Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 5 vs. Dell XPS 15 - Digital Trends

The ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 5 and the Dell XPS 15 beryllium astatine the apical of our database of best 15-inch laptops for respective reasons. They’re some incredibly well-built and fast, and they connection outstanding large-format displays.

But they’re not identical. In fact, they’re rather different, with the XPS 15 aimed astatine being a much portable 15-inch laptop and the ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 5 serving arsenic the astir almighty mainstream ThinkPad. Check retired our examination to spot which 1 is close for you.

Specs and configurations

Design

The ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 5 is built for performance, but that doesn’t mean it’s thicker oregon heavier than the XPS 15, which is built to beryllium a highly premium 15-inch ultrabook. In fact, the ThinkPad is thinner astatine 0.70 inches versus 0.73 inches and lighter astatine 4.14 pounds versus 4.62 pounds. It’s an inch deeper acknowledgment to a somewhat larger show and thicker show bezels.

The ThinkPad differs successful its thermal design, which is much aggressively tuned to support airflow maximized and vigor down, and successful its easiness of expansion, including dual SSD slots. It’s besides constructed of aluminum successful the bottommost chassis and c fibre successful the lid, contributing to its airy weight. The XPS 15 has an aluminum chassis and lid and c oregon solid fibre connected the keyboard deck. It’s a denser laptop, but some machines are incredibly rigid and exude durability. The hinge connected some is creaseless and confident.

Aesthetically, the ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 5 maintains the iconic black-on-black colour strategy with reddish accents, and the high-end show offers a c weave connected the lid. It’s a bolder look than the streamlined metallic chassis of the XPS 15 with either achromatic oregon achromatic keyboard deck. The XPS 15 looks much modern, but if you’re a instrumentality of the ThinkPad aesthetic, past you’ll emotion the X1 Extreme Gen 5.

Both laptops person fantabulous keyboards with plentifulness of travel, precise, snappy switches, and comfy bottoming actions. The ThinkPad’s keycaps are somewhat larger and much sculpted, but the XPS 15 has amended cardinal spacing. Either way, you’ll emotion typing connected some machines. The ThinkPad includes the accustomed TrackPoint nubbin successful the mediate of the keyboard, and its 2 buttons instrumentality abstraction distant from the comparatively tiny touchpad. The XPS 15’s touchpad, connected the different hand, is immense for a Windows instrumentality and a amended wide experience. Both laptops connection interaction displays arsenic an option.

The ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 5 is overmuch stronger successful connectivity, with a coagulated premix of Thunderbolt 4 and bequest ports. Both laptops enactment the latest wireless connectivity, but the ThinkPad besides has optional 5G WWAN enactment for always-connected internet.

Finally, the ThinkPad besides sports a 1080p webcam that’s overmuch amended than the XPS 15’s old-school 720p version. Both laptops person infrared cameras for Windows 11 Hello facial designation on with fingerprint readers. The ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 5 offers amended wide information and manageability for enterprises acknowledgment to its vPro processor support.

Performance

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We reviewed the ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 5 with the 45-watt Core i7-12800H CPU with 14 cores (six Performance and 8 Efficient) and 20 threads, on with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti GPU. The XPS 15 we reviewed was equipped with a Core i7-12700H, a somewhat slower-clocked mentation of the aforesaid processor, and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti.

The ThinkPad was faster successful astir of our benchmarks, with the XPS 15 holding its ain successful our Handbrake trial erstwhile acceptable successful show mode. We noticed that Lenovo ramped up the GPU successful the ThinkPad’s show mode, which is reflected successful some the Pugetbench Premiere Pro benchmark that uses the GPU to velocity up definite operations successful Adobe’s exertion and the 3DMark Time Spy test. Both laptops are precise accelerated for productivity tasks and tin grip originative processes arsenic well, but the ThinkPad is importantly faster.

The ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 5 tin beryllium configured with up to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti GPU, making it a overmuch faster gaming laptop. The XPS 15 is good with its RTX 3050 Ti, but the ThinkPad has overmuch much headroom if gaming is important to you.

Display

Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

We tested some laptops with their UHD+ IPS displays, and some produced fantabulous results erstwhile tested with our colorimeter. They’re bright, bask fantabulous opposition for IPS displays, and person wide and close colors. They whitethorn not person the inky blacks of OLED panels (although Dell offers that arsenic an option), but they’re some spectacular displays for creators. They’re besides large for productivity users and media consumers, the second acknowledgment to Dolby Vision precocious dynamic scope (HDR) enactment that makes streaming high-res video a treat.

Portability

Mark Coppock/Digital Trends

These are some ample laptops that instrumentality up immoderate abstraction successful a backpack, and neither is peculiarly light. The ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 5 is simply a spot lighter and thinner, though, portion being a spot deeper.

The ThinkPad besides has a larger battery, and it saw somewhat amended artillery beingness successful our suite of tests. Given the powerfulness wrong these laptops, though, neither is going to past a afloat day’s enactment doing immoderate benignant of demanding tasks. And some person larger powerfulness bricks that are a spot of a hassle to transportation around.

Conclusion

Sometimes, you request to see however good a laptop meets its plan criteria alternatively than however it straight matches up against different machine. The Dell XPS 15 is little costly than the ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 5 but besides can’t beryllium configured with the aforesaid high-performance components.

But it’s amended astatine being a bladed and airy 15-inch instrumentality overall, with a cohesive plan and operation that elevates it supra the ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 5. If you’re looking for the astir power, though, Lenovo’s laptop wins out.

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