Men in suits – that's the first thing that comes to mind when we mention Lenovo.
Specifically, the premium ThinkPad X1 series, with a sleek professional appearance, lightweight and durable chassis and long battery life, appears to have been made for high-level executives.
The new X1 Extreme upgrades the line with a 15‑inch form factor. It is also the first in this particular series that includes a special Nvidia graphics card.
Like other ThinkPads, the Extreme has a matte black finish. It is smooth but there is no risk of slipping when you hold it. With a thickness of about 18 millimeters, it is relatively thin. It weighs 1.7 kg – quite handy for a 15‑inch laptop and lighter than the competing Apple MacBook Pro (1.8 kg).
Four layers of carbon fibers reinforce the lid, which is also relatively flexible. For better heat dissipation generated by the graphics chip, the bottom of the Extreme is now made of aluminum instead of carbon fibers.
ThinkPads are known for their keyboards. The same will apply to the Extreme. The keyboard will be touch-sensitive and will have backlighting.
Lenovo did not include a numeric keypad, even though it is feasible for a 15‑inch laptop. Consequently, there is plenty of space for important keys such as Backspace, Enter, and Shift.
The red pointing stick remains in the middle of the keyboard for those who prefer this classic input device.
On the right side of the keyboard there is a square fingerprint sensor. There is also the option to use your face to unlock the laptop via the infrared camera above the screen.
Dongles are not needed for the Extreme, as it has many ports, old and new. Innovators will enjoy the two USB Type-C Thunderbolt 3 ports, while the more traditional will find the HDMI port and the USB Type-A ports very convenient. There is also an SD card and smart card reader.
The laptop uses Lenovo's proprietary power connector and not USB Type-C for charging. The power adaptor is 135 W, therefore larger than the usual.
The graphics chip Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti is quite good for most games. It also helps that the laptop uses a hexa-core Intel Core i7 processor, which is designed for gaming and workstations.
In the PCMark 10 benchmark, the Extreme scored 4,823 points, which means the laptop does respectable work regarding gaming and workstation task execution.
With a large 80 watt/hour battery, the Extreme ran for seven hours and 40 minutes during the video-loop battery test. This is impressive for a 15‑inch laptop.
Conclusion: Those who want more performance from their workstations will be pleased with the lightweight yet capable ThinkPad X1 Extreme.
