Thinkpad X1 Carbon Gen 4

Got a case open. Waiting for box to arrive in mail to send it back. Not my best experience with EasyServ though. The agent on the first call got my name wrong in multiple places (not the same error each time, either) and gave me the wrong case number, so I couldn't check the status through the EasyServ portal. In the past, EasyServ boxes all came and went Next-Day UPS, but it looks like I'm going to be waiting a few days on this one...

 

I think I've missed what this problem is, but I hear a lot of people talking about it. Can one tell from the configuration he ordered which type of display to expect, or do you have to wait until you get the machine and visually inspect it or check in the system info in Windows? When I ordered mine, the only option was " Display: 14.0 WQHD(2560 x 1440) IPS Non-Touch" so not sure what that means about the panel I got.

 

Really? Tech support was awesome when I called in about the issue. And I went through 2 separate laptops too. One time they sent a tech out to examine it and he was really cool, understood right away and ordered the LG screen for me. That's BS that they won't replace it. Do you have onsite warranty or no? It was only like $17 more for me to add it, highly recommend it and maybe just request a tech to come out and look at it and show him the dimming / flicker issue. If they won't resolve it just return it, you shouldn't have to put up with this.

The whole situation is just odd. In one of my earlier posts when I first got the laptop I mentioned that the Panasonic screen wasn't even a part that can be ordered. The tech came out to get my FRU and it wasn't even on the parts list, it was 00HM878 and the parts list is 00HN878 (Panasonic). Neither of those parts were able to be ordered. Because of that the only replacement QHD LCD they could order was the LG. I didn't complain...

You need to wait until you receive the laptop. When you power it on press F12 to enter whatever menu pops up, and then start the Lenovo system diagnostics. You can scroll over to the LCD and it will either say "VVX..." which is Panasonic or "LP..." which is LG.

 

Thanks for the tip. It looks like I got the Panasonic panel. Interestingly the "Manufacturer" field on that screen says "MEI," which I'd never heard of. Is that an alias of Panasonic's?

Does the PWM flicker issue affect every panel? I haven't had the laptop long enough to notice it bother me. I wonder if I should add it to the laundry list of complaints as this laptop is sent back tomorrow. Maybe they'll swap it for the LG one while they're at it.

It's a little disappointing that for the past couple years the procedure for ordering from Lenovo has been, 1. Order product, 2. Receive product, 3. Immediately open ticket to have problems resolved and ship product back :-|

 

When dealing with easy serve for repairs where do you find the case number? I think I have it but it has some letters in it so it could be the wrong code.

In terms of the display I am pretty darn sure the pmw is only on the panasonic. I only have good things to say about this display with the LG.

 

jlp0209,

Can you give me an idea of your wording when you call in? I'll give it another shot before looking into returns.

thanks!j

 

@reavy- no idea what MEI means. The PWM dimming is just the tech that this Panasonic LCD uses- it affects all of these screens. The LG QHD does not use it. Many LCDs and monitors have used PWM in the past and still do, but many are moving to "flicker free" screens which is how it should be in 2016. The bad thing about the X1C Panasonic LCD PWM is the frequency being used- it is very low. I'm not an expert at all when it comes to this, but the frequency on other laptops that use PWM is much higher and / or PWM only kicks in when the LCD brightness is at say 40% or lower. In the case of the X1C, PWM kicks in at ALL brightness settings under 100%, which is unacceptable to me. I feel your pain on QC, but now mine is flawless and it's the best laptop I've ever owned. Hopefully your case will work out.

@bittercactus- usually you should have an email with the case number, no? If you do, it usually starts with 304 or if letters, CQ...Agree about the LG display. I initially thought the Panasonic was more vibrant, and then I took some time to calibrate my LG and it is perfect. Just needed some fine tuning.

@Kotaro- I was always very polite (I assume you are too) and just told the truth. I'm sensitive to PWM flicker and it is known to cause eye fatigue with extended viewing. The display in my laptop uses PWM and I know there's another model LCD that works in my laptop that does not have this "feature." They will want to know your current FRU, I gave it to them and they couldn't verify it (because mine was not even in their system). If they make you send the laptop in, I have no idea what will happen, they will probably send it back and determine there are no issues. This is where onsite warranty really helps you, and again, I would pay the extra $15-$25 for 1 year. They wanted to send a tech out to verify the FRU and I said fine. Tech verified my FRU, called it in, part could not be ordered + I just happened to have the LG FRU handy. Done.

That is how my issue got resolved. Please post what happens with your issue, I really hope it works out for you.

 

Oh thanks dude I did have the case code. I am only bringing it in cause it's free and they said they could tighten my hinges. Chances are it's gonna arrive and they are gonna say nothing is wrong and just send it back which is cool.

In terms of the display though, just to confirm, there is zero pmw in the LG right? I always have my brightness on one hundred percent anyways even when I use it on the go. I only am without a cord for maybe max five hours of usage a day at school so I can just keep the brightness max. But ya I don't see why people complain about these displays. This is my first Lenovo so when I heard the displays are really dim I got worried but I find this display is really good which I did not expect. I am sure other manufacturers like Apple and others blow it out of the water but to me this is suprisingly good. Just my opinion though. The matte part is important too everyone else's screen in class is pretty much a mirror and I have the brightness maxed out and no reflection.

 

When I made the first call to EasyServ, the agent gave me a case number I was never able to use to look up the status on the online portal. I called and provided the case number the agent had given me, and they gave me a different case number that I've been able to use ever since. Not sure if the first case number was relevant at all or if they just looked up the real number for me using my name and the laptop serial, etc. Never got an email or anything. I would have had to call Lenovo when the return box arrived via UPS just to enable me to fill out the case paper in the box with the case number, as I wouldn't have really had it if I hadn't called before.

 

With respect to the PWM issue between the Panasonic and LG display panels, you'd have to check with a high-speed camera or a fast strobe, but I'd be really surprised if LG were using voltage-based dimming instead of ultra high speed PWM because of the trade offs between PWM and voltage dimming for LEDs. Maybe they solved that problem or figure the service life of the panel is going to be short ebough that it doesn't matter, but voltage dimming is hard on LEDs and also inefficient power-wise. Given the power constraints on a portable computer like this, it seems more likely they just use a much better switching technology compared to Panasonic. I always thought I had sensitive eyes, but the Panasonic display didn't bother me, so we'll see about it after my unit comes back and I give it some hard use over a couple weeks.

 

Quite possible, I don't know. All I do know is my screen doesn't bother me at low brightness and I don't notice any PWM flicker at any setting like the old one exhibited.

 

How can you make sure to get the LG panel when ordering?

 

It sounds like there isn't a way if you want the 1440p panel. There might be a way if you can settle for a lower resolution one. When I ordered mine, there was only one option, and it was the lottery.

 

Ended up setting up a return and ordering a new machine with 1080p screen as the 30 day period is almost over and wasnt sure how long a repair would take, even with the onsite service.

 

Shipping has been delayed. Your new estimated shipping date is 14/06/2016

 

Repeated, double sad

 

That's too bad, Nyek

I called EasyServ yesterday and got the runaround from them about how they couldn't reproduce any of the things I was complaining about. I said, "fine," and they said they'd "probably ship it back" soon. So, I started an RMA and ordered another unit with the same config. Hopefully the return experience isn't too bad. I'm not interested in paying a restocking fee on something I'm sending back for quality issues. And wouldn't you know it, the price dropped by $200 since I ordered the first one.

Also, Nyek, the new one I ordered yesterday has a shipping date of June 16 -- unusually long.

 

Tossing up on getting one of these - isn't my first choice (would prefer the X1 Yoga,, but this is about 700AU cheaper). Does anyone know if the HDMI output will do 4k at 60hz?

I've got two high res screens I would like to drive..

 

The graphics are Intel 520 baked in, so almost certainly not. You'd have to look up the detailed specs on 520 with this CPU.

 

If you look here under Graphics Specifications, I think you'll find what you're after. Looks like HDMI is limited to 24 fps.

http://ark.intel.com/products/88192?ui=BIG

 

Ahh, that's a shame. I acutally thought it'd be a limitation of an ealier version of HDMI than the 520 itself. I have a 4k monitor and a 27" 1440p I was hoping to drive with this.

 

Just got my laptop back from repairs. They really did manage to tighten the hinge. I could tell right away when opening it up that it took much more force to do it.

But ya it does seem a lot more stable and all that. Really good repair experience.

 

Yep the difference is actually huge. I think all the different laptops must have varying hinge tightness. Before when I used to hold my laptop closed it barely remained closed but now it stays clamped shut.

 

Just use the DisplayPort. It probably is an HDMI limitation, since the Intel 520 handles 4k@60hz just fine via DP.

 

Hummmm I wonder if they actually tighten the hinges, or if they replaced them .......
I don't really have a problem with my hinges, but I could do with a little more stiffness. If there's a way to easily change the hinges stiffness, I'd gladly give it a shot, just to keep the laptop firmly shut.

 

It is actually quite a big difference. I am at school right now typing on a slightly shaky surface and I think there is still some wobble, but it really does feel more sturdy. Like If I adjust the angle of the screen or have it shut and open it the resistance is a lot stronger. It used to barely stay shut. I still think it wobbles a little bit when typing though but I am pretty amazed at the difference.

 

Hello, I placed an order for the X1 carbon with the Intel Core i5-6200U Processor, WQHD, 512 GB Solid State Drive, SATA3, I will mostly be using this machine when I travel / away from the office since I have a pretty powerful desktop at the office & home. I didnt see a point in maxing it out since I will mostly do browsing, emails, word/excel, and my companies ERP software suite. I think the i5 will handle that without any problems ?
Is there an easy to upgrade it to Windows 10 pro I have a windows 7 license that I still haven't upgraded to windows 10. Any build related defects I should watch out for?

 

i5 is more than enough to handle the office basic things you mention.

X1 is compatible with Win7/10. Comes with Win10 so it´s better to use the included license. In my case I will install Win7 from scratch, suits better my requirements than Win10.

PS: Shipping date updated to 10th

 

No I meant that, I want to upgrade the Windows 10 home which will come preinstalled to Windows 10 pro since I have an extra Windows 7 pro license which is entitle to a Windows 10 pro upgrade

 

Double post

 

This is great information. I ordered the X1 with the 128 GB SATA drive, with the same plan. I was going to send it back as LENOVO told me I couldn't change the drive becuase the computer was "sealed". I guess he might have been speaking about upgrading the RAM. When you are installing/transferring the OS on the 950, do you remove the old SATA drive after the installation is complete?

 

Shipping Confirmed

Departed - Kunshan, China, Monday, 06/06/2016

 

Not sure what you're asking exactly? You can't use the stock SATA SSD in the laptop and the 950 at the same time (not sure if that's what you're asking?). While the SATA SSD is in the laptop you create the system restore image onto an external HDD. Once this is finished you remove the old SSD and insert the 950 into the X1C. Then the OS install will be from the external HDD onto the 950. All the SATA SSD is good for is to create the system restore image onto the external HDD. Once this is done there is no use for it.

 

with an m.2 enclosure it makes a great external drive

 

I'm not very intelligent in terms of technology, but what exactly does upgrading to something like the samsung 950 pro do? Would it make sense to do it now or later?

 

Ive had mine for a week, the build quality was great and the size is perfect for my needs unfortunately the 8 gb of ram was not enough so its going back on monday... I have already placed an order for the same machine but with the i7 and 16gb ram 512 sata ssd ( I really dont need the pcie drive for my needs I dont do anything that needs the super fast nvme srive ). I hope that I will be lucky and receive the LG panel as well.

 

I bet they would replace it with the LG if you sent it in for repair.

 

I got mine on Thursday and all-in-all it's really nice. I'm coming from a Sony Vaio S15 and how light it is and the battery life is awesome.

A couple questions about the trackpointer and its buttons. It took me a while to figure out that when you right or middle click that the little icon is the scrolling icon. Right clicking was laggy at best, so I downloaded the latest Ultranav driver from Lenovo and that seemed to have fixed a lot of the laggy right click issues I was having.

I still have a couple issues though. I thought I was supposed to have a Thinkpad tab in the mouse properties configuration window. I don't see that. The other issue is that if I want to use the middle button to scroll while holding down the trackpointer, it seems to not be able to decide whether I want the context menu or to scroll, so I see the outline of the context menu constantly flashing while I am scrolling.

 

Mine arrived last week. Lucky I have the good panel with no issues

 

Does anyone else notice the keyboard bending a bit? Not where the keys are but the general frame.

 

Oh okay damn now I have a new major problem. I just received my samsung 950 in the mail. I created the USB boot for windows 10. When I would turn on my carbon with the 950 pro installed, the hard drive would not be recognized and I had the error 2100. If anyone knows what to do to resolve this issue please help because I think it might be a hardware issue.

 

I recommend to follow this link: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/answers/id-2817439/install-windows-x64-sm951-drive.html

As It was a pain in the ass for me to install Win7 as MBR on the PCI-E SSD. I spent over 3 days!

Hope is useful for you. Maybe you need to add the drivers to the USB stick.

 

Did you check out my post earlier in this thread? See post #72 if not. I described in detail what steps I took to install the 950 properly. This method creates the Lenovo recovery image onto an external HDD and will set up the 950 with all the Lenovo utilities and drivers. I suppose you could do a clean install of Windows after this as well.

Another option, did you download the rapid storage / RAID driver from Lenovo onto a USB stick? That may get the system to recognize the 950 when you get to the Windows installation options. Did you update the system to the latest BIOS? I didn't need to do anything to my X1C it recognized the 950 on its own when I tried to choose an install location for Windows.

 

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I followed your steps, yes. In terms of the raid driver, I looked it up and it said:

"2: Caution: This package should not be installed if your system has PCIe SSD. Please use MS inbox driver instead."

Is the 950 pro a PCIe SSD? I might even have this driver installed and that's what is causing me the problems in the first place. Not sure.

In terms of updating the system to the latest BIOS, do I have to install the BIOS driver also onto my USB stick for the recovery?

 

Hi, everyone! I’ve decided that the ThinkPad X1 Carbon is my next computer, and I’m hoping you can help me with the configuration. I’ve read through this whole thread and have caught up on at least some of the issues you’ve gone through in the early months of the fourth generation; now I’m looking for info specific to my situation.

Here’s what I do (and need to do) with my computer: I’m a freelance editor and writer; I work for myself, at home and sometimes on the road. On an ordinary day, I’ll have a couple of big Word documents open to work on in Track Changes (a few hundred pages is standard), maybe some equally large PDFs as well, and a few windows in Firefox and/or Chrome, each with up to ten tabs open, for research as well as email both business and personal. I do sometimes edit PDFs, too, so I’m using a full version of Acrobat, not just a reader version. I also like music while I work, so iTunes is usually open, and I have a lot of music saved, which I stream to external speakers. I connect to the Internet by Wi-Fi whether I'm home or out (the router is nowhere near my desk). I don’t use Excel much (one or two documents); the only other apps I tend to have open are my offline dictionary and Toggl Desktop for tracking my work hours. But I'd like this to last a while, and who knows what the future might hold, so I want to be able to do whatever comes down the line. Windows 10 will be new to me (I use Windows 7 now), but I'll figure it out...I'll figure out the new Office, of course, too, though I'm hoping Track Changes in Word 2016 will look better than what I've seen of it in Word 2013.

Given all that, what specs would you suggest? I know I don't need the top-of-the-line screen, but I'm not sure how to decide between the 8GB vs. 16GB of memory, and between the various SSDs. What will make the biggest difference in terms of performance and multitasking?

Thanks!

 

Yes the 950 is a PCIe SSD. I didn't have to do any of that though, I didn't realize Lenovo said to not install that. My mistake.

I did some Googling (as I'm sure you have done) and if every method you try fails it could be a faulty drive.

For the BIOS update yeah just download it onto a USB thumb drive, I'm pretty sure you can just click on the exe file in Windows and it'll update. You should re-insert the SSD that came with the laptop to do it. That may just solve the issue, who knows. I'm sure it is infuriating, sorry I can't be of more help. It was honestly just plug and play for me with the 950 and worked instantly, on 3 separate X1C systems that I had. Maybe call Samsung support? I doubt Lenovo will help with this at all.

Can you still return / exchange the 950 Pro? I would just do that ASAP if you can.

 

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I can still return or exchange it. Also, in my desperation to get it working, I reset my windows and reinstalled windows 10 on my computer. Now my fingerprint scanner and my windows search is not working. Hopefully I get all these issues solved this week.

Just wasted more money trying to get this fixed. Guess I will send back the 950 pro and figure something out.

 

You can't go wrong with 16GB RAM. Most programs / applications today (unfortunately) eat into RAM like nobody's business. Since that is a part you can't upgrade later, I'd definitely recommend.

I too have a lot of word documents / tonnes of browser tabs / email client / PDF docs / a few excel sheets open. I'm currently using an X301 with 8GB of RAM that is very regularly hitting 80%+.

It might seem like overkill now, but 2 years down the road, you would be thanking you made that choice.

Regarding SSD, you can get the biggest / fastest / or a combination of both considering what you can afford. Your usage doesn't necessitate having the blazing fast PCIe SSDs, even the standard ones would be plenty fast