
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Review - ggreer
http://anandtech.com/print/9264/the-lenovo-thinkpad-x1-carbon-review-2015
======
izacus
I honestly don't know what is it with these laptop manufacturers that refuse
to offer the 16GB RAM upgrade option. Since the RAM is soldered on, it
practically forces me to buy a Mac to get enough of it... and the actuall
chips don't use more space.

What gives?!

~~~
ggreer
Broadwell-U supports up to 2 channels with an 8GB DIMM per channel.[1] For
configurations up to 8GB, you only need to run traces for one channel.
Supporting 16GB requires more design work (need to run twice as many traces)
and wastes logic board space on lower-RAM configs. Apparently, Lenovo decided
the trade-off wasn't worth it.

1\. [http://ark.intel.com/products/85212](http://ark.intel.com/products/85212)

Edit: If the 2015 X1 Carbon is dual-channel, I'm not sure why Lenovo would
lack a 16GB option. I guess mounting twice as many RAM chips could hit space
constraints.

~~~
pja
The article linked up top claims that Lenovo has run two sets of traces - the
8Gb is dual, not single channel.

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hankmander
Don't praise the keyboard, please! I have a 2014 Thinkpad and the weak screen,
low capacity battery, the fact that it wakes out of sleep only when it feels
like (at other times I have to remove and plug the battery back in to get it
started), and the crappy wifi is not even close to being as annoying as
grouping the arrow keys with PageUp & PageDown. Take a look at the
screenshots, they're even tighter than the other screens.

This is my story every day: "you wanna go left? No you wanna go PageUp!", "You
wanna go right? Here's a PageDown for you!" "AAAAAAAARRRRGH"

~~~
throwaway7767
How long have you had it?

I have a slightly older model that also moves the PgUp/PgDown keys to the
arrow keys. I never really had the problem of pushing them instead of
left/right, but I was annoyed at it at first because I couldn't find
PgUp/PgDown. After using it for a few months, I actually prefer that layout.

What annoyed me more was the swapping of ctrl/fn from my older model (Fn is at
the leftmost now). I got used to that too, though I would still prefer ctrl on
the left.

As for the keyboard itself, I preferred the pre-chiclet keyboard on the old
thinkpads, but of the current-generation laptops I've tried, it's still the
best one by miles.

~~~
longwave
In some models, you can swap Ctrl and Fn in the BIOS. I find it much easier to
hit a Ctrl-Shift combo with Ctrl on the far left.

~~~
smhg
In addition, also physically swap the buttons.

At least on my 5y old Thinkpad Edge 11 it was easy.

Use something like a credit card to remove the keys. And put them back with a
firm press.

~~~
longwave
Unfortunately this isn't possible on newer keyboards, as Ctrl and Fn have
different sized keycaps.

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jordanthoms
Immediately discounted due to not having a 16GB model. I'm frustrated with the
hardware and software quality from Apple of late, but it seems they are still
the only real option.

~~~
logicallee
what frustrations do you have with their hardware?

~~~
jordanthoms
One of the screws fell out of my Macbook Pro Retina 15" Late 2013, due to it
being stripped at the factory, and Apple refused to fix it because it was two
weeks out of warranty. The quality seems to be slipping a bit.

------
hippo8
Everytime I hear Lenovo I hear superfish. It's really unfortunate that I do
not feel I could trust these guys any more.

~~~
bborud
What I find disturbing is that they have not made much of an effort to clean
up their reputation. Which obviously means that it doesn't hurt their sales
sufficiently. I think installing malware that goes to these lengths to
compromise the user should make reviewers obliged to point out that the
manufacturer does have a history of installing dangerous malware and that one
should take this into consideration.

Not that I believe other manufacturers are innocent, but that's not really
important. What is important is that reviewers take some responsibility in
informing the public about what demands it should be making.

~~~
hippo8
The problem is, when you look at non technical users most of them care about,
how shiny their new laptop looks. Or that they can play candy-crush on it or
browse facebook.

Not many people unfortunately I notice, care about their own privacy in the
digital age.

And the fun thing at the end of the day is, the end users of these products
are majority non-technical users.

~~~
giltleaf
That's true; it just depends on where the company is trying to go and which
user group they are trying to please. But then again, I see sites like
passcode growing, so maybe it's changing. What do you think?

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Daishiman
My advice: for the money, the X250 is much better bang for the buch.
Components are easier to replace, you can get fantastic touchscreens, the body
is thicker but smaller and just as portable, and you can get the 6-cell
battery pack for a ridiculous 20 hours of battery life.

------
gchp
I used to love the X1, but recently Dell's XPS 13 developer edition as been
centre of my attention

Relatively similar specs, great screen, and less expensive!

[http://www.dell.com/ie/business/p/xps-13-linux/pd](http://www.dell.com/ie/business/p/xps-13-linux/pd)

~~~
dpc_pw
I was thinking about XPS13, but then I've found UX305. Around half the price,
with similar specs, works great with Linux, and has mate display (I can work
in bright sunlight on my laptop, woohoo!).

However this thin bezel sure does look sexy... :)

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whatok
Got one about a month ago. Liking it so far. Really disappointed that there's
only 8GB RAM. My previous ThinkPad is probably close to a decade old now so I
don't really have a great comparison point as far as keyboard revisions and
the like go.

Really didn't want to support Lenovo after the whole Superfish thing but it's
nearly impossible to find a PC laptop that is light, > 13", and not a complete
underpowered pile.

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kristianp
Good on Anandtech for calling out Lenovo on their use of TN screens in the
base model. I'm not sure if the criticism of 4GB RAM is as justified, it may
be enough for most office tasks.

~~~
greyman
Aren't TN screens also ok for most office tasks? We have been using them for
years...

~~~
rikkus
It depends. Lenovo's TN screens have historically been horrible, due to poor
viewing angles (even when looking straight-on, you have to move your head to
see properly).

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gnur
The low brightness of the x1 carbon bothers me also, I have it on full
brightness all the time and often wonder wether I've turned the brightness up.

The machine is really solid, and for a 14 inch screen it is really tiny. It's
just a bit bigger then my 13 inch macbook pro but features a larger screen.
Using ubuntu 15.04 on it also is really pleasent experience, nearly everything
works, except the 3/4 finger gestures on the touchpad and audio. But since my
worklaod typically exists of running virtual machines, ssh and chrome the
sound doesn't bother me.

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philjohn
Having used the 2014 ThinkPad keyboards, they are indeed one of the worst I've
ever experienced, far worse than [generic cheap laptop brand]. I'm waiting for
the Quad Core Broadwell Mobile's to come out and then hoping to upgrade to a
W550 or T550p.

So glad they didn't say "this keyboard is better, get used to it" and instead
listened to their customer base. It's still not as good as the keyboards on
the T/W/520, although the backlighting is nicer than the thinklight when
working in low lighting conditions.

------
brainpool
Great that they reverted back from the adaptive function keys of the 2014
model. They don't work that well in practice.

~~~
pisarzp
Totally agree, they are absolutely terrible and impractical. I always wonder
how they tested them that they still went ahead with decision to ship laptop
with them.

