X1- Carbon Gen Differences & Options

[Jamma]

Hi there, I am completely new to ThinkPad forum. So if I make a mistake or post in wrong section please understand and point me in the right direction. I am looking to buy a ThinkPad X1- Carbon, however I am undecided on which model and generation will be more suitable. Thank you

1. Which is this latest generation of X1- Carbon that come with SD card or the micro SD card readers?
2. Which are the best screens touch and none touch, on X1- Carbon and the screens to avoid?
3. Do all the current X1-Carbon's come with a camera shutter as standard?
4. Do all X1-Carbon come with a back lit keyboard?
5. Which are the best versions of the i5 and i7 chips for X1-Carbon?
6. What are the best X1-Carbon accessories, mouse etc?
7, Which gen's of X1-Carbon start to have the better speakers?

Any of the questions you can answer, will be most helpful and much appreciated.

All the best,
Jamma

[mikemex]

Hi there

Hey. It's nice that you're joining our little club.

I am looking to buy a ThinkPad X1- Carbon, however I am undecided on which model and generation will be more suitable.

What's your budget? Is it important that the machine is a recent model or can be any generation? Please keep in mind that if you're getting it second hand, condition and features varies significantly. And the older it gets, the higher the probability to need repairs such as replacing the battery.

Of all generations my favorite is the sixth. It's actually a favorite of many people. It was the last generation with a good keyboard, SD card reader, real port replicator... the only reason I don't have one is that I upgraded from 5th to 9th (found a good deal), which supports 32GB. I wouldn't consider getting any less RAM this days and the sixth is limited to 16GB.

1. Which is this latest generation of X1- Carbon that come with SD card or the micro SD card readers?

I think the last generation to come with an integrated Micro SD card reader was the sixth. As a general rule, whenever you have doubt about the specifications of a certain generation, just google "psref <model>". "PSREF" is a term that Lenovo uses to bring up the specification sheets for a product.

2. Which are the best screens touch and none touch, on X1- Carbon and the screens to avoid?

Depends a lot on the generation. I think the sixth generation shares panels with the fifth and the "best" screen was the WQXGA. I say it in quotes because the screen looks beautiful, but it sacrifices battery life. If your priority is battery life, then the regular FHD will be better. if you buy new, the 400 nit non-touch low power display is considered a great balance of all features (long battery life + decent picture quality).

3. Do all the current X1-Carbon's come with a camera shutter as standard?

I think the first generation with a webcam shutter was the sixth, but I also believe it doesn't come standard with all models. If I remember correctly, in that generation, if you opted for the IR camera for facial recognition, the shutter wasn't available. I think it became standard on the seventh.

4. Do all X1-Carbon come with a back lit keyboard?

As far as I know, yes.

5. Which are the best versions of the i5 and i7 chips for X1-Carbon?

There is usually little performance difference between "basic" CPUs and "premium" ones. This is often reflected in the second hand market, as there isn't really much difference in price between the two. Usually the low-end version will give you sightly better battery life while the high-end version will give you sightly more performance. What matters more to you?

6. What are the best X1-Carbon accessories, mouse etc?

It depends a lot on the generation, and of course, your needs. Basic info: get yourself a good sleeve because the machines are on the fragile side. And if you get a wireless mouse, I'd pickup a Bluetooth one because you don't need to plug the receiver in that way.

If you need wired networking you can plug a proprietary adapter (on generations that have real Ethernet built in) or a generic USB adapter. For more advanced needs you need a port replicator, it gives you extra USB ports, display ports, Ethernet, etc. I used to have a bunch of X1C 4th and they had a nice port replicator, but it was specific to it. I think from sixth up to eighth they shared the port replicator with the rest of the models, which is nice. From 9th up to 12th (current) you need to use a generic USB-C/Thunderbolt replicator.

7, Which gen's of X1-Carbon start to have the better speakers?

From ninth generation on Lenovo improved the speakers significantly. Though, after owning older models, I can't really say they were bad.

[Jamma]

Thanks mikemex for sharing your knowledge. I would probably spend £500 - £1,000, give or take, on my first ThinkPad Carbon X1. I don't mind the gen as long as it's in generally good / very good condition.

[Jamma]

Does anyone know which are the better specific i5 & i7 processor chip options available, for any of the ThinkpPad Carbon X1 generations, in terms of and taking into consideration the processor speed, battery performance and the noise from spinning fans? Thank you

[Soul_Est]

Does anyone know which are the better specific i5 & i7 processor chip options available, for any of the ThinkpPad Carbon X1 generations, in terms of and taking into consideration the processor speed, battery performance and the noise from spinning fans? Thank you

I cannot say for sure. I currently use a X1C4 with an i7-6600u and it feels fast enough. I barely hear the fan in my use case of coding, correspondence, consultation, or (system) configuration. I currently run a rather lightweight operating system with only a few programs open at any one time (Firefox, Joplin, and Konsole currently).

mikemex gives a good overview of three generations of the X1 Carbon. https://thinkpads.com/forum/viewtopic.p ... 77#p875535

Saucey over at DankPads does give their input on your question in their ThinkPad X1 Carbon (2012 to 2018) article. https://dankpads.com/lenovo-thinkpad/th ... 2-to-2018/

I hope this helps.

[IgoZoom]

I

Does anyone know which are the better specific i5 & i7 processor chip options available, for any of the ThinkpPad Carbon X1 generations, in terms of and taking into consideration the processor speed, battery performance and the noise from spinning fans? Thank you

Each generation of X1C is going to have a newer and better performing chips. I have a 7th generation that I bought new and I went with the i5-8365U to save money, maximize battery life and hopefully minimize heat. It's been great and it handles everything I throw at it with no problem. On Gen 10 and later models, the P-series processors are better on battery life than the U-series.

A significant change was made for the Gen 9 models. The 16:9 aspect ratio was changed to 16:10. So the 1920x1080 display became 1920x1200. That means more vertical real estate to view more info at the same time.

Two important things- First is to make sure you get 16GB of RAM. Second is the standard low-power 1920x1080 or 1920x1200 Anti-glare Non-touch display is much better for battery life than the higher resolution or touch options.