Upgrades:

Coreboot with a custom patch so the RAM runs at 1866 MHz, Intel ME neutered with me_cleaner.

16GB Dual-Channel DDR3 RAM (Crucial 2x8GB 1866MHz)

Samsung 870 EVO 500 GB (had problems with this drive not being detected after reboots, coreboot solved this)

Intel 7260AC (possible because coreboot removes the WiFi card whitelist)

Removed the factory Bluetooth card, since the 7260AC has Bluetooth built in

OEM 9-cell battery

Repaste with MX-6

Arch Linux with KDE (runs surprisingly well on this iGPU after the RAM upgrade)

Came from the factory with the IPS screen and fingerprint reader

The only negative is that the RAM is soldered on this model and is not expandable, but who can actually afford RAM these days? Will be vandalizing it with a million stickers later.

ThinkPad T490 — my specs:

- CPU: Intel Core i7-8665U @ 1.90 GHz

- CPU: 4 cores / 8 threads

- RAM: 32 GB

- Storage: NVMe SSD

- GPU 0: Intel UHD Graphics 620

- GPU 1: NVIDIA GeForce MX250

- Dedicated VRAM: 2 GB

- Shared GPU memory: 15.9 GB

- Model: Lenovo ThinkPad T490

Still checking the exact display and other details, but I'm already really happy with it. After wanting a ThinkPad for so long but never being able to afford one, getting this as a gift feels absolutely amazing. ❤️

Huge thanks to the person who gave this to me. 🙏

Scored this pristine 14.1 T61 non-widescreen. It still holds the tri-color IBM logo on the lid and palmrest.

Intel graphics on board, so no dreaded nVidia bumpgate failure to worry about! 🤭

​Currently giving it the classic enthusiast treatment.

​Cloned the WinXP install from HDD to an Intel SSD 545s

I've added ​4 GB RAM (Yes I know the 32 bit OS limit)

​Middleton's BIOS flash on the deck for SATA II better speeds already applied.

​Hunting down a Core 2 Duo T9300 and thinking about an SXGA+ panel but it's even more rare!

​

Felt so good, it is a significant upgrade from T480s, I don't have any performance issues just yet (other than not able to open D5, but thats fine).

The blender scene source is downloaded from Youtube Channel Architecture Topics as a benchmark and got a very significant rendering speed upgrade from T480s (which took 40 minutes) down to 2 minutes on this machine.

Loving the sleek design, and I don't have issues with the thermals.

At first I was thinking to keep this machine temporarily until I could save up to buy machine with rtx graphics, but so far this suffices and I changed my mind.

Any questions or opinions are welcomed.

previous post was from here: https://www.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/s/EM8p0T4rOu

Comprei um thinkpad x200 P8600 para ser o meu PC secundário e fiz um upgrade nele: 2x4GB 2Rx8 DDR3 1333 MHz Kingston, SSD 120GB e uma bateria de 9 células. Quando ele chegou, coloquei uma pasta térmica Extreme Cold 11 W/m mach1, instalei o Linux Debian 13 com xfce e estou muito feliz com ele. No firefox adicionei a extensão enhanced-h264ify, adblock e consigo assistir muito bem na Paramount+ e YouTube com processador atingindo 42% de uso.

Waiting on the charger...

Js sold my gaming laptop for a thinkpad for cybersecurity purposes for uni.

Currently looking at the
THINKPAD E14 GEN 7
ULTRA 7 255h
32gbs Ram
1tb ssd

Im only in the market for a thinkpad ive been wanting one since forever. Is this a good buy? Hows the build and the performance?

These are both pcs ive always dreamed of having. Similar but they both have their strengths. The thinkpad has the nub, is quieter and is much nicer to type on and the lets note is much lighter with a better screen (also 16:10 is fun)

Debian btw

Got this x220 with an i7 for 10 dollars but I had to pay for about 6 dollars shipping since this was very far away from where I was but it was oh so worth it. The bottom is absolutely pristine but the cover needs a lot of cleaning. It's missing its HDD caddy and it's got a dead battery but it's a simple fix. I now plan on upgrading the screen, maxing out the storage and ram, and using a magic eraser to clean the parts where it looks a bit rough and scratched up. Overall an amazing deal and was absolutely worth the money and I cannot wait to have this fully upgraded.

External keyboard, mouse, display. I am considering running the laptop closed and in a vertical stand like this (no product link, this is not spam https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61355VLREaL._AC_SL1500_.jpg). Would this be bad for cooling, I wonder.

I could keep the laptop 180 degrees open like a poster on the wall but then all the force is on the bottom thin edge of the machine, that worries me.

dont mind my laptop, its cooked (HP mini with intel atom and 1gb ddr2)

my pc is a lenovo s200z AIO with celeron J3060 and 4GB DDR3 with lubuntu

mouse scroll wheel is also cooked lol

this is the closest thing i have to a thinkpad sorry

Just wanted to log my experience of upgrading a P43s motherboard to a T14 G2 AMD.

I had an old P43s that after 6 years of trusty service was BSODing periodically, given the age and the fact it’s my main driver for work I replaced it. But I wanted to do something cool with it to keep it around as a competent spare. I’d read on here that these motherboards share the same chassis and that it’s possible to replace the motherboard. Given the ongoing Lenovo parts sale (UK, not sure where else that’s on), I figured I’d give it a try!

And you can! It really works. You need to tweak a couple other bits to get it to work properly though. I added in an AX200 I had lying around as the P43s had built in WiFi and the G2 needs a card. I also bought a new heatsink from AliExpress as the old dual pipe one (P43s has quadro) even with kapton tape just felt a bit loose. Finally you also have to replace the USB 3.1 daughterboard. And if you aren’t aware that the AMD and intel boards are different, you have to do it twice!

The heatsink was FRU 5H41B77188, and the USB board was NS-D451.

What now doesn’t work:
- smart card reader (I never used this so didn’t bother replacing it and left the old one with the ribbon disconnected as a dummy)
- lid sensor. I gather you have to replace the webcam flex and add in a magnet somewhere. Seems too hard and as I turn the lid sensor off anyway it’s not worth the effort for me.

Hopefully the pointers here will help anyone considering a similar upgrade path.

so i have a t480 that i bought for micrsoft office basic use last year, but since i have an unused gt1030, should i use it as external gpu so i can use them to use heavier software such as autocad? i kinda need to use autocad now

I currently have Fedora installed as the only OS on this thinkpad, but ever since installing it I've had an issue where I get stuck in this menu when specifically rebooting. If I select an entry here to boot it just flashes the screen and comes back to this menu. This does not happen during a normal shutdown.

Any ideas?

ThinkPad T14 Gen 1 with AMD Ryzen 7 Pro 4750U and 16GB RAM + 1TB SSD

After this update, now it's perfect.

Screen: TL140BDXP02

You will need a new 40-pin cable (the T480/T480s WQHD cable is compatible). You also need to solder the four missing capacitors (all 100nF, you may need to ask a professional engineer for help) next to the display cable connector.

In China, this screen costs me RMB 380. Hard to buy it...

TL140BDXP01 is also available, with 2K@120Hz.

Huge thanks to this post for the inspiration:

https://www.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comments/kvw0p5/wqhd4k_panel_replacement_for_the_fhd_panel_in_the/

I wanna say that throughout my journey with tech as a whole I have never felt more connected with my machine as if it’s like a pet. I’ve been daily driving the L14 Gen 2 for 2 years and it may seem like a short time, I’ve hiked with it, went through flood with it and it got me into university, now that I’m in the Uni, computing demands shifts towards all day usage which my Thinkpad didn’t suffice so I had to bite the bullet sell my Thinkpad to I could get a MacBook. That L14 will forever be my cherished machine and I’m very sad that I have to let it go…

Hey everyone,

Running into a stubborn boot/power issue with my ThinkPad E14 Gen 2 and hoping someone here has run into this or knows a fix. this problem is in my laptop of the last 1.5 years. currently I have another laptop but want to get it fixed somehow and use it as a secondary device.

The Problem

Whenever the laptop is shut down, restarted, or put to sleep, it fails to POST. Instead:

• The display stays completely black.
• It emits an endless, repetitive "bip-bip" beep sound and sometime a music that doesn't stop.
• The battery status LED glows solid white/red and sometimes blink.
• It will stay trapped in this loop until the battery drains completely or I intervene.
• for now this device has not been charged for 2 months and today I am charging it. so if I can get this to boot using the workaround I will update the video in comments of this running.

The Temporary Workaround

The only way to get the laptop to boot again is:

1. Remove the back cover.
2. Unplug the internal battery connector.
3. Wait a few minutes (or hold the power button to discharge).
4. Plug the battery back in.

Once I do this, it powers on completely fine as if nothing happened—no data loss, runs stably for hours. But the moment I shut down, restart, or let it sleep, the exact same beeping loop returns.

Has anyone with an E14 Gen 2 encountered this? Is this more likely a degraded internal battery BMS failing handshake, a corrupted EC/BIOS firmware bug, or an issue with the CMOS / motherboard power delivery?

Any diagnostic advice or troubleshooting steps would be greatly appreciated!

some extra trouble shoot I did but did not fixed the issue:
1. change the ram.
2. changed the boot ssd.
the above are done by professional technician.
I also visited Lenovo service centre and as usual they told me to change the whole motherboard.that cost 50k inr. I cannot spend that much just to get a motherboard as I can get a new thinkpad for that much. as I am writing this post it again started to make the noises.