A small collection [pictures]

[TPFanatic]

Retitled it again.



My T410 arrived last week and is nearly finished being set up with Windows 7. (just has this issue with OSD: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... 33#p788833 )

To the left is the R50p I rebuilt from scrap parts in the summer, running Windows XP, and on the right is the Z60mF with Windows 10.

T410 has i5 480m and 1440x900
R50p has PM 745 and 1600x1200 flexview
Z60mF has C2D T9400 and 1680x1050

Bonus (New World, New Thinking): http://i.imgur.com/D7dXrKq.jpg

Buying the Thinkpad was just the start of Lenovo's campaign for world conquest. For crying out loud they're going to buy Fujitsu, so we know Lenovo won't stop until they have enacted the New World Order. Lenovinati confirmed.


Bonus 2 (Z60mF lock background): http://i.imgur.com/4n4YBNw.png

[Cigarguy]

Congrats! Some nice additions there.

[UMPC2024]

Good to see your T410 in a picture. Funnily enough I used the same wallpaper a couple years back. Nice that you got a 1440 x 900 screen, mine is 1280 x 800.

[Saucey]

Great laptops you got there!

[kony]

Nice collection! Sad to see them all running Windows though.

[TPFanatic]

I have Ubuntu 14.04 x32 on a hard drive that floats around between computers, but I don't use it primarily on anything yet. Windows XP and 7 do everything I want to do.

[wujstefan]

Yay! Seems great!

I put great interest in your Z60tF. I literally LOVE this unit, but am working on undervolted M770 CPU to keep temperatures at bay. How did you franked this one?

[TPFanatic]

It's based on the bigger 15.4" Z60m. The CPU, northbridge, and enough screws are in the same spots between Z60m and T500 boards that, after a lot / too much cutting the T500 motherboard sits in the Z60m frame and case.

I just completed a good amount of bodywork on it so I may post more images of it.

I find the Z60m heatsink is sufficient to cool a 35w T9400. The idle temps are great, in the 40C range. The load temps are about as good as a T500 would get. Personally I'd prefer a 25w but I don't have any really fast ones so T9400 will do. I just got some AS5 which might go in sooner or later.


For a number of reasons though it's a project that shouldn't be done again. I think another user did put a T400 mobo into a 14" Z60t but i have no idea how since those boards don't look a thing like each other. The 15.4" T500 board is almost the same shape as the Z60m's.

[kfzhu1229]

If you got a Z60m in Windows 10, then you also should get the T410 Windows 10 as well

[TPFanatic]

Some changes have occurred since I posted the first set of images. Some may have seen the other thread I made for the R50p (that is what it currently identifies as, for now, since it might become a T42p again) specifically. Well, about that R50p, here's what I've done:



Bye bye, stickers! My left thumbnail... it hurts so much, but it had to be done.

Another cool thing, apparently this R50p, or at least the bottom case of it, must have been from a fairly late model machine, because this is what it says on the bottom:


Copyright sign 2005, 2006 Lenovo

Unless some refurbisher stuck that on themselves....

I also swapped the keyboard with a better condition of the same make, Chicony, which I had just robbed its spacebar of for the Thinkpad I present to the Thinkpad forum gods next:



My lovely T500. As you can see she now proudly wears a Thinkpad badge, which she was missing before as you can see in this rather large picture I took of her in Portsmouth: http://i.imgur.com/5MWdEL9.jpg .

She also now has a webcam courtesy of a rather screwed up W500 lid the front bezel of which she now wears, and is also on the receiving end of a mod that's been done by others on the forum, but not yet by me, until now:



Gray Fn, browser, and T4x style Cap Lock keys! And look at that beautiful spacebar next to every other tainted key... yes, look at the spacebar, don't look at the other keys. When I think about it now, I should have kept the mint keyboard for myself from the R500 that I sold, grrrrr, mistakes were made.



I've had the T500 for just over a year now, and it's served me amazingly. I've done video editing, gaming, schoolwork, everything on it. It hasn't failed me in any way. As of today she also now has 6GB of ram. 16:10 WUXGA, dual core x64, DDR3, rock solid construction, a reliable motherboard design, and a classic aesthetic. I can't think of what I want more in a Thinkpad. I love it. Though I still find myself attracted to the 4:3 form factor of the R50p.


Promised Z60mf pictures are next. The thing's still a mess work of art since I'm feeling optimistic- not, the things an ugly titanium brick, with a design emphasis on forward motion.

[kfzhu1229]

Copyright sign 2005, 2006 Lenovo

Unless some refurbisher stuck that on themselves....

Uh I searched the type number and it is indeed R50p with UXGA. My T42's base and charger says IBM logo but hints about Lenovo because that machine was built in 2006 (The type sticker and the Hitachi 40GB 5400rpm hard drive say 06)

My lovely T500. As you can see she now proudly wears a Thinkpad badge, which she was missing before as you can see in this rather large picture I took of her in Portsmouth: http://i.imgur.com/5MWdEL9.jpg .

She also now has a webcam courtesy of a rather screwed up W500 lid the front bezel of which she now wears, and is also on the receiving end of a mod that's been done by others on the forum, but not yet by me, until now:
Gray Fn, browser, and T4x style Cap Lock keys! And look at that beautiful spacebar next to every other tainted key... yes, look at the spacebar, don't look at the other keys. When I think about it now, I should have kept the mint keyboard for myself from the R500 that I sold, grrrrr, mistakes were made.

As far as you are wondering about the Caps Lock key, the design looks exactly the same as a 600, and is 100% interchangeable with A3x or T30 as well. FYI things like navigation keys, gray function keys, and blue enter key are introduced in A30.
I'd rather have every other key than space bar mint, otherwise I feel a bit unconfortable...

[TPFanatic]

And here is a sorry excuse for an image but it's all I'll post tonight of the Z60mF...



kfzhu1229, I know you like Windows 10, but what I just did had to be done. (just kidding it dualboots 7 and 10)

The Windows 7 I put on the Z60mF is based on an image from my T410. For some reason, after reinstalling all the proper drivers, it maintained the synaptics driver for the T410, so now my Z60mF has scrolling zones and multitouch. Woohoo?

[TPFanatic]

The Z60mF isn't in a very photogenic condition right now after a semi-failed fan swap.

Pro tip: Don't buy an R500 fan for any serious cooling work. It's top speed limited at 3100 rpm, very bad.


So here's my newest acquisition: a T520 Type 4239-CTO.

Wide images:
http://i.imgur.com/M56btqA.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/i5cx62M.jpg

Don't worry, the correct keyboard has been bought and is on the way. This swiss cheese W500 keyboard is, eh, okay for now. It has i5 2520m, 4GB RAM (8GB is on the way), LG 1600x900 display that is really nice, Realtek wireless, integrated graphics. It's a very nice laptop.

[kfzhu1229]

I hate to say this but I should give you some suggestions:
I would go for the Nvidia version. the Nvidia version can still play GTA 5 and stuff fine while I cannot say the same for the Intel version
Also as for the RAM I would go for 16GB if I were to buy upgrades
I find it useless for me to have 8GB and then upgrade to 16 as I will get 16 sooner or later (at the longest maybe after 3-4 years)
T520 has the 2nd gen processors so expect quite some heat from it because even 3rd Gen i7 has lower TDP than that 2520m which I also ended up having on my T530
I also suggest you check the temperature. My friend's T520 has the top i7 and it runs hot. After 4 years of usage for games, he told me that his computer runs slow. Then I downloaded TPFancontrol and only to find out that the compound was so useless by that time that the CPU IDLES at 75C under Windows 7! I was surprised that his CPU didn't go out and 2nd gen i7 chips are still very expensive for what it is.

[TPFanatic]

Thanks.

I tried one 3D game that runs OK on my T500 and some browser games. In browser games the T520 already blows my T500 out of the water since Adobe Flash isn't very Core 2 Duo or WUXGA friendly. The HD3000 meanwhile can play Guns of Icarus comfortably, 40 fps @ 1280x720, while my T500 needs to run at 960x600 at 60 fps, anything higher and it's sub 20 fps, so I'm very happy with the performance. There are probably also modded drivers for the Intel graphics. My other games are all 1998-early 2000s titles that I can play on a Pentium II Hitachi Visiondesk, or a T42....

I did have to buy a CPU for this T520, I got the i5 2520m since it was the cheapest I could find. $20.50, included a T420 motherboard and 4GB of ram with it. I really bought the 8GB (2x4GB) for my family's T500s, just to get two of them to 6, but just in case they don't work the T520 will get them. I put Arctic Silver 5 on it and the CPU only runs hot when turbo boosting for extended periods of time, since the heatsink is the gimped single heatpipe, single vent version it's supposed to have. I'm fine with it since the underside only gets moderately warm. Anyway it idles at 35-40C.

[kfzhu1229]

I don't know how 2nd gen i7 works but I think you need a better heatsink for the quad core i7 (my friend's quad core i7 T520 has a full copper heatsink while the one on my T530 only has copper on the CPU and GPU side.
Also I think you could get a mSATA SSD if you are running Windows 8, 8.1 or 10 on that machine. In Windows 7 it is really not that much noticable but in the newer OS the mSATA SSD saves you a lot of time booting the device

[TPFanatic]

Good thing the upgraded heatsinks are cheap, at least on the feebay they don't seem too expensive right now... I appreciate the advice, and based on what you posted yesterday's post I definitely want a Nvidia T520 now. Thanks for the recommendation!


Meanwhile I have some more images to share today, of this beautiful T42p running Windows 10.



Just kidding it's actually 7 Home Premium. http://i.imgur.com/Wnmg19j.jpg
Specs: Pentium M 755 2.0 ghz, 2GB RAM, FireGl T2, 1600x1200, something Atheros wireless, 250GB Sata hdd in the ultrabay.

Comparing it with the newer ones:

http://i.imgur.com/TkSJzhp.jpg Evolution of the T series.
http://i.imgur.com/eXTov4L.jpg Just the wide ones.
http://i.imgur.com/gFvLcBi.jpg From the front T500 and T510 are just about the same height,
http://i.imgur.com/M6kbReU.jpg but from the back is a slightly different story.


Today's great machines are built on the backs of yesterday's. Today being early 2011, that is.
http://i.imgur.com/jlr5PC7.jpg


Sorry for the blurriness, but gee golly, is the T520 obnoxiously wide. For some reason the T42p reminds me a Corvette C2 Sting Ray. It probably has to do with something called timeless design.
http://i.imgur.com/4TxoGGg.jpg


Fun fact: The T42p with the 9 cell battery feels the lightest/easiest to carry of them, the T500 with either cell is the heaviest, and the T520 is lighter than it looks, tho it does have a 6 cell (it's still lighter than T500 with a 6 cell). I suspect the GFRP base material in the T520 is lighter than the CFRP used in the T500 and T42.

That's all for now. Thanks for stopping by.

[dr_st]

Nice machines and a nice write-up.

I think your assessment of the relative weight is spot-on. At one point I took precise measurements of various systems using a kitchen scale. A T4x and a T60 of the same form factor weigh almost exactly the same. T61 generation is the heaviest. They use the same base plastic/compound materials as previous systems, but added an LCD rollcage. Starting from Tx00 generation things have been getting lighter with every new system, due to transition to lighter materials, and at some point, elimination of the LCD rollcage (probably turned out not to be as useful as they thought).

Another surprising factor in weight that people often do not consider is the optical drive (if your laptop has one). These too have been getting lighter with every generation. The one in my T42 weighs 195g, the one in my T430s only about 115g.

Tx10/20/30 are indeed lighter than they look. A T410 in particular presents a big discrepancy between how thick it is and how light it is. It is lighter than a T400 despite being thicker. Even a bit lighter than a T60 14.1" 4:3. Starting from T420 the 14" T series have gotten a little slimmer (thinner lid). 15" T/W series have remained pretty much the same all the way to T/W530.

Another factor contributing to lighter weight is the transition to SSDs. An SSD can weigh about 50-60g less than a 2.5" mechanical drive. So take a bunch of things each contributing a little bit to weight reduction (disk drive, optical, thinner keyboard plate, lighter plastics...) and together the difference can become significant.

I should do a write-up with pictures of my more modern systems, and talk a little bit about weight as well.

[kfzhu1229]

If you want real Windows 10, go for a T43/p/R52 (ATI graphics versions only)

[TPFanatic]

I still have the original Sonoma motherboard from my Z60m which I might try building into something later. I'd probably put Windows 10 on that for the fun of it.

I like making my various Windows environments look like other versions. My T500 running 7 has the Bliss wallpaper, my Z60mF's 10 environment looks like XP, the latter's 7 environment has the Vista background, and the latest T42p is 7 looking like 10. I even replaced the mouse cursor with 10's aesthetic. Next I'll dress up my Ubuntu to look like Windows, and some Windows to look like Ubuntu.

[kfzhu1229]

Okay for your Z60m, which GPU do you have? If you have the Intel GMA, do NOT install Windows 10 as you will NOT be able to install its graphics driver. If you have the X300 like what I have in my T43 or X600, use the Windows Vista driver and it will work.
Here are some guides for that driver installation:
1. Always use the .inf file, not setup.exe
2. After installation, go to the startup tab under task manager and also services and disable the startup of EVERYTHING that's related with ATI/AMD. THESE PROCESSES ARE KNOWN TO HANG AND EAT UP ALL YOUR CPU POWER FOR NO REASONS!! I learnt that the hard way.
3. If you want to use fast startup, you will see it hibernates instead of shutting down when you want to shut it down which is completely normal. Also when you turn it back on, it technically resumes from hibernating but the problem comes after that. You will get a blank screen with only a mouse cursor that can move and change. Don't freak out. The workarounds are listed here:
Important: first wait for some time and eventually you will know when to perform one of the following workarounds.
--> close your lid so that it goes to sleep mode and then open your lid
--> use the sleep hotkey (I use this way and set the sleep hotkey into turn off the monitor only)
--> use nircmd to turn off the monitor (I use this way as well): download nircmd, create a batch file with "nircmd monitor off" and then stuff the batch file in the startup folder under the traditional start menu location. This way is ideal if you use fingerprint or no passwords
After that you are good to go with the GPU driver original designated for Windows Vista.
Everything else other than Infrared should work right out of the box or out of the box after installing the correct driver

[TPFanatic]

That's great advice and information, thanks for the quality compilation, more than I could ask for.

It does have the 2.0 Ghz and ATI X600.

I'll keep that all in mind, or check back here if I forget. Thank you greatly.

[kfzhu1229]

How much RAM do you have? Is the limit for Z60m just like R52/T43/p's 2GB?
Also under Windows 10 you may have to consider Edge more than Chrome as Chrome REALLY struggles in terms of video in older hardware AFAIK plus Edge is more RAM usage friendly.

[TPFanatic]

Yep, 2GB. I was able to boot it with a 2GB DDR2 in the main slot and another 1GB for a total of 3GB in reality, but then it just ignored the 1GB.

[kfzhu1229]

FYI if you still want to get free Windows 10 from Windows 7 go for the accessibility route. DO NOT CLONE THE DRIVE FROM YOUR Z60MF as it will NOT gain another license to your Z60m! Unlike Windows 7, Windows 10's license is addressed by each motherboard.
I tried to directly move my hard drive from my 15" type 2668 T43 computer which got free license due to the preview program and move it into 14.1" type 2668 T43 with very identical hardware aside from the screen size & resolution and Windows 7 would boot as usual while Windows 10 detects new hardware, installs drivers from scratch and deactivates your license until you get a license for that motherboard or you move the hard drive back.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/accessi ... s10upgrade

[TPFanatic]

Yep, I've been there and done that a few. Ahhh, the SLIC bios system is so much more manipulable.

[TPFanatic]

http://i.imgur.com/wXjzmnl.jpg

I found a working 6 cell from my supply of excess batteries and put that in the T42p. In the meanwhile, I've also cloned its Win7 environment onto a 120GB PATA drive that I can put in the main bay, so that gives me the Ultrabay back. Someday I may replace its lid as well, no doubt you've noticed the poor condition of the lid. Very scratched. I am happy to say I didn't do it. This particular T42p, at least the top half, was a used one off ebay from back when my I dailyed a T42p, and that T42p encountered the infamous GPU failure so I wanted a replacement. Guess that's what happens when I play heavy 3D games on a T42p. The ebay T42p was good for I think a year, and then its GPU failed too. I later put its lid and screen onto yet another T42p which had just its Flexview fail. This is the result.

With this 6 cell Sanyo battery I get a fantastic estimated 45 minutes of runtime. It charges slow and drains fast, with a 16 wh full charge capacity. Indeed, this is a battery from when Sanyo made terrible Thinkpad batteries.

Since I will never use this laptop as a mobile computer, I just want it to look pretty and the flush-fit aesthetic helps. It lightens the machine as well, not that it should matter if I'm not carrying it? I actually did take this machine out for a weekend, and while I barely used it except for some Minesweeper and music playing, it held up like any good Thinkpad should.


The Bluetooth works to transfer these pictures from my phone. http://i.imgur.com/9Wu4mIE.jpg

[UMPC2024]

With this 6 cell Sanyo battery I get a fantastic estimated 45 minutes of runtime. It charges slow and drains fast, with a 16 wh full charge capacity. Indeed, this is a battery from when Sanyo made terrible Thinkpad batteries.

When did they ever make good ones?

Man, that full-fledged LED indicator bar on the front is something that I can only dream my T430 had.

[kfzhu1229]

With this 6 cell Sanyo battery I get a fantastic estimated 45 minutes of runtime. It charges slow and drains fast, with a 16 wh full charge capacity. Indeed, this is a battery from when Sanyo made terrible Thinkpad batteries.

Well my Sanyo battery lasts me 45 minutes on a T43p which should mean an hour or more on a T42p. Still even my Ultrabay slim replacement battery lasts me that amount of time or more on a T42 (while it struggles to work in T43p due to its inability to supply enough voltage) so I don't use it much.

[kfzhu1229]

Also which battery manager version are you using? Even the newest version works on these T4x/R5x machines but it locks your T4x/R5x up randomly (most likely when fan 3 kicks in)!! So beware if you have that freezing problem