ThinkPad laptops are realistic
standard for professional people.
It has been in this form or another form
for over 20 years, but homogeneous appearance and features that focus on
business do not attract mid-range market. That thing can change with ThinkPad
X1 Carbon Ultrabook, which is probably the most beautiful ThinkPad ever.
It is made from the combination of soft
plastic material and lightweight but sturdy carbon fiber, X1 Carbon weighs just
1.3kg and is ideal for those who like to travel. It is only 19mm thick at the
thickest point, but it still has incredible sturdy feeling, it has a small
curvature in the screen and keyboard tray.
Lenovo
Thinkpad X1 Carbon
Click to make impress
The keyboard is the controversial subject
in our office. Some people think it is one of the best laptop keyboards they
have ever used, but others think the key has sticking feeling sometimes.
However, all agree that Lenovo has done excellent work to create the keys with
a lot of movements in a super thin laptop. Chiclet keyboard is both hard and
fast, and the whole keyboard tray is illuminated with white LED lights, so we
do not have any trouble while working in low light.
Chiclet
keyboard is both hard and fast.
We also like the all-in-one touchpad, which
works incredibly well despite the absence of physical buttons. It has
comfortable size though it is a little too close to the edge of the chassis and
make a sound to let you know when your click is recognized. It supports multi-touch
gestures, and its sensitivity is perfect. Because this is a Lenovo laptop, it
also gives you the option to use integrated touch-stick instead of touchpad.
This takes time to get used to if you have not used it before, but the Lenovo
users will appreciate its presence.
The screen is also a big step than most
competitors. Lenovo has installed 14-inch, 1600x900 screen in the frame with
similar size to most 13in laptop, and it seems expensive. Additional resolution
makes it you easy to work on two side by side documents. Although the TN
display only has average viewing angle, tilting screen is completely flat, so
finding the appropriate location is not the problem. The anti-glare surface
reduces the reflection but does not damage the color, so the images are still
lively. It is not as bright as Samsung Series 9 screen or Asus ZenBook Prime,
but it remains one of the best Ultrabook screen we've ever seen.
The
screen is also a big step than most competitors.
It is easy to understand for 1 such thin laptop,
even at Ultrabook standard, X1 Carbon has minimum number of ports. In addition
to two USB ports, a 3.5mm combined audio jack and multi-format card reader,
Lenovo has used a DisplayPort mini port for video output instead of HDMI. It
may be more common in a business environment, but you will need an adapter to
run laptop via TV. It would be great if two USB ports support faster USB3
standard, but one of them is slower USB version. There is 1 integrated 3G modem
for wireless internet access, although you need to pay more to use it
Inside information
Intel Core i5-3427U processor of X1 Carbon
runs 2 cores at 1.8GHz speed, but they can reach up to 2.8GHz by using Turbo
Boost. It is combined with 8GB of RAM (not removable) and a 256GB SSD drive, so
it passed our multimedia test with total score of 55. It's not as fast as some
Ultrabook powered by Intel Core i7 processor, but it's still fast to all of
your daily applications. Additional memory will be useful for the bigger
applications such as database.
Obviously, X1 Carbon is built as one gaming
laptop, so it does not surprise that it relies on integrated graphics of
processor for video and 3D. Intel HD 4000 is a big step forward when compared
to the previous generation, but it is still struggling to run the newer games.
Our Dirt 3 test completed with an erratic average frame rate of 19.7fps. It's a
small improvement when compared to other Ultrabook we've seen, but it is mostly
due to the fact that our testing model has faster processors. If you choose X1,
which is cheaper with Core i5-3317U, you can expect a 10% slower gaming performance
and depend on the game.
Lenovo
gives the new ThinkPad X1 the byname "Carbon", but the high-tech
material remains unseen to the user.
Main benefit of choosing integrated graphics
is that they require less battery. ThinkPad X1 Carbon ran in admirable way in
our light using test, reaching under 8 hours by battery. You can also work all
day with one charge only if you do minor tasks.
We hardly recommend X1 Carbon to anyone who
need a laptop to use at home. You will pay extra fee for the features you will
not need, such as integrated 3G modem and vPro compatibility. You had better
use Samsung Series 9. However, to business users, there is almost nothing to
blame here. It's interesting to use, it comes with useful features and
software, and it is very strong with long life battery. It is a working machine
that you need.
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Info
·
Price: $1,580
·
Supplier: www.shop.lenovo.com
·
Processor: Intel Core i5-3427U 1.8GHz
·
RAM: 8GB
·
Storage: Hard Drive / SSD 256GB
·
Graphics: Intel HD 4000
·
Optical Drive: no
·
Display: wide angle 14inch LCD (1600x900)
·
Operating System: Windows 7 Professional 64bit
·
Size: 331x226x19mm, 1.3kg
·
Energy consumption: 0W at standby, 12W at
idle, 43W at active mode
·
Warranty: 3 years RTB
·
Windows total points: 55
·
Multitasking: 49
·
Dirt 3: 19.7fps
·
Battery: 7 hours 54 minutes
Verdict
·
Being an advanced business Ultrabook, Lenovo
proves it knows what experts want.
·
Ratings: 5/5
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