Thinkpads Forum

I know there's a lot of mods out there for T6x style laptops (perhaps some that haven't even been discussed yet), but I haven't seen a thread with everything showing them all off consecutively.

Here's the mods on my T60p:
#1 a heatsink from a T400 series laptop installed (for me it didn't help so I'll be switching back to an original one at some point)
#2 BIOS splash modded to the "IBM ThinkPad" logo (along with my email address in the top left corner)
#3 T4x grey keys added back on via a T6x NMB keyboard (since as others have shown, the NMBs use the same retention mechanism)
#4 Z6x titanium "IBM ThinkPad" badges to replace the RGB ones

Picture of the grey keys on my T60p: http://i.imgur.com/FBNtxw4.jpg
Picture of both silver badges: http://i.imgur.com/wffeyLI.jpg

I have a T60 15" with the following modifications:

-W500 heat sink + other cooling mods
-Red trackpoint buttos
-LED backlight (1400x1050 FlexView)
-Silver logo

The grey function keys look interesting, but since I have a Chicony, I'm not sure if they would fit.

- 15,4" T61p mobo in 14,1" T60p (some rework with the case, and moving the storage drive. No ultrabay)
- Quadcore mod (some wiring, modded processor, flahsed RAM and new bios)
- Fan switch for Advanced dock (to turn PCIe fan off)

600X wrote:I have a T60 15" with the following modifications:

-W500 heat sink + other cooling mods
-Red trackpoint buttos
-LED backlight (1400x1050 FlexView)
-Silver logo

The grey function keys look interesting, but since I have a Chicony, I'm not sure if they would fit.

Yeah, I like having the grey keys; it makes it easier to visually digest and adds a bit of flare.

Interesting to know others have also done the silver logo mod. I was considering wrapping the lid of my T60p in some foil wrap to make a mock Z6x titanium lid look. The rubber was immensely worn out by the original owner, so covering it up would be one method on getting around that.

QWERTY Andreas wrote:- 15,4" T61p mobo in 14,1" T60p (some rework with the case, and moving the storage drive. No ultrabay)
- Quadcore mod (some wiring, modded processor, flahsed RAM and new bios)
- Fan switch for Advanced dock (to turn PCIe fan off)

Hmmm... I wasn't entirely aware that you could stuff T61 guts in a tiny T60 14.1" chassis. That's quite appealing since I love the 14.1" chassis. I should hunt some guts down and try that some day.

micrex22 wrote:Unfortunately this can only be performed with NMB keyboards. I don't believe IBM ever contracted Chicony to make ThinkPad keyboards (re: T4x). I could be wrong, though.

Actually, T4x keyboards were manufactured by the same three companies that were kept for T6x: Alps, Chicony, NMB.

Hmmm... I wasn't entirely aware that you could stuff T61 guts in a tiny T60 14.1" chassis. That's quite appealing since I love the 14.1" chassis. I should hunt some guts down and try that some day.

Some pretty awesome work that mod is...you do lose the UltraBay functionality in the process, though.

ajkula66 wrote:
Actually, T4x keyboards were manufactured by the same three companies that were kept for T6x: Alps, Chicony, NMB.

Do you happen to know if T40 Chicony key caps fit on T60 Chicony keyboards?

600X wrote:
Do you happen to know if T40 Chicony key caps fit on T60 Chicony keyboards?

I can try it over the weekend and let you know...

QWERTY Andreas wrote:- 15,4" T61p mobo in 14,1" T60p (some rework with the case, and moving the storage drive. No ultrabay)

Do you have any more information on this mod? Do you think it would work in a 15" t60 with the 15.4" mobo? the 15.4" mobo is waaaay easier to get and also includes double the graphics memory so I am very interested.

TimeTomorrow wrote:

QWERTY Andreas wrote:- 15,4" T61p mobo in 14,1" T60p (some rework with the case, and moving the storage drive. No ultrabay)

Do you have any more information on this mod? Do you think it would work in a 15" t60 with the 15.4" mobo? the 15.4" mobo is waaaay easier to get and also includes double the graphics memory so I am very interested.

Here is a link to my build thread: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=110323

I think it is possible to get a mSATA => Sata adapter to fit a SSD in the usual HDD place. Then it should be possible install a 2. where the ultrabay used to be.. A link to such an adapter: http://www.ebay.com/itm/271928603934?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT

However i don't have the need for a 2. HDD currently, so i haven't tried

My mods on T61, sorry no photos:
#1 Installed Middleton BIOS
#2 T9300 Core 2 Duo CPU
#3 WiFi PCIe mini card, part no 42T0867
#4 4GB Crucial RAM CT25664AC667
#5 60GB Crucial SSD
#6 640GB SATA2 HDD in Ultra Bay
#7 Installed Win7 64
#8 PCIe to USB2 mini card internal spare PCIe slot, added 32GB flash drive.
#9 2 Port USB3 Express card in dual side slot.
#10 Tuned with RightMark CPU Clock Utility

Now I'm toying with the 2503 dock but the fan noise is annoying me. Was hoping to use it as an AV center with an HDMI graphics card but thinking I'll stick with the PC for those duties as it already works flawlessly and is dead quiet. I might consider the 2504 dock and use the spdif just for 'all day long' random FLAC streaming but again, the PC is already doing a stella job but consumes a lot more power..

micrex22 wrote:#3 T4x grey keys added back on via a T6x NMB keyboard (since as others have shown, the NMBs use the same retention mechanism)

Great idea. I have played with the idea of changing the Trackpoint buttons to red ones, but I never thought about this. I will try with some spare T4x keyboards I have. I remember I was disappointed over the absence of colors on the keyboard when I saw a T60 for the first time.

600X wrote:

ajkula66 wrote:
Actually, T4x keyboards were manufactured by the same three companies that were kept for T6x: Alps, Chicony, NMB.

Do you happen to know if T40 Chicony key caps fit on T60 Chicony keyboards?

Hey mate, Ajkula66 had sent me a Chicony T60 and Chicony T4x boards, and it looks like the switches are interchangeable. Precaution has to be taken when removing them since sometimes you can get the scissors stuck in the key as they'll detach from the board. I find lifting them up on the right side and pulling from the left seems to remove them the easiest without removing the scissor mechanism from the keyboard itself.

micrex22 wrote:#4 Z6x titanium "IBM ThinkPad" badges to replace the RGB ones

Where did you get those?

MrMaguire wrote:

micrex22 wrote:#4 Z6x titanium "IBM ThinkPad" badges to replace the RGB ones

Where did you get those?

You can buy them from here (I can vouch for this seller being reliable, make sure you get insured shipping because the postage can lose them in mail):
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-IBM-Th ... 1a047d9034

Or from this seller in China:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/IBM-Lenovo-Thin ... 43ac085c0a

I didn't know about the Z61 when I bought those badges (of course when I did I had to get one... too cool not to).

Brand new Z61 titanium lids are available here (just buy one of those IBM badges to replace the dull Lenovo one):
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-IBM-42W3164 ... 397403889?

600X wrote:I have a T60 15" with the following modifications:

-W500 heat sink + other cooling mods
-Red trackpoint buttos
-LED backlight (1400x1050 FlexView)
-Silver logo

The grey function keys look interesting, but since I have a Chicony, I'm not sure if they would fit.

Woah, wait a minute, how did you get the T4x red buttons?

Using the Ajkula chiconies again, I popped the T4x buttons on the T6x keyboard. Bizarrely enough they DO click into place without issue... however the T6x middle scroll button gets in their way:
http://i.imgur.com/5hyuKyI.jpg
It would be possible to trim down the middle T6x scroll button, but it wouldn't look as elaborate and you'd be missing the IBM blue stripe.

So then I popped on the T4x middle scroll with both red buttons on the T6x keyboard:
http://i.imgur.com/K2sZdn6.jpg

The middle scroll button doesn't fit out of the box like the red click buttons, but with some minor modifications it would work... weird. Has anyone else done this? It seems like it would be a fairly popular mod.

I can sacrifice the Ajkula chiconies to develop a way for a conversion for T4x buttons on T6x keyboards. Is anyone interested?

micrex22 wrote:Woah, wait a minute, how did you get the T4x red buttons?

Hang on before you sacrifice keyboards trying to use the actual T4x buttons. This mod was posted some years ago, and the clue is to use the whole Trackpoint button assembly / frame from a X-series keyboard. I can't remember which, though. I had the correct keyboard in my eBay watch list until recently, awaiting time and motivation to do the mod, but it got deleted and I can't find the original post. So let's wait for 600X to chime in.

micrex22 wrote:Hey mate, Ajkula66 had sent me a Chicony T60 and Chicony T4x boards, and it looks like the switches are interchangeable.

Thanks for the info! I'll keep my eye out for some Chicony T40 keyboards then.

As for the red trackpoint buttons, I used the entire trackpoint button assembly from a new X200 keyboard. You can also use a X300 keyboard, which has higher quality rubberized buttons. However, X300 keyboards are much more expensive. X200 and X300 trackpoint buttons are also not interchangeable.

Here's a quick pic of my T60: http://fs2.directupload.net/images/user ... ucvaq5.jpg

600X wrote:Thanks for the info! I'll keep my eye out for some Chicony T40 keyboards then.

As for the red trackpoint buttons, I used the entire trackpoint button assembly from a new X200 keyboard. You can also use a X300 keyboard, which has higher quality rubberized buttons. However, X300 keyboards are much more expensive. X200 and X300 trackpoint buttons are also not interchangeable.

Here's a quick pic of my T60: http://fs2.directupload.net/images/user ... ucvaq5.jpg

Thanks for the info. So I took an old X201 I had laying around. The buttons would not fit on my NMB keyboard. It appears that all T60 keyboard variants have slightly different trackpoint button designs. So I imagine your X200 chicony keys work on your T60 chicony keyboard. I wonder if I got an NMB X201 keyboard if they would then fit.. probably. Heh, using three keyboards to make one. Well it is Lenovo`s fault.

As I mentioned, it is not a direct swap. The manufacturer doesn't matter. You need to exchange the entire trackpoint assembly. It requires cutting, sand-papering and some super glue, along a with a few hours to spare.

See here (attention, pictures): http://www.philippthome.de/thinkpads/x6 ... asten-mod/
and here (attention, pictures): http://www.thinkpad-forum.de/threads/17 ... x-verbauen
for instructions how to do it (both german, but the pictures should be sufficient).

Yes, the first link was the description I once found. Maybe it wasn't even posted on this forum at all. But the procedure will be the same for a T60.

On occasions like this I'm glad I took those German classes in High School.

600X wrote:I have a T60 15" with the following modifications:

-W500 heat sink + other cooling mods
-Red trackpoint buttos
-LED backlight (1400x1050 FlexView)
-Silver logo

wow 600X, i'd love to know what you did to get that LED backlight on an sxga+ screen?! i've tried using a drop-in kit from China (http://www.xccfl.com/product_info.php?products_id=4725) but with mixed results. had to do a LOT of experimenting to get the backlight positioned correctly, and unfortunately several of the LED nodes got ruined in the process and no longer light up. did you use a kit (inverter + bulb), or did you buy only a drop-in replacement bulb from somewhere, or what??? i've seen plenty of members here talk about their BOE-Hydis uxga w/LED mod, but you're the only one i've seen who has an sxga+ w/LED!

The kit that was used is the one you linked. You may have noticed that I didn't use "I" in my previous sentence. You may also have noticed that it isn't exactly easy to install one of those LED kits. That is why I asked someone else with more experience to do it for me. If done correctly, the results are quite satisfying. However, the brightness is quite high even on the lowest level, which can be rather annoying indoors.

Obviously, you can do the same upgrade with the exact same kit on a stock CCFL UXGA, but I find that resolution to be slightly too high for me on 15", which is why I chose SXGA+. You also get less LED reflections on the SXGA+, which presents quite a problem on the UXGA.

thanks. yes it's quite complicated but i've successfully replaced ccfl backlights in both 4:3 and 16:10 thinkpads so thought i'd give this kit a try. i was very close to being satisfied but there were still shadows etc, so i kept tweaking the backlight strip then boom, several nodes stopped working (probably because i bent the strip one too many times).

oh well, live and learn . . . was still worth the experimenting since the brighter display really was awesome to see even temporarily. might get another one someday, once i have some spare $ (and time! backlight replacements take so d*mn long! but in the end they can really pay off)