Lenovo has already launched more than a few laptops in the business space under the ThinkPad series. Both the ThinkPad T14 Gen 3 and the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 are two of the newest notebooks on the market that offer powerful internals and some exciting features. We've already compared these two laptops with a bunch of other options out there. In this article, we're going to take a look at the Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 3 vs ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 to find out which one is the better notebook to buy in 2022.
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Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 3 vs ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10: Specifications
Before we jump into the detailed comparison, here's a quick look at the specifications of each notebook to find out what each of them brings to the table:
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Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 |
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Graphics |
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RAM |
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Storage |
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Display |
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Battery |
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Ports |
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Audio |
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Webcam |
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Security |
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Connectivity |
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Size (WxDxH) |
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Weight |
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Price |
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Performance
Both the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 and the ThinkPad T14 Gen 3, as you can see, are powered by Intel's new 12th generation Intel Core vPro processors. In fact, you get the option to choose between both P-series and U-series processors, which is great. The 12th gen processors offer a significant upgrade over their predecessors as they now have a hybrid architecture that mixes performance (P) cores and efficient (E) cores, resulting in a much higher core count than the previous generation. It's worth mentioning that the P-series processors have a 28W TDP, which is much higher than the 15W of the U-series. You may not see a significant performance difference if you're looking at both laptops powered by the chips from the same series, but the unit powered by the P-series chip is bound to perform better than the one powered by the U-series.
Another important thing to mention here is that the ThinkPad T14 Gen 3 laptop can also be configured with AMD Ryzen 6000 series processors. This isn't an option in the case of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon, so keep that in mind. Both the Intel 12th gen and the Ryzen 6000 series processors offer upgrades over their predecessors, though Intel has made some more radical changes as we mentioned above.
In the graphics department, you only get Intel's integrated Iris Xe graphics with the ThinkPad X1 Carbon. But in the ThinkPad T14 Gen 3 laptop's case, you’ll also have some upgraded discrete graphics options if you opt for the Intel models. You can choose the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 or a GeForce RTX 2050, which is also a new addition to the ThinkPad T14. While you don't get these discrete graphics options with the AMD model of the ThinkPad T14 Gen 3, AMD has said that the integrated GPU in its Ryzen 6000 processors is significantly faster now. It's hard to tell if it outperforms the discrete options since we haven't had a chance to use these notebooks for a detailed comparison.
Moving on to the memory department, you get up to 32GB of LPDDR5-5200 RAM with the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 notebook. This should be enough for most use-cases although you get more memory with the ThinkPad T14 Gen 3. Opting for an Intel model of the ThinkPad T14 Gen 3 will allow you to add as much as 48GB of DDR4 dual-channel memory. The AMD model only gets up to 32GB, although it's LPDDR5 clocked at 6400MHz frequency, which is better in terms of speed and latency. As for the storage, you get up to 2TB PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD with both laptops, so no differences there whatsoever.
Taking a look at the battery life, it's worth noting that the ThinkPad T14 Gen 3 comes with either a 39.3Whr or a 52.5 Whr battery depending on whether or not you get the variant with discrete graphics. The one with discrete graphics gets a bigger battery. In the ThinkPad X1 Carbon's case, however, you get a 57Whr battery as a standard. It's worth mentioning that you're bound to get better battery life if you opt for Intel's U-series chips due to the lower TDP rating.
Display
You also get a lot of display options for both laptops, as you can see from the specs table above. We're looking at a 14-inch 16:10 aspect ratio panel for the ThinkPad T14 Gen 3 and the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 but there are tons of options to choose from. You get both touch and non-touch panel options. In fact, you also have resolution options ranging from Full HD+ to Ultra HD+, with the top of the line display on both laptops being a touch panel with up to 500 nits brightness, support for HDR400, 100% DCI-P3 coverage, and more. You do get an OLED option with the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10, but that's not really an option with the ThinkPad T14 Gen 3. We highly recommend you check out the specifications table to find out more about the different panel options you get with each laptop.
Both laptops also have a webcam on top of the display. While you only get a 720p HD webcam with the base model of both machines, you can configure them to have up to a 1080p FHD camera, complete with support for IR. IR camera is optional on both machines and you can only add it with the Full HD webcam. It's worth mentioning that a fingerprint scanner is offered with both laptops, so you're missing out on much when it comes to Windows Hello authentication. We think the ThinkPad X1 Carbon is slightly better in this privacy department compared to the ThinkPad T14 Gen 3 mainly because it comes with the optional Privacy Guard display, a webcam shutter, and more.
Design & Ports
If you are in the market to buy a thinner and lighter notebook, then we think you should consider buying the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10. It measures up to 0.60-inches in thickness whereas the ThinkPad T14 Gen 3 measures 0.70-inches. The ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 laptop also has a slightly lighter starting weight coming in at 1.12kg as opposed to the ThinkPad T14 Gen 3's starting weight of 1.21kg. As far as the aesthetics are concerned, both are ThinkPad notebooks so we think they look similar to each other in more ways than one. While the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 3 is available in an optional Carbon Fiber weave lid, there's no such option for the ThinkPad T14 Gen 3. You do get the optional antimicrobial surface treatment on the Thunder Black variant, though.
Moving on to the ports, both the ThinkPad T14 Gen 3 and the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 have a solid port selection. You pretty much get all the essentials with both machines. For the ThinkPad T14 Gen 3 notebook, we're looking at a two USB Type-C USB 3.2 Gen 2 (Thunderbolt 4 in Intel models), two USB Type-A USB 3.2 Gen 1, a single HDMI 2.0b port, an RJ45 Ethernet port, a 3.5mm combo headphone jack, and a SIM card slot. The ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10, on the other hand, comes with two Thunderbolt 4 (USB Type-C), two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, a single HDMI 2.0b port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a nano-SIM card slot. So the ThinkPad T14 Gen 3 is technically better here since it has the additional RJ45 port.
The ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10, however, is better in terms of connectivity as it supports both 5G and 4G LTE. You only 4G LTE option with the ThinkPad T14 Gen 3 laptop. You still get Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 with both machines, though.
Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 3 vs ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10: Which one should you buy?
The Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 3 vs ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 3 is a solid match-up and we think both laptops have their unique selling points. On the performance front, you do get more processor options with the ThinkPad T14 Gen 3 so that's good. But as long as you're going with the same Intel processors, we doubt there'll be too much of a difference. The memory and storage options are also quite similar, but you do get up to 48GB RAM with the ThinkPad T14 Gen 3, albeit DDR4. Both machines are also on-par with each when it comes to the display and webcam options. We're looking at a 14-inch 16:10 aspect ratio display for both laptops and a 1080p webcam option too. The ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 is both thinner and lighter than the ThinkPad T14 Gen 3 and it also supports 5G in addition to other connectivity options, so keep that in mind.
Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 3
The Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 3 notebook comes with Intel's new 12th gen vPro or AMD's Ryzen 6000 PRO series processors.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 comes with 12th-gen Intel Core P-series processors, new OLED displays, and a Full HD webcam.
Both laptops are available to purchase right now, so feel free to look for different SKUs and see which one fits your budget. The ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 is slightly expensive coming in at a starting price of $1,639 whereas the ThinkPad T14 Gen 3 starts at $1,299. If none of these laptops manage to grab your attention then be sure to check out our round-up of the best ThinkPads or just the best laptops, in general, to see if you can find some other options.