My Next Linux Ultrabook: Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Carbon With Core i7-5600U

[speculatrix]

My employer issued me with a Thinkpad T540p. the internals are good but I don't like the keyboard much, and I loathe the clickpad and the lack of mouse buttons. The screen is quite nice. Battery life is good with the i7-4600M processor, and no discrete GPU to suck my battery dead.

The lack of LEDs to indicate anything is really stupid. Wifi on? can't tell! Hard drive active? Can't tell! Caps lock on? can't tell. etc.

It looks like an average Lenovo, not a proper Thinkpad.

The T540p runs linux OK, can't get the screen brightness hotkeys to work, but I don't care too much as mostly it's docked and connected to external monitors.

I prefer my personal Dell E7440. Lighter, sleeker, keyboard style better (but key travel still a little shallow, the price of an ultrabook I guess), proper mouse buttons. Everything works perfectly - the backlight hotkeys, volume control buttons, rf kill etc etc.

[vitalif]

The big problem of ThinkPads is their keyboard layout, i.e the position of Fn, PgUp/PgDown and Home/End buttons. Very strange and inconvenient. Even non-thinkpad Lenovos are better - they have PgUp/PgDown/Home/End in a vertical row at the right side...

[efikkan]

Thinkpads are of great build quality, but I think the Carbon is the wakest choise in the lineup. It's slick and nice, but it's not suited for much more than light surfing og document writing. The T and X series offer way better options for work. They are more solid, offer better battery choices and hardware, and non-glossy screens which is a must for work.

I still remember when core i5 had 4 cores, now not even i7 has them...

These are the low watt editions of i3/i5/i7, and can't be compared to the other CPU series performance wise. i7-5600U is weaker than an i3 on the desktop to set things in perspective.

WHY DO PEOPLE BUY THIS? NO DEDICATED GRAPHICS? 1800$?!

Check this out:

http://www.xoticpc.com/gigabyte-p34wv3cf2-eta-jan15-p-7617.html

That laptop isn't anywhere near the build quality of a Thinkpad, even though it might offer great value for end users.

I do agree about the dedicated graphics though, anyone who needs a performing and responsive computer needs to stay away from shared memory GPU due to microstuttering.

Any reason for not considering/choosing System76? Built from the ground up for Linux and tons of options for customization.

Unfortunately they appears to be like most OEM laptops, cheap build quality.

[eydee]

Whenever I see these pictures of the so many pieces of hardware, nice room decorations, furniture etc., I always think, damn those adblockers...

[Drago]

The big problem of ThinkPads is their keyboard layout, i.e the position of Fn, PgUp/PgDown and Home/End buttons. Very strange and inconvenient. Even non-thinkpad Lenovos are better - they have PgUp/PgDown/Home/End in a vertical row at the right side...

Are you f*ing serious? Keyboard and especially PgUp/PgDown key placement are top notch!

[Rashed]

Test Arch Linux

I have been using arch linux inside VirtualBox for couple of month, but I want a dedicated machine for arch linux and new Lenovo x1 carbon looks slick. So I am planning to buy one probably after I see your linux test result. So please test arch linux on your machine.

[dimitris]

Quad-core

Related to the discussions on this thread about quad-core CPUs on thinkpads: I'm eagerly awaiting a version of the T450 - perhaps as a T450p - with integrated graphics and the Broadwell "equivalent" of the i7-4900MQ that's (still) available on the T440p.

Basically, a development workhorse thinkpad that fits in my backpack but with a decent clickpad/buttons combo. Most of my work is done on a stand-up desk with external display/keyboard/mouse, but I do travel often so I draw the line at 14-inch machines.

Oh and with IPS. I saw somewhere (can't find it again) that the T450, as opposed to the T450s, will only have TN display options. Boo!

Any chance of that appearing?

[Michael]

Whenever I see these pictures of the so many pieces of hardware, nice room decorations, furniture etc., I always think, damn those adblockers...

Keep in mind most of the hardware around there is for reviews, any "furniture" (not cabinets or desks / explicitly business stuff that I've bought) was actually used stuff I got for free (like that commonly seen table and chairs in many photos in past few months, is very outdated by modern American standards but managed to snag for free before a relative was going to throw them out), etc. But if you wish to argue any of that stuff out, it's for another thread.

[Michael]

I have been using arch linux inside VirtualBox for couple of month, but I want a dedicated machine for arch linux and new Lenovo x1 carbon looks slick. So I am planning to buy one probably after I see your linux test result. So please test arch linux on your machine.

If the X1 Carbon works on a released version of Fedora or Ubuntu, it's almost guaranteed it will work fine on Arch... Not sure I'll have time to test other distributions before commissioning it, but will do Broadwell Arch tests for sure on a NUC or other system to come.

[tomtomme]

Unfortunately they appears to be like most OEM laptops, cheap build quality.

Did you try one?
I hope my order arrives this week so that I can tell you about my experience...