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Laptops · Lenovo ThinkPad

Lenovo ThinkPad X1E

8owners with an opinion
60%of verdicts positive
0/0positive/negative since 2024
0happy after 3+ years

Praised for performance and software; criticized for battery and reliability.

What people wrote

Doesn’t like itOwned 3.5 years
I'm using it since +20 years and many ThinkPads (had one Dell with a trackpoint in the early 2000s) - it's the thing why I'm staying with ThinkPads. If you are touch-typing, working on the go, in rough environment, then there is nothing better. Last 3 and half years I had X1E Gen1, was the worst ThinkPad experience of all the ThinkPads that I ever had (extremely hot, bad Linux support, loud, worst ever battery life, mirror display) - and the 1st ThinkPad in 20+ years that just stopped working after 3.5 years. Now I have the P1 Gen4, without Nvidia, the QXGA resolution and matte screen - and I love it. Was afraid because the key travel, got less, but I actually have to say that I prefer it compared to the previous ThinkPad, and it's less noisy when typing. However I have to say that none of the ThinkPad trackpoints match the easiness and the precision of the Tex Shinobi external keyboard - it's just delightful how it feels, though, typing on it is very loud.
Doesn’t like itOwned 2 years
> Maybe I could solve some of this stuff if I'd spend some time on it, I don't know. I do know that as long as I run Linux as my daily driver, my next laptop won't be a Lenovo. Could not agree more. I was using mac's for a decade prior to buying thinkpad X1E a couple years ago. It's been an absolute disaster and I now loath them. Multiple years after purchase, the only distro I could find that even half works is Fedora. Docking is worse, even under windows. So the dock was working under linux for a while but as a last week it's completely non-functional, no usb, no display. Under windows, probably 25% of the time the USB devices don't function on startup, and have to be unplugged and plugged back in. I was trying to run a monitor with hdmi and it would half the time not wake up. Switched to display port and it's a little better but still problematic. And if your computer goes to sleep, it's 5-10 minutes of trying to wake and often requires hard power cycle to come back. I had to set the computer to sleep only after 2 hour or so. This is with all firmware and os updates applied. In the future, will be be selling these hot messes, and moving to a framework laptop. Doubtful I every buy another thinkpad, I have many fond memories of my first couple of IBM based thinkpads those were awesome machines.
Likes it
I spilled an entire mug of tea on my X1E when it was just new. That would have killed any Macbook, but the Thinkpad was fine. Turned it off, unplugged the power, let it drain through the bottom. Next morning, open it up, clean it out, turn it on, and it's fine. Even had time to make a photo: https://www.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comments/h0663l/good_thing... Don't count on this too strongly though; not every Thinkpad is spill-resistant, unfortunately.
Likes itStill going
The X1E Gen 2 was a nice compromise between a business and a gaming laptop. For the first 2 years it ran Windows anyways, now it is dual boot. With some exceptions, mostly older games, it runs my complete Steam library just fine. And for those rare occasions it doesn't, I can still boot it in Windows. Linux, well Ubuntu, is refreshing to use. First time I tried Linux, and it feels a lot more like an OS should feel. Not crap or bloat ware, no calling home, no cloud account. The machine does get hot sometimes, getting some more air under it mitigates this all the time, the X1 doesn't have a lot of space under it.
Neutral
Getting multiple screens on a docking station to work was a pain with my X1E Gen 2 as well. Under Windows. Since I used it for work (office, not development) and gaming, I resorted to turn of the Intel GPU permanently. Reduced battery life, but not in any way it hamper it's use. Since I switched to Ubuntu I have yet to see any difference in battery life. And multiple screens work just fine under both OS.
Neutral
Big fan of these with Linux. Have used T42, T500, T440p, X1E gen2 throughout the years, all with versions of Fedora. Most things just work. The X1E gen2 needed a bit work to curb (idle) power consumption. The SD card reader would prevent the CPU package from entering C10, and the fans were always running even when the machine was not warm. I have the version with the NVidia dedicated GPU, which works pretty well. It's off most of the time, and is only turned on when needed. Idle power consumption is now as low of 3.9w.
Neutral
I have a similar setup - X1E Gen 2 with two Dell monitors - the secondary one on the right rotated to portrait mode. The primary monitor connects directly to the laptop via USB-C (and it is able to charge the laptop too over the same cable so thats a bonus). The secondary connects over HDMI via a hub[0] that connects to the laptop over USB-C. These two + my laptop screen work fine though I usually keep my laptop closed (though I have noticed that the GDM login screen appears sideways on the secondary but once I login, everything is fine). The main issue with this setup is that both my USB-C ports are taken up but since most of my peripherals are wireless, it is not a problem for me. Another issue is that if I try to use the Intel graphics to drive this setup, everything basically crawls and is unusable so I can only use NVIDIA graphics with this (switching to Intel graphics is fine when I'm away from my desk). [0]: https://www.amazon.sg/dp/B083RQHF3Y/ref=pe_12283492_38132264...
Likes it
Generally great machines for Linux. Just a PSA from a X1E gen2 owner: Do NOT get the NVidia GPU, do NOT get the fastest CPU and most importantly: do NOT opt for the 4k screen. With 1080p and Intel GPU it is a good, even great laptop with ok battery life (if you can look over the touchpad). Wonderful keyboard, good Linux support (even fingerprint reader works). But just as with the last Intel macbook, the GPU, 10th gen CPU on 14nm and thermally constrained chassis will make this a hot mess with 2 hours battery life , fans always spinning and poor framerates on desktop. That being said, Ubuntu has come a long way and in general. Not sure if I would go for a M1 mbp, or another Thinkpad today.