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MagyarLenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 Laptop Review: Virtual machine beast with CPU trouble
Among the Lenovo ThinkPad laptops, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon is without a doubt one of the most well-known models. The flagship of the series since 2012, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 is already the eleventh generation of this ultrabook-type device, which targets the top-end of the enterprise market - this is a device companies will buy for managers and CEOs.
We already reviewed the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 in a very common variant with a U15 processor and WUXGA screen. Today, we are testing a much more uncommon model variation of this device, which includes the top-of-the-line Raptor Lake P28 CPU, the maximum amount of RAM for this model as well as the most expensive screen option. This is the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 in its maximum configuration.
Potential Competitors in Comparison
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Size | Resolution | Best Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 89.1 % | 11/2023 | Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 i7-1370P, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 1.2 kg | 15.36 mm | 14.00" | 2880x1800 | |
| 88.9 % | 06/2023 | Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 i7-1365U, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 1.2 kg | 15.36 mm | 14.00" | 1920x1200 | |
| 88.9 % | 12/2022 | Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 21CB00DCGE i7-1260P, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 1.2 kg | 15.36 mm | 14.00" | 2880x1800 | |
| 90.1 % | 08/2023 | HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA R9 PRO 7940HS, Radeon 780M | 1.5 kg | 17.9 mm | 14.00" | 2560x1600 | |
| 87.9 % | 06/2023 | Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 i7-1365U, Iris Xe G7 96EUs | 1.6 kg | 16.28 mm | 14.00" | 2560x1600 |
Case: Same base design as Lenovo X1 Carbon Gen 10
We have already reviewed the design of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 in detail before. In short, the design remains unchanged compared with the ThinkPad X1 Carbon G9 and X1 Carbon G10 which came before. This is a high-quality device with a very lightweight and compact chassis made out of carbon fiber and magnesium, clad in the typical rubberized ThinkPad-black paint. The only real fault this design has is that the paint is susceptible to looking smudged quickly. Also, the screen bezel is a bit big for a high-end device in 2023, but this is probably due to the carried-over design from 2021.
One special feature of the OLED version of the X1 Carbon G11 is the carbon-weave pattern on the lid. This is purely a cosmetic feature though, the lid is made out of carbon fiber for all models of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon.
Connectivity: X1 Carbon G11 with 5G
Connectivity is almost identical with our first review model. The X1 Carbon has ample ports and security features, despite the small size and low weight. The only change: This model of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon 2023 has a 5G/LTE modem ex-factory, the Fibocom FM350-GL. There are also models with just 4G/LTE or variations with no LTE at all, like our first review unit of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11.
Maintenance
Accessing the internals is easy, as the user only has to loosen five captive screws and a few clips at the back edge, which are easy to open. Unfortunately, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 is not the most modular device. RAM and WiFi are soldered. The SSD is a M.2 2280 module and there also is the modular M.2 2242 WWAN card, which in this model is a 5G/LTE module. The internal battery is just screwed in, not glued, so it is easy to change should it go bad.
Input Devices remain a ThinkPad-strength
This unit contains the same input-devices as our first review sample. The ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 includes a very comfortable ThinkPad keyboard with the typical slightly concave, smile-shaped keys with a travel distance of 1.5 mm. This backlit keyboard is a joy to use with its soft yet still firm typing feel and sensible layout with grouped F keys and arrow keys in an inverted T shape - though users new to ThinkPads may want to swap around the FN and Ctrl keys, which are arranged the other way around on most other laptops.
We can similarly praise the mouse replacement, the classic combination of touchpad and TrackPoint called "Ultranav". Both input devices are of high quality and provide two easy ways to manipulate the mouse pointer, with the TrackPoint being very useful for dragging and dropping objects as well as using the device in tight spaces like airplanes and with gloves on. It should be noted though that the inclusion of the TrackPoint does result in a smallish touchpad, as the dedicated mouse buttons for use with the TrackPoint beneath the keyboard take some space up that the touchpad would occupy on other devices.
Display: OLED screen delivers great quality, but also PWM
With this year's ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11, Lenovo did not change too much about the available selection of screen options. Aspect ratio (16:10) and screen size (14 inches) remained the same, the only change is the discontinuation of the 4K (3,840 x 2,400) IPS option that the preceding ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 had.
Our review model features the top-end display option, a 2.8K (2,880 x 1,800) OLED screen. This panel is made by Samsung and it is slightly brighter than the similar Samsung OLED panel we tested in last years Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 30th Anniversary Edition. We measured an average brightness of around 430 cd/m² instead of 400 cd/m² like on last years model. Note that we did the measurements in SDR mode, the screen may be able to achieve a slightly better peak brightness in HDR mode. Compared with the competition, the OLED panel loses against Dell's and HP's WQXGA IPS panels in their respective Latitude and EliteBook laptops when it comes to screen brightness. It does have the clear edge though when it comes to response times as well as the black value and subsequently, contrast. Here, no IPS screen can compete.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 98 %
Center on Battery: 427 cd/m²
Contrast: ∞:1 (Black: 0 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 4.5 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5, calibrated: 5
ΔE Greyscale 0.7 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
97% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
100% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
99.9% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.2
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 ATNA40YK15-0, OLED, 2880x1800, 14.00 | Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 B140UAN02.1, IPS, 1920x1200, 14.00 | Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 21CB00DCGE ATNA40YK01-1, OLED, 2880x1800, 14.00 | HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA AUO6DA8, IPS, 2560x1600, 14.00 | Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 AU Optronics B140QAN, IPS, 2560x1600, 14.00 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | -15% | -0% | -4% | -14% | |
| Display P3 Coverage | 99.9 | 75.4 -25% | 99.7 0% | 98.3 -2% | 77.2 -23% |
| sRGB Coverage | 100 | 99.6 0% | 100 0% | 99.8 0% | 99.6 0% |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 97 | 77.3 -20% | 96.5 -1% | 86.2 -11% | 77.4 -20% |
| Response Times | -3871% | -1% | -669% | -3130% | |
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 1.19 ? | 64.4 ? -5312% | 1.2 ? -1% | 12.7 ? -967% | 53.5 ? -4396% |
| Response Time Black / White * | 1.68 ? | 42.5 ? -2430% | 1.6 ? 5% | 7.9 ? -370% | 33 ? -1864% |
| PWM Frequency | 363 ? | 342 ? -6% | |||
| Screen | -65% | 10% | 26% | 11% | |
| Brightness middle | 427 | 379 -11% | 400 -6% | 546 28% | 532.4 25% |
| Brightness | 427 | 383 -10% | 401 -6% | 564 32% | 502 18% |
| Brightness Distribution | 98 | 91 -7% | 97 -1% | 86 -12% | 91 -7% |
| Black Level * | 0.21 | 0.38 | 0.48 | ||
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 4.5 | 3.2 29% | 2.2 51% | 1.3 71% | 2.33 48% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 9.6 | 7.3 24% | 4.3 55% | 5.3 45% | 5.99 38% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated * | 5 | 1.7 66% | 2.6 48% | 1.2 76% | 0.92 82% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 0.7 | 4.5 -543% | 1.2 -71% | 1.1 -57% | 1.6 -129% |
| Gamma | 2.2 100% | 2.19 100% | 2.22 99% | 2.27 97% | 2.17 101% |
| CCT | 6470 100% | 6249 104% | 6364 102% | 6463 101% | 6314 103% |
| Contrast | 1805 | 1437 | 1109 | ||
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | -1317% /
-687% | 3% /
5% | -216% /
-97% | -1044% /
-519% |
* ... smaller is better
The colors of this screen are hard to contain, as it is a wide gamut model. This means that colors are not fitting well with the smaller sRGB color gamut ex factory, and a calibration can not change this. For the future, we wish that Lenovo would include separate color profiles for the different color gamuts so users can pick their preferred mode.
Color gamut coverage is excellent, as the screen covers both the sRGB and DCI P3 gamut completely. Even the big AdobeRGB color space has a great coverage of about 97 percent.
Outdoors, the semi-matte/glossy nature of the screen results in some faint reflections. The high contrast and good brightness helps to keep the screen usable in bright environments.
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1.68 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 0.98 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 0.7 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 5 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (21.5 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 1.19 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 0.59 ms rise |  |
| ↘ 0.6 ms fall | ||
| The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.2 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 2 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (33.7 ms). | ||
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
| Screen flickering / PWM detected | 363 Hz | ≤ 100 % brightness setting |  |
The display backlight flickers at 363 Hz (worst case, e.g., utilizing PWM) Flickering detected at a brightness setting of 100 % and below. There should be no flickering or PWM above this brightness setting. The frequency of 363 Hz is relatively high, so most users sensitive to PWM should not notice any flickering. However, there are reports that some users are still sensitive to PWM at 500 Hz and above, so be aware. In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 17903 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured. | |||
As most OLED screens, the one in the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 uses Pulse Width Modulation for regulating the screen brightness. With a frequency of 360 Hz on all levels of brightness with the exception of the lowest brightness level (where it is just 90 Hz), PWM sensitive users should definitely avoid this screen.
Performance: i7-1370P fails in the X1 Carbon G11
Lenovo offers a total of seven CPUs in the ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11, all of them from Intel, as always for the ThinkPad X1 line. Available are the Intel Core i5-1335U, the i5-1345U, the i7-1355U, the i7-1365U, the i5-1340P, the i7-1360P as well as the i7-1370P. The P28-CPUs are not available for normal customers and limited to big corporate accounts, except for the i7-1370P.
Choice of GPU depends on the CPU. The i7 CPUs have the more powerful Iris Xe with 96 Execution Units (EUs) while the i5s have a lesser version of that iGPU with just 80 EUs. RAM is always soldered on-board, and Lenovo offers either 16, 32 or 64 GB of LPDDR5-6000/LPDDR5X-6400 memory, depending on the model. 64 GB of RAM are exclusive to configurations with the i7-1370P, such as the one that we are reviewing. Unlike the memory, storage is not soldered, as there is a single M.2 2280 SSD with up to 2 TB of capacity ex factory.
Testing Conditions
Lenovo uses the Windows settings app instead of a proprietary solution to set the energy profiles. In this case, there are three profiles that regulate the power limits of the CPU and thus the power consumption of the system as well as fan noise and heat output. The Power Limit 1 (PL1) is the power consumption under sustained load, with the Power Limit 2 describing the short-term boost performance:
- Best battery life: PL1 10 W / PL2 10 W
- Balanced: PL1 13 W / PL2 65 W
- Best performance: PL1 15 W / PL2 65 W
Processor
The Intel Core i7-1370P represents the cream of the crop of the Raptor Lake P28 CPUs. It has six big P cores and eight small E cores, which means it has a total of 14 physical cores - more than any other P28 or U15 CPU. With hyperthreading this processor has 20 threads and the clock rates range from 1.9 GHz (P cores) / 1.4 GHz (E cores) to 5.2 GHz (P cores) / 3.9 GHz (E cores). For detailed comparisons with other processors, refer to our CPU comparison list.
It quickly became apparent that this processor is too much to handle for the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11. With the PL2 of up to 65 W, the peak multicore-performance is very good and not very far from the HP EliteBook 845 G10 with the AMD Ryzen 9 Pro 7940HS, on par with the AMD Ryzen 7 Pro 7840U. However, the power consumption quickly collapses to just 15 W. Under sustained multicore-load, this version of the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 is even slower than the X1 Carbon with the i7-1365U, despite the much higher core count. Not even the single core performance is that great - this model should not be bought with the expectation to get great CPU performance.
There is no CPU performance throttling when the device runs on battery power.
Cinebench R15 Multi Loop
Cinebench R23: Multi Core | Single Core
Cinebench R20: CPU (Multi Core) | CPU (Single Core)
Cinebench R15: CPU Multi 64Bit | CPU Single 64Bit
Blender: v2.79 BMW27 CPU
7-Zip 18.03: 7z b 4 | 7z b 4 -mmt1
Geekbench 5.5: Multi-Core | Single-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
| CPU Performance Rating | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1370P | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 5Z4X0ES | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 | |
| Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 -1! | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 | |
| Average of class Subnotebook | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 21CB00DCGE | |
| Cinebench R23 / Multi Core | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1370P (12778 - 14741, n=3) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 5Z4X0ES | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (2485 - 16201, n=68, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 21CB00DCGE | |
| Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 | |
| Cinebench R23 / Single Core | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1370P (1750 - 1995, n=3) | |
| Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (598 - 1934, n=68, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 21CB00DCGE | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 5Z4X0ES | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA | |
| Cinebench R20 / CPU (Multi Core) | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1370P (5079 - 5651, n=3) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 5Z4X0ES | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (810 - 6314, n=64, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 21CB00DCGE | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 | |
| Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 | |
| Cinebench R20 / CPU (Single Core) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1370P (675 - 764, n=3) | |
| Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 21CB00DCGE | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 5Z4X0ES | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (216 - 738, n=64, last 2 years) | |
| Cinebench R15 / CPU Multi 64Bit | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1370P (2052 - 2492, n=3) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 5Z4X0ES | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (514 - 2581, n=70, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 21CB00DCGE | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 | |
| Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 | |
| Cinebench R15 / CPU Single 64Bit | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1370P (258 - 284, n=3) | |
| Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 5Z4X0ES | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (91.8 - 280, n=62, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 21CB00DCGE | |
| Blender / v2.79 BMW27 CPU | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (201 - 1600, n=66, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 21CB00DCGE | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1370P (246 - 389, n=3) | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 5Z4X0ES | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA | |
| 7-Zip 18.03 / 7z b 4 | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 5Z4X0ES | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1370P (48229 - 55049, n=3) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (16223 - 67444, n=57, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 21CB00DCGE | |
| Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 | |
| 7-Zip 18.03 / 7z b 4 -mmt1 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1370P (6140 - 6687, n=3) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 5Z4X0ES | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 | |
| Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (2197 - 6403, n=58, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 21CB00DCGE | |
| Geekbench 5.5 / Multi-Core | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1370P (10184 - 11832, n=4) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 5Z4X0ES | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (4274 - 12580, n=65, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 21CB00DCGE | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 | |
| Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 | |
| Geekbench 5.5 / Single-Core | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1370P (1655 - 1974, n=4) | |
| Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 5Z4X0ES | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 21CB00DCGE | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (672 - 2350, n=65, last 2 years) | |
| HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2 / 4k Preset | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 5Z4X0ES | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1370P (9.65 - 15.5, n=3) | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (1.5 - 19.4, n=56, last 2 years) | |
| Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 21CB00DCGE | |
| LibreOffice / 20 Documents To PDF | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (40.1 - 120.5, n=57, last 2 years) | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA | |
| Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 21CB00DCGE | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 5Z4X0ES | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1370P (39.6 - 45.2, n=3) | |
| R Benchmark 2.5 / Overall mean | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 21CB00DCGE | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (0.4397 - 1.236, n=57, last 2 years) | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 5Z4X0ES | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 | |
| Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1370P (0.4244 - 0.4649, n=3) | |
* ... smaller is better
AIDA64: FP32 Ray-Trace | FPU Julia | CPU SHA3 | CPU Queen | FPU SinJulia | FPU Mandel | CPU AES | CPU ZLib | FP64 Ray-Trace | CPU PhotoWorxx
| Performance Rating | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1370P | |
| Average of class Subnotebook | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 | |
| Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 21CB00DCGE | |
| AIDA64 / FP32 Ray-Trace | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (343 - 25961, n=57, last 2 years) | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1370P (5618 - 11995, n=3) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 | |
| Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 21CB00DCGE | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 | |
| AIDA64 / FPU Julia | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (11867 - 111109, n=57, last 2 years) | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1370P (31165 - 60283, n=3) | |
| Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 21CB00DCGE | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 | |
| AIDA64 / CPU SHA3 | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (453 - 4646, n=57, last 2 years) | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1370P (1439 - 2799, n=3) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 | |
| Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 21CB00DCGE | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 | |
| AIDA64 / CPU Queen | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1370P (100027 - 104796, n=3) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (15447 - 115300, n=57, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 21CB00DCGE | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 | |
| Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 | |
| AIDA64 / FPU SinJulia | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1370P (7906 - 8733, n=3) | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (1223 - 14944, n=57, last 2 years) | |
| Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 21CB00DCGE | |
| AIDA64 / FPU Mandel | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1370P (28284 - 32966, n=3) | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (6379 - 59053, n=57, last 2 years) | |
| Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 21CB00DCGE | |
| AIDA64 / CPU AES | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1370P (32334 - 107331, n=3) | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (638 - 161430, n=57, last 2 years) | |
| Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 21CB00DCGE | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 | |
| AIDA64 / CPU ZLib | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1370P (406 - 818, n=3) | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (270 - 1123, n=57, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 | |
| Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 21CB00DCGE | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 | |
| AIDA64 / FP64 Ray-Trace | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (204 - 14018, n=57, last 2 years) | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1370P (2964 - 6372, n=3) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 | |
| Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 21CB00DCGE | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 | |
| AIDA64 / CPU PhotoWorxx | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 | |
| Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 21CB00DCGE | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (7622 - 53954, n=57, last 2 years) | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1370P (27048 - 39240, n=3) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA | |
System Performance
This unit is the first Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon we have ever tested with 64 GB of RAM - making this an ideal choice for a highly mobile VM workhorse. In normal usage, this means that RAM will never be sparse, so users can open as many browser tabs as they want.
When it comes to system performance benchmarks, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 performs well, taking the lead in Crossmark. The system was very fluid in everyday use.
CrossMark: Overall | Productivity | Creativity | Responsiveness
| PCMark 10 / Score | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1370P, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs (5466 - 6418, n=2) | |
| Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (4384 - 7428, n=55, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 21CB00DCGE | |
| PCMark 10 / Essentials | |
| Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1370P, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs (10693 - 11807, n=2) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (8890 - 11168, n=55, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 21CB00DCGE | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA | |
| PCMark 10 / Productivity | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (6213 - 10279, n=55, last 2 years) | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1370P, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs (7320 - 7792, n=2) | |
| Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 21CB00DCGE | |
| PCMark 10 / Digital Content Creation | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (4093 - 9749, n=55, last 2 years) | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1370P, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs (5662 - 7799, n=2) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 21CB00DCGE | |
| Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 | |
| CrossMark / Overall | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1370P, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs (1728 - 1827, n=2) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 | |
| Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 21CB00DCGE | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (718 - 1876, n=61, last 2 years) | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA | |
| CrossMark / Productivity | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1370P, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs (1675 - 1722, n=2) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 | |
| Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (685 - 1829, n=61, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 21CB00DCGE | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA | |
| CrossMark / Creativity | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1370P, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs (1875 - 2068, n=2) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 | |
| Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 21CB00DCGE | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (776 - 2210, n=61, last 2 years) | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA | |
| CrossMark / Responsiveness | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1370P, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs (1484 - 1504, n=2) | |
| Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (652 - 1899, n=61, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 21CB00DCGE | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA | |
| PCMark 10 Score | 5466 points | |
Help | ||
| AIDA64 / Memory Copy | |
| Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (22781 - 95353, n=57, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 21CB00DCGE | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1370P (46184 - 69471, n=3) | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Read | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 21CB00DCGE | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1370P (50228 - 66704, n=3) | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (23831 - 86433, n=57, last 2 years) | |
| Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Write | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 | |
| Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1370P (47356 - 85119, n=3) | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (23474 - 93382, n=57, last 2 years) | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 21CB00DCGE | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Latency | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (18.8 - 172, n=52, last 2 years) | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 21CB00DCGE | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 | |
| Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-1370P (72.5 - 94.6, n=3) | |
* ... smaller is better
DPC Latency
The high numbers in the LatencyMon test mean that this device may have issues when editing audio and video in real time. We also saw more than a few dropped frames in the Youtube test. Lenovo could solve this problem with a driver update.
| DPC Latencies / LatencyMon - interrupt to process latency (max), Web, Youtube, Prime95 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 21CB00DCGE | |
| Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA | |
* ... smaller is better
Storage Devices
This unit of the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 has the maximum amount of storage in terms of what Lenovo sells, as it contains a 2 TB SSD. This SSD is made by Western Digital and it performs well in our benchmark testing. though it should be noted that its performance fluctuates under sustained load.
* ... smaller is better
Disk Throttling: DiskSpd Read Loop, Queue Depth 8
GPU Performance
As the most powerful P28 CPU is used here, or at least the most powerful on paper, this review device naturally uses the faster variant of the Iris Xe with 96 EUs. There is ample of RAM to support the GPU and fast LPDDR5X RAM at that, running in quad channel mode. However, the GPU performance is still slightly disappointing and the iGPU is not any faster than the other Intel iGPU in the comparison. The AMD iGPUs are much better. Still, for basic tasks and old games, this GPU can be fast enough.
| 3DMark 11 Performance | 6648 points | |
| 3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 17036 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Score | 4073 points | |
| 3DMark Time Spy Score | 1571 points | |
Help | ||
* ... smaller is better
| The Witcher 3 - 1920x1080 Ultra Graphics & Postprocessing (HBAO+) | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (8 - 44.2, n=57, last 2 years) | |
| Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 21CB00DCGE | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 | |
| GTA V - 1920x1080 Highest Settings possible AA:4xMSAA + FX AF:16x | |
| Average of class Subnotebook (5.01 - 67.5, n=47, last 2 years) | |
| HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA | |
| Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 | |
Witcher 3 FPS Chart
| low | med. | high | ultra | |
| GTA V (2015) | 74.1 | 63.4 | 18.3 | 7.81 |
| The Witcher 3 (2015) | 52.8 | 47.8 | 27.2 | 12.1 |
| Dota 2 Reborn (2015) | 80.7 | 55.5 | 40.8 | 43.7 |
| Final Fantasy XV Benchmark (2018) | 34.6 | 21 | 15.8 | |
| X-Plane 11.11 (2018) | 25.9 | 28.9 | 26.3 | |
| Strange Brigade (2018) | 65.6 | 29.4 | 25.1 | 22.1 |
| F1 23 (2023) | 32.6 | 30.1 | 21.7 | 15.9 |
Emissions: Lower temperatures than before
System Noise
Surprisingly, the fan noise for this version of the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 is slightly lessened compared with the other review device with the Core i7-1365U. This is likely due to Lenovo updating the firmware since our first review. Compared with the HP EliteBook 845 G10 and the Dell Latitude 9440, the fan noise of the X1 Carbon Gen 11 is comparable, if not slightly less. It tops out at 41 dB(a), clearly noticeable, but not yet disturbing.
We did not detect any coil whine here.
Noise Level
| Idle |
| 23.3 / 23.3 / 23.3 dB(A) |
| Load |
| 35.9 / 40.9 dB(A) |
 | ||
30 dB silent 40 dB(A) audible 50 dB(A) loud |
||
min:  , med:  , max:  Earthworks M23R, Arta (15 cm distance) environment noise: 23.3 dB(A) | ||
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 Iris Xe G7 96EUs, i7-1370P, WDC PC SN810 2TB | Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 Iris Xe G7 96EUs, i7-1365U, WDC PC SN810 1TB | Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 21CB00DCGE Iris Xe G7 96EUs, i7-1260P, Samsung PM9A1 MZVL2512HCJQ | HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA Radeon 780M, R9 PRO 7940HS, SK hynix PC801 HFS001TEJ9X101N | Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 Iris Xe G7 96EUs, i7-1365U, Samsung PM9B1 1024GB MZAL41T0HBLB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noise | -8% | 1% | -6% | -5% | |
| off / environment * | 23.3 | 24.8 -6% | 22.8 2% | 25.3 -9% | 24.1 -3% |
| Idle Minimum * | 23.3 | 24.8 -6% | 22.8 2% | 25.3 -9% | 24.3 -4% |
| Idle Average * | 23.3 | 24.8 -6% | 22.8 2% | 25.3 -9% | 24.3 -4% |
| Idle Maximum * | 23.3 | 28.5 -22% | 24.6 -6% | 25.3 -9% | 24.3 -4% |
| Load Average * | 35.9 | 39.6 -10% | 38.2 -6% | 34.4 4% | 36.3 -1% |
| Witcher 3 ultra * | 41 | 42.7 -4% | 38.1 7% | 43.4 -6% | 44.5 -9% |
| Load Maximum * | 40.9 | 42.7 -4% | 38.2 7% | 43.4 -6% | 44.5 -9% |
* ... smaller is better
Temperature
With the relatively low power limit 1 even in best performance mode, it is not surprising that the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 does not get extremely hot. The maximum temperature we detect during the stress test : 43.8 degrees Celsius / 111 F. Heat is concentrated around the upper left corner of the chassis. The important palmrest area always stays cool during operation.
During the CPU + GPU stress test, the CPU gets throttled slightly, as CPU power consumption decreases to just 13.5 W.
(±) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 42.2 °C / 108 F, compared to the average of 35.9 °C / 97 F, ranging from 21.4 to 59 °C for the class Subnotebook.
(±) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 43.8 °C / 111 F, compared to the average of 39.4 °C / 103 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 25.8 °C / 78 F, compared to the device average of 30.7 °C / 87 F.
(+) Playing The Witcher 3, the average temperature for the upper side is 31.7 °C / 89 F, compared to the device average of 30.7 °C / 87 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are cooler than skin temperature with a maximum of 27 °C / 80.6 F and are therefore cool to the touch.
(±) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 28.3 °C / 82.9 F (+1.3 °C / 2.3 F).
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 Intel Core i7-1370P, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs | Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 Intel Core i7-1365U, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs | Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 21CB00DCGE Intel Core i7-1260P, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs | HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 7940HS, AMD Radeon 780M | Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 Intel Core i7-1365U, Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heat | 10% | -7% | 3% | 5% | |
| Maximum Upper Side * | 42.2 | 44.4 -5% | 50 -18% | 45.6 -8% | 40.8 3% |
| Maximum Bottom * | 43.8 | 45.3 -3% | 49.7 -13% | 51.9 -18% | 40 9% |
| Idle Upper Side * | 32 | 24.9 22% | 32.4 -1% | 26.5 17% | 30.4 5% |
| Idle Bottom * | 33.7 | 25.7 24% | 32.3 4% | 27 20% | 32.8 3% |
* ... smaller is better
Speakers
Without a doubt, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 has one of the best speaker systems among ThinkPads, with its two up-firing tweeters and two down-firing woofers. The sound that this quad speaker system produces is pleasantly loud and full, as it even offers some base. Overall though, the Dell Latitude 9440 has a slightly better speaker arrangement. Still, listening to music is definitely doable with the ThinkPad X1 Carbon.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (83.3 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(±) | reduced bass - on average 12.8% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (13.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | higher mids - on average 5.3% higher than median
(+) | mids are linear (4.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 2.8% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (6.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (11.9% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 10% of all tested devices in this class were better, 4% similar, 86% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 19%, worst was 53%
Compared to all devices tested
» 6% of all tested devices were better, 2% similar, 91% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%
Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (85.7 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(+) | good bass - only 4.8% away from median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (8.4% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 2.1% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (3.4% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 3.5% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (6.4% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (6.3% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 0% of all tested devices in this class were better, 0% similar, 99% worse
» The best had a delta of 6%, average was 21%, worst was 57%
Compared to all devices tested
» 0% of all tested devices were better, 0% similar, 99% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%
Energy Management
Power Consumption: OLED screen consumes the battery charge fast
Except for the standby or shut down state, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 never consumes less than 7 W. This is a high power consumption when idling is one area where it clearly lags behind the competition - and behind the IPS screen equipped first review sample of the X1 Carbon G11 that we tested.
The charger of the Lenovo ThinkPad laptop can deliver up to 65 W. The maximum consumption of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon exceeds that value with 66 W, but this is just the peak consumption, it quickly decreases. Users will not have to worry about the battery discharging while the device is in use.
| Off / Standby | 0.4 / 0.7 Watt |
| Idle | 7 / 7.9 / 8.1 Watt |
| Load |
40.5 / 66 Watt |
   
| |
| Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00 i7-1370P, Iris Xe G7 96EUs, WDC PC SN810 2TB, OLED, 2880x1800, 14.00 | Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11-21HNS00000 i7-1365U, Iris Xe G7 96EUs, WDC PC SN810 1TB, IPS, 1920x1200, 14.00 | Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10 21CB00DCGE i7-1260P, Iris Xe G7 96EUs, Samsung PM9A1 MZVL2512HCJQ, OLED, 2880x1800, 14.00 | HP EliteBook 845 G10 818N0EA R9 PRO 7940HS, Radeon 780M, SK hynix PC801 HFS001TEJ9X101N, IPS, 2560x1600, 14.00 | Dell Latitude 9440 2-in-1 i7-1365U, Iris Xe G7 96EUs, Samsung PM9B1 1024GB MZAL41T0HBLB, IPS, 2560x1600, 14.00 | Average Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs | Average of class Subnotebook | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power Consumption | 17% | -2% | -21% | 3% | -5% | -3% | |
| Idle Minimum * | 7 | 3.9 44% | 6.4 9% | 4.3 39% | 4.2 40% | 5.26 ? 25% | 4.9 ? 30% |
| Idle Average * | 7.9 | 6.3 20% | 7.4 6% | 10.1 -28% | 6.9 13% | 8.46 ? -7% | 8.36 ? -6% |
| Idle Maximum * | 8.1 | 6.9 15% | 8.3 -2% | 11.2 -38% | 7.8 4% | 10.7 ? -32% | 10.4 ? -28% |
| Load Average * | 40.5 | 41.8 -3% | 56.5 -40% | 64.4 -59% | 46 -14% | 44.8 ? -11% | 45.9 ? -13% |
| Witcher 3 ultra * | 43 | 33.2 23% | 37.5 13% | 59.4 -38% | 51.9 -21% | ||
| Load Maximum * | 66 | 63.4 4% | 62.5 5% | 66.7 -1% | 68.2 -3% | 66.8 ? -1% | 66 ? -0% |
* ... smaller is better
Power Consumption Witcher 3 / Stresstest
Power Consumption external Monitor
Battery Life
Unsurprisingly, the battery life that Lenovo squeezes out of the 57 Wh battery is not great. This device is just too inefficient, a gift of the OLED screen and i7-1370P CPU. Still, an improvement can be noted, as the battery life of 6.5 hours in the WiFi test (150 cd/m²) is still a notable improvement compared with the also OLED equipped predecessor ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 30th Anniversary Edition. Users who want the maximum amount of battery life should definitely use this device with forced dark mode enabled in the browser, as the battery life lasted two hours longer during the WiFi test (max brightness) with dark mode enabled compared with the regular test.
Pros
Cons
Verdict: 64 GB RAM are great in the X1 Carbon, i7-1370P is not
This version of Lenovo's flagship ThinkPad, the maxed out configuration of the X1 Carbon G11, is a very peculiar device. It has a few key selling points which make it a very strong option for people who need those features. At the same time, it is definitely a flawed, unbalanced product in a few other ways.
First the good: The combination of the very lightweight and compact chassis of the X1 Carbon, its comfortable input devices and copious security and connectivity options with the additional features of 5G, a high quality OLED panel and 64 GB of RAM definitely has its merits. Especially if you take the large amount of memory in combination with the low weight, this configuration of the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 offers something pretty unique on the market, as many ultramobile laptops are still limited to a lower amount of RAM like 32 GB. For certain RAM heavy work-loads, this model is a great choice.
Where it falls apart is at the processor: The 64 GB of RAM are bundled with the Core i7-1370P, but this CPU is simply too much for this slender laptop to cool. Add to this the fact that Lenovo has decreased the fan speed and power limits with firmware updates - which thankfully lowers the chassis temperatures that were toasty before - and you get a really sub-par performance under sustained load. For long rendering tasks, this model is not well suited. Sadly, you have to buy this CPU if you want 64 GB of RAM.
The same is not true for the OLED screen, which does provide a great screen quality, but considerably cuts down the battery life. At least in this case, other screens are available to choose, so you can get the combination of a good battery life and 64 GB of RAM if you buy this model with the low power IPS screen instead of the OLED panel.
Low weight and 64 GB of RAM make for a great feature combination for the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 11 - though the lackluster CPU makes this device not suitable for CPU heavy workloads.
If you want 64 GB of RAM, you can also buy the HP EliteBook 845 G10. While this device does offer a much better CPU performance with its two RAM slots, it does not match the low weight of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon at all. The same is true for the Dell Latitude 9440, which also has a worse keyboard than the HP or Lenovo business laptops. It does offer convertible features though, which neither of the other two devices have.
Price and Availability
The tested model is a special configuration of the German Lenovo education program. It is only available for students and teachers and costs €2,750. If configured to match this model in specs, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 costs roughly $2,550 in the Lenovo US store. Amazon offers a similar configuration with 32 GB of RAM for $2,500.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G11 21HNS54T00
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11/06/2023 v7
Benjamin Herzig
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Transparency
The present review sample was made available to the author as a loan by the manufacturer or a shop for the purposes of review. The lender had no influence on this review, nor did the manufacturer receive a copy of this review before publication. There was no obligation to publish this review.
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