Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 Laptop Review: Big 16:10 upgrade with Intel Tiger Lake

[Redaktion]

16:10, two fans, a bigger battery and a 4K UHD+ screen - Lenovo has made a lot of changes to the new ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9. While doing so, Lenovo unfortunately also made alterations to the ThinkPad keyboard that are not necessarily positive. Find out why in our comprehensive review!

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Lenovo-ThinkPad-X1-Carbon-Gen-9-Laptop-Review-Big-16-10-upgrade-with-Intel-Tiger-Lake.537905.0.html

[Dorby]

"no ThinkPad X1 Carbon has had a worse keyboard thus far"

Well damn. Despite its obvious drawbacks I was considering the X1 Carbon just for its keyboard to type all-day while traveling, but I'm not too sure now.

[_DOC]

I don't run the show here, but how does this laptop get a recommendation with its abysmal power tuning?

[AnonymousA]

@Dorby, this x1 doesn't look as an all-day laptop based on the battery life figures in the review. I'd aim for something with at least 10hrs if I'm away from the plug. Factor in a few hrs on top of your estimated usage hrs, just to be on the safe side.

@DOC, I find that weird as well, I guess consistency started to be an issue for them. Just look at the figures and do your own judgement about the product, skip their conclusions and rating.

[ebrake]

Why would you spend this much money on a 4 core machine with a terrible webcam and poor battery life in 2021?

[Traveller888]

As a X1C9 owner, I have experienced the throttling issue on an everyday basis.  Lenovo doesn't seem to think it's a problem though and defines it as "working as designed" - see thread below:

forums.lenovo.com/t5/ThinkPad-X-Series-Laptops/Lenovo-X1-Carbon-Gen-9-Throttling-Issues/m-p/5073083?page=5

From what I can read, Lenovo does not intend to fix this throttling problem, as they don't even acknowledge it as an issue.  Buyers beware!

[WTHCPU]

Yeah hum.... same question as _DOC : what the hell?!
That machine basically can't use its CPU, how can it be recommended?!
Do you know for a fact that a good fix is coming?

[Konstantinos]

@Benjamin Herzig

I think the battery tests need to be standardised. It is simply wrong tests and comparisons all tests refering to max brightness when one laptop has 300cd/m² and another 600cd/m².

Can you imagine IPC performance test "at max Frequency"?!

There needs to be battery tests at standard brightness levels like at 300cd/m² etc.

[_DOC]

@Traveller888

I have an Inspiron 14 7000 w/ 1165g7 and 78 whr battery. It had similar weird issues with power throttling, but I managed to get Dell to issue a bios fix and while the PL1 is still too low at 20w, it is consistent.

I would expect better from Lenovo's Thinkpad line.

[BrunoS]

Had that same throttle appear while using zoom and showing a client mobile version of a site, while debugging it. I just couldnt believe it. I was pondering about keeping it and hoping for a fix but I decided that's too much hassle fo the money. Returned it the next day. It's not just gaming.
I DONT want to use throttlestop to get a 2400 dollar machine to work properly. The review confirmed this fault by design.

[BrunoS]

Forgot to mention:
Had that trackpoint drift after using it for scrolling, bluetooth mouse was lagging terribly (that power saver checkbox didnt help, its evo platform issue), speakers are meh, touchpad is too short (5.5 cm) because of basically unusable trackpoint.

[Benjamin Herzig]

That machine basically can't use its CPU, how can it be recommended?!

There is no issue with the CPU performance. The issue is with the GPU performance, which, while bad, isn't exactly a deal-breaker for a productivity focused business laptop.

I think the battery tests need to be standardised.

The battery tests already are standardized - 150 cd/m² brightness for the Wi-Fi test and the Big Buck Bunny test.

[Karo]

The CPU throttling issue has made the computer completely difficult to use normally. >:( >:( >:(
Imagine that if you drive to 120km/h, the vehicle will automatically slow down to 10km/h every minute for 10 seconds. Do you still think this is an excellent car?
Until Lenovo solves this problem, it is not recommended to buy this computer.

[hakaki7280]

2800€ for a laptop. Great laptop indeed, but seriously...

The 500nits non glossy screen in FHD is only 10€ less than the WUHD when the 400nits is -210€ less. That's annoying as well as I consider 400 to not be enough for business / travel. Lenovo sadly doesn't offer 500nits screen on a (much) less expensive package.

[zed]

I've bought a Lenovo Ideapad and to use an ethernet cable I lost the precious usb port. As if the missing sd card reader wasn't enough. Never again I'm going to buy a laptop without a decent amount of essential ports.