Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Excessive Gen 5 evaluation: highly effective, as at all times

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Excessive Gen 5

MSRP $2,974.00

“The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Excessive Gen 5 is significantly quick, even when the design is a bit old-school.”

Professionals

• Excellent productiveness and inventive efficiency
• Strong construct high quality
• Wonderful keyboard
• Spectacular IPS show
• Good connectivity
• Competent battery life

Cons

• Bigger chassis than some
• Touchpad floor is just too small
• Aesthetic is old-fashioned
• Costly

The ThinkPad X1 Excessive is the actual workhorse of the road. Now in its fifth technology, it comes packing Intel Twelfth-gen H-series CPUs with vPro and ultrafast discrete GPUs as much as the Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti.

The ThinkPad X1 Excessive Gen 5 is actually a quick laptop computer, even when its general design is getting a bit lengthy within the tooth. For those who take pleasure in that conventional ThinkPad aesthetic and construct, but in addition want that additional efficiency, the X1 Excessive Gen 5 will fulfill.

Specs

Worth and configurations

The ThinkPad X1 Excessive Gen 5 is a extremely configurable laptop computer. On the low finish, it’s $1,650 for a Core i7-12700H, 8GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD, an Nvidia RTX 3050 Ti, and a 16-inch 16:10 WUXGA IPS non-touch show.

The most costly machine you may configure utilizing Lenovo’s device, at $4,612, features a Core i9-12900H, 64GB of RAM, a 4TB SSD, an RTX 3080 Ti, and a 16-inch 16:10 WQUXGA show. My evaluation unit runs $2,974 with a Core i7-12800H vPro, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, an RTX 3070 Ti GPU, and a touch-enabled WQUXGA show. Be aware that the laptop computer can accommodate two SSDs, that means you may increase storage past that time by merely dropping in one other drive.

Clearly, that is an costly laptop computer. However it’s no more costly than many different highly effective 16-inch laptops just like the MSI Creator Z16P and the MacBook Professional 16, which might price much more.

All about efficiency

As talked about within the introduction, the ThinkPad X1 Excessive is all about offering the perfect efficiency amongst mainstream ThinkPad laptops. The fifth-generation mannequin upgrades to 45-watt Intel Twelfth-gen CPUs, DDR5 RAM, and PCIe 4.0 SSDs.

All of that ought to end in a significant improve from the earlier technology. I reviewed a configuration with a 14-core/16-thread 45-watt Intel Core i7-12800H, which is a quick CPU that helps Intel vPro know-how to plug into company environments. The laptop computer additionally included the discrete Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti, a quick GPU for each gaming and inventive duties.

I used Lenovo’s thermal administration utility to check in each balanced and efficiency modes. Curiously, the utility made little distinction in our CPU-intensive benchmarks, with the ThinkPad X1 Excessive Gen 5 nonetheless performing properly in comparison with a number of comparable laptops.

Nonetheless, once I ran the Pugetbench Premiere Professional benchmark that makes use of a reside model of Adobe Premiere, the ThinkPad was gradual in balanced mode. It got here in second slowest behind the MSI Creator Z16P. Once I switched to efficiency mode, nonetheless, the ThinkPad’s Pugetbench rating jumped to 928, among the many leaders we’ve examined. That signifies that Lenovo throttles the GPU in balanced mode and unleashes it in efficiency mode.

The underside line is that if you wish to get the perfect efficiency in GPU-intensive purposes like Adobe’s Artistic Suite, you’ll wish to crank as much as efficiency mode. You’ll cope with extra fan noise, but it surely’s greater than definitely worth the uptick in efficiency. When switched into efficiency mode, the ThinkPad X1 Excessive Gen 5 is a significantly quick productiveness machine and a respectable creator workstation.

It even competes with the vaunted M1 Professional MacBook Professional 16, and when configured with the Core i9-12900H and RTX 3080 Ti GPU, would doubtless sustain with the M1 Max MacBook as properly. It’s value noting, although, that the a lot cheaper HP Envy 16 with the RTX 3060 additionally carried out properly on this benchmark.

As we noticed within the mainstream benchmarks above, Lenovo clearly tuned its thermal utility to dramatically enhance GPU efficiency. This confirmed up in our gaming benchmarks as properly, and curiously, in balanced mode, the ThinkPad X1 Excessive Gen 5 was locked at round 30 frames per second (fps) throughout all our video games. Be aware that it wouldn’t run Fortnite, crashing once I tried to enter fight. Its graphics drivers had been updated and so it have to be one thing that Lenovo is doing with the firmware.

In efficiency mode, although, the ThinkPad carried out a lot better. It nonetheless wasn’t the quickest gaming laptop computer in our comparability group, performing equally to some laptops with the slower RTX 3060 GPU in all however Murderer’s Creed Valhalla. However it was quick sufficient to run fashionable titles at 1440p and excessive graphics. Be aware that the laptop computer will be outfitted with a 165Hz WQXGA show for tear-free gaming.

With a lot efficiency packed inside, I wasn’t stunned to see restricted battery life. The ThinkPad X1 Excessive Gen 5 has a 90 watt-hour battery, which is okay for a big laptop computer, however there’s additionally a high-resolution show and highly effective parts.

The laptop computer hit seven hours in our web-browsing check, near 11.5 hours in our native video check, and about six hours within the PCMark 10 Purposes battery benchmark. These are adequate scores given the design, however you’ll want to hold the very hefty energy brick with you for all-day classes.

Nonetheless a ThinkPad

The ThinkPad X1 Excessive Gen 5 may maintain a particular place within the ThinkPad lineup, but it surely’s nonetheless a ThinkPad by and thru. In actual fact, with laptops just like the ThinkPad Z16 taking the road in a totally totally different route, the ThinkPad X1 Excessive is one thing of a throwback. The place the ThinkPad Z16 makes use of an aluminum chassis with extra frequent styling that’s barely harking back to the long-lasting line, the ThinkPad X1 Excessive is all-in on the same old black-on-black aesthetic with crimson accents sprinkled about.

The one distinction is an elective carbon-fiber weave on the lid that comes with the highest-end show. It’s constructed of aluminum within the backside chassis and carbon fiber within the lid, with a soft-touch coating on the surface. For such a big, daring laptop computer, the ThinkPad X1 Excessive Gen 5 is surprisingly inviting. if a bit old-fashioned.

And it’s, certainly, a big laptop computer. Its high and backside bezels aren’t notably small, making it fairly a bit deeper than another 15-inch or so laptops. The Dell XPS 15, for instance, is smaller. The ThinkPad can be quite thick at 0.78 inches, in comparison with the XPS 15’s 0.73 inches, but it surely’s additionally lighter than the Dell at 4.1 kilos versus 4.62 kilos due to its light-weight supplies. So far as large-screen non-workstation laptops go, the ThinkPad X1 Excessive Gen 5 isn’t a very tiny instance. However that’s the value you pay to hold round a lot energy.

You must attempt actually laborious to bend the lid, and the keyboard deck and chassis backside are fully inflexible. That provides the ThinkPad X1 Excessive a sense of solidity that’s in step with its excessive worth. The hinge opens with one hand and holds the lid firmly in place. The MacBook Professional 16 may be a barely better-built laptop computer, however then once more, it’s in a category of its personal.

The keyboard can be distinctly ThinkPad-like, a minimum of within the sculpted keycaps and keyboard format (full with the inverted left Fn and Ctrl keys). It’s lighter and snappier than regular, although, which I a lot favor. That makes it among the finest keyboards on a Home windows laptop computer, totally different than however equally pretty much as good as that on the Dell XPS 15. Solely the MacBook Professional 16’s Magic Keyboard is best.

As regular, the ThinkPad X1 Excessive Gen 5’s touchpad is smaller than it may very well be as a consequence of a set of buttons accommodating the TrackPoint nubbin in the course of the keyboard. I’d by no means use the TrackPoint and so remorse the misplaced area, however for those who’re a TrackPoint fan, then you definately doubtless gained’t thoughts. My evaluation unit’s show was touch-enabled, which I favor.

Connectivity was wonderful, with a full complement of each legacy and future-proof ports and a full-size SD card reader. Wi-fi connectivity was additionally robust with Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 to go along with elective 5G WWAN assist.

Lastly, all the same old business-oriented options are readily available. The vPro CPU will work with enterprise-level administration and safety instruments, and there’s a bunch of security-minded options just like the Intel {Hardware} Protect and match-on-finger fingerprint reader. What’s lacking is greater than the same old consumer-level one-year guarantee, though Lenovo presents a variety of business-level companies at a further worth.

A superb media expertise

My evaluation unit was outfitted with the high-end touch-enabled 16-inch 16:10 WQUXGA IPS show, and out of the field, it seemed so vibrant and colourful, with deep blacks, that I believed it was an OLED panel. Once I utilized my colorimeter, the show excelled, providing among the finest outcomes we’ve seen in an IPS show.

Due to large and extremely correct colours, tons of brightness, and excessive distinction, the ThinkPad X1 Excessive Gen 5’s show matches its efficiency in assembly the wants of demanding creators. The Dell XPS 17‘s is a uncommon IPS show that matches the ThinkPad’s. Be aware that the MacBook Professional 16’s show was examined with a distinct colorimeter that checks distinction in another way; its distinction was equal to the OLED shows, however no higher.

The twin upward-firing audio system had been extremely loud and clear, with wonderful mids and highs. They couldn’t match the XPS 17’s and MacBook Professional’s deeper bass, although, as they lack these laptops’ subwoofers. The audio was nonetheless adequate that you simply gained’t mechanically seize a set of headphones.

The webcam is a 1080p model that gives clear video with loads of element in lowlight environments. There’s a ThinkShutter privateness display screen and an infrared digicam supporting Home windows 11 Hiya passwordless login assist to go along with a fingerprint reader embedded within the energy button.

Essentially the most highly effective possibility for ThinkPad followers

The ThinkPad X1 Excessive Gen lives as much as its function as essentially the most highly effective non-workstation ThinkPad you should buy. For ThinkPad followers who’re additionally demanding creators, it’s the perfect laptop computer you should buy.

It’s additionally fairly costly, which is why it turns into a less-appealing selection for many who aren’t dedicated to the ThinkPad line. There are a number of 16-inch laptops which might be highly effective creativity workstations and value some huge cash, just like the MSI Creator Z16P and Apple MacBook Professional 16. However there are additionally significantly cheaper choices, just like the HP Envy 16 that’s simply as quick and likewise enjoys an superior show (in its case, an OLED panel). That makes the ThinkPad X1 Excessive Gen 5 barely much less simple to universally advocate.

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