Bought a last full ThinkPad

[ThinkPad560X]

I bought a somewhat last true ThinkPad that comes with all the ports such as disc drive and PCIexpress and even VGA. Also external removable battery. It is a ThinkPad L570. The T series such as T570 and up don't have a disc drive nor did I see a express slot on them in listings. I wanted to get a newish laptop to play games on but also have the legacy hardware. I was going to get a P70 or P71 as those were also the last ThinkPads to come with a disc drive but they were going for a lot still. I picked this up for $60. It has a Intel Core i5 7300 Soldered in, so I can't upgrade to a i7 unless there is some way to desolder or have to buy a complete motherboard. All I found were i3s and i5s, there were i7 L560s but they didn't support NVMe and they were 6th gen core i and want the latest highest possible cpu. The L570 supports NVMe where the 2nd WiFi card can go where as the L560 it didn't. I added a WD 1TB NVMe into the main SATA to M.2 slot on my L570. It has a Lenovo SATA to M.2 adapter and can swap to normal SATA if wanted.

I think it can support 32GB RAM as it has 1 stick of 16GB right now. Obviously, it probably has an integrated Intel GPU but I am going to buy an express card to pcie slot and make a small dock to house a GPU and PSU. I was thinking of getting a Steam Deck or a laptop and I like a laptop "ThinkPad" better and have a Switch but I still use my Switch Pro controller and use the Switch in kickstand view. I like a controller rather than holding the screen in your hand at same time. As for the disc drive it has a basic DVD/RW drive and may upgrade it to a Blu-ray/RW drive. Apparently some major stores like BestBuy are going to be getting rid of there DVDs,Blu-rays and physical games, so everything will be digital. This will probably be my last laptop I get.

For the OS, I installed Windows 11 Pro from my OEM disc. Yes Microsoft still sells DVDs of their OS but only for OEM. I still buy them for if anyone needs windows reinstalled and keep the discs in storage for backup. I may get a USB drive version of W11 like for Windows 10 I have. I also have the OEM DVD of Windows 8.1 and 10 as these copies didn't come retail on disc. Windows 8 was the last. When I installed Windows 11 on the ThinkPad L570 it asked to boot from DVD and installed without any errors or THIS PC CAN"T RUN THIS VERSION WINDOWS. So, something is telling me as this is the original release of Windows 11 on DVD maybe Microsoft was going to fully support 7th gen and up CPUs maybe even 6th, I don't know.

But I will probably max out the ram on this machine and get a Blu-ray drive and get the external GPU. Now will the external GPU be able to display on the laptop screen or have to have it on external display? I want to just build a mini dock that the laptop will attach to and have a portable gaming PC with upgradable GPU. Another reason I didn't get a Steam Deck was some of the newer games that are coming out now the Deck isn't supporting or getting the verified and Valve will have to bring out a Deck2.

[TPFanatic]

I know with a Nvidia eGPU the Optimus driver will let you accelerate back to the laptop display.

I understand any data going back and forth through the Expresscard deteriorates the performance rapidly, including postprocessing effects. Sadly L570 has no Thunderbolt, whereas P70/P71 do at 40gbps which is very superior for eGPU. But Expresscard eGPU is not toothless. PanoramaCircle hooked up 3060ti to their T430 and that is four generations older than L570.

I believe L570's actual max RAM is 64GB. But this is still a bit expensive.

[dr_st]

It's interesting how machines of the same generation can given you different options when it comes to ports. For example video:

T470/T570: HDMI, Thunderbolt
T470p: HDMI, miniDP
L470/L570: VGA, miniDP

And yes, I understand that T470p is a weird mix, not quite the same generation.

[mikemex]

L570. I had never considered that model. Seems like a decent retro-machine.

Problem with "obscure" models is that you're going to have trouble getting parts later on. I purchased an X280 recently and immediately noticed that there are far less parts floating around, compared to more common models. I was planning about using it "as is" / not throwing more money at it, but I realized that it's better to get the upgrades and repairs sooner than later if I really plan to keep it. I really regret not getting more classic (T420 era) keyboards back when they were cheap and plentiful. Now there are just cheaply made knock offs and super expensive original ones.

I believe L570's actual max RAM is 64GB. But this is still a bit expensive.

Yes. I believe all DDR4 machines support 32GB modules. It's quite a step up from the 8GB limit of DDR3 machines.

[ThinkPad560X]

The lid and case do feel cheap Like the ThinkPad R61 plastic or even the IBM ThinkPad i Series. I own 2 i series and there plastic just randomly cracked on the lid or on corners. I wouldn't be surprised if the L series start cracking when they reach that age. My IBM ThinkPad 390X is in the worse shape as the back where the hinges hold onto it has completely cracked off. And that was a replaced bottom new OEM base. I am hoping to find someone that will 3D print parts that are hard to find like LCD lids, palmrest, bases and door covers. ThinkPads that are older than T43 are starting to degrade.