Could This Be My New Laptop? - ThinkPad X390 Review

[AlexTheGreatish]

At first look, the Lenovo ThinkPad X390 is damn compelling.. but can it hold up against the Surface Laptop 2 and XPS 13?

 

Buy ThinkPad X390 
On Amazon: https://geni.us/2Y8NW
On Newegg: https://lmg.gg/8KVmx

 

 

[aisle9]

THE TRACKPOINT IS A SAINT.

[5x5]

50 points for covering business laptops but -10 points for the track points comments - you can use a lower profile nib (they are replaceable)

 

Overall, I give the video 40 STYLE points

[kelvinhall05]

I was excited when I saw the title, and I do agree with some points, but how the hell do you hit the trackpoint when typing? I've tried multiple Thinkpads and even an external Thinkpad keyboard with a trackpoint and I've never, EVER hit the trackpoint when typing.

 

 

If you don't like the trackpoint and don't care about durability or upgradability, don't get a Thinkpad.

[aisle9]

58 minutes ago, 5x5 said:

50 points for covering business laptops but -10 points for the track points comments - you can use a lower profile nib (they are replaceable)

 

Overall, I give the video 40 STYLE points

I give the video a solid B. It was in the A realm, but I deducted 10 TrackPoints for heresy.

[Fnige]

Ive had problems with lenovo laptops before, one from a friend and one from my sister, either lenovo isnt good when it comes to this stuff or the yoga line just isnt good

[hanselltc]

>Wanna be cool? Be like me.

 

Alex, if you define cool as having the flatest voice on the channel since NCIX, that might stand. This sounds like an unenthused person offering an utterly uninteresting explanation. The video sounds like you're complaining about your girlfriend for 7 minutes and then announcing you're proposing. Polar opposite of how you were when the workshop was set up too.

 

The trackpoint rant stands out as the most uninspired talking point among LTT's laptop reviews, and the pacing of the video is just awful. No attempts at explaining potential use of the trackpoint, leading to a suggestion that doesn't match the observations. If the trackpoint is easy to fat finger, add a toggle to disable it! The trackpad is wonky? Fix the trackpad! How does any of these observation even line up to lead to the conclusion of removing the trackpoint? The specifications and pricings are not upfront, too little emphasis and enthusiasm were given to the positives without voice or screen indication to distinct them from the complaints. The pacing between the pros and cons are abysmal with the complaints dominating the runtime, and you sound like you're describing an uneventful bar night. There are very little difference in the voice used for describing the solid build quality and complaining about the HD screen option, and the only emotion in the video is when you're mocking the usage of a trackpoint.

[Red :)]

1 hour ago, AlexTheGreatish said:

At first look, the Lenovo ThinkPad X390 is damn compelling.. but can it hold up against the Surface Laptop 2 and XPS 13?

 

Buy ThinkPad X390 
On Amazon: https://geni.us/2Y8NW
On Newegg: https://lmg.gg/8KVmx

 

 

@AlexTheGreatish: *proceeds to criticize the trackpoint*

Almost everyone else:

Y O U   D A R E   O P P O S E   M E   M O R T A L 

[visitor2015]

I am seriously emotinally aroused after that ciricisim about the TrackPoint. I never thoght that one enineering guy like Alex would complain about the presence of that device. I seriously hate trackpads and I'm glad that I coudl turn the trackpad off in the BIOS of my W520. The TrackPoint is the surperiour input device for moving a mouse cursor around.

Every business notebook should have that. I remember the Twitter thread some weeks ago about the trackpoint. It seems the nobody of LLT staff read the replies.

FYI my profile picture is set purposeley as it is. Praise the trackpoint!

On other topics I agree. 1366x768 pixels and TN panel screens should be forbidden in 2019 and even FHD is too less height these days. I wish the 16:10 aspect ratio would make a combeack on mobile. I seriously miss the 120px more height on WUXGA vs FHD and could use 2560x1600 instead of 2560x1440. 4K with 4096x2560 would be my dream.

[aisle9]

26 minutes ago, SlimyPython said:

Ive had problems with lenovo laptops before, one from a friend and one from my sister, either lenovo isnt good when it comes to this stuff or the yoga line just isnt good

Depends on which line the Yoga comes from. Lenovo is very capable of putting out stinkers, and their IdeaPad line is full of them.

 

3 minutes ago, visitor2015 said:

I am seriously emotinally aroused after that ciricisim about the TrackPoint. I never thoght that one enineering guy like Alex would complain about the presence of that device. I seriously hate trackpads and I'm glad that I coudl turn the trackpad off in the BIOS of my W520. The TrackPoint is the surperiour input device for moving a mouse cursor around.

Every business notebook should have that. I remember the Twitter thread some weeks ago about the trackpoint. It seems the nobody of LLT staff read the replies.

FYI my profile picture is set purposeley as it is. Praise the trackpoint!

On other topics I agree. 1366x768 pixels and TN panel screens should be forbidden in 2019 and even FHD is too less height these days. I wish the 16:10 aspect ratio would make a combeack on mobile. I seriously miss the 120px more height on WUXGA vs FHD and could use 2560x1600 instead of 2560x1440. 4K with 4096x2560 would be my dream.

I want my 4:3 display back. I'm hanging on to an X61 for almost that exact reason.

[The_Prycer]

So there I was, installing Debian 10 on to a laptop when I couldn't use the trackpad. GUESS WHAT SAVED ME?

 

That's right, the nipple of justice.

 

#nipplewarriorsunite

 

I actually appreciate having the option for a 720p monitor. All I do on a laptop at this point is watch 480p anime streams,browse forums, and check email so the lower resolution is just a price saving point for me. Also I despise touch screens about as much as I hate Windows 8 (which is ironic because I hated Windows 8 since I didn't have a touchscreen laptop at the time).

 

I realize Alex needs a higher end Laptop due to CAD work, but I rock a 1 core, 1GB RAM, 5400 RPM HDD iBook G4 as my daily driver so I guess I'm just a dinosaur.

 

 

[Bananasplit_00]

my HP laptop has the nipple, it was a problem even the first day with the mouse flying around and clicking shit while typing and since then it has been disabled. Its not a feature, its a pain

[SenKa]

Here before the trackpoint warriors come in. Wait... Theyre already here lmao.

 

Im sure Alex is well aware how much hate he's gonna get for the trackpoint comments, but I would like to extend the olive branch as an avid trackpointer and say how about Lenovo offers a trackpoint-less keyboard as a free option?

[Godvater]

As someone who loves LTT, tech and especially the world of laptops, I wrote this before and I will do again. LTT laptop reviews suck. You guys have been putting the least insightful and most shallow reviews I can find online. How can LTT publish worse Laptop reviews than the Verge???

 

Especially this one was a big flop imo. Finally some attention given to Thinkpads and you butchered it. And this is not because of the trackpoint comments. How can you put “review” on the title of such a shallow video, I really can’t understand. 

 

I feel like Alex has too much to do and his laptop reviews are rushed. Or at least he is not happy making them. 

 

I would love to see some attention given to laptop reviews from LTT, laptops are still the best form of portable computing and deserve better than this.

 

Oh btw, I have used a thinkpad for 8 months, never used the trackpoint and it never got in the way.

 

Before sounding like a Thinkpad fanboy, I sold my Thinkpad because I was unhappy with it and I still have discussions with Thinkpad fanboys  over at r/thinkpad. I currently use a Dell XPS machine. 

 

 

 

 

[aisle9]

2 hours ago, SenKa said:

Here before the trackpoint warriors come in. Wait... Theyre already here lmao.

 

Im sure Alex is well aware how much hate he's gonna get for the trackpoint comments, but I would like to extend the olive branch as an avid trackpointer and say how about Lenovo offers a trackpoint-less keyboard as a free option?

[NeuesTestament]

I am both faster and more precise with the track point. The alternative method in the video is more painful and generally inferior. Removing it would hurt my productivity. Also it’s beyond me how you manage to hit it while typing. 
 

The Thinkpads aren’t flashy or hip lifestyle laptops although unfortunately they have been moving a bit in that direction. 

[pApA^LeGBa]

Remove the nipple? Why? Try Thinkbook or IdeaPad from Lenovo, they don´t have nipples.

[Sorachan]

Please don’t present your opinion as representative of others when it’s clearly not.

 

It’s understandable people love trackpoint feel insulted when you say they are only vocal minority therefore should be ignored, especially they are not. In order to be a fair review, I think you need to provide evidence when making such a bold claim.

[panzersharkcat]

On 9/3/2019 at 2:01 PM, Bananasplit_00 said:

my HP laptop has the nipple, it was a problem even the first day with the mouse flying around and clicking shit while typing and since then it has been disabled. Its not a feature, its a pain

HP is known for having the worst implementation of the pointing stick, though. Dell’s is a little better but none of the ones I’ve tried came close to Lenovo’s. I have no idea how you’re clicking things while typing. Never had that problem with my ThinkPad.

 

*Coworker had a Dell with one that I used for a little bit and I tried out some HP ones at Fry’s. So take that for what it’s worth.

[YellowJersey]

*someone criticises the trackpoint*

Me:

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

[YellowJersey]

Love you, Alex! ;)

[Ubersonic]

Lol at Alex whining that there's a 768p display option. Because more choice is apparently a bad thing now? >.> The reason it's still offered is because it's a BUSINESS laptop and 768p is actually still better than 1080p for some use cases.

[AlexTheGreatish]

10 hours ago, Ubersonic said:

Lol at Alex whining that there's a 768p display option. Because more choice is apparently a bad thing now? >.> The reason it's still offered is because it's a BUSINESS laptop and 768p is actually still better than 1080p for some use cases.

Name one use case for a 768p display on a $1000 laptop. It seems like it is only there to bring the starting price down and potentially screwing a bunch of users when the bottom model gets bought in bulk.

[Ubersonic]

16 hours ago, AlexTheGreatish said:

Name one use case for a 768p display on a $1000 laptop. It seems like it is only there to bring the starting price down and potentially screwing a bunch of users when the bottom model gets bought in bulk.

There's multiple but an obvious one is that it's a 13" screen, and 1080p at 13" is really small, to the point it's simply too small to be usable for a LOT of users at 100% DPI scaling (not everyone has 20/20 vision).  Now, conventional wisdom would dictate that you should buy a 1080p panel and raise the DPI rather than buy a 768p panel and keep it at 100%, however this is a business laptop and there is a LOT of commonly used software out there that simply doesn't function properly with DPI scaling enabled, especially stuff from the XP and NT/9x eras which is still far more common that most people would suspect.

 

To put this in perspective, the company I work for has ~1.5m employees and ~350k PCs/Laptops which are continually replaced so the oldest are ideally in the 5 year range, we mainly use Lenovo but if they stopped offering 768p panels we would have no option but to change back to Dell.  That's a lot of lost sales due to cutting consumer choice.