Don't throw away your T4x, The new mobo is coming![Lots PIC]

[wallacel]

My T42 die recently, I eagerly look forward to this new mobo to survive mine!!!

[irus]

life is good again!

freedom from trashy laptops and win 8.1 tablets yeee yech

[RMSMajestic]

Hey guys,
I've messaged HOPE but got no reply so far. Maybe because he has too many junk messages and he ignored mine..... :/ I'll wait until Sept and if I still haven't got a reply then I'll post a thread.
Regarding the T50 mobo, there has been some delays in production. Maybe we can see the production model in a few weeks.
Hopefully he will make this motherboard available on ebay to international buyers.

[RMSMajestic]

Why not i-Gen 2/Gen 3? Awesome project regardless and this means a definite purchase if they ship to europe. But still, why not current hardware?

Even got a spare i3-330m... Good enough for a test base.

It's all about cost
gen 2 or gen 3 are too expensive.... and there's not much difference between the performance of all gens at the same clock speed

[posscakes]

rad, i want.

[invernomuto]

I'm really interested in buying one too!

[DaKKS]

It's all about cost
gen 2 or gen 3 are too expensive.... and there's not much difference between the performance of all gens at the same clock speed

Expect for graphics performance. Which is utter and complete rubbish compared to HD3000 and HD4000...

[rkawakami]

OT:

rad, i want.
_________________
T23 (purchased for $20, built up from dead laptops. 1.2ghz cpu upgrade, wifi mini pci card and ufl jack mod. refuses to die)

Love that!

[posscakes]

OT:

rad, i want.
_________________
T23 (purchased for $20, built up from dead laptops. 1.2ghz cpu upgrade, wifi mini pci card and ufl jack mod. refuses to die)

Love that!

Thanks, the T23's a survivor! and I think the first laptop i ever pulled apart and rebuilt with moderate success. The wifi mod i did on it was courtesy to some instructions i found on a forum quite likely this one but i'm not sure it was a few years ago now. I was looking at ebay before still heaps of old thinkpads for esp T4x and T6x dirt cheap as parts machines, cool there is still plenty of resolve to keep these old things going. I'm fully psyched now to ressurect my T40. I remember being pretty pist when it died as i'd just spent money on a big battery and the slimline dvd drive for it. if i can re-utilise those things with an update cpu, ram and ssd i'm pretty stoked, if not i'm hitting the graphics chip with a heat gun at first opportunity.

[kangaskhan]

cannot believe

[lanesharon]

Just tagging on this topic so that I can keep up on any new postings. Quite interested in this. Hope the new board at least allows for sata laptop drives. I have a couple large ones sitting around waiting. In fact, one has a shadow copy of Windows XP, would love to dual boot it with Linux.

[Neil]

I'm not sure there is anything to get exited about..., I just can't get my head around there being a big enough market for these to actually manufacture something...but I guess, we'll see what happens.

I have a nice T42p on which the GPU BGA had failed. It would be really nice to turn it into a semi-modern UXGA laptop.

[invernomuto]

I do think it's something TO be excited at instead.
If you watch the photos they already produced some prototypes and debugged them until they arrived to a good working solution, thus the production is already possible since they have already done it to get the first prototype. I think the producer had the design files for a modern motherboard and managed to move around parts to reproduce the T4x form factor. I don't think it does it for money so better be ready to buy the first pieces, maybe he won't produce them for long. Let's hope for the better!

[ParatoOptimal]

Will a T6x form factor motherboard fit in a T41 case?

[axur-delmeria]

Will a T6x form factor motherboard fit in a T41 case?

The answer is a definite No.

[Outatime1989]

Id be looking to attain one of these as well, my TR451 is a bit slow for everyday use, so this would make a great upgrade. If this would be done for a 600X, id be ecstatic. but the T4xs were great machines and id love to see them last this much longer.

[LegendaryKA8]

Definitely consider my interest piqued. Depending on the success of running these boards I might get either a T4x or T6x chassis to play with one of these(well, if a T6x version is forthcoming). Would be a very cool 'blast from the past' daily driver.

[lanesharon]

There are some for sale on the auction sites and a few on my local CL. I am lucky because I have the docking station and power cords for both the laptop and the dock. And, the original case. Sheesh, I lucked out when that customer asked me to take it in trade for a computer service.

[Arturus]

Because the motherboard (and therefore performance) will be the same, I recommend you get a T43 chassis (Either 14.1" or 15" I prefer 14.1 but that's just my preference.) The T43 is so much... sturdier, and more professional looking as a whole as a whole. The T60 is just blocky, and you'll likeley end up with a widescreen version.

[Peptate]

Pinch me....

I've owned the t4x, t6x and the t4xx series. As much as I dislike using a Pentium M, I've been using it for the past year for school work because of the build quality. (Bar none, better than the t6x and far better than the t4xx series IMHO)

And that keyboard is unmatched in every aspect.

[DaKKS]

Anyone speak enough Chinese to act as a liaison?

Just scored an UXGA screen. Just need the board and the next generation Frankenpad will be born... MUAHAHAHA!

[lanesharon]

I am a newbie to the Thinkpad. I just had a T42, not used much, given to me. Wanted to try out Linux, so using it to do that. But, with this new board coming, my curiosity is tweaked and I am interested in getting involved in the possibilities.

Can someone explain the WUXGA screen situation - what it would give me in pluses? If I choose to do that, what do I need to look for to get one that would work with my T42?

[DaKKS]

I am a newbie to the Thinkpad. I just had a T42, not used much, given to me. Wanted to try out Linux, so using it to do that. But, with this new board coming, my curiosity is tweaked and I am interested in getting involved in the possibilities.

Can someone explain the WUXGA screen situation - what it would give me in pluses? If I choose to do that, what do I need to look for to get one that would work with my T42?

The UXGA has a much higher resolution than the XGA in my T42. More precisely 1600x1200 (UXGA) pixels vs. 1024x768 (XGA) pixels. All on a 15" inch monitor. Aside from the color reproduction of an IPS screen, its also much clearer due to the higher res. These UXGA screens are considered the holy grail of screens.

read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Display_resolution

[QWERTY Andreas]

Pinch me....

I've owned the t4x, t6x and the t4xx series. As much as I dislike using a Pentium M, I've been using it for the past year for school work because of the build quality. (Bar none, better than the t6x and far better than the t4xx series IMHO)

And that keyboard is unmatched in every aspect.

Well.. How is the build quality of the T4x better than both the T4xx and the T6x?

It does not have roll-Cage, Thus it suffer from motherboard Flex
The cooling is bad on those machines
They are harder to maintence.

The might "feel" better, but that doesn't give them a better "built quality"

[DaKKS]

Pinch me....

I've owned the t4x, t6x and the t4xx series. As much as I dislike using a Pentium M, I've been using it for the past year for school work because of the build quality. (Bar none, better than the t6x and far better than the t4xx series IMHO)

And that keyboard is unmatched in every aspect.

Well.. How is the build quality of the T4x better than both the T4xx and the T6x?

It does not have roll-Cage, Thus it suffer from motherboard Flex
The cooling is bad on those machines
They are harder to maintence.

The might "feel" better, but that doesn't give them a better "built quality"

Gotta go with my neighbour on this. As much as I love the T4X series, they are not better than the T6X series. That said, they still beat every other manufacturer on the market.

[ajkula66]

The cooling is bad on those machines

Not really. Noisy fan problem on T43/p was resolved with later BIOS versions and can be completely neutralized by swapping the M24 fan with M10. T60/p units with ATi graphics run far hotter/noisier than their T4x siblings.

They are harder to maintence.

I don't see where you're coming from with this one. I pop out the keyboard on a T4x, and here's my main DIMM slot. On a T6x/T400 etc. one must remove both the palmrest and the keyboard to access RAM...

Fan/heatsink is held by 3 screws as opposed to 6 on a T60/p. Not to mention the horrendous design of both the keyboard bezel and keyboard connector on T6x series, which are a huge step backwards when compared to T4x. On T/R/Z 60, they're made to be broken.

The might "feel" better, but that doesn't give them a better "built quality"

The downfall of the T4x series was the soldering problem on GPU/SouthBridge. With a new board in place, you'd essentially have the ultimate 4:3 ThinkPad. There's nothing else really problematic with this particular design.

As for build quality...the older I get, the less impressed I am with the T60 series build quality.

Rollcage - which is not much more than a very clever marketing ploy IMO - does nothing to stop the frame from cracking on T60 machines. As for board flex on T4x...yes, that was a problem with 14" units - since no one in their right mind picks up a 15" T4x with one hand - but it all goes back to BGA and (lousy) lead-free solder. Flex might have made some of these machines fail sooner, but they would've died anyway from shoddy soldering.

Hinges are *horrendous* on all T6x and a good portion of T400 units.

Plastics age far worse on all of them than on T4x series as well.

So it's really a case of "pick your poison".

Build quality? In my book, 600 series has yet to meet its match.

[DaKKS]

Build quality? In my book, 600 series has yet to meet its match.

Truer words have not been spoken. The beating our two 600x' survived at work is unbelivable. And my own 600e is horribly abused, yet it still runs splendidly.

[Arturus]

Ajkula66 summed up how i've felt about my T43 after since I purchased it several months ago; Fantastic build quality (having fiddled with mine thoroughly.) but somewhat hot, with a noisy fan (the three screws on my fan have rounded several screwdrivers so I've been unable to replace it.) and obviously now incapable of heavy lifting.

The thing's a minimalist masterpeice, especially with a 1400 * 1050 display in the 14.1" model. (One day I'll find an IPS display of any size and build a laptop around it.)

This motherboard will make it perfect - an eight year old (ish) laptop worth £50 (well, plus repairs) with an £80 motherboard and £n processor will be just as capable as something that was put out only a year ago by Lenovo or Toshiba and costs £800!

I'm actually planning to hog two or three of these motherboards so I can produce a laptop for my father and brother, who are both in dire need of one.

Someone should wrap one up and send it to something like Theverge or Engadget, would probably get full marks.

[QWERTY Andreas]

Not really. Noisy fan problem on T43/p was resolved with later BIOS versions and can be completely neutralized by swapping the M24 fan with M10. T60/p units with ATi graphics run far hotter/noisier than their T4x siblings.

I will say that the fandesign of the T4x is worse than the T6x, and newer, because its airflow is worse. WIth the T6x they simply have a direct intake and a direct exhaust, where both are placed on the sites - Thus they have access to "cold" air, and can blow the hot air away. Furthermore it is harder to bloce the vents on them

The T60s was horrific, however, because of the cooling pads on GPUs. But that got resolved in the T61s.

I don't see where you're coming from with this one. I pop out the keyboard on a T4x, and here's my main DIMM slot. On a T6x/T400 etc. one must remove both the palmrest and the keyboard to access RAM...

I have NEVER removed they keyboard to access the RAM. They are under the touchpad. But so far, i have only tried on 15" T60p, 15.4" W500, T61 and 14" T60.

Fan/heatsink is held by 3 screws as opposed to 6 on a T60/p. Not to mention the horrendous design of both the keyboard bezel and keyboard connector on T6x series, which are a huge step backwards when compared to T4x. On T/R/Z 60, they're made to be broken.

Yup. Screw applying pressure on the sink, all around the vital parts. Nothing bad in my book. And if you can unscrew 3 screws, you can unscrew 6 in less time than it really matters.

THe keyboard connector might be worse, but if one are about to take a laptop apart, and can't manage a simple connector - then one shouldn't be taking their laptop apart in the first place.

And to be honest, i prefer having the palmrest and bezel around the KB in two parts. It makes them much easier to remove, and you don't have to swap it all in case of an "accident".

As for board flex on T4x...yes, that was a problem with 14" units - since no one in their right mind picks up a 15" T4x with one hand

Well.. i do often pick up my laptop in one hand if i have to move it to another palkce on the desk etc. Call me irresponseble, but a laptop should be able to mange that. And if it can't manage that, how can it take a "drop" from a desk, or similar accidents? Not that laptops should be abused - but a good laptop can take a beating.

Hinges are *horrendous* on all T6x and a good portion of T400 units.

The hinges might very well be better on the T4x

Plastics age far worse on all of them than on T4x series as well.

You might be right on this one, but i don't have a T6x and T4x from the same time, so i can't tell. It is hard to determine, but you might be right. But i haven't had any problem on my TPs.

But ont he bottomline, both are extremely well build machines. I just can't get how the T4X is so much better than the T6X, because in my book they are below the T6x in some very important aspects.

[Orclas]

Me wants!

As generally happy as I am with my T61 (particularly after a crash and burn by buying a T400), I got a reminder of what a solid feeling my old T40 gives when I took it out of hibernation the other week. Such a motherboard would solve the two main reasons I did not stay with my T40 (lack of SATA and CPU performance) and some more (such as 64bit support).

If this turns out to be true and real, I guess I need to find myself a T43 with an SXGA+ display! Only remaining question would be cooling, , how hot does a core i run compared to an /undervolted/ Dothan?