Computer Shopper - UK (2020-01)

ISSUE383|COMPUTERSHOPPER|JANUARY2020

SPECIFICATIONS

Windowsoverall

Multitasking

Batterylife

0% -50 Reference + 50 + 100

See page 84 forperformancedetails

PROCESSORQuad-core 1.7GHz Intel Core i7-8565U•

RAM16GB•DIMENSIONS218x323x15mm•WEIGHT1.34kg•

SCREENSIZE14in•SCREENRESOLUTION3,840x2,160•

GRAPHICSADAPTORIntelUHD Graphics620•TOTAL

STORAGE512GBSSD•OPERATINGSYSTEMWindows 10 Pro•

WARRANTYOneyearRTB•DETAILSwww.lenovo.com•

PARTCODE20QF00ADUK

65

51

4h47m

its main weaknessisahyper-glossy finish that’s
mmmore than alittle tooreflective.That’seven with
thhhehighpeakbrightness of 440cd/m^2.
The contrastratio also hitsavivid 1,208:1,and
thhhe97.9% sRGBcolour gamut coverage further
heeelpswithboldness and punchiness.Ifanything,
it’’’salmost toovivid: average delta-E comes in at
3.41, so it’sfine forwatching videos, but serious
mediaeditors will findittoo inaccurate.
The annualCPU upgradetakes the form of
Intel’sCore i7-8565U. However,don’t expect to
see amajor improvement over last year’s Core
i7-8550U model: in our4Kbenchmarks,the new

ThinkPad Yoga X1 scored 65 overall,just a
handfulofpoints over the preceding model’s 59.
Thermalthrottling seems to have ahand in this,
as we recorded core temperaturesupto99°C
(the CPU’ssafelimitis100°C).
The chassis also gets fartoo hot. Using an IR
digital thermometer,werecordedhighs of 53°C
underneath the baseand 45°C on thetop row of
the keyboard,and whenit’s that toasty you really
don’t want it directlyonyour lap.
The ThinkPadX1Yoga isn’t up to much for
gaming,asitrelies on its CPU’s integrated Intel
UHD620 Graphics, but lightweighttitles willrun
passably.Inthe Dirt Showdown 720p benchmark,
running on High settings, it managed to crank out
36fps, close to double that of its predecessor.
Professional laptops need to open and save files
at speed, andherethe X1 Yoga excels. Its 512GB
NVMe PCI-ESSD ploughed through theASSSD
storageperformance test,clocking sequential file
read speedsof2,899MB/s and sequential write
speeds of 2,273MB/s. Thoseare outstanding
numbers,even by ThinkPad standards.
Alas,atthe final hurdle the X1 Yoga fallsflat
on itsface.Inour standardisedvideo playback
battery test,itlastedfor ameagre4h47m.That
means it won’t make it through afull working day,

even if you turn the brightnessright down and

arefrugalwithwirelessfunctionality. The 4K

display is clearlyabig drain on the 51Whbattery,

as last year’s ThinkPadX1Yoga lasted forover six

hours with its 2,560x1,440 display.

REMIXED UP

Shortstamina aside,the ThinkPad X1 Yoga is a

classy convertible thatperforms reasonably well,

albeit farfrom exceptionally.Bewarned, however,

it’s alsoabout as incremental an upgrade as it’s

possibletoimagine foralaptop,and notevery

changeeven hasawhollypositive effect.

Likethe 2018 model,thisversionhas thermal

issuesthat hamper performance and make it

uncomfortabletouse on the lap.That 4K display

is adrain on battery life, it isn’t colour-accurate

andits new glossy finish only serves to distract.

If youreally wantaflippyLenovo laptop,itwould

be more sensible to go foreitherlast year’s

ThinkPadX1Yoga or the ThinkPad X1 Carbon

(Shopper370) instead.They’rebothnotably

cheaper,and willperform broadly as well.

TomBruce

Short stamina aside,the ThinkPad X1 Yoga is aclassy

convertible thatperforms reasonably well