Lenovo ThinkCentre X1, all-in-one for undemanding

The all-in-one is an interesting option for those who want to save space while giving a touch of style to your desktop and Lenovo is one of the manufacturers who more seriously this category option is taken. Along with the M series and Yoga Home touch screen, the manufacturer also offers the range Lenovo ThinkCentre X1, star of this analysis.

The ThinkCentre X1 integrates all the components under a FullHD screen of 23.8 inches and is available in various configurations, all with a design in aluminum round base. The Lenovo ThinkCentre comes with Windows 10 and is postulated as a very capable team in the business environment, see if it succeeds.

Lenovo ThinkCentre X1, technical specifications

As we advance, the ThinkCentre X1 is sold in various configurations in which the main changes reside in RAM, processor and hard drive. Lenovo offers three options with prices ranging between 1,059 and 1,529 euros , but also allow the customer to configure the components you want. 

Lenovo ThinkCentre X1

Image Source: Google Image

Here we see the specification table model at hand…

Lenovo ThinkCentre X1
Screen 23.8-inch IPS screen
FullHD 1920 x 1080 pixels
Brightness 250 nits
Processor Intel Core i7-6600 Quad-core @ 2.60 GHZ
Memory 1 x 8GB DDR4 to 2,133 MHz
Graphics Intel HD 520
Storage M.2 PCIe SSD 256GB, Serial ATA 6.0 Gbps
Connectivity WiFi 802.11ac (2×2)
Bluetooth
Ports 5 x USB 3.0, two fast charge
card reader 7 in 1
minijack headphone / microphone
input LAN
smart DisplayPort
Sound 5 watt 2 speakers with Dolby audio
microphones dual matrix
OS Pro 64-bit Windows 10
Others Keyboard and mouse with USB wireless receiver module including
front camera 1080p
Dimensions and weight Without stand: 570 x 33 x 360 mm
With Support: 570 mm x 240 451
Weight Without stand: 4 Kg
With support: 5 kg

Lenovo offers the Intel Core i7 6600U quad – core (2.6 GHz) as the most advanced option in your ThinkCentre range, leaving the Core i5 6200U and 6300U for the simplest models. In this case, RAM stays at 8 GB (although it is possible to increase to 16 GB) and hard drive is a Samsung SSD 256 GB capacity.

What it does match the entire series is the screen, and peripheral connections. For the panel, Lenovo has opted for an IPS anti – glare 23.8 – inch 1,920 x 1,080 pixels resolution. The ThinkCentre X1 are accompanied by a set of wireless keyboard and mouse and have a game of physical ports consists of five USB 3.0 ports, reader-in-1 7 cards, Ethernet, DisplayPort and headphone and microphone minijack input.

Design, elegance contained

The design is key to the all-in-one, both functional and, of course, aesthetics. It is common to find original designs in this category, but is not the case ThinkCentre X1. Lenovo does not risk and commitment to a sober appearance that reinforces professional spirit that we expect in an office computer.

The round base is the most characteristic design element. It provides good support and is connected to the screen by one foot in chromed steel that contrasts with the black finish have been aluminum. The only element that brings a note of color is red ring attached to the foot with which you can gather all the cables.

To mount the base you do not need any tools, just place the pieces and hand tighten the screw on the bottom.

The screen is encased in a black frame is quite wide on all sides- even more in the bottom, where you have placed the logo ThinkCentre. The only element in the front, in addition to the logo, is on top and is the camera for videoconferencing, all physical buttons have been moved to the right side and left integrates two USB, headphone jack and card reader.

The side ports are easily accessible, but if you want to connect an Ethernet cable, a screen or more USB need to access the rear and nonskid base here can be a nuisance. It is not an overly heavy equipment, but with 5 kg weight is not particularly comfortable to be moving around the desktop very often. What it does highlight is the thinness of the screen, only 1.2 centimeters at its thinnest part, but widens over three centimeters at the bottom.

The swivel hinge, which the screen is fixed to the base, is very practical. The screen can be tilted at a rather wide angle and is good to avoid reflections. The downside is that does not allow us to adjust the height and slightly low, so if we raise it have to invent some sort of makeshift base as the classic package folios.

Screen visual experience balanced

Without being too large, the 23.8-inch Lenovo ThinkCentre X1 gives much of them both when working as watch videos and diagonal is broad enough to work split screen comfortably. However, although its 1,920 x 1,080 pixels are an appropriate resolution to their size, they remain somewhat fair and miss a little more sharpness.

Obviously, the viewing distance is key and the pixel array is evident the closer we get, so the Lenovo ThinkCentre X1 requires a large desk so that the image breathe. The visual experience offered by this equipment can be described as correct and the anti-glare system, along with the brightness of 250 nits, make without being remarkable, behave quite well in most environments.

The biggest drawback to facing the Lenovo ThinkCentre not resides in the visual on the screen, but on the graphics card: An HD Intel 520 integrated. The GPU shows that this is a more thought to work in office environments to play or use applications that require more graphics power, but this will be discussed in more detail in the section team performance.

The Lenovo ThinkCentre X1 allows you to connect a secondary display and also can be converted into a screen to connect other video sources, all through the DisplayPort on the back, no HDMI. It also has Intel WiDi to deliver multimedia content wirelessly via a compatible device.

For sound, the X1 integrates Thinkcentre two 5W speakers with Dolby Audio that have been integrated into the lower edge of the screen, one on each side. The sound quality is quite good, both when listening to music and the spoken voice in movies or series, respecting the bass frequencies without actually distorting. The downside is that being directed downward, gives the feeling that you lose some volume.

You may also like to read another article on Lab-Soft: Have up to four monitors with 4K signal via USB is the new DisplayLink

Correct performance with upgradeable graphics

The ThinkCentre X1 insists on its role as office equipment performance. The i7 6600U processor with Intel HD Graphics 520 operates very well with the most common tasks e l SSD expedites both opening and startup programs , enhancing the sense of flow. However, it is a rather demure configuration is very fair when we press the nuts in the graphics, as reflected in the scores obtained in the benchmark tests.

The figures show that the Lenovo ThinkCentre is not a computer for gamers nor for creative workers, but as this off the benchmark is not an exact science; I installed some programs to test their capabilities.

User experience with programs like Adobe Photoshop is good to perform relatively simple issues, but started hobbling when working with very large files with many layers. Sometimes there are hitches in the image, the fans are accelerated suddenly and waiting times are prolonged to save or apply more complex as Liquify and Lip brush effects.

Video editing is another of the tasks that demand more system resources, and so I could see to work on a project in Adobe Premiere. RAM 8GB began saturated by adding a few effects and overall performance of the team was affected to render a video of three minutes – for which incidentally took baggy 10 minutes. Edit images and videos is possible with the Lenovo X1 Thinkcentre, but certainly not at the professional level.

What play is now more complicated. The Intel HD card 520 is evident with very demanding games such as over watch although I must admit that it is not easy to put anything here set epic quality and 60fps. The benchmark not wrong and the result was that managed to reach the barely 16 fps and did not respond well to orders, while in less than a minute my character had already passed away.

Software

Lenovo includes a game keyboard and wireless mouse basic that connect to the computer via a USB receiver. The design follows the same line of equipment with the dominant tone black and some red accents like the mouse wheel or the F keys on the keyboard.

It is noteworthy that the design of the mouse is so compact, almost laptop, and keyboard bet on its own broader provision of a desktop computer. Pressing the island type keys can be improved, but the separation between the various blocks it makes it more comfortable to work.

Each element contains two batteries; two AAA for keyboard and two AA in mice. This makes despite its compact design, the mouse result in return though stodgy get more autonomy.

The front camera deserves special mention, although more than quality (riding a modest 2-megapixel sensor capable of recording video FullHD) is a function that will appeal to most users jealous of their privacy. That webcams can be an instrument of espionage is not new, in fact I put a piece of tape on the front camera notebook is quite common, but with the Lenovo ThinkCentre X1 will not be necessary, simply slide the pin the top and the camera is hidden.

The Lenovo ThinkCentre brings installed the 64 – bit version of Windows 10 in its variants Home and Pro. You can also configure Windows 7 Pro, which was the case of the test unit, so the first few hours of use the dedicated myself to install the upgrade to Windows 10. In addition to the basic functions of Microsoft software, Lenovo also provides some own tools.

Among the application package that comes standard is Lenovo Solution Center, where you can make a diagnosis of the system and receive support or Lenovo Companion to check the system and optimize it if necessary. There is also space for the storage service in the cloud Lenovo REACHit and toolkit Lenovo ThinkAdvantage, administrator password, recovery mode and the message center.

The control panel graphics Intel HD has a complete set of configuration tools and image can store profiles to adjust the settings according to the task we are doing. The sound can be adjusted with the app Dolby Audio, which it allows a choice between dynamically, games, voice, film, music or customized equalization.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.