Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 vs. Dell XPS 15 9500: Which is better?
Here is a side by side comparison between Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 and Dell XPS 15 9500 specs including CPU, RAM, storage, battery, display, and more.
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Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 Pros
Reasons that Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 is better than Dell XPS 15 9500.
2021 vs. 2020
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 supports a faster memory speed than the Dell XPS 15 9500. It supports up to 4267MHz versus 2933MHz of system memory on the Dell XPS 15 9500.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 weighed 2.49 pounds, 38% lighter than the 4 pounds Dell XPS 15 9500.
Weight | Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 | Dell XPS 15 9500 |
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Pound | 2.49 lbs. | 4 lbs. |
Kilogram | 1.13 kg | 1.81 kg |
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 has more ports and slots count than the Dell XPS 15 9500. It has eight versus six amount of ports and slots on the Dell XPS 15 9500.
Ports | Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 | Dell XPS 15 9500 |
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full-size SD card slot | No | Yes |
HDMI | Yes | No |
headphone jack | Yes | Yes |
lock slot | Yes | Yes |
nanoSIM card slot | Yes | No |
Thunderbolt 3 | No | Yes x2 |
Thunderbolt 4 | Yes x2 | No |
USB-A | Yes x2 | No |
USB-C | No | Yes |
Total | 8 | 6 |
Dell XPS 15 9500 Pros
Reasons that Dell XPS 15 9500 is better than Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9.
Intel Core i9-10885H inside Dell XPS 15 9500 has a 51% better multi-core CPU performance score than the Intel Core i7-1180G7 inside Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9.
Dell XPS 15 9500 supports a larger memory capacity than the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9. It supports up to 64GB versus 32GB of system memory on the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9.
Dell XPS 15 9500 comes with two SODIMM slots that allow you to replace or upgrade when needed. On the flip side, you can't upgrade RAM on the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 since it has onboard memory.
Memory | Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 | Dell XPS 15 9500 |
---|---|---|
Slots | Onboard | x2 |
Type | LPDDR4X | DDR4 |
Configurable up to Nvidia Quadro GTX 1650Ti 4GB GDDR6 vs. integrated
Dell XPS 15 9500 has a 15.6-inch screen size 11% larger than the 14-inch Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9.
Prices
Here are the latest price updates and offers for both devices.
Availability | Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 | Dell XPS 15 9500 |
Released | 2021 | 2020 |
Release Date |
| Release Date: May 13, 2020 |
Pricing | Starting at $1,429 | Starting at $1,299.99 |
Generations | - |
Exterior | Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 | Dell XPS 15 9500 |
Dimensions | 12.38” x 8.72” x 0.59” (314.5 x 221.6 x 14.9 mm) | 13.56 x 9.07 x 0.30 - 0.71 in (344.40 x 230.30 x 7.70 - 18 mm) Width: 13.56” (344.40 mm) Depth: 9.07” (230.30 mm) Height: 0.30 - 0.71” (7.70 - 18 mm) |
Weight | Starting at 2.49 lbs (1.13 kg) |
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Colors | Black Optional woven carbon fiber top cover |
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Keyboard and Trackpad |
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Display | Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 | Dell XPS 15 9500 |
Size | 14 Inches | 15.6 Inches |
Info |
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Ports | Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 | Dell XPS 15 9500 |
Left (4)
Right (4)
| Left (3)
Right (3)
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Internal Specs | Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 | Dell XPS 15 9500 |
Processor |
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Integrated Graphics |
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Memory | 8GB 16GB 32GB 4266 MHz Dual-channel LPDDR4x Memory. | 4 GB 8 GB 16 GB 32 GB 64 GB 2933 MHz Dual-channel DDR4 RAM. |
Discrete Graphics | - | NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1650 Ti with Max-Q (Optional) Turning Architecture, 4GB GDDR6 128-bit, 1035 → 1200 MHz, 1024 CUDA Cores. |
Storage | 256 GB 512 GB 1 TB 2TB M.2 2280 PCIe Gen 4 SSD (Replaceable). | 256 GB 512 GB 1 TB 2TB Removable M.2 2230/2280 PCIe® 3x4 NVMe™ SSD, Up to 32 Gbps. |
Fans Number | - | 2 |
Connectivity | Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 | Dell XPS 15 9500 |
Wi-Fi | Intel® Wi-Fi 6™ AX201 802.11AX (2 x 2)
Up to 2400 Mbps, Dual band 2.4 GHz/5 GHz, 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax. |
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Bluetooth | Bluetooth 5.1 |
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More | Optional WWAN: 4x4 MIMO 5G (LTE CAT20) / 4G (LTE CAT12) | - |
Battery | Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 | Dell XPS 15 9500 |
Size | 57 Wh |
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Battery Life | Up to 15 hours Based on MobileMark® 2018 battery-life benchmark test | Full HD+ model
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Power Supply | 65 W USB (Type-C) power adapter Supports Rapid Charge. |
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Software | Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 | Dell XPS 15 9500 |
OS |
| Windows 10 Home Windows 10 Pro Upgradable to Windows 11 |
Built-in Apps | Lenovo Vantage |
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Camera & Audio | Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 | Dell XPS 15 9500 |
Camera |
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Audio |
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Misc | Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 | Dell XPS 15 9500 |
Sensors |
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Security |
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In the box |
| - |
Warranty | 1-year Depot or Carry-in | - |
Key Features | Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 | Dell XPS 15 9500 |
At Glance |
Comparison Summary
Lenovo has released the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9, a 14-inch machine, in early-2021. It is powered by up to a quad-core Intel Core i7-1180G7 with a boost clock speed up to 4.60 GHz. The laptop has an integrated graphics option up to Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics (96 Execution Units, 400 → 1100 MHz).
On the other hand, we have the 15.6-inch XPS 15 9500 was introduced by Dell about a year earlier in mid-2020. It comes with up to an octa-core Intel Core i9-10885H with a boost clock speed up to 5.30 GHz. It has a dedicated GPU option up to Nvidia Quadro GTX 1650Ti with 4GB GDDR6.
Geekbench 5 Single Core
Geekbench 5 Multi Core
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 has a 14-inch display which is slightly smaller than the 15.6-inch Dell XPS 15 9500. In addition, The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 weighs 2.49 lbs. about 60% lighter than the 4 lbs. Dell XPS 15 9500. Moreover, measured at 12.38” x 8.72” x 0.59”, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 is much more portable than the Dell XPS 15 9500 at 13.56” x 9.07” x 0.71”.
There are a toal number of 8 ports and slots available on Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9. That includes a Thunderbolt 4 port, two USB-A ports, an HDMI port, a headphone jack, a nanoSIM card slot, and a lock slot. With that said, it has two ports and slots more than the Dell XPS 15 9500 that has two Thunderbolt 3 ports, a lock slot, a USB-C port, a full-size SD card slot, and a headphone jack.
Moving over to upgradability, Lenovo claims that the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 supports up to 32GB 4267 MHz LPDDR4X memory. However, it has an onboard memory module that is not upgradable by the users. Fortunately, it comes with a single removable M.2 SSD slot that users can replace and upgrade in the future.
For Dell XPS 15 9500, it supports up to 64GB 2933 MHz DDR4 memory that you can upgrade with two memory module slots on the motherboard. It also has two M.2 slots that users can easily swap or add an extra SSD to get extra space when needed.
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