Thinkpads Forum

Hi.

I have this crazy idea for the future upgrade of my T61P laptop. As I love the keyboard, the looks of laptop and it's general layout... I thought about possibility of putting the motherboard from a Dell or Lenovo laptop that were recently released. For an example Dell XPS 13 or X1 Carbon from Lenovo. I do realise it would not be easy, but... Do you have any ideas of challenges faced and clues if it is realistic?

1. First of all are dimension (there are motherboard fitting in).
2. Layout of screws(fitting metal plate in between motherboard and laptop case to adjust the holes positioning?).
3. Connectors(doing adapters, buying available or just soldiering myself to get usb's and other things to the specific place on case).
4. Screen size.
5. Battery connection(would have to use the one designed for T61P if possible, but than voltages come in mind and battery electronics).
6. Cooling solution.
7. Motherboard to keyboard connection - I am pretty sure it will not correspond. Any type of adapter?
8. Fingerprint sensor.
9. Fitting in SSD's such a way, that they would not fly inside.
10. Extensions card - same as above applies.

Have you ever heard about such transplantation? Any ideas, possible donors. Just imagine having the amazing T61P with newest Broadwell CPU!

Thanks for answers!

PS Reasoning:

- satisfaction,
- cost effective,
- better battery life(50Wh compared to around 70Wh) given that we keep the battery,
- who is going to steal an old laptop like that ,
- perhaps quite high resistance to mechanical damage,
- cheap parts replacing in case of mechanical damage to case.

1 & 2. IMO it's too much of a hassle, and you risk damaging the board you're trying to install.
Furthermore, the more you cut/drill the T61p's chassis, the weaker it becomes (structurally). Same goes for the magnesium roll cage.

3. Good luck with making extension cables for USB 3.0 ports.

4. T61p has either 16:10 or 4:3 aspect ratio screens. Most laptops these days have a 16:9 panel. The closest mod I know put a 16:9 11.6-inch Full HD panel on a 16:10 12.1-inch X201 lid: http://thinkpads.kr/xe/files/attach/ima ... 0dd801.jpg

5. Trying to use T61 batteries on a different laptop is a bad idea.

6. Making exhaust ducts + drilling intake vents as necessary, will run into structural rigidity problem as 1 & 2.

7. There's a T6x keyboard to USB adapter board, but I don't know if it's still available.

8. FPR is a USB device, just roll your own cable, but check if the T61's FPR is 3.3v (USB is +5v)

9. If it's M.2 or mSATA card, it can be screwed on the board itself. If it's a 2.5 inch SATA SSD, run an extension cable from the board to the T61's HDD bay.

10. Do new laptops even have Expresscard?

The casing would require too much modification and would probably become flimsy. It would be better to machine a case and lid (magnesium alloy?) that would fit the new motherboard and keyboard. The lid and case could be designed for T530 hinges (or similar), so you could just place them in. Hinges from the T6* and T400 era are wobbly.