Reviving a classic: ThinkPad modder rattles tin to fund new motherboard for 2008's T60 and T61 series of laptops
- Reference: 1637926089
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2021/11/26/thinkpad_motherboard_mod/
- Source link:
"The goal is to recreate the TP experience as much as possible, while incorporating the latest CPUs and technology," XyTech's Xue Yao writes. "As the motherboard is not from [Lenovo], it will require quite a bit of hands-on from the user to get the best experience out of the machine. It will be as stable as any other computer motherboard but will not have original TP software support and features."
[3]XyTech is not alone. [4]CnMod is another small Chinese business that updates teenaged – and by laptop standards, that's positively geriatric – ThinkPads. The replacement motherboards come from cottage-industry scale manufacturers on the forums at [5]51NB.com . They offer replacement motherboards for various classic ThinkPads, including the X200, X201 and X62, updating them with modern processors, memory and storage. There's also the [6]X330 , which combines the classic keyboard of the X220 with the faster mainboard of an X230.
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If you perceive computers as just office equipment, anything that works will do. But some obsess over it. There's already a thriving and lucrative market in desktop computer customisation: fancy cases, motherboard, graphics cards, cooling systems, and so on. But it's rare in laptops: because of their lack of standardisation, it's almost impossible to switch around components. The IBM-and-then-Lenovo [8]ThinkPad range, however, are – or used to be – a bit different.
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They are legendarily favoured by techies. One reason is that they're exceptionally solidly made, so a 10- to 15-year-old chassis is probably still fine. They were also exceptionally easy for end users to work on, maintain and upgrade – more so than just about any other laptop. For instance, back in 2010 writer and activist Cory Doctorow [11]wrote about using a ThinkPad X200 with Ubuntu – a model sometimes (swearily) [12]described as "the best laptop ever made." Later, Doctorow [13]moved to an X220, [14]also sometimes described as the best laptop ever made.
[15]Lenovo refreshes workstation ThinkPads with 11th-gen Intel CPUs, RTX graphics, 5G
[16]Lenovo's ThinkPad line goes under the knife: X13 models look a bit taller but worry not, the 'nipples' are still intact
[17]ThinkPad T14s AMD Gen 1: Workhorse that does the business – and dares you to push that red button
[18]Lenovo ThinkPad Carbon X1 Gen 8: No boundaries were pushed in the making of this laptop – and that's OK
Arguably, Lenovo is losing its lustre of late. Since 2011, ThinkPads have had what El Reg called a " [19]godawful chiclet six-row keyboard ." Presumably Lenovo is aware that they're not universally loved, since the 25th-anniversary model [20]came with the old type . Doctorow also [21]decries driver issues and deteriorating build quality in recent models.
Such issues aren't unique to Lenovo, of course; among many others, [22]Apple is famous for it , as well as for [23]terrible laptop keyboards – it mothballed its much-hated Butterfly keyboard mechanism in [24]2020 . And for an extreme example, consider the [25]process of upgrading the RAM in a Dell XPS13.
There are signs, however, that at least some small corners of the industry are turning towards more maintainable and upgradable kit. The modular [26]Framework laptop won [27]praise for its repairability from "teardown nerds" [28]iFixit , and we've previously mentioned the [29]MNT Reform open hardware laptop . There are also [30]laptops with mechanical keyboards .
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The latest MacBooks have [32]more ports, better keyboards , and [33]replaceable batteries . Perhaps otherit is major players such as Lenovo will realise that the existence of a cottage industry upgrading its old models indicates that we don't all want ultra-thin, glued-together, disposable laptops. ®
Get our [34]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.xyte.ch/t700-crowdfunding/
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2008/02/14/review_lenovo_thinkpad_t61/
[3] https://www.xyte.ch/
[4] http://www.cnmod.cn/
[5] https://www.51nb.com/
[6] http://www.cnmod.cn/x330/
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YaESwKlFr-2jLW3EFp8DtQAAAAw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[8] https://www.theregister.com/Tag/thinkpad
[9] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YaESwKlFr-2jLW3EFp8DtQAAAAw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YaESwKlFr-2jLW3EFp8DtQAAAAw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://locusmag.com/2010/07/cory-doctorow-what-i-do/
[12] https://drewdevault.com/2020/02/18/Fucking-laptops.html
[13] https://craphound.com/news/2011/05/17/life-with-ubuntu-and-a-thinkpad/
[14] https://okigiveup.net/blog/why-thinkpad-x220-is-the-best-laptop-ever-made/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/16/lenovo_workstation_refresh/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2021/02/24/lenovo_refreshes_thinkpad_line/
[17] https://www.theregister.com/2021/02/03/thinkpad_t14_amd_gen_1/
[18] https://www.theregister.com/2020/12/31/lenovos_latest_thinkpad_carbon_x1/
[19] https://www.theregister.com/2015/06/27/lenovo_mulling_retro_thinkpad_redesign_with_return_to_old_styling/
[20] https://www.theregister.com/2017/10/05/lenovo_retro_thinkpad_25th_anniversary/?page=1
[21] https://pluralistic.net/2021/09/21/monica-byrne/#think-different
[22] https://www.theregister.com/2014/03/28/ios_repairs/
[23] https://www.theregister.com/2020/03/18/macbook_air/
[24] https://www.theregister.com/2020/05/07/in_memoriam_apple_butterfly/
[25] https://gregdavill.github.io/posts/dell-xps13-ram-upgrade/
[26] https://frame.work/
[27] https://www.ifixit.com/News/51614/framework-laptop-teardown-10-10-but-is-it-perfect
[28] https://www.theregister.com/Tag/ifixit
[29] https://www.theregister.com/2021/07/06/ortholinear_keyboard_laptop/
[30] https://www.theregister.com/2021/03/19/dell_shoves_cherry_mx_keyboard/
[31] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YaESwKlFr-2jLW3EFp8DtQAAAAw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[32] https://www.theregister.com/2021/10/18/apple_macbook_pro
[33] https://www.theregister.com/2021/11/01/ifixit_macbook_pro_2021/
[34] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
X330 FTW!
I have an X230 modded with an X220 keyboard, IPS screen, 2.9GHz i7, 16Gb RAM, 500Gb SSD. I use it all day, every day. Love it! My only concern is that there is no future upgrade option , and that I will have use a laptop made in 2012 for the rest of my life. It seems us computer professionals are no longer a viable market segment for the big manufacturers, so projects like these may be the only way forward.
Re: X330 FTW!
"I will have use a laptop made in 2012 for the rest of my life"
As your eyes age you might have to revisit that. The size of the screen becomes the most important parameter. 12.5" isn't going to cut it for ever.
Re: X330 FTW!
Portability and durability are my most important parameters. And having a "traditional" keyboard with a TrackPoint is non-negotiable. As far as I know the X330 is the most up-to-date machine that ticks all my boxes, there really seems to be no other option. Would love to upgrade the mint condition X61s I have in storage - 4:3 looks frikkin amazing compared to the 16:9 letterboxes we've all become used to viewing the world through.
Re: X330 FTW!
"Portability and durability are my most important parameters."
At present.
Whether 4x3 meets your needs better depends on those needs. Working on 2 A4 documents side by side needs a lot of pixels across the screen. In order for those pixels to be useful they need to be big enough. That determines the width. Yes, a lot of screen height would also be handy to allow more of each page to be seen at a glance but that compromises portability.
OTOH I've been reworking the slides for a lecture next year because I realised that 4x3 was going to project better on the screen the hall we use.
Re: X330 FTW!
>Working on 2 A4 documents side by side needs a lot of pixels across the screen.
That's what the external monitor port is for - plugging in a big screen, so you can display 2xA4 side-by-side at circa 100%.
The 4x3 ratio is good for (portrait mode) document production on-the-move as it will display a reasonable amount of a single A4 page at 100%. I found the 14-inch T60 to be useful on the move, it nicely sat on the seatback trays found on airplanes and trains - even with a power cable plugged in (necessary for a transatlantic flight).
There again the low res. 1366x768 display - standard on laptops for many years, was good for the preparation of Powerpoint slides - it was quite a novelty to come across a meeting room with anything better than a 1366x768 projector, many had worse...
Re: X330 FTW!
That reminds me. I must get my X200t back from a friend (you know who you are). Now that's one I would love to get a new motherboard for (and yes I'm aware it's not got a trackpad - that's fine with me since it makes it less likely to be nicked.).
The damn things my favourite travel machine as it'd take a direct hit from a air strike to destroy it.
Build quality getting worse feels normal
Each new version of HP's Probook (650's especially I've got good experience with since we've brought them since they were 6710b's or maybe nx6120) feels like something else had had a corner cut. Sometimes things are made better after whining.
Putting the power button on the top row of the keyboard is one of the most confusing things done recently (At least 2 people had to Google how to turn them on, so I know point it out if I am handing one over), plastics to me feel cheaper every time (I also want to slap people who think lighter notebook computers are better).
Re: Build quality getting worse feels normal
Still running a HP Folio 9470m & plan to do so for as long as I can.
Re: Build quality getting worse feels normal
A client has been a long-term user of the ProBook 450, many think the G4's look more modern and better than the G5's...
>Putting the power button on the top row of the keyboard is one of the most confusing things done recently
Dell have on some laptops (eg. Vostro 5155) combined the fingerprint reader with the on/off button. Giving rise to the issue the button can't have a keycap and so they have placed a sticker on the case which isn't exactly obvious as to what it means. It thus takes on, initial usage, a little time to find the on/off button.
Peak Laptop?
Each of us has our own idea of the perfect laptop. For me this period of Thinkpads hits the spot, Build quality, design, functionality were all just right for me. At one point I had 5 from this period X61s, X61Tablet, T61p, X301 and X201. You could take it completely apart and replace practically every part and screw. At the time I remember that after IBM sold the hardware business to Lenovo a lot of people thought it would all go downhill fast but for a period they hit it out of the park.
I've been very tempted to get either of the upgraded X63 or X210.
Display
I liked my old Thinkpads but looking back, the resolution seems terrible. I do favour 4:3 layout since window design puts the title, toolbar etc in a vertical stack. I'm less bothered by the CPU speed than the battery life. I don't care enough to rebuild a laptop but I'd buy an updated version if a manufacturer took refurbishment seriously.
I think this is really interesting. Not sure if I will have time to spare to give it a shot but I want to give them some money for trying!
I honestly don't understand why Lenovo isn't seeing a niche here, surely the entirety of the open-source community is a fairly large market in its own right. ThinkPad is the defacto "high compatibility" laptop for OpenBSD, FreeBSD, Linux (even Solaris, Hackintosh, Plan 9). Why has Lenovo not stepped up to actually monetize that?
If they literally just kept a production line up of the ThinkPad X220 and provide some nifty open-source stickers and a fancy website, they could almost dominate 100% of that ~5% global market. This is *surely* worth it for a few weeks worth of web developer wages (and to print out those stickers ;))?
Edit: In many ways, the idea of ThinkPad becoming *the* vendor for open-source platforms is an issue in the same way that I feel a single vendor like Apple controlling an entire ecosystem is a dumb risk for a consumer to take.
T42p
I still miss that old beast. 1600x1200 4:3 screen, nearly indestructible (colleague left his on his car roof, drove off. It was missing some exterior plastics, but worked for years afterwards). Only died as it was from the beginning of the lead-free solder era, so the GPU came undone.
Modern Lenovos are not especially open-source friendly, unfortunately.
Typed on my trusty X230.
I was using my trusty X220T as a server while on its dock for years up until I got a propet piece of kit for the job. Only problems with it are the terrible thermals and quickly dying battery—everything else is fine.
Updating Macs as well
It would be nice if someone did the same for classic Mac Pros the Apple purposely hobbles. The whole range from the 1,1 to the 5,1. Apple even change the casesso you can't easily put a later motherboard into a 1,1 or 2,1 case. I'd be happy for just an updated EFI module.
Good show! Nice to see someone doing something that draws attention to the poor quality and disposable mindset of recent years.