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 !
@@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.
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.
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
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, 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.
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?
Wow. This is an excellent review I'm into tech and stuff but don't have even a single laptop but this was honestly amazing I feel if Lenovo can upgrade their screen without increasing their prices too high they can be really sold since people will like them. And you earned a sub!
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.
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...
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..
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.
Thank you very much for the best ever review. I'm currently using ThinkPad X1 Carbon 5th Gen. almost every day connected to Lenovo docking station. Can you advise me about thermals results for the Gen9 if connected to the docking station (completely closed)? Is it worthed switching to Gen9? I definitely need more speed. I strongly believe that your channel will reach 1 million subscribers sooner than you expect. Exceptional, high quality and very professional content.Bravo...
Thank you so much for your kind words. The Gen 9 would certainly give you a much needed boost especially on the GPU front as the XE is a big step up. With regards to the dock, I am not sure how well it will handle with the lid closed as the vents now shoot out the rear (rather than the unobstructed side on yours) Unfortunately I didn't have a dock to test for you.
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 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
@@MashITTech Great Idea with the scale right away, i am always interested on the real weight of things :) Right now I need a new notebook and the ThinkPad seems to be an option.
Ah, glad I stole my wife’s scales now :) I do need to buy a set for the office though. I have been really enjoying my time with this laptop and in my opinion it is the best windows ultrabook on the market at the moment
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 😃
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 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 😭
After half a dozen or so Lenovos and my Thinkpad`s OLED screen breaking twice, I became unfaithful and switched over in February to the Acer Spin 5 with a 3:2 screen, 1 TB SSD, 16 GB RAM, i7 and same sturdiness, albeit thinner and lighter than the Lenovos. 2 USB C Thunderbolts, 2x USB 3, HDMI, card reader and built in pen. 2256 x 1504 screen with 400 nits. 12 hours battery. Much better microphone and cam, ideal for Zoom etc. Running cool and quiet. And more affordable. Didn`t regret the choice for a minute so far.
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
Thanks for the detailed review! I’m wondering what your opinion is on choosing resolution. I have large monitors and just wondering if 4k is necessary or is 1920 x 1080 enough for monitor quality
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 👍
Hi Dave, thanks for a great review! Do you think this laptop will be ok for music production and run a DAW software such as Ableton \ Cubase? I'm trying to decide between the carbon to the new P14 (gen 2) Thanks :)
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).
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.
4K will eat into your battery life so I would get the 1200p unless you really need 4K. It only throttles on heavy 3D such as games and I am sure Lenovo will fix this as it is not normal behaviour and even the nano didn’t behave the same
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
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
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?
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?
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
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!
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
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?
Is the nvme port PCIe 4.0? And is your drive PCIe 4 or 3? You can configure when you buy with a 2tb Pci4 but it doesn't say that all configs come with the PCIe 4.0 port or indeed if the smaller drives are 3 or 4.
I'll answer my own question. It looks like all 11th gen Intel have PCie 4. However it appears that Lenovo are fitting PCie Gen 3 drives in the smaller capacities? The only review I've seen where they show the drive is on Tweaktown - its a 512 GB Gen3 drive and the end of the review, as a -ve comment, they say "I would like to see Lenovo take advantage of Gen4 NVMe in their flagship X1 Carbon." The Lenovo website does not mention if drives are gen3 or gen4, other the for the 2TB option which is firmly stated as gen4.
And Notebookcheck have just reviewed a version with a 1TB drive that was PCie 4. It's a great shame that Lenovo don't make it clear as to what drive specs they are supplying.
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.
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, 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?
The screen on the nano was a highlight and is a touch better than the carbon even though it’s slightly smaller. The problem I had other than the ports was the battery life, it is much much worse than this carbon. Also the side power bottom was a bit fiddly. Other than those nit picks it is still a solid package and a great alternative to the carbon if you want to go small
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 wouldn’t want to do a lot of video editing on it! It is ok for light video editing but export times are slow. If you need a laptop for video editing then I would get an 8 core with nvidia gpu like the x1 gen 3 or the thicker P series
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
Check out the Lenovo Forum before you buy any laptop from them. There are so many issues which are hardly solved, bad customer service even when your machine is in warranty, poor Linux support nowadays, battery drain and so on. They are basically throwing their good reputation. You better check the forums.
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 !
Excellent review!!!! I will seriously consider this laptop when I am due to upgrade.
Totally agree with ports! I cannot yet digest that in our days we have to be checking even for 3.5 jack!!!
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.
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
My 5th gen X1 is still going strong, but this looks so good!
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"?
Excellent and thorough review. Thank you. Well done.
Thanks for the kind words 😃
Would you pick this over the Macbook Pro?
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?
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!
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
What an excellent, thorough review!
Thanks a lot
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 👍
Informative, and I also think well made review
Thank you that is very kind of you to say
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, 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
Had this as a replacement for X260 and its a great buy.
Thanks for the great comprehensive review
Great review! Keep going 👍🏻
Thank you kind sir 😊👍
Great video!! The looks of this laptop are top notch as well.
Thanks mate, it is a fantastic laptop
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!
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?
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?
Wow. This is an excellent review I'm into tech and stuff but don't have even a single laptop but this was honestly amazing I feel if Lenovo can upgrade their screen without increasing their prices too high they can be really sold since people will like them. And you earned a sub!
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it. Yes I think Lenovo did a really good job on this one, so glad they moved back to 16:10
Great review 👍. Thanks a lot!!
Glad you liked it! 👍
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.
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...
Do you have anti-reflection or anti-glare screen? Lenovo doesn't specify whether their screens are glossy or matte on the website anymore.
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..
Watching it on 6th Gen X1 Carbon :)
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?
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
Thank you very much for the best ever review. I'm currently using ThinkPad X1 Carbon 5th Gen. almost every day connected to Lenovo docking station. Can you advise me about thermals results for the Gen9 if connected to the docking station (completely closed)? Is it worthed switching to Gen9? I definitely need more speed. I strongly believe that your channel will reach 1 million subscribers sooner than you expect. Exceptional, high quality and very professional content.Bravo...
Thank you so much for your kind words. The Gen 9 would certainly give you a much needed boost especially on the GPU front as the XE is a big step up. With regards to the dock, I am not sure how well it will handle with the lid closed as the vents now shoot out the rear (rather than the unobstructed side on yours) Unfortunately I didn't have a dock to test for you.
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 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
Excelente amigo, te mereces mas suscriptores
It'd be great if you do a comparison of the carbon x1 9th gen and the LG Gram 14" or 16".
Great review, going straight to the point! I've subbed :)
Thanks a lot, glad you enjoyed it.
@@MashITTech Great Idea with the scale right away, i am always interested on the real weight of things :) Right now I need a new notebook and the ThinkPad seems to be an option.
Ah, glad I stole my wife’s scales now :) I do need to buy a set for the office though. I have been really enjoying my time with this laptop and in my opinion it is the best windows ultrabook on the market at the moment
great review!
Thanks!
The function and control layout is actually the same as on the Macbooks.
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 😃
Is there a difference in terms of sharpness between the touch and the non-touch screens? (for the 1'200 resolution)
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 :(
Do you lose something if you go for x1 yoga gen 6?
The successor of 2010 thinkpads.
just got mine for uni def an amazing laptop
Glad you are enjoying it 👍
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 😭
Super helpful!
After half a dozen or so Lenovos and my Thinkpad`s OLED screen breaking twice, I became unfaithful and switched over in February to the Acer Spin 5 with a 3:2 screen, 1 TB SSD, 16 GB RAM, i7 and same sturdiness, albeit thinner and lighter than the Lenovos. 2 USB C Thunderbolts, 2x USB 3, HDMI, card reader and built in pen. 2256 x 1504 screen with 400 nits. 12 hours battery. Much better microphone and cam, ideal for Zoom etc. Running cool and quiet. And more affordable. Didn`t regret the choice for a minute so far.
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
Thanks for the detailed review! I’m wondering what your opinion is on choosing resolution. I have large monitors and just wondering if 4k is necessary or is 1920 x 1080 enough for monitor quality
1080 is pretty good for 14' screen
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!!!
Hi Dave, thanks for a great review!
Do you think this laptop will be ok for music production and run a DAW software such as Ableton \ Cubase?
I'm trying to decide between the carbon to the new P14 (gen 2)
Thanks :)
Hi Yotam, sorry I didn’t try music production as I am more of a developer myself. I have fl studio I could try but I am not sure how to test
Are you still happy with this one? Thank you, nice review 👌
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
Watching this on my X1 Carbon 3rd gen lol....
Still don't want to upgrade it yet
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.
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 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.
Great review! Do you recommend buying the 4K version considering the throttling and PWM flickering issues?
4K will eat into your battery life so I would get the 1200p unless you really need 4K. It only throttles on heavy 3D such as games and I am sure Lenovo will fix this as it is not normal behaviour and even the nano didn’t behave the same
It's a shame that they can't have an AMD version of this laptop 😢
That is true but there is the 13" X13 gen 2 which looks promising (ryzen and 16:10). I will order it as soon as it releases
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
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
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?
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.
It ’s good that Thinkpad started to have PCIE4＆thunderbolt4
How is the battery life? Has it improved overtime?
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 🙂👍
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. :)
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!
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.
Great review
Thank you Jason
Which one is more durable and have great performance between thinkpad T series and X series
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!
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.
This is not one of the best but the best laptop tbh performance/keyboard everything is super, I have this and I am very content with it !!
Great review！
Thank you 😊
You can change the use of the fucntions keys and multimedia keys with fn and esc.
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
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?
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...
Is the nvme port PCIe 4.0? And is your drive PCIe 4 or 3?
You can configure when you buy with a 2tb Pci4 but it doesn't say that all configs come with the PCIe 4.0 port or indeed if the smaller drives are 3 or 4.
I'll answer my own question. It looks like all 11th gen Intel have PCie 4. However it appears that Lenovo are fitting PCie Gen 3 drives in the smaller capacities? The only review I've seen where they show the drive is on Tweaktown - its a 512 GB Gen3 drive and the end of the review, as a -ve comment, they say "I would like to see Lenovo take advantage of Gen4 NVMe in their flagship X1 Carbon." The Lenovo website does not mention if drives are gen3 or gen4, other the for the 2TB option which is firmly stated as gen4.
And Notebookcheck have just reviewed a version with a 1TB drive that was PCie 4. It's a great shame that Lenovo don't make it clear as to what drive specs they are supplying.
That’s greate video.
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.
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
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
How do you compare it to the Nano if you are disregarding the ports? Is the screen real estate of the Nano sufficient for example?
The screen on the nano was a highlight and is a touch better than the carbon even though it’s slightly smaller. The problem I had other than the ports was the battery life, it is much much worse than this carbon. Also the side power bottom was a bit fiddly. Other than those nit picks it is still a solid package and a great alternative to the carbon if you want to go small
Is LTE even needed when you can use your cellphone as a mobile hotspot?
Hi, Thanks for the Video. What you use as scaling setting?
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
Yea good job 👍. Keep it up
Thanks, will do! :)
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.
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 😀
Is this recommended for someone who uses video and photo editing softwares (Premiere/Photoshop) throughout most of the week?
I wouldn’t want to do a lot of video editing on it! It is ok for light video editing but export times are slow. If you need a laptop for video editing then I would get an 8 core with nvidia gpu like the x1 gen 3 or the thicker P series
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
What’s the price for this machine
Check out the Lenovo Forum before you buy any laptop from them. There are so many issues which are hardly solved, bad customer service even when your machine is in warranty, poor Linux support nowadays, battery drain and so on. They are basically throwing their good reputation. You better check the forums.
is that mean this one is no go, or..??
How to do boot to your USB on these things to add windows 10?