[Thinkpad X1 Extreme Gen 2] vs [Macbook Air + 17" Gaming Laptop]

[TomOSeven]

Hi all,

which one would you go for?

I can either get an X1 Extreme (god I love their keyboards) or a Macbook Air (2019 base model with 256 GB SSD) plus a 1k 17" gaming laptop from Dell (GTX 1660 ti) for roughly the same price.

I'm torn between those because I often use my laptop on the go, and the portability of the Macbook Air would be a big asset in that case. At home, I would mostly use the gaming laptop, mostly plugged in. I don't even game all that much (apart from WoW Classic, which isn't a demanding game), so the 1650 in the Thinkpad would be fine, but for development purposes it would help to have the larger screen.

The prices are about the same:

[1150 for the Macbook Air, 1050 for the Dell] vs [2050 for the X1 Extreme].

The X1 Extreme is "discounted" right now, meaning the same base price but upgraded to 2x 1TB SSD, 32 GB RAM.

Like anyone outside of the die hard fans on Macrumors, I'm mainly worried about the Macbook Air's keyboard. The 2019 version supposedly changed things around a bit, but I'm far from confident in those claims.

Which option would you go for?

 

[maflynn]

I can't answer what you get, but it seems to me, dealing with two laptops may not be worth the hassle of
You really don't provide much details about the gaming laptop, its for a thousand dollars, but what's it running, storage, the display details, etc etc. sounds like maybe a low end machine.

I don't even game all that much

Why bother with the gaming machine, and if its 1,000 is it a low end machine that you may come to regret.

Overall, what is your usage, you mentioned a couple of games, but what other apps will you be using or needing?

You are correct with the keyboard, its a flawed design and while you have the repair program, you still have to deal with the T2 chip crashing and if you decide to hang on to the laptop for more then 4 years, you'll have to pay for the keyboard repairs.

If you want a mac, see what apple will be releasing (presumably today) with regard to the 16" MBP.

I have the original X1E, and its a fantastic machine, I have no regrets, but if you're wanting to remain in the apple ecosystem, then just wait it out, apple is rumored to be going back to the scissors based keyboard.

Side note: I'm looking for a new monitor, and in doing my reviews, I see many Amazon reviews by people saying that this monitor or that monitor does not work well with the mac for various reasons. I'm pointing this out, in that there is hardware compatibility to consider. It may not really be a major headache or an issue, but its something that I noticed and may not have anything to do with you but keep it in mind, i.e., hardware compatibility with some devices.

 

[LeeW]

I can either get an X1 Extreme (god I love their keyboards) or a Macbook Air (2019 base model with 256 GB SSD) plus a 1k 17" gaming laptop from Dell (GTX 1660 ti) for roughly the same price.

An alternative solution, why not go for the MBA and instead of a gaming laptop build yourself a compact gaming PC for at home, best of both worlds and your PC which could be built for less than the cost of the Dell and allow for future upgrades when needed and be way more competent for gaming and anything else.

WoW Classic may not be that demanding but it is CPU intensive and who wouldn't want to play on max settings

 

[TomOSeven]

Overall, what is your usage, you mentioned a couple of games, but what other apps will you be using or needing?

I am a software developer by day and data science student by night. A 1660ti is more than enough for the 1080p screen and I do like some AAA games (like DOOM and Dark Souls), but I wouldn't buy a machine JUST for gaming.

I'm also a hobbyist game developer, making 2d games with Godot and Aseprite, nothing demanding. But a larger screen is always welcome.

instead of a gaming laptop build yourself a compact gaming PC for at home

I'd really love to, I'm a huge SFF geek. But I can't afford the space. I move around so much that an external keyboard and external monitor just aren't feasible to own. It's gotten to the point where I appreciate every cable, flash drive and external HDD I can save a bonus.

Even a 24" external screen with an 8l desktop would be too much.

If you want a mac, see what apple will be releasing (presumably today) with regard to the 16" MBP.

I mean, I don't NEED a Mac, but it would be nice to at least have the option to publish to the iOS app store at some point. And I can't think of a better tiny laptop when one already has a thick Windows laptop at home. And I'm not invested in the eco system, really.

I just have an iPad (that would essentially be replaced by the Macbook), no iPhone.

 

[SteveJUAE]

Why not opt for a mid range Razer Blade 15" eg RTX2060 model as a dual use laptop, that is also up-gradable etc

The MBA is too much potential to be a lemon and if they revamp the KB in the next 6 months you will regret it

BTW my little GO plays WOW Classic

 

[TomOSeven]

I'd much rather have the Thinkpad than the Razer Blade, even though the latter has the better GPU.

 

[maflynn]

I'd much rather have the Thinkpad than the Razer Blade, even though the latter has the better GPU.

I like Razers, and I would also recommend that set up. The keyboard isn't as good as the thinkpad, but its not a bad keyboard in its own right.

The more powerful GPU means that you'll have power to spare for the games. Granted that power comes at a cost of heat/fan noise.

There's pros and cons to every decision and one major con, is the price of the razer. Its not cheap, where as the X1E, is more budget friendly.

 

[maflynn]

Now that Apple released the 16" model, does that alter the equation for you OP?

 

[TomOSeven]

I didn't even consider that until now, because two things caught me off guard:

1. I expected them to introduce it as a new category with an increased price tag
2. I did not expect them to raise the base storage.

Now this looks like a very attractive laptop...

 

[maflynn]

Now this looks like a very attractive laptop

The base model with a 1TB of storage is like 2,400 which isn't bad. I think its a refinement of the 2019 MBP (15") and its a real nice machine. I'm quasi tempted myself, but for me the T2 is not a welcome component, and windows is a better solution. I'm not saying I won't buy a new 16" MBP, but the level of justification for me to spend 2,400+ isn't there

 

[TomOSeven]

If I liked Windows, I wouldn't consider getting it.

The X1 Extreme still looks a bit more compelling to me. Probably still nicer keyboard, matte screen, a lot cheaper, two m.2 drives, twice the RAM, 4 times the storage....

Of course the screen, trackpad and speakers will be worse.

 

[Queen6]

I now re-roll gaming notebooks to workstations as they are designed to deal with heavy workloads and generally have adequate cooling systems to prevent excessive throttling.

8th Gen 8750H 3.9GHz as long as you need, cracking 3K on R20...

Holding out for 10th Gen CPU and RTX GPU. I opt for an ultraportable and a heavy-lifter as neither can do what the other excels at.

Given up on Apple, waste of time their notebooks are woefully inadequate in the professional realm. Been an exodus since the 2016 MBP was released with no rational alternative. TBH better to deal with W10 than Apple's inadequacies and that's saying something after decades on the Mac....

Q-6

 

[c0ppo]

I have no idea what you do as data scientist, but as a Godot developer, X1E is great. Godot is developed under Linux environment, and under Linux it really shines.

Funny thing is, thinkpads are great for Linux. I own X1E 1st Gen, and my coworker just bought 2nd Gen. 2nd Gen has way better thermals, and produces less noise.

Great Linux machine if you're into Linux. As far as windows goes, if you like windows, there are really a ton of options out there.

New MBP is intriguing, but I will pass on gen1 product from Apple. My own plan is to stick with what I have until Intel releases 10nm CPU. No point in wasting money for almost no gains.

 

[maflynn]

New MBP is intriguing, but I will pass on gen1 product from Apple. My own plan is to stick with what I have until Intel releases 10nm CPU. No point in wasting money for almost no gains.

Its intriguing, but apart from getting caught up in the RDF, I don't see much of an advantage - at least for my needs. You also mention being a gen 1 product and I agree. While seeing apple return to the scissors-type keyboard, its a new keyboard using that mechanism. Given their track record - I think it may be wise to hold off.

 

[c0ppo]

Its intriguing, but apart from getting caught up in the RDF, I don't see much of an advantage - at least for my needs. You also mention being a gen 1 product and I agree. While seeing apple return to the scissors-type keyboard, its a new keyboard using that mechanism. Given their track record - I think it may be wise to hold off.

I believe that the keyboard won't have issues. And they are finally offering some value for such a high price.

But T2 chip is still there (even though I had no issues with it at all, lot of people did), gimmicky touchbar is still there, as are just usbc ports.

But thermals and everything else seems great. Come 2021 and I will see if I will switch back to Apple. At the moment, I wouldn't trade my X1E for new MBP 16. This thing is Rock solid, and for my use case, it's the best laptop I have ever owned. Right beside MBP 17 late 2011.

 

[mijoob]

Hello,

currently i have an mbp 15" (mid2015) for photo editing (i´m a photographer) but it had some performance issues lately (i have an i7 quadcore, 16gb ram, 1tb ssd, onboard graphics). so i wanted to get a new laptop with higher performance but the mbp´s were too pricey and the lack of ports is a real shame.
so i ordered a X1E gen2 2 weeks ago (i7 - 6core, 64gb ram, 2x1tb ssd, 4k oled) but lenovo seems to have delivering issues. i have to wait until early december to get this thingy.
now the 16" mbp out (with still no better ports situation) and the screen looks really interesting.
i didn´t even try the x1E but i´m not sure about switching to win10 anyways.... i had my last pc 14years ago.
so what would you guys recommend?
the configuration of the 16" mbp would be the 2,3ghz i9, 32gb ram, radeon pro 8gb, 2tb ssd or the before mentioned thinkad x1e.
i use the computer mostly for photoshop cc, capture one pro and office tasks.
the mbp would be 3500€ before tax, the x1e 2500€ net.
can you recommend the switch to win10 or would you advise to stay with mac OS and pay that 1000€ extra?
i really like the ports and the rugged build (and already hate the mbp port situation and dongle- carrying- around) of the x1e but
i´m not sure if win10 will make me happy. i still can cancel the order of the lenovo and go with the new mbp.
thank you for your help,

best m

 

[c0ppo]

can you recommend the switch to win10 or would you advise to stay with mac OS and pay that 1000€ extra?

X1E is a great machine. Really great. But at the end, it boils down to win vs macos.
The best way for you to see if windows will be ok for you, is to use bootcamp.

Just install windows on your current mbp, and try to use it for 2 weeks at least. Not 2 days, 2 weeks at least. And don't use MacOS for those two weeks as well. Just windows.

That's the only way for you to know for sure if you will like X1E or not. Nobody can answer that question for you I'm afraid. Only you can

 

[mijoob]

ah okay that´s a really good hint... didn´t think about that option yet and i do still have enough time before the lenovo x1e arrives.
if the bootcamp installation doesn´t work due to
technical issues (i really don´t know much about it yet but i will look how to deal with it) i can still test the x1e for 2 weeks and send
it back if it doesn´t work at all for me.
i also heard that in theory, it´s possible to install mac os on designated configurations of the x1e but i couldn´t find out yet if it´s possible on the version i ordered.
that would be the best option for me but i´m not sure if my machine matches the requirements as mentioned before.

so thank you very much for your help.
do you have an x1e? and if, is it the 1st or the 2nd gen?

 

[c0ppo]

do you have an x1e? and if, is it the 1st or the 2nd gen?

1st gen.
Great device. Excellent build quality, great port selection, and probably the best keyboard on any laptop (personal preference).

But I don't like Windows. At all. I'm running popOS(linux), but that is not an option for you since you use adobe.

 

[Frankied22]

I am really tempted to get a X1E and try to switch from my 2015 13" MBP but I can't go back to 1080p on a after owning this retina. It is crazy how much more expensive these windows laptops get when you want to go above 1080p. I want that thinkpad keyboard so bad tho.

 

[c0ppo]

I am really tempted to get a X1E and try to switch from my 2015 13" MBP but I can't go back to 1080p on a after owning this retina. It is crazy how much more expensive these windows laptops get when you want to go above 1080p. I want that thinkpad keyboard so bad tho.

As I see it,lenovo has discounts often. Just wait for one of those

 

[TomOSeven]

Funny thing is, thinkpads are great for Linux. I own X1E 1st Gen, and my coworker just bought 2nd Gen. 2nd Gen has way better thermals, and produces less noise.

Man this is hard.

If I could have only once computer, it would definitely be the X1E.

But I'm wondering if it's not smarter to have two, on for backpack and one for the desk.

 

[maflynn]

But I'm wondering if it's not smarter to have two, on for backpack and one for the desk.

I think you're over thinking things, just get one computer and live with that. Why over complicate things

 

[TomOSeven]

Because I take my laptop whereever I go.

 

[maflynn]

Because I take my laptop whereever I go.

And buy one laptop to take where ever you go.