On September 20, Lenovo officially launched two high-performance mobile workstations, the ThinkPad X1 Extreme and ThinkPad P1.
The ThinkPad X1 Extreme features an 8th-generation Intel Core i7 standard-voltage processor and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti graphics card.
This laptop supports up to 64GB of dual-channel memory and high-speed PCIe NVMe M.2 SSDs. Compared to the ThinkPad X1 Carbon, this laptop is more focused on performance and efficiency.
The laptop body is made of aerospace-grade carbon fiber, keeping the weight at 1.7 kg. To accommodate diverse work scenarios, the ThinkPad X1 features a wide range of ports and supports fast charging.
In this guide, I will remove the bottom cover to access the battery, M.2 SSD, RAM, CMOS battery, cooling fan, heatsink, hard drive, Wi-Fi card, and motherboard.
First, we need to remove all the screws that secure the bottom cover, then slowly remove it. After removing the bottom cover, you can access its internal components, including the battery, RAM, M.2 SSD, CMOS battery, Wi-Fi card, speakers, heatsink, cooling fan, and motherboard.
On the right, there are two M.2 2280 SSD slots. In my case, it only comes with a Samsung MZVLB512HAJQ-000L7 PM981 PCIe SSD and supports the NVMe protocol.
Below the cooling system, there are two memory slots, both covered with black thermal pads. This laptop has only 16GB of DDR4 2666MHz memory. According to official information, it supports up to 64GB of memory.
At the bottom, there is a 15.36V, 80Wh, 5235mAh lithium battery. The Lenovo part number is L17C4P72, and the FRU number is 01AY969. Above the battery is a CMOS battery with FRU number 04X0443.
The Wi-Fi card is on the left side of the body. In my case, it comes with an Intel Wireless-AC 9560 adapter that supports 2×2 802.11ac and Bluetooth 5.0.
The upper part of the chassis is the cooling system, which consists of dual fans and double copper tubes. It covers the Intel Core i7 8750H processor and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q graphics card.
As a high-end product, the ThinkPad X1 Extreme uses metal plates to reinforce all important ports, which is common among high-end laptops.
We used AS SSD software to test the M.2 SSD. It has a read speed of 2371M/S, a write speed of 1857M/S, and a composite score of 4488.
The keyboard for the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme is now available in our parts store.
Hi, David,
Is there a lock or trick to removing the bottom case on the X1 Extreme like you did?
I unscrewed the 7 screws completely, but couldn’t remove them from their holes.
I tried to gently find a way to remove the case with the screws just resting in the holes, but the bottom case seemed solid.
What am I missing?
Thanks for any help!
You can insert a plastic piece under the bottom case and slide it slowly to open the bottom case.
I bought the 16GB option yesterday. There’s only one stick in it, correct? If so, what brand is it? Can you recommend a 16GB memory stick to add? Then!
Theoretically, any brand of memory is okay, but it should be DDR4 2666MHz. However, the memory often has compatibility issues, so you’d better buy the same brand as your original memory.
Is 260-pin DDR4 2666MHz what I’ll need?
yes
Hi
Can I add 2 SSD drives, and do they have to be identical?
Thanks
Yes, you can add two SSDs, and they don’t need to be exactly the same.
Hello, I want to expand the storage on my X1 Extreme. Should I buy NVMe PCIe Gen 3.0 x 2 or NVMe PCIe Gen 3.0 x 4?
I am not sure if the free M.2 slot supports PCIe 3.0 x 4 NVMe SSD. You can contact Lenovo to confirm.
I am not sure if the free M.2 slot supports PCIe 3.0 x 4 NVMe SSD. You can contact Lenovo to confirm.
Hi,
Is it possible to upgrade the Graphics card later on? The only thing that misses this laptop is a real GPU for my line of work 🙂
Thanks
Its graphics chip is soldered to the motherboard, so it cannot be upgraded.
Hi, my friend bought an X1 Extreme with an FHD screen for me. Is it possible to upgrade the screen to 4K?
Thank you.
Is it possible to upgrade the FHD screen to 4K?
Thanks
I guess that’s not possible because your LCD screen cable doesn’t support a 4K screen.
Hello! David,
I am hoping to upgrade my X1 Extreme’s SSD in the future, but I have some concerns:
I chose the X1 Extreme with the 256GB M.2 2280 SATA 3 OPAL SSD. Does this impose any limitations on future upgrades? If so, what limitations should I consider? (i.e., I will not be able to upgrade to a PCIe NVMe drive eventually)
Is it possible to add a second internal SSD to the same laptop, or is it physically impossible?
I would be grateful for your advice.
In the overall picture…
1. There’s a slot in the upper right corner above the 2 NVME SSD slots.
What is that empty slot for?
2. Can the wifi card be upgraded later? The X1E Gen 2 appears to have a newer Wi-Fi 6 card.
3. If you don’t do any gaming, shouldn’t the single 16GB RAM be enough for daily productivity work and online activities such as TV/movie viewings? Or is it better to add another 16GB DDR4 1666 memory chip?
Would adding an 8GB chip not provide decent performance since it’ll be 16+8=4GB memory, or should the memory be matched to the first 16GB memory stick?
4. Did the 2nd M.2 NVME slot include its own screw?
Is it correct that ONLY single-sided NVME cards are accepted?
I did read that the X1 Extreme Gen 1 & 2 will support 2TB NVME cards, but they must be Single-Sided.
Thanks!