ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen3 2020: Lenovo's Premium Multimedia Laptop with GTX 1650 Ti Max-Q in Review

[Redaktion]

Lenovo now sells the third generation of the ThinkPad X1 Extreme with slightly more powerful components. The case and the cooling solution have not changed, so is it still sufficient, or is it time for a more substantial redesign?

https://www.notebookcheck.net/ThinkPad-X1-Extreme-Gen3-2020-Lenovo-s-Premium-Multimedia-Laptop-with-GTX-1650-Ti-Max-Q-in-Review.512920.0.html

[Rido]

AMD + 16:10 screen = done deal. I'm sure many would love an AMD and 16:10 option other than me.

[ChinaLiedPeopleDied]

How can an Intel based model receive 100% in CPU and 95% in GPU performance rating when you have the AMD Ryzen 7 4800H and 4800HS models combined with a RTX 2060 Max-Q design?

Intel is no longer in the lead.

[JD Smacks]

NOW WITH LOUDER FANS!
Epic fail.
Should have gone with a cooler AMD cpu.  Otherwise nice.

[Dorby]

I wanted to get this, but ultimately went with HP ZBook Create (15 G7).

Specs: i7-10850H, RTX 2070S Max-Q, Linux, 4K OLED HDR500 Touch, 16GB DDR4, 512GB NVMe + 32GB Optane Cache, 83Wh, 1.9 kg, 3 Years Standard Warranty, $2,100 (+VAT, Shipping,-Discount)

Same laptop as the Extreme but HP had graphics cards ranging from RTX 2070, 2070S and 2080S. Similar feeling keyboard but better build quality, better speakers and better selection of displays were hard to resist despite its soldered memory.

I use 2 laptops that are both are Intel because AMD Zen 2 was apparently incompatible with Touchscreens and OLED, and had PCIe limitations pairing up with high-end dGPUs and USB 4.0 (TB3) ports, which I couldn't sacrifice just for the multi-core performance jump.

But it's nice to know that will all change in 2021.

[Yngmar]

Surely it is time to update to Tiger Lake. Personally, I'd prefer AMD, but I could live with that. Then a 16:10 display with some more pixels (2560x1600 or 2880x1800) and a RTX 2060. Which means they'll have to work out the cooling issues. Uh oh, perhaps that's too tall of an order. Keep up the mediocrity then! 👍

[indy]

USB-C to ethernet adapter is not included (sold separately). It looks like the same for P1.

[Mathew]

How can an Intel based model receive 100% in CPU and 95% in GPU performance rating when you have the AMD Ryzen 7 4800H and 4800HS models combined with a RTX 2060 Max-Q design?

Intel is no longer in the lead.

Notebookcheck will do anything to please its Chinese masters. Gone are the days when there was a hint to honesty to this website.

[Anonym]

This 2020 model hasn't aged well... it looks *ANCIENT* when put side by side a XPS 15. That 16:9 screen has a huge bottom bezel that would be better used by a  16:10 screen. Furthermore, the keyboard deck has so much empty space that I really must wonder *WHY* couldn't they fit proper front facing speakers. Last but not least, the touchpad looks tiny for that deck and today's standards.

Really hope the 2021 is a "clean slate" design that addresses all these issues, and brings AMD offerings to the table.

[NikoB]

AMD (include new mobile Zen3):
+:
Best perfomance in multi-thread applications
-:
1. No USB4.0 (aka TB4.0/3.0).
2. No pci-e 4.0
3. No AV1 decoder
5. Bad H265/Vp9 decoder (hybrid, not 100% hardware) in 2.5k+ especially. It have always drop V-sync for video in 50-60fps and huge cpu load.
4. No HDMI 2.1 (4k/120Гц 30-36bits 4:4:4 output) and Display Port 2.0 (8k/60Hz/30-36 bits monitors).
5. Bad memory performance - very huge memory latency vs Intel. Typical drop ~ -30% in atomic operations.
6. No neuroDSP.
7. Lower single-thread performance vs Intel for same year production.
8. No AVX512
9. x8 pci-e 3.0 dGPU link in H series.
10. very low mass production for mobile SoC's. Only 17% global market. Intel 83%. There is a monstrous shortage of AMD laptops, especially at reasonable prices.

Intel:
+:
1. USB4.0 (aka TB4.0/3.0). 2x2 scheme (2 left side, 2 right-side). With Ice Lake.
2. AV1 decoder.
3. HDMI 2.1 (by official presentation).
4. pci-e 4.0
5. Better single-threaded performance.
6. Best memory performance by latency - up to x1.5 vs AMD.
7. NeuroDSP (V1.0 in Ice Lake, V2.0 in Tiger Lake+).
8. AVX512
9. x16 pci-e 4.0 link to dGPU in H series.
10. Much better H265/VP9 decoders. Low cpu usage. Stable framerate.
11. Many times greater availability of solutions in retail. Sometimes the artificial improvement of models in some key things in favor of Intel (for example, the HP Omen 2020 has a full-fledged keyboard, and AMD has a stripped-down, which is why the demand for the AMD model is sharply worse).

-:
1. USB4.0(TB4.0/3.0) ports for many cheap laptops deliberately and despicably not  installed for marketing idiotic reasons. Because of this, laptops with Intel instantly lose their key advantage, for which Intel hardware buyers are forced to pay anyway, but the ugly marketers do not allow them to use ... Although the TB3.0 output costs a penny in terms of the cost of wiring on motherboards, i.e. to. all logic is already in SoC

2. DP2.0 is 100% fake (and 8k monitors) in Tiger Lake.

3. Very bad multi-threaded performance (and specially for one $ and one watt). Which leads to the need to overstate the consumption and leads to increased noise from the cooling system.

4. Very high prices. Constant problems with the ability to use all the key SoC capabilities for ugly marketing reasons, which finally buries the platform.

[AllahuAkbar!]

Hey Lenovo, could you please release a ThinkPad X1 Extreme with AMD Ryzen 9 5900HS + GTX 1660 Ti or at least a better, more ThinkPad-like keyboard in the Legion series?

I hope Asus puts a usable webcam in their G14 with 5900HS + RTX 3060 Max-Kebab

[Dorby]

Hey Lenovo, could you please release a ThinkPad X1 Extreme with AMD Ryzen 9 5900HS + GTX 1660 Ti or at least a better, more ThinkPad-like keyboard in the Legion series?

I hope Asus puts a usable webcam in their G14 with 5900HS + RTX 3060 Max-Kebab

Thinkpad brand has an R&D partner contract with Intel, so that won't happen anytime soon.
Which is why Lenovo is using the Ideapad Pro and Legion lineup to supply AMD HS processors and RTX graphics, because the Ideapad brand has partnership with AMD.

[abax2000]

On which colour mode was testing and calibration of the monitor based?
"Lenovo Display Optimizer" offers 6 choices.
Are there any details for these modes (white points, contrast and colour spaces)?