Old member looking for new laptop

[ThinkPad]

I have been a long time member here, but have been out of the thinkpad scene for about 5-6 years. Started with the T30, then T-41 (rip) to my prized T42-P in 2005. Had the x230 very briefly then switched to mac. Had all variations of the macbook, imac etc. Now I am back to PC and always think of the thinkpad when it comes to pc laptops.

I wanted to know how is the product today in term of build quality and customer service. I have used IBM support before in the past and were always swift and helpful. They would send a shipper, I kept my drive and they repaired any issues in a timely manner. Is it still the same?

I have had my eye on the X1 carbon line, mainly the new one with dedicated GPU and I like the portability. It was recently released so not much feedback available.

Looking for some insight on the quality and brand overall.

AND its nice to see the community thriving after all these years

[Thinkpad4by3]

If you haven't seen the brand since the X230, the quality has gone down hill pretty good. I have a T450 which personally I consider the ned of the line for atleast built with some quality. I saw a T470 but it isn't built as well at the T450. X1, well I don't know what exactly you want but just note don't have a lot of ports but it comes with some the best screens they put on their machines. Keyboards and trackpoints are still very good, no quality deterioration there.

[Whitieiii]

I've got a T440p with the Nvidia GT 730m graphics and I think that's the last of the last original fully upgradable Thinkpads where ram and cpu can be upgraded but even though it doesn't look like an original Thinkpad I do like it alot more than any other Thinkpad out there... it's still my recommendation for a good computer.. just remember to put a T450 trackpad in it for physical track point buttons

the x1 carbon line to my knowledge doesn't have any upgrades so order it with more ram and higher more powerful CPU since none of that can be upgraded after you have it... If it was me I'd opt for a computer that has 16gb ram minimum and quad core i7 to last as long as possible... The p40 yoga would be my choice these days but I'm a sucker for 14 inch screens

And I've got nothing but good support from Lenovo.. they helped me with restore even though I was outta Warranty

[ThinkPad]

I am coming for a macbook pro. Looking for something light and slim but still be able to handle some graphic design and photo editing. The mac served that purpose, it was still a bit on the heavy side. I was looking at the new x1 extreme with the 1050ti. Specs show 3 lbs fully loaded. I did appreciate the design and build quality of the mac not sure what the thinkpad will feel like after using the aluminum mac.

[Whitieiii]

I'd love to have that one but don't know if it has quad core CPU I'll have to check... I hope they redesign the keyboard on that to be like the 14 inch ones though

[ThinkPad]

The i7 is a 6 core with highest 2.6ghz

8th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-8850H 6 core processor with vPro™ (2.60GHz, up to 4.30GHz with Turbo Boost Technology, 9MB Cache)

[Whitieiii]

Ah ok that's actually nice! Just wish it had a gtx 1060/1070 now.. lol the 1050ti seems to be the bottle neck in this case... I'd just get a mid range quad core i7 for my use case and I'll be good

[ThinkPad]

If you haven't seen the brand since the X230, the quality has gone down hill pretty good.

I was not particularly fond of the build quality the x230. I think I ended up selling it after 2 months later here after getting my macbook. It seem the x1 is their flagship so I would hope they put their best in it.

[ThinkPad]

Ah ok that's actually nice! Just wish it had a gtx 1060/1070 now.. lol the 1050ti seems to be the bottle neck in this case... I'd just get a mid range quad core i7 for my use case and I'll be good

Being so thin and light probably cant squeeze a 1070 like some of the gaming laptops. But still a dedicated GPU would be better than the integrated with the regular x1 line.

[Worzyl]

I've been out of the scene for a while too. What do you normally use your laptops for? I think there maybe a cut in available ports in these later models and I have no idea if the screens have any of the matte options you may have enjoyed in the past.

[TTY]

I would suggest the ThinkPad T480s. It's lighter than the ThinkPad X1 Extreme, and it's just as thin. You can configure it with discrete graphics. The advantage over the X1 Extreme is, that the T480s has the wireless antennas at the top of the display lid. German T-Mobile - at that time still called T-Mobil - ordered an overview of the current state of research concerning the effects of RF emissions on user health in 2000, and that overview came to the conclusion, that RF-exposure should not exceed 10 mW/m². Such low values can probably be achieved with a notebook, that has the wireless antennas at the top of the display lid, and probably not with notebooks, that have the wireless antennas integrated into the notebook's base, such as the X1 Extreme or the X1 Carbon.

[ZaZ]

I saw a T470 but it isn't built as well at the T450.

I'm curious how you determined this by looking at it?

[Thinkpad4by3]

I saw a T470 but it isn't built as well at the T450.

I'm curious how you determined this by looking at it?

I've pulled both machines opened. It isn't a shocking difference but little things like the fitment of the back casing, etc.

[ThinkPad]

This is an old thread but I finally decided on the X1 Extreme. Was kind of hoping Apple would release a new mac book pro but does not look like they will, with all the focus on online services.

Here is the build

PRODUCT DETAILS QUANTITY ITEM PRICE TOTAL AVAILABILITY
ThinkPad X1 Extreme
ThinkPad X1 Extreme

Configuration Details
Processor : 8th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-8850H vPro 6 Core Processor (2.60GHz, up to 4.30GHz with Turbo Boost, 9MB Cache)
Operating System : Windows 10 Pro 64
Operating System Language : Windows 10 Pro 64 English
Display : 15.6” 4K UHD HDR (3840 x 2160) IPS multi-touch, anti-reflective / anti-smudge, 400 nits
Memory : 16 GB DDR4 2666MHz
Graphic Card : NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050Ti 4GB
Camera : IR & 720p HD Camera with microphone
Keyboard : Backlit Keyboard - US English
Fingerprint Reader : Fingerprint Reader
Security Chip : Hardware dTPM
First Hard Drive : 512GB Solid State Drive PCIe-NVMe OPAL2.0 M.2
HDD Total Capacity : 512GB
Battery : 4 cell Li-Polymer 80Wh
Power Cord : 135W AC Adapter
Wireless : Intel 9560 802.11AC vPro (2 x 2) & Bluetooth 5.0
vPro Certified Model : vPro Certified
Language Pack : Publication-English
Packaging : Standard Packaging
Warranty : 1 Year Depot or Carry-in