Thinkpad X1 Carbon VS Surface Laptop

I am debating between the Thinkpad X1 Carbon and the Surface Laptop . I can buy them for about the same price. The 3:2 screen is tempting but so is Thunderbolt 3 and being future proof. What would you buy?

Conversation 6 comments

  • Kevin Holt

    21 May, 2017 - 6:34 pm

    <p>Without a doubt , the X1 Carbon. Bigger screen , WAY nicer keyboard. On top of that 2 X USB 3 Type A ports , 2 USB C/Thunderbolt 3 ports , full sized HDMI and a MicroSD card slot. </p>

    • Kevin Holt

      21 May, 2017 - 6:59 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#118533"><em>In reply to Kevin Holt:</em></a></blockquote><p>oh FYI , the X1 is lighter , and a tiny bit thinner</p>

    • Joe Blo

      22 May, 2017 - 5:37 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#118533">In reply to Kevin Holt:</a></em></blockquote><p>Agree.</p>

    • Aritting

      22 May, 2017 - 10:07 am

      <blockquote><a href="#118533"><em>In reply to Kevin Holt:</em></a></blockquote><p>I have the new X1 Carbon gen5 and it is a greate computer for getting work done. There was one issue with the trackpad but that is now resolved. I too am interested at checking out the new surface laptop. In the near term I'm not too excited about the USB type C. Yes they are standard but it made all my square lenovo power adapters obsolete and I'm not sure if I found a usb c power connecter in the wild if it would actually work. I expect after a few years the USB C will become more important. I think if you had surface docks then you would want to stay surface because the lenovo thunderbolt dock is another $300 . </p><p>I can't find the MicroSD card slot you referenced. as far as I can tell it does not have one. EDIT: After reading the user manual I found it behind a door on the back edge. I think in some cases the 3:2 screen would be better. When I'm using the browser I do notice at my zoom resolution that some things don't quite fit. On the other hand when you watch video, or pair up a 1080p monitor it is nice have a standard resolution.</p><p><br></p><p>This replaced an X1 with the touchbar. I'm so glad that is gone and scoff at the macbook suckers that are stuck with apple's implementation of it. I think the people that buy and use these types of laptops also need a function bar. I am so glad it is back. </p>

      • Kevin Holt

        22 May, 2017 - 7:08 pm

        <blockquote><a href="#118615"><em>In reply to Aritting:</em></a></blockquote><p>Yes the MicroSD is hidden , my X1 also has the LTE built in and the SIM slot is in the same area.</p><p><br></p><p> Re: power supplies I believe the Mac-book ( I feel dirty saying this ) USB C charger will work. Seeing as Apple stores are everywhere it's fairly easy to find them. On a side note the Lenovo Thunderbolt3 dock uses the rectangular chargers still for power. Also of note as it's USB-C for power I have been able to use a normal battery backup to charge the laptop over a USB-C cable. Not ideal but hey it works .</p><p> I picked up a HP USB-C/Thunderbolt3 travel dock , which I've found to be very handy. Has 2 additional USB ports , Gig Ethernet , VGA and HDMI. Clever little thing makes my life easier.</p><p> I do use a Samsung T3 external drive using a Type c to Type C cable to get maximum speed and thats pretty impressive speed wise. </p>

  • Polycrastinator

    22 May, 2017 - 11:50 am

    <p>The XPS13, which is still my winner for best laptop format ultrabook.</p><p><br></p><p>Between those 2? I would try typing on both and see which keyboard I liked better, which is really personal preference. They're both fantastic keyboards (at least, I presume so with the Surface, given how good the keyboard on the Surface Book is).</p>

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