Testing the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme and P1

For our next sales wave, we tested the new Lenovo X1 Extreme and the P1. They are basically slimmed down versions of the P52 with 1 kg less heft, clocking in around 1.8 kg. Our X1 Extreme features an Nvidia Geforce 1050 Ti Max-Q, while the P1 is equipped with a Quadro P2000 Max-Q, which is the professional equivalent of the Geforce. The case, port selection, and cooling solution of the two laptops are exactly the same.

In our tests, the X1 Extreme and P1 fared well against the P52. Both could keep their CPU and GPU cool, performing at a very similar level to their much heavier cousin. Surprisingly, we measured no difference in performance between the Max-Q P2000/1050Ti in the P1 and X1 and the regular P2000 in the P52. On the CPU side, the slim laptops performed equally well, keeping their processors (i7-8750H and i7-8850H) comfortably at around 3.7 GHz under constant heavy load.

The tradeoff to having this much performance in such a slim and light case is of course the noise level, which is quite a bit worse compared to the P52. Both the X1 Extreme and the P1 spin their fans up quicker and to higher speeds and there are more high-frequency parts in the noise, making it much more noticeable. Going back to idle, however, the fans quickly spin down again and turn off completely when no heavy lifting is required. For most people who need a lot of power and who regularly have to carry around their laptop, exchanging a bit more noise for a kilogram less weight is probably a fair deal.