T60/T61 Frankenpad Video

[Medessec]

Hello!

With finals coming to an end, I got kinda bored and rather than playing some video games, I decided to make a neat little video, specifically to clear up confusion as to the assembly of the T60/61 Frankenpad.

Of course, just posting videos willy nilly, I can miss a thing or two. I'm wondering what you guys think of it. Anything I missed? Anything else I should probably note? Is the video altogether just a total disaster?

Let me know. I'd appreciate the feedback.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-m74otZ ... e=youtu.be

[Saucey]

Great video!
Audio is nice and clear, something I've been botching when doing recordings.

[ajkula66]

Nice video.

Have you purposely left the aspect of the chassis mod somewhat vague?

[Medessec]

Have you purposely left the aspect of the chassis mod somewhat vague?

I was thinking of providing more information on that, but I was mostly intending for this video to clear up confusion and "introduce" someone to the world of Frankenpadding, not so much a thorough how-to on the complete process. I should probably put that disclaimer at the beginning of the video.

Audio is nice and clear, something I've been botching when doing recordings.

What I did is initially use Audacity, then throw it into Adobe Soundbooth to clean it up a bit. If you listen very closely, you can hear a very soft fuzz and whirring noise. It's a lot more significant in the raw recording- and I think it's my laptop fans. Very loud indeed. I've gotten used to doing this for any video I do with background recordings... because I'm too poor at the moment to afford any nice mic setup. So gotta do the best with what I got. Normally I'd leave it alone if it was for a quick video game or something, but this is all my voice... so...yep.

Btw- appreciate it guys. Good to hear you like it other than that.

[600X]

Very nice video indeed! Well drawn and easy to understand. You should seriously consider making more videos like this.

[rumbero]

Great video!

But instead of suggesting to dispose of the old T60 mainboard and T61 chassis, i'd rather recommend to suggest combining both into a perfectly running T60 within a T61 shell.

For all the Frankenpads i built, such a machine built from these remains always was a nice addition, and donating it made quite a few people very happy.

[Medessec]

But instead of suggesting to dispose of the old T60 mainboard and T61 chassis, i'd rather recommend to suggest combining both into a perfectly running T60 within a T61 shell.

For all the Frankenpads i built, such a machine built from these remains always was a nice addition, and donating it made quite a few people very happy.

I think I will edit the video tonight(if I have the time) with this tidbit, and maybe the one ajkula66 mentioned, about the roll cage. I might as well, as it's worth adding and won't be too difficult to add. I was thinking in the original script of talking about what to do with the parts... but I kinda felt that the video was quite lengthy as it was.

Again, thanks for the feedback guys!

[QWERTY Andreas]

If you can ditch the optical drive, you can use a widescreen mobo too. This will give quite a bit of vRAM and the ability to get a good FX570m.

Have you considered installing a 1066MHz CPU? Maybe a quadcore?

[Medessec]

This video was intended for the more user-suitable Frankenpad with the usable UltraBay... The more insane Frankenpads with the 15" wide T61 boards I'll have to reserve for a whole other video, as they are kind of in a class on their own with the UltraBay disadvantage skewed in favor of better boards.

As for the 1066 MHz mod, it depends on the stability and simplicity of the modification. From my understanding, it not only requires hardware modification but BIOS modification as well, and you lose the ability to use 800MHz CPUs in the process. I'm not even completely familiar with how to do it myself, so I'd have to do some reading up on RMSMajestic's posts as well as your own to make sure I know it well enough to explain it in a video.

I'd love to look more into the 1066MHz CPU mod and do a video on it though- because those Frankenpads represent part of the possibilities and what people have figured out to push 4:3 Thinkpads as far as possible into the now. I'm sure people would be interested to know about mods as zaney as this too.

[Norway Pad]

Is the 1066MHz mod something that the average user can and should attempt? I have only browsed through the 1066MHz CPU thread, but it apparently involves soldering leads and resistors on to the motherboard.

Definitely an interesting mod, just raising doubt if it's any point in making a video when so few of us could (And should) make an attempt to do this. In my eyes it falls in the same category as the T43 SATA mod, which is a service offered by people with skills and the equipment to ensure success in 100% of the cases. We must also assume they have gone through some boards trying and failing. Personally I would not risk my NOS board trying to do the 1066MHz mod. Even though I understand what's done, I am not sure if I would succeed with this on the 1st or even 2nd attempt without fubaring the board. I actually strongly doubt it..

Back to the original subject: Great video, fun drawings and very informational. If you turn it into a complete how-to, is up to you, but there are sure many questions asked about Frankenpadding on the forum. And there are very few things that can go wrong, mostly the modem screw attachment that needs to be removed.

[QWERTY Andreas]

This video was intended for the more user-suitable Frankenpad with the usable UltraBay... The more insane Frankenpads with the 15" wide T61 boards I'll have to reserve for a whole other video, as they are kind of in a class on their own with the UltraBay disadvantage skewed in favor of better boards.

As for the 1066 MHz mod, it depends on the stability and simplicity of the modification. From my understanding, it not only requires hardware modification but BIOS modification as well, and you lose the ability to use 800MHz CPUs in the process. I'm not even completely familiar with how to do it myself, so I'd have to do some reading up on RMSMajestic's posts as well as your own to make sure I know it well enough to explain it in a video.

I'd love to look more into the 1066MHz CPU mod and do a video on it though- because those Frankenpads represent part of the possibilities and what people have figured out to push 4:3 Thinkpads as far as possible into the now. I'm sure people would be interested to know about mods as zaney as this too.

Ah, duh. I thougth you were about to make a frankenpad yourself

Anyway - the 1066MHz mod is a Little more tricky. I wouldn't recommend it for people without some experience. But it is possible! I have modded two motherboards to QC and a single motherboard just to 1066MHz

But i think that most of the people who are Building a FP, do have the technical experience to do the mods.

[Norway Pad]

But I think that most of the people who are Building a FP, do have the technical experience to do the mods.

Good to know. Now that you have triggered my interest, I will look into it. So maybe my other T60 will get an Intel board with a Quad Core processor. The NOS Nvidia board in my current Frankenpad is definitely the wrong place to experiment. The Intel boards are easier to find, and if I succeed with a mod, it will last for a while. If all fail, I might go on a vacation to Denmark next summer, and have you do the mod for me.

Now, enough of me hijacking this thread.

[FryPpy]

Great video!

+1
And i can hear a voice of real Thinkpadder from other end of the world;)

I am too late, but you can add Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 to Wireless section of Middleton's BIOS screen. There are success stories of using this modules.

PS
What equipment did you used to draw this video? Thinkpad X... tablet?

[Medessec]

I am too late, but you can add Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 to Wireless section of Middleton's BIOS screen. There are success stories of using this modules.

I'll have to do some splicing with the audio tracks, as well as draw another entry for it, but I can probably fit that in if I edit it.

I just finished up with finals, I might work on it tonight but I wanted to have a day to myself... and then tomorrow I'm going home to my family for a week or two.

PS
What equipment did you used to draw this video? Thinkpad X... tablet?

You bet! I drew all the sketches you see in the video as individual frames on my SXGA+ X60 Tablet! From there- all the frames were saved on an SD card and transferred to my W700ds, where I did all the final editing.

[8000wobber]

Very nice, love the quality and style. What equipment did you use for the sound recording?

[Medessec]

Very nice, love the quality and style. What equipment did you use for the sound recording?

Appreciate the comment! I'm visiting family for xmas and will not be working on the video until after new years, at which point I plan to make it public on my channel. Speaking of which- happy Christmas to all you guys and your families.

To record my voice I used my GameCom 377 Headset, in my front room(there was too much reverb in my smaller bedroom) recording onto Audacity and then transferring it into Adobe Soundbooth where I clipped it and cleaned it up.

[emeraldgirl08]

Nicely done! Loved the sketches and the overall presentation! Keep up the great work!

[TuuS]

Great vid, and great idea too.

If you're going to be finetuning it you might want to correct that the X9000 is 2.8ghz, although a good one can easily run at 3.0ghz, it's native speed is 2.8.

[Temetka]

Excellent intro video into the world of Frankenpad's.

Your descriptions were very clear and audio was nice.

I really loved the whole style of the video.

[Morten]

Great initiative! I added some random comments to the youtube.

One of us who have done it should really put together a comprehensive guide - but on the other hand, gathering all the needed info has its own charm as well

[Olwe]

You mentioned the NVIDIA being a ticking timebomb, but defusable. I've got a T61 with NVIDIA. What should I do to lengthen its life?

[ajkula66]

. What should I do to lengthen its life?

Search the T6x forum thoroughly since the issue has been discussed in half a zillion posts...