 Macs, but it also costs less now if you get it on Lenovo's famously rotating sales and it's upgradeable.

[@dijikstra8]

How is the trackpoint? My t470s trackpoint is very unresponsive compared to the first gen x1 carbon and my old x61.

[@ithinkabout4369]

This keyboard does not have 1.8mm key travel. It is 1.5mm, like the X1 Carbon.

[@n_adoui]

i have an X1, it broke 3 days layer, and had to get the fan replace. it broke again 7 months later, so the replace the motherboard (and of course almost everything else since it soldered), and now it broke for the 3rd time and actually waiting on the technician to come and replace the broken part. never again

[@robinrai4973]

They gotta put Ryzen in more of their ThinkPads!

[@eloquentblack]

Ryzen doesn't support thunderbolt 4

[@robinrai4973]

@@eloquentblack Hopefully soon with USB4! Either way I'd be happy to sacrifice it in something like a ThinkPad Yoga.

[@minna-maripaija4152]

Hello, And thank you for your great reviews! It’s refreshing to look at reviews without all the extra glazing that makes me personally run away and trust on my intuition. I found your videos out while recently looking for a decision about the drawing tablet to buy. And then I came across with this one. I had some specific comments on Lenovo laptops, but I noticed more accurate review on my matter so I shifted there. Still it seems mesmerizing how you look happy with this device. Should I read it like this? :D It already makes me believe in you and want to address one more thousand of euros on the laptop. haha.

[@puskarpathak8913]

great review, waiting for Thinkpad P1 gen 4 review!

[@rayflective]

I'm ordering a P1 which is similar to this model I believe and it's got a big discount on it right now. Would welcome any comments on their differences and comparisons.

[@rayflective]

@David M thank you so much for the explanation, I intend to use it for Adobe Premiere, do you think if it's good enough?

[@mchan1007]

Still have the X1 Extreme 1 as I'm reviewing the video using the laptop. Still good laptop. Don't care about gaming since it's a business machine also used for personal use. This model should last min. 5 years and should only need a battery replacement only though finding a replacement may be an issue in the upcoming years. Caveat that the 4k screen does suck up battery life (~3.5 hrs max) but if it's stationary, just plug it in.

[@SIMnCed]

hows battery life ? can i go a whole school day running word ?

[@amigodesigns]

Great review as ever Lisa! But for the professionals there wanting one just watch out with the 3070 and 3080 versions, the performance is really limited and temps are really high, if your work requires a powerful GPU I would rather go with Legion 7i or 7 is better despite the worse screen and a bit bigger package.

[@wandererstraining]

I wish Lenovo offered a combination of the i7-11800H and RTX 3070. Upgrading to the 3070 seems worth it, but it does not seem to be the case for the better CPUs, at least in my opinion after having looked at various benchmarks. With my current laptop, the CPU tends to heat a lot more than my GPU. Do you know if it's the same on the X1?

[@pollystamatopoulos4463]

How does it compare to the Gen 9 Carbon? I’m torn. Actually, the only thing I don’t like about the Carbon is the low quality camera-I video conference a lot.

[@jeremypilot1015]

This is a serious workhorse of a machine. I think the only issue I have is that it doesn't have the numeric keypad. gotta get the 4K display of course and still cheaper than a MacBook Pro.

[@wandererstraining]

What a nice machine, I'd love to have one. It was interesting to see how you open the newer ones. Removing the whole bottom looks like it feels less sturdy than my W530 did. I also really liked the removable batterie(s) on my W530. Outside of that, the X1 Extreme Gen 4 is so much better, and it's so great that some Thinkpads now have consumer grade GPUs while retaining much of the build quality and features of previous Thinkpads.

[@reviewchan9806]

Would have liked it if it came with a lower power G or U series intel, with integrated graphics. Because this form factor is the best for a general use laptop. But it needs to be more efficient. These H series processors basically burn though your power, they run hot, and they force the fans to go crazy all the time. Kills your battery life for anything mobile.

[@mikebyford5258]

can't see any of your reviews just bloody Nick Faldo!

[@Veg-Power]

Keytravel is 1,5mm with this Generation of X1 Extreme

[@naduspele6290]

They should pair this beautiful machine with R8 5800u and 3050ti

[@LeonAllanDavis]

I think I might buy one of these. Checked the Lenovo website. Least expensive version is $1623.00. Comes with 8G Ram. Another $150 gets you 16G. That's plenty for what I do. Word processing. Photoshop. HD video crunching. Got the feeling that if I hold off until December the price will drop 20%.

[@theinktician]

I just realized I watched a review of this a month ago. I could have bought this by now...

[@UchennaNwosu]

Madam you are awesome. This is the first wholesome review I've ever gotten on a laptop.

[@mulciberus]

Is there a technical rationale for makers moving away from 17" displays to 16"? It seems to me that the extra real estate could be effectively utilized and wouldn't change the overall profile or price. Great presentation, as always. Thank you!

[@slighter]

They rather move from 15 to 16 inch. Meaning they cram in the larger displays on a 15 inch footprint machine. 17 inch is really nice and usually comes with a much larger footprint. Aside from Gaming there is little demand for that form factor.

[@karthik3685]

Would have been a great laptop if Apple did not release the M1 Pro/Max laptops :)

[@bdraghici1]

Depends... some professional apps are not available on macos!

[@John_thetrader]

this is a buy but i miss the numberpad realy tsss cant have it all

[@abrahamnextel]

The day Lisa starts a business selling the shirts she is wearing, she will become rich

[@Voltaron.]

She's already rich, lol. She literally has fun for work.

[@atriantafy]

Thank you for a great review. One small thing: only the rtx 3050 model has two ssd slots. The rest have only one ssd slot due to the vapor chamber

[@wandererstraining]

I'm pretty sure I read they all have two m2 slots, but one becomes unavailable if choosing the 3080. Edit: nevermind, I think you might be right!

[@mShykot]

Hi, thank you for doing all the reviews. I have one question, Which one is better? The yoga series or the x1 yoga series

[@djsnowpdx]

You know, the last generation Super series was some really decent laptop GPUs across the board. The 30 series is not. The 1660 is replaced by a card with 1/3 less RAM. The efficiency is the same as previous gen. The performance is generally the same, but prices are up.

[@dijikstra8]

I'm looking into this as an all-in-one portable but also desktop replacement. I'm a Linux user, developer, and an occasional gamer and want some decent graphics, 3060 should be enough. I'm a little concerned about the 16 inch form factor, but it doesn't seem to be that much larger than my t470s, I guess the bezels are smaller. How is it to lug around? And how is the trackpoint? My t470s trackpoint is really sluggish compared to my old X1 Carbon and X61, I'd be interested to hear from Thinkpad veterans about that.

[@albertob.4638]

Lisa always provides the best reviews. She is the best!

[@CdeMaDaejsAripi]

That T-shirt crazy!!

[@JWard2]

We want an OLED with matte screen. Why is this so hard?

[@jasoncroasdell8212]

with the touch screen and pen option

[@JWard2]

@@jasoncroasdell8212 exactly

[@jvm-tv]

Gen 5 perhaps?

[@jasoncroasdell8212]

@@jvm-tv If you need a laptop right now go and buy one. If you can wait a bit longer then do so. The Intel 12th Generation alder lake desktop CPU's were released on the 4th of November 2021. Alder lake laptops should be at CES Las Vegas in early January

[@ithinkabout4369]

OLED means you have to have a glass layer in front of the display. Glass layer introduces glare.

[@z00h]

Let's see what this does when/if they upgrade it to 12th gen. Or maybe even release an AMD version?

[@jeffhale1189]

I enjoyed your review: very nice device. Blessings on your day.

[@Blue_Phire]

Thank you for the awesome review. I don't see the Gen 4 on the Lenovo site though. My T450s just crashed and I guess I'm stuck choosing one of their preconfigured Gen 3 options. *Sigh*

[@azzinny]

I don't like the location of Control key on Lenovo laptops. I find my self failing to copy something due to clicking Fn and C instead of Control and C.

[@shannonribbons]

you can swap them

[@islandersean2213]

Great share 👍 I just got p1 gen4 i9 cpu with rtx3080. How can I cool this performance labtop with less fan noise? Thanks

[@mplot0]

Do you know what the TGP is of the 3070/3080 Max Q versions?

[@adedamolaadeogun1038]

Wonderful review as always. You have helped me make a decision on the 16" laptop to buy.

[@userou-ig1ze]

Other reviews mentioned bad cooling paste on the cpu...

[@papuchobello]

Why they never made and AMD version????

[@FourTrack2011]

Awesome review as always Lisa. Does your statement about loading different drivers mean RTX has converged Nvidia's technologies again. I remember the days when a gforce card could be converted into quadro by moving some resistors or modifying the firmware. Although sold at different price points they were actually the same. If so, is there any reason not to by a gaming pc for workstation performance, other than build quality (which IMHO does not get better than thinkpad).

[@openbabel]

Agreed this is for enterprise,it should have upgradeable wifi card,Ryzen AMD without lenovo spyware, linux and a reasonable price....I have a P1 the only complaint is that it does not come with better speakers for conference calls, linux,and a lower price in Europe. Europe/UK now requires a factory option in law to include disabled software specified on order from the factory to meet European regulations. This not about generic windows or apple retail disability disability software which does not meet the legislation.

[@theoneed2051]

Hi Lisa, I don't see 5G option.

[@matteofoglio9988]

Can you charge it via usb-c?

[@lauandy872]

It seems that Lenovo left some space for 5th Gen intentionally, maybe we can see X1 Extreme provides high refresh rate display and AMD option next Thanksgiving.

[@DoubleAIV]

Screen refresh rate?

[@kjm-ch7jc]

Zeeee or Zed ?

[@bossssss]

The fn key positioning on lenovo is a deal breaker. So annoying

[@shanechiang4141]

Hoping to get one, thanks for the awesome review, an avid follower!

[@lkireluk]

Hello. I would have liked to see the camera for zoom meetings. How does it look? Thanks.

[@jninanyac]

Very nice laptop. Thanks for the review!

[@Aslam_Aliyu]

When are you going to do a review on the gen 5

[@RichardBuckerCodes]

why is the X1 so expensive?

[@JD-jt9hd]

Could you Please tell me, does the laptop have the rubbery coating material that is soft on touch or is it more plasticky? I have seen both in X series. I am trying so hard to find the laptop with that nice rubbery coating, but no luck.

[@andrei-kob]

Great machine... but without ethernet port... sad...

[@erichong3430]

honestly, i just come here for the t-shirts.

[@thachronic100]

Gen 5 is now out....any chance for a review?

[@nexpro6985]

And yet they left off the numeric keypad

[@raul0ca]

One of these days reviewers will say how well it runs various linux distributions

[@gyozakeynsianism]

It's been "one of these days" for 20 years now. One of these days, soccer will be huge in the United States.

[@raul0ca]

@@gyozakeynsianism Soccer is big in the US. Most of us non-white non-black people play it

[@gyozakeynsianism]

@@raul0ca Tell that to MLS owners. There's a long way between America's sport #4 (hockey) and #5 (soccer).

[@raul0ca]

@@gyozakeynsianism If you watch sports on tv you're watching CCP funded sports

[@gyozakeynsianism]

@@raul0ca You're kind of insane and I'm muting you now.

[@lutongbaru9165]

How can a laptop be called a laptop if it can't be lapped? Just wondering

[@tobiasa.hellmann367]

@MobileTechReview Hi Lisa, could you please confirm usb c 100 watt charging? on the go I really dont want to carry this brick. Thanks a lot!

[@DanielRodriguez-fg5ll]

Great machine, yet it is hard to commit now with the expectation of Alder Lake for laptops. I think I will wait a bit longer for the Gen 5 with P-cores and E-cores

[@rokyo401]

This is the only generation that has both, upward-firing speakers (not in Gen1-3) AND two NVMe slots (no longer in Gen5+), right?