The cheapest T60/T61 frankenpad (sweet big pictures warning)

[Bibin]

I set out on a quest to build a Frankenpad for under $150. I think I'm pretty on-track:
Here's what I have so far:

-T60 15" machine with good chassis: $10 on eBay (has an XGA LCD - ouch! can't wait to replace it)
-T61 14" 4:3 machine with working motherboard: $10 on eBay
-HV150UX1 Boe-Hydis UXGA LCD in good shape: $60 on eBay
-4GB PC-6400 RAM: $10 on eBay
-Intel 7260 Wi-Fi card: $10 on eBay
-T9300 CPU: $25 on eBay

Coming in at $125 so far it's looking pretty good! The LCD hasn't arrived, but I did the rest of the swap and it works great. Definitely the fastest and most economical Frankenpad build I've ever done. Bonus: I'm left with a working T60 Core Duo 14" schwabenpad. Never hurts to have a spare computer.

For the curious, this is how the Quadro NVS 140m in the T61 motherboard responds to the stock T60 XGA panel which doesn't have EDID:
http://i.imgur.com/6P1wjqd.jpg

The T9300 is doing great in there. I put Middleton's bios on the T61 before swapping anything.
http://i.imgur.com/K28x9jK.jpg

Here is the "Schwabenpad" left over, with the T60 motherboard in the T61 14" shell. The right hinge was completely obliterated, but it's doing pretty well for only one hinge! I've ordered a Core 2 Duo to upgrade it from its T2300, and a replacement hinge set for it.
http://i.imgur.com/rIfkZmI.jpg

[MrMaguire]

Nice work so far. I almost can't believe how little you payed for all of that. Was it difficult to find those deals?

Edit: I should probably also ask if you're including the shipping with those prices.

[QWERTY Andreas]

Coming in at $125 so far it's looking pretty good!

Most of my components costed >125$

[n2ri]

need a way to keep CPU, GPU cool with that T61 stuff. the W500 tried using same fans etc and added screens on bottom to limit air more thats why the fast versions over heat easy. I had to add the 3rd party fan control app (TPFC) to my W500 2.8ghz or it shut down soon as CPU started working much. why not use a W500 as base? I got mine fo 40$ local (think they thought they got me as it was overheating soon after turning on til I got TPFC installed) mine also has the SIM card slot which T61 never installed just had spot for it in case. I have seen T61 with W500 case from factory also. the headphone/mic jacks in front on W500 and USB slots on other side are a pain at times I think though. dont see why they swapped stuff like that as the T61 original case layout is perfect I think.

oh also how do you get bios/MB to see different size display from the 14 to the 15"?

[RealBlackStuff]

You forget that the T61/W500 are widescreen models, which this FrankenPad abhors!
The whole idea is to make a Standard 4:3 non-widescreen model.
And UXGA (1600x1200) is ideal for anybody who prefers screen height over width, to be able to do some REAL work.
And if you can come up with the UXGA in IPS with ex-factory LED-backlight, you're good for at least another 5-10 years.

The 15" SXGA+ and UXGA screens all have EDID-chips, which supply the BIOS with screen-size data.

[Bibin]

Nice work so far. I almost can't believe how little you payed for all of that. Was it difficult to find those deals?

Edit: I should probably also ask if you're including the shipping with those prices.

Shipping isn't included, no, but most of them were free shipping. The only things I've paid shipping on were the T60 and T61 laptops. Those were from the same seller, and it cost about $15 to ship them. Still pretty good!

The UXGA LCD is arriving today. With that it will be more or less complete.

And UXGA (1600x1200) is ideal for anybody who prefers screen height over width, to be able to do some REAL work.

Someone gets it!
Though, I've been spoiled by my desktop monitor, which is 1920 x 1920.

Also, good news - the battery the T60 came with is an original OEM one, and at 85% original capacity. Not too bad!
I've ordered a T7200 and a replacement hinge for the left-over T60-in-T61 machine. It never hurts to have an extra around. That one has Intel graphics and runs extremely cool.

[Bibin]

Looks like the -101 variant of the panel does not have an EDID ROM. The machine just won't see it! Looks like I'm going to have to see about sticking an EEPROM on there...

There is an EEPROM on the old XGA screen. I have a dump of the HV150UX1-100 EDID; perhaps I can flash it and use it there.

[Brad]

Great work.

Brad

[MrMaguire]

Gotta love the resourcefulness and determination of Bibin.

[n2ri]

You forget that the T61/W500 are widescreen models, which this FrankenPad abhors!
The whole idea is to make a Standard 4:3 non-widescreen model.
And UXGA (1600x1200) is ideal for anybody who prefers screen height over width, to be able to do some REAL work.
And if you can come up with the UXGA in IPS with ex-factory LED-backlight, you're good for at least another 5-10 years.

The 15" SXGA+ and UXGA screens all have EDID-chips, which supply the BIOS with screen-size data.

yes but in begining you stated using a T61 with 14" MB on a 15" screen. how does the one size MB see dif size display from factory or is display on its own board?

[Bibin]

You forget that the T61/W500 are widescreen models, which this FrankenPad abhors!
The whole idea is to make a Standard 4:3 non-widescreen model.
And UXGA (1600x1200) is ideal for anybody who prefers screen height over width, to be able to do some REAL work.
And if you can come up with the UXGA in IPS with ex-factory LED-backlight, you're good for at least another 5-10 years.

The 15" SXGA+ and UXGA screens all have EDID-chips, which supply the BIOS with screen-size data.

yes but in begining you stated using a T61 with 14" MB on a 15" screen. how does the one size MB see dif size display from factory or is display on its own board?

The motherboard doesn't care about the size of the display. It only cares about the logical dimensions (resolution), required dot clock for the resolution, etc. EDID provides this information. In this case, because this display does not have an EDID chip, it is not providing such information.

[RealBlackStuff]

Correct.

[Bibin]

Goddammit - the good news is that my idea was fine in theory. I hooked up an I2C EEPROM and flashed it with the HV150UX1-100 data, and the T61 now sees it and it is working great electrically.

The bad news is that the panel is defective! It has the classic horizontal lines near the bottom 1/6th of the screen. Not the first HV150UX1 I've seen go this way.

http://i.imgur.com/cydHaZ0.jpg

[MrMaguire]

Ouch. Hopefully you can get your money back.

[Bibin]

I found an eBay auction of 2 SXGA+ panels and 1 UXGA panel, all from T4x series for about $30, so when those arrive I hope I can do something with them. The busted panel I have has a decent backlight, so I hope I can make something good out of all of these. Surely they can't all end up defective.

[Bibin]

I edited my top post for a large picture warning because I want to inline pictures that aren't for ants.

Here is the unpopulated EDID area for the I2C EEPROM on the HV150UX1-101. I am holding up the PCB from a broken X220 LCD, which has the EEPROM I'm going to borrow. It is less than half the size:

http://i.imgur.com/zDutc4O.jpg

Here I "desoldered" it from the X220 LCD PCB. Fortunately the write-protect pin was already wired to allow me to write to it:

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

Most of the wiring is done in this picture; the big red wire goes to the (massive 1/4W) resistors used for pull-ups on SDA and SCL which aren't wired up yet.

http://i.imgur.com/7Lzgd95.jpg

Sure enough, the old 12.5" donor EEPROM's data is reading just fine.

http://i.imgur.com/wK3WcTo.jpg

I got the EEPROM flashed with the HV150UX-100's data, and restarted the computer. The panel now lights up and has a working image, but... the panel, after all that work, is defective.

http://i.imgur.com/JY3yY0O.jpg

MOD Warning: adding such a warning still does NOT give you the right to post such huge pictures inline!
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[xebbmw]

@Bibin: How was advertised the first HV150UX1 Boe-Hydis UXGA LCD that you bought on ebay? Grade A or B?

I am looking also into a screen. I have a T60 15" (only SXGA+) , I bought a T61 14" and also a T9600 as CPU (some modification will be required for 1066 FSB).

[Bibin]

It was advertised as a grade A panel. To be honest it has a few backlight spots. On the bright side it is very bright and good otherwise in the areas that don't have lines through them.

If you get an HV150UX1-101, it may not have EDID like mine, but if you are handy with soldering you can install one and program it yourself, so the panel is still a viable option.

I've never seen an SXGA+ panel fail this way, only the UXGA ones. See if you appreciate the SXGA+ enough before you spend a lot of money on a screen that might fail. The LG UXGA panel isn't quite as nice as the Boe-Hydis, but I haven't seen its TAB bonding fail, unlike multiple Boe-Hydis UXGA panels.

[xebbmw]

I have a hot air soldering station and soldering iron, that won't be a problem to do some soldering.

What is the EEPROM chip that you added?

[Bibin]

I honestly can't read the chip, it's too small. I can make out an LO2 marking, but that's about it. It is certainly an SPI EEPROM that conforms to EDID specifications, at least.

The seller has accepted a return on the HV150UX1-101 panel, and my batch of replacement panels arrived. I got a good deal (~$40) on some panels from T4x series - Two SXGA+ and one UXGA. The UXGA has a tiny bit of yellowing but it's good enough for now, and I've got spares. And hey, the panels have EDID already... If anybody wants a bunch of T4x 15" hinges, lids, and two XGA panels, I have some that will be tossed out if unclaimed.

[Pete B]

I bought a T61 14" and also a T9600 as CPU (some modification will be required for 1066 FSB).

Hi, assuming the 1066 mod is doable, I'm wondering if P9xxx processors will work with it,
will the motherboard provide the correct core voltage with P series processors?

Edit: I should have read the quad core thread, it says there that the P8800 will work, not sure
if you need a BIOS mod. I wonder if the P9700 will work?

[RealBlackStuff]

Just an FYI: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... 46#p621946