Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 6th Gen: Redesigned + Windows 11 Compatible
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- čas přidán 25. 06. 2024
- Redesigned with X1 flair and ready for Windows 11, the 6th generation X1 Carbon is a highly desirable thin and light laptop with more options than you might think.
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Looking for one yourself? Check eBay and your local classifieds. If you are located in the USA, you might want to also check www.waukegancomputer.com/ as I have spotted Gen 6 Carbons there from time to time. Amazon also has a series of parts and machines. By purchasing from the links below, as an Amazon and eBay Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases that go to supporting the channel.
eBay:
ebay.us/SD3VJU
Amazon.ca
amzn.to/3DKeluB
Amazon.com
amzn.to/3FoNwNP
If you are looking for the latest and greatest version of this laptop, I suggest heading over to Lenovo's website to see what they have been up to recently. As a member of the Lenovo Affiliate Program, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through this link.
Lenovo Canada
lenovo.vzew.net/5XBWL (General)
lenovo.vzew.net/P2ZLR (ThinkPad)
Lenovo USA
lenovo.vzew.net/BXEK5B (General)
lenovo.vzew.net/zagjz0 (ThinkPad)
0:00 Introduction
1:10 5th Gen vs 6th Gen
3:42 Specs
6:00 Ports
7:22 Disassembly
9:58 Start-Up
10:29 Conclusions - Věda a technologie
Wait a sec. This is my daily driver laptop. And it’s already retro? 😂
Every once and a while I get to do stuff that isn't retro yet. 😉
Always has been
Looking forward to buying one and it's considered retro 😂tf
A very nice machine I must say. Being windows 11 capable and just having the performance perks of a newer machine while also being an ultrabook and a fully fledged thinkpad, that's a lot to like.
Couldn't agree more!
For these exact reason I picked it up! The 8th gen i7 quad core and 16gb ram should satisfy me 5-7 years from here at least
Love the mega man x style intro.
Glad people enjoy it after all these years.
Another pretty significant design evolution you could have mentioned is the final departure from the IBM RGB color scheme: The X1 Carbon G5 still had the blue dots on the center button of the TrackPoint, as well as the classic Green status LED color. X1 Carbon G6 (and all other ThinkPads of that generation) changed it to white LEDs, and the blue color on the center TrackPoint button was removed. From now on, red would be the only colorful accent in the ThinkPad design.
Good point, thanks for sharing.
The X380 Yoga still had the old trackpoint buttons
I just purchased a gen 6 a couple of weeks ago and I love it
That's awesome! Glad you're enjoying it.
Now thats a unique intro, love it!
Cheers! Glad you liked it.
This channel has helped me so much in learning about ThinkPads. I personally own a ThinkPad X220 and use it frequently for work at home where I connect to a remote computer that's in the office. It's just such a nice little machine and runs smoothly. I also had a T410 that I gave to my sister. For as old as the T410 is, the machine runs Windows 11 just fine. Not long ago, I revived my wife's old IdeaPad Y430 from her college days and I'm typing on the Y430 right now. Like the T410, the Y430's CPU is socketed so I was able to upgrade it to a Core 2 DUO T9900. I got 8GB of RAM and an SSD too and the machine runs like a charm.
Glad I was able to help!
Good timing, been looking for one of those.
👍
This exactly, an X1 carbon with gen 6 frame and keyboard, gen 7 speakers, gen9 16:10 screen, latest CPU, there you go, the perfect modern Thinkpad
🤔🤔🤔
Agree with you there, would love the gen7 speakers and 16:10 ratio but it is what it is. Still a 9.5 out of 10 for me
Did they not carry on the speakers from the 7th gen? Do the 9th gen and above have those speakers aa well?
I've purchased mine 2 years ago. and still works like a beast. But I think I need to change batt soon
An easy upgrade.
My friend and co-worker is still using one of these for his job. It's a combination of software development and e-mail support. back in 2018ish he was still running a haswell Dell XPS 13. The model that the screen flipped inside the outer frame. It just wasn't cutting it for build times and rendering the things he needed. So after talking with him and looking at several laptop options he settled on the X1. He got it basically maxed out with the i7, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB NVMe. We both tend to agree the base screen was fine, as the higher resolution wouldn;t really benefit him at 14", and he'd prefer the better battery life. Originally taking it to coffee shops and cafes was the plan, but the pandemic kinda changed those plans. The light weight design and great build quality was most of the deciding factor. He likes machines he can throw in a bag and not really have to worry about.
Anyway, right about 4 years later and he's only just thinking about getting a new machine. The X1 is still in great shape and works fine. He just needs a bit more CPU power to do his job.
I have a T14 Gen 1 with a R7 4750u that I use for work, that replaced an X1 Gen 3. So my predilection for thinkpads *might* have played a part in the machine he got :)
Yeah, fantastic machines.
I am thinking about getting the X1 6th Gen now for basically the same use case, coding while on the go, lots of tabs and browser windows for research, and media consumption. So with these in mind, would you say the CPU starts to show its age? I prefer the Thinkpad design, but if there is no other way I will have to go with my other choice of the M1 or M2 Air.
If you're considering an M1/M2 that would be quite a cost difference. Have you considered a cost equivalent X1?
@@LaptopRetrospective Where I am the cheapest X1 6th I found is about 480€ aka 500$, the 8th Gen is 830$, whereas the cheapest used M1 Air was around 750$. One thing I definitely worry about is its lack of ram, but then again it seems the Macs sip it more sparingly?
From what I heard, the added performance between the 6th and 8th Gen Carbon is minimal.
I suspected regional pricing might be a factor. Thanks for confirming.
Loving the Retro intro!!
Glad to hear it!
Love it!
Yep, great piece of kit.
I just got this one with Win11 Pro and have been loving it so far. I was able to work through all the inconveniences with settings to get it to my liking. One thing I still need to work on is the keyboard. In the user guide, Lenovo cites a keyboard software for swapping fn and left ctrl keys. However, it does not appear this software is available on the current operating system unfortunately, or lenovo has since removed it. The other thing I’ve noticed is the keyboard backlight turns off when it wants.. haven’t figured out if it is a low battery thing or on a timer but I would like to disable that as well if possible
Have you checked the BIOS for the key swap?
You can use Lenovo vantage for that
Got one yesterday. I love my imac and macbook pro but for other things I need a windows computer. And it was a bargain (£330) in very good condition and 90% battery. Your review validated my decision. Thank you so much. I think my 2017 macbook pro will be purely a music/creative machine from now. 😉 ps. Worth upgrading to windows 11?thanks again! 👍
I'm glad I was able to help make your decision and it was one you're happy with. 😂 I'm enjoying Windows 11 well enough, especially the tabs on File Explorer, not sure if that's out of the Insider build phase but it's a great feature.
Just got mine for £177 XD (I plan to upgrade to Linux though lol)
I got a refurbished one for $250 last week with the basic screen, i7, 16gb, 256 hd. I love it. Probably going to get a new battery tho. Mine only lasts about 2 hrs
Nice find. A new battery sounds like a must if it only lasts two hours.
Amazing
The 7th gen would've been a better choice specially for the audio and WiFi-6 support but lack modularity, sd card slot & battery life lil bit.
I am still using Gen 1 (yes one) as my daily driver laptop. Will upgrade to Gen 6 maybe next year.
That's pretty darn cool! What do you use it for?
@@LaptopRetrospective web browing, playing media,...mostly office stuff.
Glad to hear it still meets the need.
Same! I'm waiting for a new laptop to ship (it's taking forever) but in the meantime I'm making do with this toaster. How's ur battery health?
Nice machine, great review.
Thanks Ted!
I was issued one of these in 2018. i7-8650u, 16GB RAM. Was beat to sheeeeeiiittttt and still runs.
Not just a pretty face,.tough too.
Awesome review! 🤩 Am eyeing the touchscreen version with i8350U and 8GB Ram for $360 for uni - just usual office tasks and some video / film watching so no gaming or any heavy job it would need to handle. Also have an option to get the X1C Gen 8 with i10310U & 8Gb Ram for an extra 240$, and wondering if its worth the price to get the newer one? I need a laptop that is super lightweight and will see me through 3+ years of uni with decent speed for what I need it for + has Win11. Thanks!
I'd go with the newest you can afford. Better CPU, better battery chemistry, hopefully less battery wear.
@@LaptopRetrospectiveabout battery chemistry, do you know if anyone sells a compatible battery but with newer chemistry?
I have this laptop with the higher resolution dolby vision display capable of 500 nits. It's still my daily driver because I love the look of this display. I'll probably replace the battery soon and keep on using it for another few years. I'm currently running windows 11, I have the 8th gen i7 8550U with 16 GB ram and 512 GB storage.
Beautiful!
Would you recommend me to upgrade to windows 11? I have got 8 gb ram
I'd recommend it.
@@LaptopRetrospective I have got the intel core i5 8 th gen, 260 Gb and 8 gb off ram.
Lenovo carbon x 6 th gen 14 inch
Why you think the upgrade to win 11 is an advantage for me?
Continued security and feature updates. The tabs in file explorer alone...
very good machine but sold both Gen's again using my x230 i7 IPS with classic Keyboard again ^^ Still planning to upgrade soon. I'll try out the X1 Titanium Yoga, X1 Nano but also T14 G3 AMD.
From what I've heard the Titanium Yoga won't be continuing to a Gen 2. Let us know what you might try next.
@@LaptopRetrospective yeah, I recently bought Gen 1 with an i7 for 700€. the short term turbo is very good which suits my field of application for such small machine :)
Also sent back my third P1 Gen 3 / X1 Extreme Gen 3 recently. Problems with every machine of that type unfortunately..
Interesting. What were the issues?
@@LaptopRetrospective the first one was perfectly fine but without dGPU but it should've been my main computer so I needed it to hook up with my 4K 144 Hz screen which was not possible with just the iGPU. It also good a not so good FHD screen. but otherwise it got 12 hours battery life, perfect build quality very light 1,7 kg, the most perfect chiclet keyboard I ever used and an open 8 core i9 which got me nearly 2000 points in cinebench r15.
After that I got an X1 Extreme Gen 3 with a matte 4K screen which was the best screen I ever experiencd before. Though it suffered from corrupting its BIOS all the time and re-healing it in the midst of serious work.. It's a known Issue and only swapping the mainboard can fix it.. The 3rd machine I got with the 4K OLED glare screen. it was very pixely because of a grid fomred by the touchscreen layer. Didn't get the 8 core but a 6 core processor this time. 30 slower while fans are just in control with tpfancontrol and lowering the CPU speeds even further so I got just 1000 points in cinebench r15. batterylife chopped in half to 6 hours but the real issue was the keyboard. several keys didn't register porperly which aslso was a knows issue of the 3rd Gen X1 Extremes.. Also I got the worst keyboard manufacturer, keys overall really were kinda mushy and the left trackpoint button was just terrible on a NEW machine. I can't do work with a very mushy non-feedbacky left trackpoint button lol. Than I gave up on that series (for now). I think the P1's have less Issues than the X1 Extremes, but supply isn't that great in Europe these days so I had to grab an X1 Extreme after searching half a year for he right configuration haha. But I made a lot of useful experienced again lol ;)
Also tested a T16 Intel recently but this machine was to thicc for my purposes. Weight could be alright with the smaller battery though. Otherwise a perfect machine, especially with AMD.
I am also somewhat interested in the L13 (Yoga) Gen 3 because of AMD on a Yoga but also the new 16:10 aspect ratio on that machines.
Thanks for sharing your experience and journey through those machines. I don't know if I'll ever see them but good to have in the back of my mind.
@9.:02
Hey I've recently gotten one of these and I was wondering about the compatibility of this slot as well! I've read mixed responses from "the internet" about its ability to take a drive in this slot, and was curious if you've tested it out at all? I'm also kind of mixed up about the slots keying, is it a pcie single notched key or is it the msata dual notch key? You're literally one of the only CZcams videos I've ever seen mention this aspect of the laptop!
I'd check Reddit, they normally document this stuff well.
Great review! I just purchased one on eBay. Any experience with replacement batteries? It seems like the price here in Europe is ~140 EUR for original Lenovo and ~45 EUR on non-Lenovo batteries.
Sometimes you can have good luck with a third party battery if it's from a reputable company. Other times you get what you pay for...
@@LaptopRetrospective Thanks!
No problem.
For the unoccupied WWAN slot; Is it s NVME or SATA 2242 that can be swapped in?
It's M.2 NVMe.
It looks like someone removed the heatsink/wrap from the SSD, tucked it in the CPU heatsink, and forgot to put it back over the SSD.
Hmmm good eye!
This seems like the sweet spot right now, price vs capabilities (W11 in particular).
Thoughts?
Yep, agreed.
@@LaptopRetrospective thanks. The video was a bit older but it still seems to be the right mix. I appreciate the sanity check.
I’ve got a pair of maxed out P1 gen 2 (i7, 64GB of RAM, 2x2TB SSD in RAID-1) for my daily drivers, and a x220 that still runs nicely but has turned into my workbench machine.
This X1 looks like a nice mix when I don’t need the full-sized beast.
Nice fleet!
Hi ! Thanks for the review. I am hesitating between 3 thinkpad, the Carbon X1 6 gen, the T480 and T480S. I would like to know the differences between their screens, their autonomy, and performance. I've seen a review saying that the T480 was the most upgradable. What do you think ? Thank you.
Between the three, yes the T480 is the most upgradable. The T480 is probably going to be your desired model. I've reviewed it as well.
Have you done a video discussing which compact thinkpad is viable in 2024 and beyond?
Viable is a pretty subjective set of conditions. How would you define it?
@LaptopRetrospective Thanks for the reply. I've subbed great content buddy! Would be able to handle Power B.I, Canva, Excel, Teams that sort of thing. Finally does it have a good quality webcam?
Most of those are either web applications or not that demanding. A modern ThinkPad will have a 1080p web camera which to me is a must now. For example, my daily driver is an X1 Nano G1 which I enjoy very much but the G2 and G3 have much better web cameras. The G1 only has a standard 720p camera.
Hey great review. How’s your battery performance? Mine only has 100 cycles and it won’t charge to 100%, I did the Lenovo Vantage battery calibration reset, and initially did I charge to 100%, but a day later it’s now stuck at 99% and prob will continue to decline I think.
So to be clear, the charge percent is not the same as battery health. Knowing how much battery health remains from its factory condition is essential when looking at the % in the system tray. It being stuck at 99% is fine.
@@LaptopRetrospectiveCurrent max capacity is 50.81wh per Lenovo Vantage, factory is 57wh. I leave it plugged in so I’ve set the max charge to 80% to hopefully increase longevity.
I’ve my eyes on x1C i7 8650u with 16gb ram for 280euros. I want to use it for general browsing, making presentations and some JS practicing. Do you think I should go ahead with this one? Thanks for the video. 😊
If the price is right for your regional market then it is a solid machine.
Got one, it’s working fine and I’m sure it’ll handle day to regular tasks with no issues. Thanks for the video man 😃
Thrilled to hear it!
watching from 2023. will it be able to keep up with future demands of software updates and resource-intensive task?
Hi Roy. Always check your system requirements for your most demanding software. 8th gen Intel gives you Windows 11 support and properly configured these machines have a lot to give.
@@LaptopRetrospective it will be use for data analysis job. Do you think it will still worth it at least 3 more years?
I'm not super familiar with that specific work or what demands you may put on it. What programs are you planning on using and what do they suggest? Given it supports the current mainstream operating system and it's a ThinkPad, I'd be optimistic.
@@LaptopRetrospective python, powe bi, sql, excel, tableau. More on programming language. What do you think Sir?
@@LaptopRetrospective thinkpad t480s core i7 8650u or thinkpad x1 carbon core i7 8550u, what you think?
I recently bought this laptop refurbished, and the fans crank on on any low end medium to heavy use. Keyboard and chassis also heats up. Is there any fix?
Can you give more details on the specific tasks or fan speeds?
You _might_ be able to undervolt with the right version of Intel Extreme Tuner or Throttlestop. Not sure if the BIOS locked that down.
can it handle android studio well? planning to buy this x1 gen 6
I'd imagine it would. Check your system requirements
Would this be able to run editing software atleast relatively smoothly?
Entirely depends on the complexity of the project and resolution of the footage.
What would be a fair price for this laptop currently?
That entirely depends on your region and their availability.
Thanks for the review. I think the keyboard is world class luxury. Does anyone know of a similar PC keyboard. I am looking to replicate the feel of the Lenovo X1 keyboard.
You can purchase a TrackPoint keyboard for a similar experience.
It's not the track point but the key feeling, travel etc that makes it so good.
It is a very similar feeling keyboard. Some might argue better but these things are often subjective.
Sorry. I don't know what you are talking about. I am looking for a PC keyboard.
www.lenovo.com/ca/en/p/accessories-and-software/keyboards-and-mice/keyboards/0b47190?orgRef=https%253A%252F%252Fwww.google.com%252F&cid=ca:sem|se|google|pmax_1po||||18331964301|||shopping|mix|consumer&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwrvyxBhAbEiwAEg_KgptvzAuRHHohqz3GIQlhd2VNsI8GGGlIdLqd98pnJjw_Zzs5XCS_kxoC-woQAvD_BwE
Anyone know if the wwan M2 slot can be booted from ?
If it detects, it should boot.
You launch in 10 seconds, mine launch in 40-50 seconds. What could be the problem please tell me?
CPU, RAM, quality/speed of SSD.
what was said about staying away from i5 7th gen, can someone explain plz
The 7th gen is an old processor for this machine and doesn't officially support Windows 11 due to the lack of TPM 2.0. Since there is little cost difference usually on the used market, the old generation CPU offering is best avoided unless at a steep discount or use of Linux.
@@LaptopRetrospective so does that mean that if we want to use windows 11 we should only look for gen 8 or above?
Exactly right, if you want it to work naturally without some bypass method.
@Retrospective That's not true. X1 Carbon supports TPM 2.0 from generation 4th (software emulation).5th and up support discrete TPM 2.0. I'm 100% sure because I've got a Skylake Gen 5 with TPM 2.0. Skylake machines run Windows 11 with their Windows 10 license, but it's recommended to disable Core Isolation due to peformance issues. Kaby Lake CPUs and up fully support Windows 11 feature set due MBEC unit requiered for security based virtualization. Microsoft probably decided to leave Kaby Lake out because of a combination of issues degrading performance: security flaws (Meltdown, Spectre) and a bug found on Skylake's Hyperthreading, both requiring patches while having a lo core count (two).
Should note there were two fans available seemingly at random. At Delta one that works, and a nidec one that throttles pretty much all the time. Also you have the bad nidec fan
I don't have any issues to report. 🤷♂️
@@LaptopRetrospective it would just run hot and throttle under load. It isn't obvious until you compare or swap to the the delta fan
The delta fan is 01YR204, the Nidec is 01YR203
What sort of difference has been reported? All laptop CPUs throttle at some point so I'm curious to have more data on the different fans and their performance. Any idea where I should look for further information?
@@LaptopRetrospective there's a reddit thread. People are seeing 30 degrees on the 8650 cpu
Even with an undervolt my 8650 instantly throttles under load, delta fan should be here Friday so I can get first hand results then.
I should add that the x1g6 has a fixed 15w ring power limit so it won't use the full multicore performance anyway even if you increase the cooling. I am working on hacking the Phoenix bios but need my chip clip to arrive to see if I can't increase the tdp with out trying to shunt mod the board.
Just bought the yoga version for £170 XD
Cool, what are you going to use it for?
@@LaptopRetrospective mostly coding and college work i guess, i was using an x240 but when i saw this for £170 it was too good of a deal not to get lol
No kidding. That's a great find.
Considering gen 5 due to low price but not that one is stuck with windows 10…. Or Linux I guess
Gen 5 will be limited to Windows 10 or Linux, yes.
maybe it is 11 gen
Good laptop but I lost a key on my keyboard and good luck replacing that!!
Not impossible but if the membrane is damaged then a keyboard replacement is best.
I have it and it's hot game but not that great
Do you mean to say you tried to play some games on it? Not sure I fully understand what you're tring to say.