Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme vs. Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon: Which should you buy?

When you need a dedicated GPU and the latest Intel processors, Lenovo has the ThinkPad X1 Extreme that houses everything you need and more. If you prefer a lighter notebook and one with HDR support, ThinkPad X1 Carbon is the better option.

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Powerful notebooks

Lenovo targets two different consumers with the ThinkPad X1 Extreme and ThinkPad X1 Carbon, though both notebooks overlap in certain areas, so you’re forgiven for any confusion. You can only get Intel Core i5 and i7 processors, although the ThinkPad X1 Extreme comes rocking better models of the respective CPUs. That’s the main takeaway here. If you need raw performance and dedicated hardware to power through not only more demanding tasks but some gaming as well, the ThinkPad X1 Extreme is better equipped. Of course, the more powerful internals come at a cost with the budget and weight. While Intel’s integrated UHD graphics processors have come along way over recent years, you just can’t match the performance offered by the NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti with a generous 4GB of GDDR5 memory in the ThinkPad X1 Extreme. If you’re able to put up with the additional weight of the ThinkPad X1 Extreme, it’s possible to game comfortably on the move.

	Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme	Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon
CPU	Intel Core i5-8400H Intel Core i7-8750H Intel Core i7-8850H	Intel Core i5-8250U Intel Core i7-8650U
RAM	8GB/16GB DDR4 2666MHz	8GB/16GB/32GB DDR4 2133MHz
GPU	NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti (4GB GDDR5)	Intel UHD 620
Display	15.6-inch 1080p non-touch 4K touch	15.6-inch 1080p non-touch 1080p touch 1440p non-touch 1440p HDR non-touch
Storage	256 SATA SSD 512GB PCIe SSD	256GB/512GB/1TB PCIe SSD
Ports	HDMI 2.0 2x USB 3.1 2x USB Type-C Headset jack SD card reader (SD, SDHC, SDXC)	2x USB 3.1 Gen 1 2x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C HDMI Headset jack SD card reader (SD, MMC, SDHC, SDXC) Ethernet Extension Connector
Battery	80Wh	57Wh
Wireless	802.11AC Bluetooth 5.0	802.11AC Bluetooth 4.1 LTE
Weight	From 3.76 lbs (1.7 kg)	From 2.49 lbs (1.13 kg)
Dimensions	14.24 x 9.67 x .72 inches 361.8 x 245.7 x 18.4 mm	12.73 x 8.54 x 0.62 inches 323.5 x 217.1 x 15.95 mm

The ThinkPad X1 Extreme comes rocking an 80Wh power plant to keep everything running smoothly, which offers up to 15 hours of life depending on configuration. If you opt for the 4K display and more powerful Intel processor, it’s going to take a hit. Lenovo was able to get away with a 57Wh battery in the ThinkPad X1 Carbon due to fewer power requirements, so it gets the same 15-hour rating.

Trusted ThinkPad design

Design-wise, the ThinkPad X1 Extreme and Carbon are both from the same notebook family and as such, they look and feel similar. That’s not a negative point since they’re well designed and while somewhat inspiring, they should hold up through daily use without issue. The 4K display available as an option for the ThinkPad X1 Extreme is a worthwhile upgrade if you plan on making full use of the extra pixels, but the Carbon is restricted to a 1440p display. This may sound like a drawback — and it is at first glance — but for a 15-inch panel with support for HDR using an integrated GPU, it works well. That HDR support could be a game changer if you need it to be supported by your next portable PC. It looks stunning, as noted in our detailed review of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon. There are a few significant downsides to the HDR display, however. The IR camera is unavailable. It’s also glossy with no anti-glare option and finally, it’s non-touch. Ports on both notebooks are comparable, as is the 1-year warranty and security measures included by default.

Configure your own Lenovo Thinkpad X1

The ThinkPad X1 Carbon is cheaper from the get-go. At $200 less than the entry model of the X1 Extreme, you’re only sacrificing in the GPU and CPU departments. Both models have a 1080p display, 8GB RAM, and 256GB of flash storage. With the Carbon, you’ll have a slightly slower processor and not dedicated graphics handling. It’s when you begin to configure the notebooks is when it starts to get a little wild. Both notebooks can go up to Intel’s Core i7 family of processors, but again the Extreme has the faster SKUs, and the dedicated GPU throughout makes a massive difference. Still, the option for LTE and HDR make the X1 Carbon enticing.

Extreme for work and play

When only the best of the best will do, the X1 Extreme offers a dedicated NVIDIA GPU and powerful Core i7 processors from Intel. The 4K display is also a gorgeous upgrade, allowing you to take advantage of larger screen real estate, so long as you don’t need HDR support.

Carbon for a lighter notebook

Not only is the Carbon lighter to hold, carry, and use when not at a desk, it’s also the only notebook here that supports LTE, should you configure it as an option. That makes this the more appealing notebook for use in the field, especially where wireless LANs are not present.