Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9: The Ultimate Business Laptop
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Specifications and Pricing
- Design and Build Quality
- Performance and Battery Life
- Display Options
- Keyboard and Touchpad
- Webcam and Audio Quality
- Connectivity Options
- Upgradability and Storage
- Thermal Performance
- Pros and Cons
- Conclusion
🖥️ Introduction
In this review, I will be sharing my thoughts on the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9. Over the past 30 days, I have been using this laptop, putting it through its paces and testing its performance, battery life, display, and thermals. I must say that this is still one of my favorite laptops for 2021. In this article, I will explain why.
💻 Specifications and Pricing
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 comes with different configurations, but I will be focusing on the Core i5 and Core i7 models with the Full HD Plus and UHD Plus displays. The pricing for the Core i5 model starts at $1402.80, and the Core i7 model is priced higher. You can find more information and purchase options in the link provided in the description.
🏢 Design and Build Quality
The ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 has a sleek and professional design, featuring a plain black lid. However, if you opt for the UHD Plus display, you will get a carbon fiber weave finish, adding a touch of class to the laptop's appearance. The laptop has a compact footprint, making it highly portable. It is slightly larger than its smaller sibling, the X1 Nano, but still smaller than the X1 Extreme Gen 3.
⚙️ Performance and Battery Life
I had the opportunity to test both the Core i5 and Core i7 models, and both performed exceptionally well for everyday tasks. The Core i7, of Course, outperformed the Core i5 in benchmarks, but the Core i5 also held its own. The laptop handled tasks like Microsoft Office, email, web browsing, and media consumption without any issues. However, under extreme heavy load, I noticed occasional drops in performance for both models. Lenovo may be able to address this with a firmware update.
Battery life is impressive on the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9. The Core i5 model with the Full HD Plus display lasted an impressive 14 hours and 2 minutes on my continuous web surfing test. The Core i7 model with the UHD Plus display, on the other HAND, lasted for 7 hours and 48 minutes. If you prioritize battery life, the Full HD Plus model is the way to go.
🖥️ Display Options
The ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 offers two display options: the Full HD Plus and the UHD Plus. The UHD Plus display has a resolution of 3840 by 2400, with a 16:10 aspect ratio, while the Full HD Plus display has a resolution of 1920 by 1200, also with a 16:10 aspect ratio. Both displays are IPS and offer impressive visuals.
The UHD Plus display provides deep blacks, vibrant colors, and excellent color accuracy, making it a great choice for content creators. It covers 100% sRGB, 90% Adobe RGB, 95% DCI-P3, and 86% NTSC color gamut. The Full HD Plus display also offers good color accuracy, covering 95% sRGB, 71% Adobe RGB, 71% DCI-P3, and 66% NTSC color gamut.
⌨️ Keyboard and Touchpad
The keyboard on the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 is a standout feature. Lenovo's ThinkPad keyboards are known for being one of the best in the business, and this laptop is no exception. Despite having slightly less key travel than previous models, it still offers great tactile feedback and is comfortable for extended typing Sessions. The spill-resistant keyboard is an added bonus for protection against accidental spills.
The touchpad on the X1 Carbon Gen 9 is larger compared to the previous model, and it is highly responsive. Two-finger scrolling is smooth, and it works exactly as expected. The touchpad is also a persistent one, meaning you can use it for navigation even if you have a mouse connected. Additionally, the laptop features the iconic TrackPoint, which is a great alternative pointing device loved by many ThinkPad users.
📸 Webcam and Audio Quality
The ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 comes with a 720p, 30 frames per Second webcam. While it is sufficient for video conferencing and work-from-home needs, the quality is not exceptional. The audio quality from the internal microphones is decent, but nothing extraordinary.
One notable feature of the webcam is its support for Windows Hello, allowing you to log in with face recognition. The laptop also includes human presence detection, which automatically locks the device when you move away and unlocks it when it detects your presence. There is a ThinkShutter switch that allows you to physically cover the webcam, enhancing privacy and security.
🔌 Connectivity Options
On the left side of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9, you will find two Thunderbolt 4 ports, which offer the benefit of driving multiple 4K monitors or one 8K monitor. There is also a USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 port and an HDMI port. On the right side, there is a 3.5mm headphone/microphone combo jack, a second USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 port, and a Kensington lock port.
It is worth noting that there is no MicroSD card or full-size SD card slot on this laptop. However, you can use dongles or adapters to expand the connectivity options as needed.
🛠️ Upgradability and Storage
The ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 unfortunately does not allow for user-upgradable RAM. The RAM is soldered into the motherboard, so it is important to choose the right configuration upfront. The laptop can be configured with up to 32GB of LPDDR4X RAM.
On the other hand, the SSD is upgradeable by the user. The entry-level model I purchased came with 256GB of SSD storage and delivered excellent read and write speeds. The review unit with a Core i7 processor had a 512GB SSD, which also provided impressive performance.
🌡️ Thermal Performance
Under normal daily tasks, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 maintained relatively cool surface temperatures. However, under heavy load, the laptop's temperatures did increase, particularly at the top of the keyboard area. The fans kicked in, but they were not overly loud and effectively managed the thermal performance.
During stress tests, the laptop would turbo boost up to 3.6 GHz with a core temperature of around 98 degrees Celsius. Occasionally, I noticed drops to 2.8 GHz with a core temperature of 81 degrees Celsius, and sometimes even as low as 399 MHz with temperatures fluctuating between 54 and 60 degrees Celsius. Although these drops occurred under extreme heavy load and did not affect regular tasks, a firmware update could potentially address this issue.
👍 Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Sleek and professional design
- Outstanding keyboard and touchpad
- Impressive battery life, especially on the Full HD Plus model
- Excellent display options with good color accuracy
- Solid performance for everyday tasks
- Spill-resistant keyboard and Durable build quality
- Good audio quality with Dolby Atmos speakers
Cons:
- Non-upgradable RAM
- No MicroSD card or full-size SD card slot
- Webcam quality could be improved
- Occasionally experienced performance drops under extreme heavy load
Conclusion
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 is undoubtedly one of the best business laptops available in 2021. It offers a sleek design, excellent keyboard, impressive battery life, and a variety of display options. While there are a few downsides, such as non-upgradable RAM and mediocre webcam quality, the overall Package makes it a solid choice for professionals and content creators alike. Whether you prioritize portability, performance, or battery life, the X1 Carbon Gen 9 delivers on all fronts.
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