First Impressions: Lenovo ThinkPad X250 Notebook Review

Unlike the ThinkPad X240 where Lenovo made some massive modifications to the casing, the changes of the 2015 generation are barely visible even for experts. The X250 is a few grams lighter with a weight of 1.43 kilograms, but a few tenths of a millimeter thicker with a height of 20.3 millimeters compared with its precursor. That is, however, virtually unseen in a direct comparison. Consequently, the mechanical qualities of the chassis have not changed much either. The base unit and display still compel with an overall high stiffness, although some minor weak points like the rather pliable area above the SmartCard reader have not been rectified. Our critical eyes did not find many more points for complaint. The entire construction seems functional and impeccably built. The employed fiberglass-reinforced plastic is perhaps not really exquisite, but it is resistant and long-lasting. As always, solid metal hinges ensure a firm hold on the lid.

The X250 does not have any surprises waiting in terms of interface diversity, either. The subnotebook can boast with two USB 3.0 ports, VGA and Mini-DisplayPort that are distributed on the casing's left and right sides. It is great that the classic Ethernet socket has not been axed - users who can only connect to their company's network via cable will be grateful to Lenovo.

After some initial resentment, most ThinkPad users will now have accommodated to the chiclet keyboard introduced only a few years ago. The keyboard's crisp stroke, generous drop and rich, mechanical typing feel has not made it to the ultimate benchmark for the competition among many users for no reason.

The multiply reworked touchpad was a considerably bigger controversial point for discussion. Lenovo has now taken a step backwards with it. Rather than using a fully integrated ClickPad solution, a unit where at least the TrackPoint keys are implemented as dedicated buttons is installed. The touchpad, unfortunately, still does not have separate keys, which is an ergonomic drawback compared with alternatives like the Latitude E7250 in our opinion. Nevertheless, the X250 has overall made a clear step forward here.

The new Broadwell processors are most certainly one of the biggest highlights of the ThinkPad X250. Intel markets them as the fifth generation of the Core architecture. While the architectural innovations are rather slim compared with Haswell, the more refined 14-nanometer build process promises a considerably higher energy efficiency and more power despite the same consumption.

Depending on the benchmark, the Core i7-5600U (2.6 - 3.2 GHz, 15 watts) beats the Core i7-4600U (2.1 - 3.3 GHz, 15 watts) in the precursor by approximately 5 to 20%. However, major differences are primarily seen when both CPU cores are loaded for a longer time. Although the performance plus is not really noticed in everyday use, no-one will decline this advantage seeing that this upgrade is more or less for free.

The HD Graphics 5500 (24 EUs, 300 - 950 MHz) now replaces the integrated HD Graphics 4400 (20 EUs, 200 - 1100 MHz). Besides new features like DirectX 11.2, the GPU also provides a performance boost of approximately 20 to 30%. Too bad that Lenovo still only installs one DDR3 slot - filled with 1 x 8 GB of DDR3L-1600 in our case - because the memory controller only operates in single-channel mode. Other manufacturers rely on two slots or solder a specific RAM capacity on the board making dual-channel mode possible. That can increase the performance of 3D applications by up to 25%, although the CPU's performance barely benefits from the additional bandwidth.

Without wanting to anticipate the outcome of our final verdict: A solid development of the X240 is in the making with the ThinkPad X250. Lenovo has also addressed some of the points of criticism in the precursor (keyword: touchpad). Whether that alongside the higher performance justifies buying seems questionable - the differences are likely not profound enough for that. However, the X250 might be an interesting choice for newcomers or users of older models (X220, X230). We will examine how the ThinkPad fares in competition with other rivals, such as the recently tested Dell Latitude E7250, in our in-depth review coming soon.