My Growing Appreciation for the ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 3

The ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 3 was my entry into ThinkPads, or at least the first ThinkPad I bought with my own money. Through it, I learned a lot about not only Linux but also computer hardware. This machine has gone through a lot: it was passed on to another family member, under-appreciated, then returned to me, then I put it up for sale for a short while, and after several low-ball offers on eBay (which were insulting to this machine), I brought it back into my fleet.

While working with other ThinkPads, I've been learning how special it still is in terms of power-to-weight ratio, expandability, the GPU mux switch in the UEFI firmware, and this gorgeous glossy 4K touchscreen, which uses more battery than I'd like, but produces the best colors on the screen than any computer in the house, with only the X1 Nano coming close.

The keyboard is perfect, and it's still one of my most premium ThinkPads. The 15" screen feels massive, especially after having worked with 10", 12", 13", and 14" screens during the last few years.

The issues I faced with running Linux in the early months aren't there anymore. Part of it could be due to all the learning and experience I've gathered over the years, and the rest could be due to Void Linux, which has been nothing less than a dream Linux distribution for me.

Had I not tried those tens of ThinkPads, I would never have been able to appreciate the ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 3 the way I do today.