ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 8 Review: Don't Buy It!!

Jen reviews the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 8!

Although it is a great machine, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 8 is basically the same machine as its predecessor, with a new CPU name, no real performance gain and a huge price difference. That's why I'm not recommending this machine.

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Thanks for watching!
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[minionan]

ThinkView crew, keep in mind that the laptop you are reviewing is for the business crowd. To your upgrade points, I say:
1. Upgrade touchpad - Noooo!
2. Upgrade thinner bezels - Maybe, if this won't deteriorate the ruggedness of the chassis.
3. Upgrade webcam - Yessss!
As a long-term X1 carbon business user, I can't agree with an "upgrade touchpad" point. Too big a touchpad comes with drawbacks, especially visible in boardroom meetings when you need to fiddle with a computer at a weird angle or work on your lap on the train or plane. Business users don't need to crop, drag, highlight etc. so often as content creators. We just need to point, click and type.

Dear content creators, please keep your MacBooks to yourself and don't try to push features you need onto the devices you won't use.

[lordcarnorjax]

I'm still using a X1 Gen1 for my personal laptop. Works great for my needs. For work use a T460s in a Ultra dock with triple monitors. I feel that some of these gripes were really quite minor like the heat exhaust, that's pretty typical for ThinkPads. Most X1 models has been just a minor upgrade & refresh as the laptop even at Gen 1 was excellent, it's hard to upgrade on near perfection. As for the touchpad size I think it's fine it's the MacBook that's way oversize. Personally I use the accupoint (G spot / stick) mouse and disable the touchpad because it's faster and more accurate. The only legitimate criticism was the webcam which most laptops still have ones that really suck, even the iMac only just got a 1080p web cam and it would have been the same on the Gen7. I'd rather have thicker screen bezels if it means the screen housing is tougher to meet the mil spec. So if you've got a Gen 7 there's really no need to upgrade but that was the same from Gen 6 to 7 and most of the previous models.

[konjkoglupan]

I see your point, but this is not a consumer product. You won't get the best performance, but you'll get best of the best mobility and a solid performance pack, if you're able to purchase it.

[jvj]

Title is deliberating misleading to get viewer to watch entire video.

[shaun]

Gen 7 x1 Carbon also has the 10th Gen processors in it as well, so if you look around you can pick up a Gen 7 with 10th Gen Intel processors at a decent discount.

[Pontie]

I'm completely agreeing with her when she says this is for business persons ... I work with X1 it is a very powerful machine, very expensive for non-business purposes.

[melee]

Got my X1 Gen 7 W/i7 last October. Still love it!

[jamesspinella]

For a thin'n'light laptop with TrackPoint, your two options are really the X1 Carbon and the X1 Extreme (which isn't as thin'n'light). Both models have tradeoffs that shouldn't exist in 2020- the X1 Carbon is somehow still on DDR3 2133MHz while a similarly-priced 13" MacBook Pro has 3733MHz DDR4 RAM. I don't need my laptop to be running its RAM at 3.7GHz, but it's 2020 and 2133MHz is lazy and lame. Furthermore, 16GB is as much as you can get, and it's soldered. I think 32GB is overkill at the moment, but we are near or at that point where 16GB isn't going to be enough in ~3-5 years and I would like to keep this thing for more than 3 years. We're probably fine at 16, but that 32 isn't even an option on Lenovo's flagship laptop is surprising.

Meanwhile the X1 Extreme Gen 3 can't be configured without a dedicated Nvidia GPU. The dedicated GPU is a waste of battery life on a laptop notorious for poor battery life. Did I mention the X1 Extreme Gen 3 has poor battery life?

I would buy an XPS or a MacBook before buying a ThinkPad if not for the TrackPoint, and that wasn't even Lenovo's invention. No doubt they know TrackPoint is keeping many people like me on ThinkPads. The irony is I don't recommend ThinkPads to anyone. Dell perfected the XPS last gen and MacBook Pros are very competitive in price for what you get (by the time you configure an XPS or ThinkPad with a high-res display and a non-U-series Intel CPU you're at the $1400-2000 Apple wants for a 13" MacBook Pro).

[shakymctwitch]

Good call on the power button. I'm months into my 7G ownership and STILL have to look for mine. Great review. In depth and thorough.

[DarkstarDarth]

The space station only uses Lenovo laptops. My 11yr old W520 uses 2 SSD drives and has 4 RAM ports, seamless in all Adobe software.

[graywolfru]

I'm left-handed, so hot air exhaust on the right is an advantage for me )

[jzizzles]

I still have my 3rd Gen running on i7. Still running STRONG! Using for 3D modeling to class. Faster than the newest Apple desktop we have in our LAB. lol WTH

[haroonasif]

She got paid by apple for giving negative reviews, she wear apple watch and put the macbook on shelve for brand recognition I am using this laptop from quite a while and this is the best laptop I have ever used and also the reason she is providing doesn't make sense like finger scanner and power button so I am recommending this laptop, Thumbs up go a head

[lf]

The power button is right below the right arrow key. Not difficult to remember. You don't need to feel all over the side for it.

[jkelol]

I got an X1 Carbon Gen 7 (Intel Core i7 10th Gen) manufacturered on 03/2020 and the X1 is parallel with the ThinkPad logo on the display cover :)

[thekillingspoon]

I have a T14s AMD for work - 2.8 pounds, so a bit heavier, but I love it. It feels sturdier and more like a MBP because of the magnesium body, despite looking like a ThinkPad. It also isn’t nearly the fingerprint magnet my X1C7 is.

[sacmauoranges]

I think videos need support engsub buy "mình nghe hok hiểu gì ráo, sẵn nghe tuyện thêm av " và chắc còn mới nên mong reviewer càng ngày càng tự nhiên hơn, Chúc cho kênh mới của thinkview càng lớn mạnh ❤❤❤❤

[Rich.Memories]

I think the x1 carbon gen 8 is still the number one business laptop.

[strato]

I don't even look at the touchpad cause one of the main reasons for me to buy a Thinkpad is the trackpoint.

[morganesler]

Hope its more reliable than my X1C7. My exp with the X1C7 fully kitted out with a 4k display and i7-8565U - six fucking service calls to Lenovo. Here was my experience.
1) Known thunderbolt controller firmware bug caused the system to misread battery state causing random shutdowns (going from 100% to 0% reading in an instant after a full charge). This ultimately would cause the system to become unable to be powered by AC. Ended in mobo replacement.

2) Botched Mobo repair by Lenovo tech (see 1). They installed the incorrect Mobo and Windows did me the courtesy of nuking my GRUB (I primarily live in Linux but dual-boot). Needed another Mobo replacement. Tech forgot to properly connect the speakers. I pulled up a wiring diagram and fixed it myself.

3) Beep code error, display adapter. Began with graphical corruption and "wave" pattern randomly oscillating through the output from the display. Ended in a beep code/non-functional system. Lenovo sent me a warranty replacement unit.

4) Fan failure, the tech didn't replace the thermal paste either and I didn't notice (often heat sinks come with thermal paste pre-applied). This would become a problem later on despite watching the heat levels.

5) Beep code - display adapter issue same as #3 along with fan failure like #4. I was watching the heat output from the CPU and it was well within tolerances but it was still a problem apparently. Ended in motherboard and

6) Beep code still there after Mobo replacement. Was fine for like an hour or two before the issue returned.

My previous laptop was a Thinkpad T450. Where is it? In the hands of my husband's grandfather. At 6 years old, the T450 is still humming along strong without a single issue. I have since moved on to a T480s and it's been stellar in comparison. Much better build quality (no keyboard or palm rest flex), better battery life, DDR4 memory brings a performance boost - it even has an empty RAM slot so I bumped it up to 24GB RAM. TLDR: Stick to the T series, avoid the X1 carbon. I suspect that the x86 architecture has reached the end of the line for "how thin can you get?".

This is probably why apple defected to ARM architecture. Apple did the exact same thing when they were stuck on the PowerPC G4 chips because the G5 was too hot and power hungry for mobiles (prototypes Powerbook G5 units caught fire due to heat iirc). Apple ultimately defected to....Intel. Its also revealing that my brother in law had a similar experience with his Microsoft Surface - system cooking its own innards/inadequate cooling in the thin and light design. The x86 architecture simply cannot handle the ultra-thin/ultra-light designs like the x1 carbon/surface/etc. Moral of the story: It can be thin but only so thin. Would not get an X1. I have since chosen to have Lenovo replace the X1 with a T14s with the AMD CPU. Hopefully it proves to be more reliable.