Thinkpads Forum

Sorry everyone if I asked this question before.
1st: - Using (and loving) my Thinkpad T500. I see online "talk" about "Coreboot/Libreboot/1vyrain" for updating/upgrading Thinkpoad BIOS beyond what is found on the Lenovo website. As far as I found out at this time... benefits are increased boot speed, security and flexibility - but are there any other benefits such as using RAM beyond the maxium 8 gig installable for the T500 or better support for faster CPU chips?
2nd: - Seeing online that Coreboot/Libreboot/1vyrain appears to support the X230c / X330* / X230t / T430 / T430s / T530 / W530 series of Thinkpads and wonder if anyone has heard of its use on Thinkpad T500 series?
Last: - I see (so far) that a person needs open up the laptop - hence using "1vyrain" to help with update BIOS without opening the laptop guts. Can anyone please tell me their results?
I guess... I am trying to find out if Coreboot/Libreboot/1vyrain appear worth it (in my opinion) - if the only visible improvement is boot speed.

Thanks in advance.
James
Indiana

Libreboot won't magically increase the maximum supported RAM because it's a hardware limitation.
The stock BIOS already supports most Core 2 Duo processors. If you're thinking of Core 2 Quads, that requires hardware modification, though I don't know the details of how it's done.

1vyrain is only applicable for the T430 generation. There are probably modded BIOSes for your T500 that have the WiFi whitelist removed.

IMO flashing Coreboot/Libreboot is more about your personal preferences than anything technical. For all the "freedom" it offers, Coreboot actually limits you to using Linux because its ACPI implementation is incomplete, and insufficient to boot and run Windows stably. Now don't get me wrong, I've been using Linux primarily on my Thinkpads for more than a decade and a half, but I won't trade the flexibility (of installing/using whichever OS is needed) and the convenience of configuring BIOS settings with menus (from what I've read, Coreboot doesn't have any BIOS config menus, so some settings can only be changed via command line, good luck with that) for just boot speed.