Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 5 vs Dell XPS 15

The ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 5 and Dell XPS 15 are at the top of our list of the best 15-inch laptops for a number of reasons. Both are incredibly well-built and fast, and offer excellent large-format displays.

But they are not identical. In fact, they’re quite different, with the XPS 15 set to be a more portable 15-inch laptop and the ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 5 the more powerful mainstream ThinkPad. Take a look at our comparison to see which one is right for you.

Specifications and configurations

Design

The ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 5 is designed for performance, but that doesn’t mean it’s thicker or heavier than the XPS 15, which is designed to be a high-quality 15-inch ultrabook. In fact, the ThinkPad is thinner at 0.70 inches versus 0.73 inches and lighter at 4.14 pounds versus 4.62 pounds. It’s an inch deeper thanks to a slightly larger display and thicker display bezels.

The ThinkPad differs in its thermal design, which is more aggressively tuned to maximize airflow and reduce heat, and in its ease of expansion, which includes two SSD slots. It is also constructed of aluminum on the lower chassis and carbon fiber on the lid, which contributes to its light weight. The XPS 15 has an aluminum chassis and lid and carbon fiber or glass on the keyboard deck. It’s a denser laptop, but both machines are incredibly stiff and exude durability. The hinge on both is smooth and secure.

Aesthetically, the ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 5 maintains the iconic black-on-black color scheme with red accents, and the high-end display offers a carbon weave on the lid. It’s a bolder look than the XPS 15’s streamlined silver chassis with black or white keyboard cover. The XPS 15 looks more modern, but if you’re a fan of the ThinkPad aesthetic, you’ll love the X1 Extreme Gen 5.

Both laptops have excellent keyboards with plenty of travel, fast and precise switches, and comfortable background actions. The ThinkPad’s keys are slightly larger and more sculpted, but the XPS 15 has better key spacing. Either way, you’ll love typing on both machines. The ThinkPad includes the usual TrackPoint nub in the middle of the keyboard, and its two buttons take up space on the relatively small trackpad. The XPS 15’s touchpad, on the other hand, is huge for a Windows machine and a better overall experience. Both laptops offer touch screens as an option.

The ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 5 is much stronger in connectivity, with a solid mix of Thunderbolt 4 and legacy ports. Both laptops support the latest wireless connectivity, but the ThinkPad also has optional 5G WWAN support for always-on internet.

Finally, the ThinkPad also has a 1080p webcam which is much better than the old-school 720p version of the XPS 15. Both laptops have infrared cameras for Windows 11 Hello facial recognition along with fingerprint readers. The ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 5 offers better security and overall manageability for businesses with its support for vPro processor.

Performance

We reviewed the ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 5 with the 45-watt Core i7-12800H CPU with 14 cores (six performance and eight efficient) and 20 threads, paired with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti GPU. The XPS 15 we reviewed was equipped with a Core i7-12700H, a version of the same processor with a slightly slower clock, and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti.

The ThinkPad was faster in most of our benchmarks, and the XPS 15 held its own in our Handbrake test when set to performance mode. We noticed that Lenovo increased the GPU in ThinkPad performance mode, which is reflected both in the Pugetbench Premiere Pro benchmark that uses the GPU to speed up certain operations in Adobe’s application, and in the 3DMark Time test. Spy. Both laptops are very fast for productivity tasks and can also handle creative processes, but the ThinkPad is significantly faster.

The ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 5 can be configured with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti GPU, making it a much faster gaming laptop. The XPS 15 is fine with its RTX 3050 Ti, but the ThinkPad has a lot more headroom if gaming is important to you.

Display

We tested both laptops with their UHD+ IPS displays, and both produced excellent results when tested with our colorimeter. They’re bright, enjoy excellent contrast for IPS displays, and have wide, accurate colors. They may not have the inky blacks of OLED panels (although Dell offers them as an option), but they’re both spectacular displays for creators. They’re also great for productivity users and media consumers, the latter thanks to support for Dolby Vision High Dynamic Range (HDR) that makes streaming high-resolution video a joy.

Portability

Both are large laptops that take up some space in a backpack, and neither is particularly light. However, the ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 5 is a bit lighter and thinner, while also being a bit deeper.

The ThinkPad also has a larger battery and saw slightly better battery life in our test suite. However, given the power inside these laptops, neither is going to last a full work day on any kind of demanding tasks. And they both have larger power bricks that are a bit tricky to transport.

conclusion

Sometimes you need to consider how well a laptop meets your design criteria rather than how it directly compares to another machine. The Dell XPS 15 is less expensive than the ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 5, but it also can’t be configured with the same high-performance components.

But it’s better for being a thin and light 15-inch machine overall, with a cohesive design and build that elevates it above the ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 5. However, if you’re looking for the most power, the laptop from Lenovo wins.

Editors’ Recommendations