Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Extreme (Gen 5) gets a performance overhaul, new 165Hz display
The ThinkPad X1 Extreme (Gen 5) refresh focuses mainly on boosting performance.
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What you need to know
Lenovo’s most powerful X1 laptop, the ThinkPad X1 Extreme, has been refreshed for a fifth generation at MWC 2022. The X1 Extreme has always delivered a careful balance of power and looks, keeping the X1 lineup’s signature aesthetic while still managing to pack in discrete graphics and Intel’s H-series processors (CPU). It’s one of thebest Lenovo laptopsyou can buy, and it just got a little bit better.
The X1 Extreme (Gen 5) holds onto the same dimensions as the previous generation. It still comes in the usual Deep Black ThinkPad color, and you can opt for a woven carbon fiber for the lid. Inside is where most of the changes take place.Intel’s 12th Gen Core CPUsare now on the table, with up to a Core i9 H-series vPro chip with 14 cores.
Here’s a look at the specifications available in the ThinkPad X1 Extreme (Gen 5).
Accompanying the new CPUs are discrete NVIDIA Laptop GPUs. New to the Gen 5 model are RTX 3070 Ti and RTX 3080 Ti options, taking the place of the previous non-Ti versions. Memory has been bumped up to DDR5-4800MHz; you can get up to 64GB available across two SODIMM slots. As for storage, both M.2 slots are now PCIe 4.0 with support for up to 8TB total from the factory.
TheX1 Extreme (Gen 4)made the jump to displays with 16:10 aspect ratio, and that’s not changing here. There is, however, one new non-touch display option for the Gen 5 model. It has a 1920x1200 (FHD+ or WUXGA) resolution, 500 nits brightness, 100% sRGB color, 165Hz refresh rate, and low blue light. You can also get the X1 Extreme (Gen 5) with a non-touch QHD+ or touch and non-touch UHD+ displays.
Dolby Visionand HDR400 are included with the two highest-res options, andDolby Atmosboosts sound quality from the top-firing speakers. New to the X1 Extreme (Gen 5) is Dolby Voice, which adds AI noise cancellation to help with live collaboration.Wi-Fi 6Eand wireless 5G connectivity are still available.
The new ThinkPad X1 Extreme (Gen 5) is expected to launch in June 2022 and should have a starting price of about $2,049.
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Cale Hunt brings to Windows Central more than eight years of experience writing about laptops, PCs, accessories, games, and beyond. If it runs Windows or in some way complements the hardware, there’s a good chance he knows about it, has written about it, or is already busy testing it.
