ThinkPad X1 Carbon (3rd Gen.) Broadwell

I would select the option "choose one scaling for all text" and set it to custom. Mine is at 180%. 170% is nice too.

 

Thanks, I'll give that a try. Do you know what would be the ideal percentage for 2560x1440? Some people on different forums are saying that a 14 inch laptop with a 2560x1440 resolution should use 150-160% or something.

 

I always run in native resolution so 165%-180% was my sweet spot.

 

Today I learned a valuable lesson. The X1 Carbon is so light weight, and it's exterior is very slippery. I was being careless when I picked it up and it went flying out of my hands and hit the ground rather hard. It was horrifying. Luckily there is only a minor ding and scratch on one corner and everything seems to be working still.

Be careful!

 

Yes, it would be nice if the ThinkPads still had the peachskin finish that was easier to hold onto.

 

My first x1 (that was returned)
Ordered 1/15 -> received 1/26

My second x1 (somewhere in between I received the 30 day delay notice but it shipped right after that)
Ordered 1/21 -> received 2/5

 

Did you guys do a fresh install of Win 8.1? Is it worth it? It seems like the pre-installed Win 8.1 that comes with the laptop is bloated as hell.

 

I did a fresh install of 8.1. It is super easy, you can download the instal image from any win 8 or 8.1 computer and then you don't even have to enter a key due to the way UEFI work.

I'd say it is very much worth it to have a clean system without the bloatware.

I also installed Linux on a separate partition. Linux makes this thing really purr, and win7 even runs well on in VM.

 

So once I download the ISO image for Win 8.1, do I have to make my USB bootable so I can install it?

 

http://wudt.codeplex.com/

 

What about the drivers? Should I just use lenovo's system update software to find the drivers after the installation?

 

I had to manually download the network drivers from the lenovo site and copy them with a usb stick to my new x1 system, after that I used windows update and lenovo system update to install the remaining drivers. System update did not give me all of the drivers that were on the lenovo download page, so some of them I also manually downloaded and installed. But at the end it all worked very well.

 

I cannot use Windows 8.1 for the life of me, I'm so used to Win 7. Are there people that have installed Windows 7 on this laptop? If so, are there any drivers and do they fully work? I can't stand Win 8.1.

 

I've put win7 x64 on it and it's fine. You might have to manually go find the touchpad driver but it's all good.

 

One weird thing you lose having to turn on CSM is the ability for the backlight to smoothly transition between brightness levels. But other than that, been running 7 primarily on it since I received it, and no interoperability issues whatsoever.​

 

I just got my 3rd gen X1 Carbon and the display is flat out horrible. Terrible viewing angles, you move your head up an inch and suddenly half the screen is unreadable if it has a dark background. The display is an AUO display, and it makes working on it near impossible unless you sit completely still the entire time. Definitely going to have to return it or get a replacement.

 

I assume you chose an X1 Carbon with the FHD TN display?

 

So just chased Lenovo regarding my order which was placed on 29/01/15 and now been told that shipping date is 04/03/2015 urgh, as least they offered 5% discount.

 

There are lots of ways to make Windows 8.x work like Windows 7. I use Start8 from Stardock. See http://www.stardock.com/products/start8/

 

Anyone here using three or more external LCD panels with their X1 Carbon? Any caveats? I've been using three on my desk for quite a long time but moving to the T450S or the X1 Carbon is going to force a dock change and I am trying to decide if the X1 Carbon will really work for me.

 

Would the USB ports still work if I disabled the "Always-On USB 3.0" option in the BIOS? I never actually charge my phone off of my laptop and I want to make the battery of the laptop last as long as possible.

 

Yeah, FHD display.

The colors are WAY off and is headache inducing. They're sending someone next week to come and replace the screen so hopefully that'll fix it. I can't recommend the on site service warranty enough. So glad I got it in this case.

 

Yes, I've noticed that by turning that setting off I get better life while in sleep mode on my T540P, so I just disable it now on everything as I don't need it either.

 

After returning my initial X1, I repurchased a pre-configured model with the Samsung 512GB SSD and touchscreen 1440p panel. Out of the box, the color calibration is horrendous; way too warm. After playing around with the Intel color calibrator, I got things configured nicely while preserving gamma/brightness. It has some backlight bleed around the bottom edge and right corner looks yellowish on boot-up, but in actual use (even at 100% brightness) it's not noticeable unless you really look for it. I have to say I'm pretty happy with this second unit.

 

Greetings,

I'd appreciate if a X1C3 owner can confirm the following?

1. Does the 128GB SATA SSD - connects through an internal sata port like good old fashion 2.5" drive or it's actually m.2 sata?
   
2. And if it's connects through sata then is the m.2 2280 slot is available for future upgrade?

I'm assuming the m.2 2280 slot support both SATA and PCIe ssds

Thanks

 

Yes, the shipping drive is a 128GB SATA-based SSD in the m2 form factor. It is what occupies the 2280 slot presently. The only upgrade path you have from that is to go for a PCIe-based drive that uses the same port, but is wired to run over PCI Express instead of SATA--or something like that. All I know is I installed an XP941 256GB drive in the slot and now it pulls read speeds in excess of 1GB/sec...

 

OMG...that is fantastic news! I suppose I can either upgrade to another m.2 SATA ssd of higher capacity or PCIe M.2 SM951 or XP941

Cheers!

 

Same thing happened to me .. was half way through taking the screws out and noticed the 'paper-clip' style hole on the bottom. Retrieved a paper-clip, pressed the button, and back-in-action!!

So no need to pull your machine apart.

 

Hi Everyone, just got my X1 and have a few issues im not sure if anyone is getting so wanted to hear your thoughts...

1- Got the FHD display and have to say that coming from an ATIV 9 its horrible, the viewing angles and really bad, can't do much about that now right? If I new this I would have gottent he IPS...
2- The touchpoint scroll is perfect when you start scrolling but then it starts jumping if you keep it pressed, don't know if this might be a driver issue?
3- When I connect to 2.4ghz WIFI networks, my speed is maxed out at 15mbs, when connected to the same router on the 5ghz WIFI network speeds are fine, its like for 2.4ghz it doesn't use N.

Any comments are appreciated

 

1. That's why I only buy IPS displays, otherwise it's random luck as to screen quality and knowing lenovo specifically I would never buy a non IPS display from them. Their machines are made for large corporations who generally don't care too much about the quality of display they provide to their employees (just my guess).

2. Maybe just a driver or setting issue. I would give it some time for bug fixes and updates to roll out for it.

3. That seems like a fast 2.4 speed to me. It may differ based on whether you are plugged in or not depending upon your power profile settings for wireless.

 

Thanks for the answer, im actually returning it and getting the IPS display, do you think the improvement will be worth the hassle? BTW.... the IPS non touch one is non glossy too right? How would the comparison be between the two (TN and IPS non touch) in outdoor bright situations??

Thanks

 

Same scroll issue here. After some lines it starts scrolling screens at the time. I fixed it through the lenovo settings app, mouse properties there. Could not find it in the regular mouse settings. The app is in a update loop now so I can't find it, but check in there.

Wifi 2.4Ghz seems good here. (But 5GHz is way better)
I love the IPS Display, and how bloody fast it charges the battery.

 

Anybody know how to disable the beeping sound that occurs right when you enter the bios? I went into 'Config" in the bios and disabled it there but it's still making that beeping sound right as you enter the bios. It's just so annoying hearing it every time you go into the bios.

 

How often are you in the bios screen?

 

Very rarely but I just get annoyed hearing it. I disabled it in my old T400 and I don't hear it anymore but for some reason I keep hearing it in the X1C.

 

I too would like to confirm this, I have purchased the OneLink Pro dock, hoping to use the MiniDP on the laptop along with the two outputs on the dock!
Shipping date keeps moving forward... ordered 3 Feb, estimated ship date has moved three times - now 13 March...
Apparently supply-chain issues with the 512 SSD.

 

That delay is worrying, I ordered mine on the 29th of Jan after the delay it's supposed to ship tomorrow,

 

Got my x1 carbon 3rd gen two days ago. overall satisfied. Would like to share a few thoughts.

Configurations: i5-5300, 8g, 128 SSD. QHD display with non-touch.

Pros:
Solid.
Light weight.
Keyboard is comfortable.
Fast. Although i only ordered the basic 128 SSD, not the PCIe, I feel it's fast enough for my daily office work and entertainment (no games).

Cons:
The screen, is indeed less brighter. The color needs to be calibrated. The original color was more yellowish.
Suffered with the high resolution. some softwares look bad.
Speaker: average
Touthpad: average. sometimes it is not as smooth as it should be, some times jumps.
Fan: when it starts to work, the noise is absolutely noticeable (in a very quiet room). If you are in a large office, you won't hear anything.

However, i'm still satisfied overall, except the QUALITY CONTROL!
The "down" key button of my keyboard has a problem. Whenever I press it, it gives a weird noise, like bending a brittle plastic... all the other keys are quiet and fine, EXCEPT this "down" key. Honestly, I don't use that key a lot, that's why I only noticed this weird noise two days after I receive the device. It is quite annoying.

I'm going to call customer service tomorrow. I believe this is a quality issue and I expect an exchange for free.

Does anyone have similar issue? How does the customer service and returning work ?

 

I have had a couple of thinkpads that have had this brittle plastic-bending feel/sound. It has disappeared after some days use. So give it a couple of days.

I agree on the color calibration, but I have absolutely no idea on how to do it..

 

Just to double check since the complaint has been everywhere, did you turn off the adaptive brightness?

 

yes, but i only found that option under "power plan" setting in control panel. I turned off the adaptive brightness for both battery and plugin conditions.

some people said there is also something need to be changed, under graphic card setting, in order to completely turn off adaptive brightness. however i did not find that option in the graphic card setting...

do you guys have any suggestions?

 

hi, the calibration of color can be performed under "color management" in control panel. i did it, and the colors are more "correct" now.

 

Right click on the desktop - click on the Intel driver menu - there, go, into the energy section.

In the energy section, you have to click on the drop-down menu - select battery, and then disable the adaptive brightness:

 

I'm having issues with my touchpad cursor jumping/skipping when moving it slowly. When I try to move my cursor just a little bit, it will make a big jump/skip and it's really irritating. It doesn't happen if you move it fast like you normally would when browsing the internet.

I'm a photoshop artist and I have to zoom in on pictures to fix little details and that requires very little mouse movement but with the cursor jumping/skipping, it's almost impossible. Any suggestions?

 

Unless you are willing to move to a Mac and their industry leading glass trackpad, you probably need to use a mouse. It's a shame Lenovo still doesn't have a comparable trackpad.

 

I don't have this issue on my old T400. Could it be a software or hardware issue?

 

Ok, I'll give that one to you. The T400 trackpad was pretty darn good. But not since and the T400 is ancient news now...

 

Which Intel core do you choose i7 or i5 , why?

 

On the X1 Carbon Gen 3? For me it would be the i5-5300U. I would not be using the machine for video encoding so there is no need for a higher priced CPU.

 

I've seen a number of negative comments about the display and am trying to decide which of the non-touch options to order. I would greatly appreciate insights from those who've seen the FHD and/or the non-touch QHD. I'm used to running at a native 1440 x 900 (on a T410s), so both are higher than I'm accustomed to. Does the scaling work well, or will I lose quality if I try to run the QHD at a more readable scale? Assuming that I won't actually need the extra pixels of QHD, is there an advantage beyond IPS? Is one brighter? Will the QHD drain the battery much faster? Re the IPS, how bad is the off-angle viewing in the FHD? Thanks!