Only one ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 Gen 11 configuration offers significant improvements to graphics performance

Lenovo is now shipping its 2026 ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 Gen 11 convertible to supplant the 2025 Gen 10 model. The CPU upgrade from Intel Lunar Lake to Panther Lake is a key difference between the two models as the latter is significantly faster depending on the configuration. For performance hunters, however, only one configuration stands out from the rest and it is the most expensive of them all.

The new ThinkPad can be configured with Core Ultra 5 325, Ultra 5 335, Ultra 7 355, Ultra 7 365, Ultra 7 366H, or Ultra X7 368H. All options come with essentially the same Xe3 integrated GPU except for the Ultra X7 which comes with the integrated Arc B390. As detailed in many of our existing reviews already, graphics performance with Panther Lake is quite weak until you reach the Arc B390 where performance would then catapult by as much as 2.5x faster as shown by our comparison charts below.

The Xe3 iGPU in Panther Lake is so slow that even the Lunar Lake Arc 140V in the older ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 Gen 10 can outperform nearly all SKUs of the newer ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 Gen 11.

ThinkPad systems with the Core Ultra X7 and Arc B390 aren't necessarily cheap and so performance hunters should be prepared to pay around $3000 or more for one. However, such a configuration would easily be one of the fastest ThinkPads available in the 14-inch category.