Thinkpads Forum

Aside from the fact that it would require a custom chassis, are there any barriers to this combination? I'm trying to figure out the highest spec motherboard that will work with everyone's favorite screen.

Connectors will probably be different I suppose. LED vs CCFL, etc.

I don't see a problem, you can have a LCD cable custom designed and built...

I remember there being an LED-backlit version of the Hydis UXGA AFFS panel that someone here put in a T60/T61 hybrid. That actually seems like the best option. I suppose the remaining questions are:

• Assuming I make a connector that sends the right outputs to the right inputs, is LVDS standardized enough that the screens will be electrically compatible?
• Will the W520's BIOS object to the non-whitelisted EDID?
• Do solutions already exist if either of those points is a problem?

Zak wrote:I remember there being an LED-backlit version of the Hydis UXGA AFFS panel that someone here put in a T60/T61 hybrid. That actually seems like the best option.

Performance wise, there's no doubt, as seen in pictures here:

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=108270

I suppose the remaining questions are:

• Assuming I make a connector that sends the right outputs to the right inputs, is LVDS standardized enough that the screens will be electrically compatible?

Custom cables have been built before, including ones for the machine in the above thread...

[*]Will the W520's BIOS object to the non-whitelisted EDID?

I don't believe that any of the newer ThinkPads maintain such a whitelist, R60/T60 are the only ones who had one that I'm aware of...and the EDID can be re-flashed...

[*]Do solutions already exist if either of those points is a problem?[/list]

Read my responses above. The chassis remains the only real problem with the concept of building a Frankie along these lines...

I've had a growing interest in making stuff out of carbon fiber and related composites for a while now. I think a laptop chassis would be a great project. I don't have the funds to start on it right now, but soon. I'll probably drop the ultrabay to keep the dimensions reasonable.

In keeping with classic Thinkpad naming conventions, I believe the appropriate designation for such a machine would be T81p T71p (it occurred to me later that the T500/W500 are actually quite similar to the T61 15" widescreen and would therefore be the T62 rather than T70).

After looking at pictures of the correct motherboard (some wrong things come up in google image search), it seems there's a bit of an issue with making a chassis for this anybody would actually want to lug around. The motherboard is as wide as a W520. The T420 might be more appropriate, though the GPU is less impressive and it doesn't have four DIMM slots.

Perhaps a custom chassis or lid can be 'printed' with a 3D printer.

Are you saying the mainboard of the W520 is as wide as it's chassis?

There's no way you are getting a W520 mobo into a T6x 4:3 chassis. It is way too wide.

I did look into a T420 motherboard, but the USB ports and stuff are in the wrong spots.

Printing a chassis would not end well. Those SLA/SLS parts just aren't very rugged. If you printed a frame that was 2-3% over-sized, maybe you could see about using it to construct a sand casting mold and then cast a frame from aluminum (it would need to be a hot mold though, no way you are getting aluminum to flow like that in a cold mold). As far as I can tell, Lenovo does magnesium injection/investment casting to get their frames. That's definitely beyond the hobbyist level though...$million dollar tools and equipment. Composites could be an alternative, but you would really need to do some careful analysis of the fiber lay patterns and directions to actually approximate isotropic properties. Autoclave space can be rented affordably, which is a plus.

As for the bottom plastic housing, you might be able to get away with a SLA/SLS part. You would sort of need to since the IO ports will be located in a different place.

Getting the thinnest, lightest, strongest results from composites requires careful analysis and heat-cured resins. Getting something that will work for a laptop frame and shell is entirely doable at home with no specialized tools.