Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 4 laptop review: Performance flagship with 16:10 touchscreen

[Redaktion]

In a year of numerous ThinkPad redesigns, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 4 is one of the most significant - after all, it's the very first 16-inch ThinkPad laptop. We are also pleased with the other features of this premium multimedia laptop, although battery life is disappointing.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Lenovo-ThinkPad-X1-Extreme-Gen-4-laptop-review-Performance-flagship-with-16-10-touchscreen.578922.0.html

[Dorby]

correction, 16" UHD is 283 PPI

[Ross]

Excellent review, but no mention of the performance gains of configuring the system with RAID-0.

[How]

The speakers in this thing are software boosted. If the Dolby application is not running or you are using Linux, the sound is tinny and quiet. It is not like the Macbook.

[Fes]

@How

That is very true. I bought a P1 G4 to use under Linux and the sound is not at all great without the Dolby application which is only under windows. That sucks but my XPS 15 seems to have more consistent sound under different OS, although you can tinker with the EQ under windows, but not Linux. At least I wasn't able to find software for it.

[Ednumero]

Nice. I've been waiting for this review. Nice to know the issue related to the non-vapor-chamber models has been addressed, even if the vapor chamber presence vs absence still isn't made clear from the specs page.

One thing I do wonder though is why the touch options on these nicer machines always have to consist of these obscene edge-to-edge glossy glass layers. The IdeaPad 5 Touch is a normal matte panel, under the same thin plastic bezel as the non-touch - just happens to have a touch digitizer built in too. Why can't I get a nicer panel in a nicer notebook that follows that same design? It seems ideal for those who want touch to use occasionally, but don't want to give up matte. This whole tradeoff doesn't seem necessary.

Regardless it's nice to have 16:10 screens again, especially in high-res options now.

[Benjamin Herzig]

@edit1754,
I think there are two reason for the glass layers:

1. This enables the manufacturer to use the same panel for the non-touch and the touch option. Basically, this is the matte non-Touch panel, with the glass layer and touch digitizer added on top.

A "On Cell" touchscreen, like the one you are describing for the IdeaPad 5 Touch, needs to be designed for touch from the start. Obviously, not every panel made is a touchscreen, so the choice of panels the manufacturers can choose is more limited. The glass layers enables them to offer any panel they want with touch.

2. This devices supports a digitizer pen, and the glass layer protects the display when using the pen. A pen on a matte On-Cell touchscreen would probably damage the screen panel.

[Brad Collins]

The improved CPU performance here really interests me compared to what we've seen with the previous chassis benchmarks with and without the vapour chamber.

I'd be super keen to know if the vapour chamber could be swapped into a lower TDP graphics solution. Perhaps the heatsink could be purchased separately - probably something that people will do in 5 years time when everything is cheaper :)

While I love my carbon gen 9 I'd like to see a slimmer 16" carbon product - is there anyone else who is interested in a proper X or carbon product without a graphics card but with a larger screen?

[jOko]

@ Brad Collins

No. The vapour chamber models have one less SSD slot. The m.2 connector interferes with the heatsink.

[Nibe]

While I love my carbon gen 9 I'd like to see a slimmer 16" carbon product - is there anyone else who is interested in a proper X or carbon product without a graphics card but with a larger screen?

You can config ure the x1 extreme and p1 with igpu only, you need to upgrade to the 11850hk cpu than you can choose to use integrated graphics only.

[Estor]

I see this thing has a lot of empty room near the bottom for a bigger battery and speakers. Possible improvements for gen 5?

[Ednumero]

@Benjamin

Fair point. I suppose that shifts my gripe to wherever the biggest blocker is in making that happen, heh.

The pen point is definitely a good one. Maybe it's harder (or at least a bigger ask of panel manufacturers) to make on-cell panels that support pen input.

Maybe someone will eventually produce an on-cell 3840x2400 16" panel with an adaptable interface, and I can attempt a daring swap. My hopes aren't too high for that though.

[MonkeyFizz]

The shipping times are ridiculous. Placed an order in October with a shipping date in mid 2022. Called to cancel order and was given a ref number. But the order is not cancelled and instead my card was charged and item was released to manufacturing.

[Greg]

It doesn't look like I can configure this laptop without dGPU, at least not in United States. It only gives you a choice between two NVIDIA graphic cards.

[Benjamin Herzig]

@Greg,
the availability of GPU options depends on the chosen processor.

- Core i7-11800H: RTX 3050 Ti, RTX 3060

- Core i7-11850H: Intel UHD Graphics, RTX 3050 Ti, RTX 3070

- Core i9-11950HK: RTX 3080

This is due to the fact that CPU and GPU are soldered, so certain CPU/GPU combos are paired, while others are not available.