Lenovo ThinkPad X270 (Core i5, Full HD) Laptop Review

Next to the optical design, the passing of time is also noticeable in its size and weight. While the X1 Carbon 2014 was not that much lighter and slimmer than the equivalent X240, the difference is rather more drastic in the current X1 Carbon. Now that the X1 Carbon has shrunk in size as well as in weight, it‘s measurements are quite close to the 12-inch model, which calls into question whether the X270 is even necessary anymore.

In comparison to the similar devices, the X270 is the heaviest and thickest model. But it is still quite compact, outdone only by the Dell XPS 13, but that offers a 13-inch display thanks to its InfinityEdge design.

In terms of connectivity, there has been a slight development since the X260. The Mini DisplayPort has been replaced by a USB Type-C port that supports USB 3.1 Gen 1 speeds, Power Delivery (recharging via USB-C) as well as DisplayPort. Unlike X270‘s cousins in the T-series, the test unit does not have Thunderbolt 3. The other change is in the number of USB Type-A ports, of which the X270 has only two whereas the X260 still had three. This seems a little strange as the X260 only just gained the third port after the X250 (which only had two).

Looking at the distribution of the ports on either side of the X270 and the use of a mouse, right-handers are at an advantage. The ports are positioned quite far back on the right-hand side, while the three ports on the left (HDMI, USB Type-A, USB Type-B) are placed towards the front which could lead to difficulties in using a mouse while any of these ports are in use. The position of the USB Type-C port is not ideal if you want to charge the device or use a USB-C Dock, although both features are optional as there is a traditional power connector as well as a docking port on the bottom of the base unit.

A definite advantage of the X270 over the X1 Carbon is the SD card slot. The X1 Carbon only contains a badly accessible MicroSD card reader while the X270‘s reader is large enough for full-size SD cards. In a benchmark with the Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II reference card, the X270 card reader performed only averagely, although there are card readers around that are a lot slower as well. Especially in the JPG Copy Test, the X270 did less well than its direct competitors from Dell and HP.

Just like most higher-priced business laptops, the test unit is equipped with Intel communication modules. It contains the Intel 8265, a 2x2-AC-Wi-Fi module and the Intel I219-V-Gigabit Ethernet module. As expected, the 8265 had good results in the benchmarks. There are no problems for everyday use of the laptop. The Wi-Fi connection is stable and performs well and on top of Wi-Fi and LAN, Lenovo has also added NFC and the X270 supports WWAN.

The microphone does not record voices as clearly or loudly as we are used to from other ThinkPad microphones. The performance of the webcam is just as bad as the usual ThinkPad webcams. The sensor records noisy film with bad colors – a typical laptop webcam.

The test unit did not include any accessories other than a Quick Start Guide, the power supply, and the removable battery. An optional accessory could be the ThinkPad-USB-C-Dock or a mechanical docking station such as the ThinkPad-Pro-Dock. Both docking stations offer further ports as well as an on/off button - the more expensive mechanical docks, even feature a lock in order to secure the notebook. However, the ThinkPad Thunderbolt Dock, which is used to connect two 4K displays with 60 Hz, is not compatible.

Another possible accessory for the X270 would be special batteries such as the ThinkPad-68+ battery with a higher capacity.

A three-year warranty including on-site service is the standard warranty for the X270. Lenovo also offers various upgrades to extend the warranty period and/or increase included services. The maximum warranty period is 5 years, warranty on the battery can be extended to 3 years (for the internal battery) and there is also an optional accident cover, which would mean that you are protected should your notebook fall and break.

Please see our Guarantees, Return Policies and Warranties FAQ for country-specific information.

The combination of Touchpad and TrackPoint, which used to be called UltraNav by Lenovo, has remained unchanged in the 12-inch-X-series since the X250 from 2015. The Touchpad is shorter and slightly narrower than that of the current T-series or the X1 Carbon. This means that there is a lot of unused space between the keyboard and the TrackPoint and the TrackPoint and Touchpad. The modern UltraNav in the T470 makes more efficient use of the available space and has a large touch surface.

Apart from the Touchpad being a little small, it offers a good performance. Lenovo uses the Microsoft Precision standard for all new ThinkPads including the X270 which means that the Touchpad‘s software works almost perfectly. Gestures such as zooming and two-finger scrolling work almost as smoothly as a capacitive touchscreen. Lenovo still uses a ClickPad. The click mechanism produces a deep, crisp clicking sound, but is a little loud. The surface is made of plastic, which Lenovo calls "Mylar surface” in the specifications. The Touchpad has good gliding properties, although a glass surface would feel nicer and offer some advantages.

The TrackPoint works just as well on the X270 as on any other of the ThinkPad models. Only the TrackPoint keys are not quite as comfortable as on the T470, where they are shaped slightly differently. But that is just being fussy.

At the time of testing, four different models of the Lenovo ThinkPad X270 were available in Germany. Our exclusive campus model was the only one equipped with the Intel Core i5-7200U, a 512 GB SSD and 8 GB of RAM. The biggest difference compared to the other models is that this configuration contains no pre-installed OS. Two of the three other models contain the same Core i5-7200U while the third (and most expensive) model is equipped with the Core i7-7500U. This is the only one that also contains the 512 GB SSD, while the other models contain a 256 GB SSD and cost something between the top model and our test unit.

The most expensive model has 16 GB of RAM while the cheaper versions including our test unit are equipped with 8 GB of RAM ex-works. As there is only one RAM slot, 16 GB of RAM is the maximum you can expand to. One thing that has changed in comparison to the X260 is that it now contains a DDR4-2400 RAM. 

The Intel Core i5-7200U is a midrange processor of the ultra-low-voltage series (which is marked by the letter U). ULV CPUs are designed for low power consumption - the i5-7200U clocks at a maximum of 3.1 GHz with turbo boost and the dual core CPU integrates Hyperthreading to work with up to 4 threads at once. For more CPU comparisons, please see our CPU-List.

So far, the temperature limit for the Kaby Lake ThinkPads tests has always been at 75 °C (167 °F) and the TDP was increased to 25 W. Interestingly enough, this is not the case in the X270. We cannot tell whether this was a conscious decision made by Lenovo, or if it is due to an error in the BIOS. It is possible that Lenovo will adjust this behavior in one of the next BIOS updates. Why? Because of the temperatures. Even in the single Cinebench multicore test, the CPU reached 91 °C (~196 °F!).

However, the non-existent temperature limit also meant that the CPU kept up the maximum clock of 3.1 GHz for the whole 30 minute Cinebench test loop - unlike the X1 Carbon. While the latter already fell back to a lower performance level during the second test, the X270 stayed more or less on the same level throughout.

In general, however, the X1 Carbon is a lot stronger due to the stronger i7-7500U processor. In comparison to the direct competitors from HP and Dell, the X270 does a good job. Running against the HP EliteBook 820 G4 in the multi-core test, the HP fell back despite its faster Core i7-7500U.

No performance reduction was noticeable on battery power.

In the PCMark8 test, the X270 ranks average. All comparison devices seem to have a similar performance; the predecessor X260 made last place in both tests while the X1 Carbon made first.

Thanks to the faster components (Core i5-CPU, NVMe SSD) as well as the sufficient RAM, the X270 performs well for everyday tasks. The computer boots up quickly and runs smoothly with hardly any pauses.

Lenovo chose to take another path for the storage devices after the X260. That version was not compatible with M.2 SSDs and Lenovo found a very exotic solution in order to use NVMe SSDs: The SATA Express - an almost forgotten connector for the faster 2.5-inch SSDs. The disadvantage is that nowadays, there are hardly any SATA Express SSDs and the X260 with NVMe was something quite rare.

For the X270, Lenovo has decided to go with a simpler solution that they already used for the T470, which is to use a M.2 SSD in a 2.5-inch drive bay adaptor. But as it seems that they still use the SATA Express connection (with an adaptor), the performance is limited to PCIe-x2.

In our S270, Lenovo used a Toshiba SSD with the model number THNSF5512GPUK. The SSD with a capacity of 512 GB is based on NVMe technology, which means that it is a M.2 SSD. Overall, the SSD is quick and can easily beat SATA-III SSDs. This also becomes apparent in the comparison with the Dell Latitude 7280. But there are also faster NVMe SSDs around, for example the Samsung PM961 which is installed in the ThinkPad X1 Carbon. X270’s SSD is probably slower because of the PCIe-x2 port that limits performance.

The integrated SSD can be compared to further storage solutions in our SSD-/HDD benchmark comparison.

All models of the X270 contain the Intel HD Graphics 620, the standard graphics processor contained in most of the Intel ULV processors today. Based on GT2, the graphics processor has 24 Executive Units (EU) and a maximum clock of 1000 MHz. You can find more comparisons of this GPU with many other modern graphic units in our GPU benchmark list.

As there is only one RAM slot, the working memory can only run in single channel mode, so the performance of the GPU is slightly limited because it needs to access the main storage. Therefore, the X270 is hardly better than its predecessor and in the Fire Strike benchmark, it even scored slightly lower. The X1 Carbon shows what is possible with the HD 620: it is 15% faster in the 3DMark-11-Test and 39% faster in the Fire Strike test. The Dell XPS 13 also reaches higher scores in all tests.

Running on battery power does not affect the performance of the GPU.

Even with minimal details and reduced resolution, most current games will not be able to play smoothly on the X270 due to the limited performance of the integrated GPU. Older games can be played with somewhat lower details. But the X270 was not developed for games. If you ae looking for a very mobile gaming PC, take a look at the Alienware 13 or the Razer Blade.

The small cooling fan in our test unit starts running under the smallest load, but at least it is off when the device is idle. In that respect, the X270 is one of the more annoying devices because the fan runs so often - probably because of its small size. In comparison to other laptops with U CPUs, the cooling fan is almost overpoweringly loud under maximum load.

But apart from the cooling fan, the device was quiet. There were no other interfering noises and as there is no HDD, there was no HDD murmuring at all. 

The small stereo speakers are positioned on the bottom of our test unit, so the sound quality depends a lot on what the device is standing on. In terms of the performance of the speakers: They are relatively quiet and have no bass. But at least they do not tend to distort when you turn up the sound level. Overall, the speakers are rather average. They are not the worst for this laptop category, but they cannot be considered "good” either. If possible, we recommend using external speakers.

Frequenzdiagramm im Vergleich (Checkboxen oben an-/abwählbar!)

The X270 definitely is not the most energy-efficient device. In fact, only the X1 Carbon needs more power in comparison. Devices from other manufacturers are a lot more efficient, although the increased TDP to 25 watts obviously also has a certain influence. Under maximum load the X270 consumes about 10 watts more - which corresponds exactly to the increased TDP - but the idle values are slightly higher as well. The predecessor X260 actually did slightly better in terms of power consumption, but the differences are minimal.

The small 45-watt power supply is just strong enough to provide enough power for the X270 during maximum load. 

Like the T470 and all X-models since the X240, the X270 has Lenovo’s PowerBridge feature. Basically, this means that the test unit contains two batteries, one of which is internal and can only be accessed by removing the bottom cover. The other battery is positioned at the back of the device and is external, so users can access it easily. Both batteries have the same capacity (23 Wh), so in total the X270 has 46 Wh battery capacity. The biggest advantage of the PowerBridge is that you have the option to use a larger external battery, which would lift up the device slightly. The other battery has a capacity of 72 Wh, so the maximum total capacity would be 95 Wh. On top of that, you can change the external battery while the device is turned on (Hot Swap).

The PowerBridge is a great feature, but the test unit still has only 46 Wh. This battery capacity in combination with the higher power consumption rates mean rather disappointing results in practical battery tests. It lasted only 5 hours and 24 minutes in the Wi-Fi test. Even its own predecessor did better. The results of the Big Buck Bunny test confirmed the Wi-Fi test results. If you are looking for really good battery performance, we recommend you get hold of the optional 6-cell battery with 72 Wh.

Charging is not a strong point of the X270 either. It takes about 2 hours for the battery to recharge from 5% to 100%.