The term “desktop replacement”is a bit out of fashion to describe laptops these days, if only because fewer people have desktops they’re trying to replace. But I’m having a hard time coming up with a better term for something like the Le n ovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme, which is now in its 4th generation.
While other workstation laptops like the Dell XPS 15 have ditched ports and only offer limited GPU options to reduce size and be more mobile, the X1 Extreme still comes with a healthy selection of ports (both in number, and variety) and offers GPUs up to Nvidia’s RTX 3080. Its 16-inch screen is also slightly but noticeably larger than the 15.6-inch panels you’ll find in other laptops of similar speed and weight.
(If you’re buying the X1 Extreme Gen 4, you might also want to check out the Lenovo P1 Gen 4, which is a workstation version of the identical laptop with Nvidia’s A-series and T-series GPUs in most models, not RTX-series consumer GPUs. If you can getting the P1 for less than the comparable X1 Extreme is a safe bet.)
The problem with the X1 Extreme, if you can handle its price, is that it gets very hot – in practice, this means you can either get good temperatures and give up some performance, or get full laptop performance and put up with sometimes uncomfortable temperatures.. .Other high-end laptops we’ve tested don’t require that kind of compromise. But if you can ignore that detail, there’s a lot to like here.
Appearance, features, screen and ports
Most ThinkPad tablets follow the same basic template: a plain black chassis, a comfortable scissor-switch keyboard, and a rectangular design (with varying degrees of squareness: cheaper models are more square, while expensive models are thinner and sleeker). The X1 Extreme basically looks like a stretched X1 Carbon the same way the XPS 15 looks like the XPS 13 and the 16-inch MacBook Pro looks like the 14-inch version. It’s not conspicuous, but I’ll take a nondescript but harmless laptop that prints non-removable logos all over the body.
Keyboard experience is subjective, but ThinkPads keyboards are some of the best in the industry, with just the right combination of key travel, key stiffness, and tactile feedback. It’s not the main reason to choose the X1 Extreme over the XPS 15 or MacBook Pro, but it’s a strong one. Whether you need a trackpoint or mostly ignore it is up to you, but the large multi-touch trackpad is responsive and accurate.
If you’ve been looking for a reason to prefer a ThinkPad over an XPS 15 though, Lenovo’s choice of port might seal the deal. The X1 Extreme gives you two Thunderbolt 4 ports, a dedicated power connector, a full-sized HDMI port, a pair of USB Type-A ports, and a full-sized card reader. If you need to use a lot of external accessories at the same time, the port choice is a big step up from the XPS 15, which has a card reader as well as two Thunderbolt 4 ports and a USB-C port (one of which must be used as a laptop charger). It’s also marginally better than the 16-inch MacBook Pro, although swapping out those two USB-A ports for an additional Thunderbolt 4 port might be desirable depending on what you need; a Thunderbolt 4 port can become a USB-A port when needed, but USB-A ports can only be USB-A ports.
The ThinkPad’s 16-inch screen is also excellent – and noticeably larger to the touch than the XPS 15 9510’s 15.6-inch screen, despite how close those numbers are. Our review unit shipped with a base 2560×1600 non-touch screen, although 4K touch and 3840×2400 non-touch upgrades are also available. Even the lower resolution screen was impressive for an IPS panel with a peak brightness of 443 nits and a contrast ratio of 1391:1 (according to our i1 Display Studio colorimeter).
This screen also covers 100% of the sRGB color gamut, though its 81.5% DCI-P3 gamut coverage is nothing special. The OLED version of the XPS 15 we tested has excellent contrast ratio and support for 98.7% DCI-P3 gamut, but given the OLED’s slightly grainy look and oversaturated colors, we still recommend a high-quality IPS panel for most photos and videos.. editors.
The downside of the big screen is that even with thin bezels, the X1 Extreme takes up significantly more footprint than the XPS 15, about half an inch wider and almost a full inch deeper (although both laptops start at the same 4-pound weight and are each lighter than the XPS 15). Apple’s latest 16-inch MacBook Pro). While the XPS 15 can fit into a lot of bags designed for 13-inch laptops with some effort, the X1 Extreme is long and deep enough to not fit in.