Thinkpads Forum

mistakes might be present, use this piece of information at your own risk. keep in mind that i'm not responsible for any sort of damage done to your system, and that includes the BIOS/UEFI mods. if it doesn't work or worse, bricks your entire machine, don't whine in this topic. you are responsible for whatever you've done to your system, capiche?

the X1xxe series contains a total of 6 models in its line-up, although it's 7 if you count the uncommon Mini 10.

CPU__________________
Mini 10 - Intel Atom N450 @ 1.66 GHz
X100e - AMD Athlon Neo X2 L625 @ 1.6 GHz or L335 @ 1.6 GHz / AMD Athlon Neo MV-40 @ 1.6 GHz
X120e - AMD Fusion E-350 @ 1.6 GHz or E-240 @ 1.5 GHz
X121e - Intel Core i3-2367M @ 1.4 GHz or 2357M @ 1.3 GHz / Intel Pentium 967 @ 1.3 GHz or 957 @ 1.2 GHz / Intel Celeron 857 @ 1.2 GHz or 847 @ 1.1 GHz / AMD Fusion E-450 @ 1.65 GHz or E-350 @ 1.6 GHz or E-300 @ 1.6 GHz or C-50 @ 1 GHz
X130e - Intel Core i3-2367M @ 1.4 GHz / Intel Celeron 867 @ 1.3 GHz / AMD Fusion E-450 @ 1.65 GHz / AMD Fusion E-300 @ 1.3 GHz
X131e - Intel Core i5-3317U @ 1.7 GHz / Intel Core i3-3227U @ 1.9 GHz or 2367M @ 1.4 GHz or 2365M @ 1.4 GHz / Intel Celeron 1007U @ 1.5 GHz or 887 @ 1.5 GHz or 877 @ 1.4 GHz or 867 @ 1.3 GHz / AMD Fusion E2-1800 @ 1.7 GHz or E1-1200 @ 1.4 GHz or E-300 @ 1.3 GHz
X140e - AMD Fusion A4-5000 @ 1.5 GHz or E1-2500 @ 1.4 GHz
overview: all of them are soldered to the motherboard, there are no exceptions. you can't perform an upgrade unless you have the necessary tools to de-solder it, then solder in a faster CPU back to the motherboard. so the only cost-effective way to upgrade it, is to buy a motherboard that comes with a faster CPU.

the X120e is identical to the Edge 11, both hardware and software-wise. in this case, there are 6 more CPUs to choose from if you are interested in swapping out your X120e's motherboard with an Edge 11's motherboard. the 6 CPUs are: Intel Core i3-380UM @ 1.33 GHz / Intel Pentium U5400 @ 1.2 GHz / Intel Celeron U3400 @ 1.06 GHz / AMD Turion II Neo K625 @ 1.5 GHz / AMD Turion II Neo K325 @ 1.3 GHz / AMD Athlon II Neo K125 @ 1.7 GHz

GPU__________________
Mini 10 - Intel GMA 3150 @ 400 MHz
X100e - ATI Radeon HD 3200 @ 500 MHz or HD 2200 @ 500 MHz
X120e - AMD Radeon HD 6310 @ 492 MHz
X121e - AMD Radeon HD 6320 @ 508 MHz or HD 6310 @ 492 MHz or HD 6310 @ 488 MHz or HD 6250 @ 276 MHz / Intel HD Graphics 3000 @ 350 MHz
X130e - AMD Radeon HD 6320 @ 508 MHz or HD 6310 @ 488 MHz / Intel HD Graphics 3000 @ 350 MHz
X131e - AMD Radeon HD 7340 @ 523 MHz or HD 7310 @ 500 MHz or HD 6310 @ 488 MHz / Intel HD Graphics 4000 @ 350 MHz or HD Graphics 3000 @ 350 MHz
X140e - AMD Radeon HD 8330 @ 497 MHz or HD 8240 @ 400 MHz
overview: no upgrades are possible as they're all soldered into the northbridge, or CPU. attempting to upgrade the northbridge will either result in a bricked motherboard or a forced path down to messing with the BIOS just to get it to support the upgraded northbridge. even if you do manage to get the BIOS to recognize it, you won't get the motherboard to cooperate as there are obviously different pin signals and board layer requirements.

Chipset__________________
Mini 10 - Northbridge: Integrated into CPU | Southbridge: Intel 82NM10
X100e - Northbridge: AMD RS780MN | Southbridge: AMD SB710
X120e - Northbridge: Integrated into CPU | Southbridge: AMD A50M
X121e - Northbridge: Integrated into CPU | Southbridge: Intel 82HM65 / AMD A50M
X130e - Northbridge: Integrated into CPU | Southbridge: Intel 82HM65 / AMD A50M
X131e - Northbridge: Integrated into CPU | Southbridge: Intel 82HM77 / AMD A68M
X140e - Northbridge: Integrated into CPU | Southbridge: Integrated into CPU
overview: it's impossible to upgrade any of these without turning the motherboard into a paperweight, the full explanation can be found above.

DRAM__________________
Mini 10 - [slot 1: 2 or 1 GiB DDR2-667 PC2-5300 SO-DIMM]
X100e - [slot 1: 2 or 1 GiB DDR2-667 PC2-5300 SO-DIMM] [slot 2: 2 or 1 GiB DDR2-667 PC2-5300 SO-DIMM / empty]
X120e - [slot 1: 2 or 1 GiB DDR3-1333 PC3-10600 SO-DIMM] [slot 2: 2 or 1 GiB DDR3-1333 PC3-10600 SO-DIMM / empty]
X121e - [slot 1: 4 or 2 GiB DDR3-1333 PC3-10600 SO-DIMM] [slot 2: empty]
X130e - [slot 1: 4 or 2 GiB DDR3-1333 PC3-10600 SO-DIMM] [slot 2: empty]
X131e - [slot 1: 4 or 2 GiB DDR3-1600 PC3-12800 SO-DIMM] [slot 2: empty]
X140e - [slot 1: 4 or 2 GiB DDR3L-1600 PC3L-12800 SO-DIMM] [slot 2: empty]
overview: the Mini 10 maxes out at 2 GiB, the X100e maxes out at 8 GiB, and the X120e/X121e/X130e/X131e/X140e maxes out at 16 GiB. if you install RAM modules that are faster than the original factory-supplied modules, it'll be underclocked to the original factory speed. some CPUs or northbridges might be able to handle the faster speeds however, but that's something that i'm not entirely sure of yet.

MiniPCIe__________________
Mini 10 - [slot 1: Intel WiFi Link 5100, 802.11abgn, 1T2R:2] [slot 2: Qualcomm Gobi 2000, 3G+2G / empty]
X100e - [slot 1: Intel Centrino Advanced-N + WiMAX 6250, 802.11abgn, 2T2R:2 / Intel WiFi Link 5100, 802.11abgn, 1T2R:2 / Broadcom BCM4322, 802.11abgn, 2T2R:2 / Realtek RTL8191SE, 802.11bgn, 1T2R:2] [slot 2: Qualcomm Gobi 2000, 3G+2G / Huawei EM660, 3G+2G / empty]
X120e - [slot 1: Broadcom BCM4322, 802.11abgn, 2T2R:2 / Realtek RTL8188CE, 802.11bgn, 1T1R:1] [slot 2: Qualcomm Gobi 2000, 3G+2G / Ericsson F5521gw, 3G+2G / empty]
X121e - [slot 1: Intel Centrino Advanced-N + WiMAX 6250, 802.11abgn, 2T2R:2 / Intel Centrino Wireless-N 1000, 802.11bgn, 1T2R:2 / Broadcom BCM4322, 802.11abgn, 2T2R:2 / Realtek RTL8188CE, 802.11bgn, 1T1R:1] [slot 2: Qualcomm Gobi 3000, 3G+2G / Ericsson F5521gw, 3G+2G / Huawei EM660, 3G+2G / empty]
X130e - [slot 1: Intel Centrino Advanced-N + WiMAX 6250, 802.11abgn, 2T2R:2 / Intel Centrino Wireless-N 1000, 802.11bgn, 1T2R:2 / Broadcom BCM4322, 802.11abgn, 2T2R:2 / Realtek RTL8188CE, 802.11bgn, 1T1R:1] [slot 2: Qualcomm Gobi 3000, 3G+2G / Ericsson F5521gw, 3G+2G / empty]
X131e - [slot 1: Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205, 802.11abgn, 2T2R:1 / Realtek RTL8188CE, 802.11bgn, 1T1R:1] [slot 2: Qualcomm Gobi 3000, 3G+2G / Ericsson H5321gw, 3G+2G / Ericsson H5321w, 3G+2G / 16 GB mSATA SSD / empty]
X140e - [slot 1: Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260, 802.11abgnac, 2T2R:2 / Broadcom BCM43228+BCM20702, 802.11abgn+BT4.0, 2T2R:2 / Broadcom BCM43142, 802.11bgn+BT4.0, 1T1R:1 / Realtek RTL8188CE, 802.11bgn, 1T1R:1]
overview: in the Mini 10/X100e/X120e/X121e/X130e, the first slot accepts only half-sized MiniPCIe cards. they also have to be PCIe-based, otherwise they will not work in the first slot (no USB lanes). the second slot accepts full-sized MiniPCIe cards, although it can accept half-sized MiniPCIe cards with an adapter. also, only USB-based MiniPCIe cards will work in the second slot as it has no PCIe lanes. please be aware that the second slot does NOT support mSATA SSDs.

in the X131e, the second slot can be used as an mSATA slot, unlike the previous models. the X140e on the other hand has no second slot, which means you cannot install an mSATA SSD anywhere else (the first slot doesn't accept mSATA cards anyway). however, it compensates that by adding a USB lane to the first slot, so it's now both a PCIe and USB MiniPCIe slot.

Proprietary Slots__________________
Mini 10 - [slot 1: Bluetooth Daughter Card BDC-2.1 / empty]
X100e - [slot 1: Bluetooth Daughter Card BDC-2.1 / empty]
X120e - [slot 1: Bluetooth Daughter Card BDC-2.1 / empty]
X121e - [slot 1: Bluetooth Daughter Card BDC-3.0 / empty]
X130e - [slot 1: Bluetooth Daughter Card BDC-3.0 / empty]
X131e - N/A
X140e - N/A
overview: nothing but only Lenovo's BDCs will fit in this slot. the fastest BDC that you can upgrade to is the BDC-4 card (60Y3305, 60Y3303, 04W3824), which is a Bluetooth 4.0-compliant card. and if you didn't know, the BDC slot is not affected by the BIOS' whitelist, so you can install any BDC as you wish.

SSD/HDD/SSHD__________________
Mini 10 - [slot 1: 250 or 160 GB, 5400 RPM, 2.5" SATA-II 9.5 mm HDD]
X100e - [slot 1: 250 or 160 GB, 5400 RPM, 2.5" SATA-II 9.5 mm HDD]
X120e - [slot 1: 320 or 250 GB, 7200 or 5400 RPM, 2.5" SATA-III 7 or 9.5 mm HDD or 128 GB 2.5" SATA-III 7 or 9.5 mm SSD]
X121e - [slot 1: 500 or 320 or 250 GB, 7200 or 5400 RPM, 2.5" SATA-III 7 mm HDD or 128 GB 2.5" SATA-III 7 mm SSD]
X130e - [slot 1: 320 or 250 GB, 7200 or 5400 RPM, 2.5" SATA-III 7 mm HDD or 128 GB 2.5" SATA-III 7 mm SSD]
X131e - [slot 1: 500 or 320 GB, 7200 RPM, 2.5" SATA-III 7 mm HDD or 128 GB 2.5" SATA-III 7 mm SSD]
X140e - [slot 1: 500 or 320 GB, 7200 or 5400 RPM, 2.5" SATA-III 7 mm HDD]
overview: there's no restrictions regarding what you can upgrade to, it's really just about your preferences at this point. install whatever storage drive that fits you the best. adapters for M.2 (SATA only), mSATA, and CompactFlash cards will also work.

LCD__________________
Mini 10 - 10.1" 1024x600, 60 Hz, 6-bit, 1 channel, TN, WLED, LVDS, matte
X100e - 11.6" 1366x768, 60 Hz, 6-bit, 1 channel, TN, WLED, LVDS, matte
X120e - 11.6" 1366x768, 60 Hz, 6-bit, 1 channel, TN, WLED, LVDS, matte
X121e - 11.6" 1366x768, 60 Hz, 6-bit, 1 channel, TN, WLED, LVDS, matte
X130e - 11.6" 1366x768, 60 Hz, 6-bit, 1 channel, TN, WLED, LVDS, matte
X131e - 11.6" 1366x768, 60 Hz, 6-bit, 1 channel, TN, WLED, LVDS, matte
X140e - 11.6" 1366x768, 60 Hz, 6-bit, 1 channel, TN, WLED, LVDS, matte
overview: don't have much of a clue on the display panels but from what i can see, the Mini 10 has a different LVDS connector compared to the X100e's LVDS connector. i'm speculating that the X100e has a 40-pin connector and the Mini 10 has a 30-pin connector, so upgrading the panels may be difficult for the Mini 10. as for the X100e, i don't think there's a possibility for an upgrade, as there aren't a lot of 11.6" display panels out there.

the rest of the models seem to be using the same 40-pin LVDS connector as the X100e does, although i can't confirm if that's really the case at the moment.

Battery__________________
Mini 10 - ThinkPad Battery 17 (24Wh, 170g or 0.37 lbs) / ThinkPad Battery 17+ (57Wh, 340g or 0.75 lbs)
X100e - ThinkPad Battery 17 (24Wh, 170g or 0.37 lbs) / ThinkPad Battery 17+ (57Wh, 340g or 0.75 lbs)
X120e - ThinkPad Battery 17 (24Wh, 170g or 0.37 lbs) / ThinkPad Battery 17+ (57Wh, 340g or 0.75 lbs)
X121e - ThinkPad Battery 35 (32Wh, 200g or 0.44 lbs) / ThinkPad Battery 35+ (62Wh, 323g or 0.72 lbs)
X130e - ThinkPad Battery 35+ (62Wh, 323g or 0.72 lbs)
X131e - ThinkPad Battery 35+ (62Wh, 323g or 0.72 lbs)
X140e - ThinkPad Battery 35+ (62Wh, 323g or 0.72 lbs)
overview: nothing much to say here... there's a trade-off for either weight or run-time, that's about it. you can't attach a dock battery or an Ultrabay battery as there isn't an Ultrabay slot and/or a docking connector.

if you're wondering about the mysterious ThinkPad Battery 35: it's just a 3-cell version of the 35+ battery pack (can be used in place of the 35+ pack). was only available as an option in the X121e, the later models no longer had it as an option.

BIOS/UEFI__________________
a modified BIOS with the whitelist removed for the Mini 10: ?
a modified BIOS with the whitelist removed for the X100e: http://www.mediafire.com/file/t9jdo6i3z ... L.rar/file
a modified UEFI with the whitelist removed for the X120e: https://app.box.com/s/kdz2daqwud90orvoyz7d2ri8kgx7sahr
a modified UEFI with the whitelist removed for the X121e: ?
a modified UEFI with the whitelist removed for the X130e: ?
a modified UEFI with the whitelist removed for the X131e: ?
a modified UEFI with the whitelist removed for the X140e: ?

How are these devices? I know that they were developed as portable typewriters (netbooks), but how are keyboards, trackpoints, construction in contrast with normal X/T series?
Is it usable when running linux?

About 5 years ago I had an X131e for a short time
(bought cheap on eBay with password, removed it and sold it on with handsome profit).
Mine was a X131e (3367-1Z3) that came with an Intel Celeron 1007U (1.5GHz).
These machines were basically designed for schoolkids, were rather thick, but extremely sturdy.
Good for rough environments.
They run XP, Vista, W7, W8 and even W10, so my guess is, just as good with Linux.

I believe motherboards are swappable between some of the early X100e series and early Edge 11" or E100 series. E120 has a Sandy Bridge CPU.

Thanks ThreeIguanasPerSecond, for providing the reference material in this thread.
OK so I also bought a second-hand X130e that had been built for the NSW Education Department. It's BIOS is locked, but is upgradable, unofficially, to 32GB DDR3 (if you could justify that, given the BGA cpu's are limited to sub-2GHz, dual-core). Sure it's chunky, but in several years of intermittent use I've always found it a joy to use - despite the lack of a backlit keyboard or a thinklight, and no ultrabay option. With a SSD pwned from another project, it does really well in both Win10 and a variety of 32- and 64-bit flavours of Puppy Linux, thank you very much.
However, the stock TFT 1366 x 768, 11.6" screen is a little bit of a drag. I haven't found any report of anyone trying a 1:1 replacement for a better resolution screen, so I have ordered a 40 pin IPS, HD 1080 (1920 x 1080) screen to test it out. If it works, expect me to quietly buy up all the pre-loved x130e's I can find
(Hmm and with the help of a dremel, I wonder if a backlit keyboard from a similarly-sized Lenovo could be shoehorned in?)

The LCD can be replaced with a (glossy) IPS screen.
Saw this on Reddit: https://old.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comme ... 130135145/

Hey good catch RealBlackStuff - I couldn't find any report of an IPS/ 1080HD screen *not* actually working in the X130e, due to hardware limitations etc, so will be a useful experiment. Natch on the glossy, for mine, I ordered a B116HAN03.1 AUO LCD, matte. Fingers crossed...

It's got a 1 lane LVDS connector, 1366x768 is the max you'll get out of it. Also, you don't have an onboard DP connector to scavenge the signals off of, your sore out of luck there.

Dang - thanks for verifying that issue for me, Thinkpad4by3 - I had thought there may have been somesuch bottleneck. Ah well, hopefully the IPS will still be a noticeable advancement over the TFT. Cheers
EDIT: and you raise the issue, if I understand correctly, of LVDS vs eDP. uh oh

UPDATE: hmm realizing just how little I understood/understand of the video hardware limitations in the X130e, was not going to be a case of "just upscale your resolution and/or inverter" as I had hoped. Given the limit of 1-ch LVDS (6-bit) there are plenty of suitable TN displays that are LED backlit that are in my current budget, and comparatively few 6-bit IPS displays that are about 25-50% more expensive than their TN counterparts. Then in between are 1-ch LVDS IPS displays that are *8-bit* instead of 6-bit. Would such displays be compatible, or even desirable, for upgrading the stock X130e display? I can't find any information dismissing such a situation out of hand, can anyone on this forum give me advice?
I've emailed the Chinese suppliers to request a halt on the model I ordered (2-ch eDP) to see if I can exchange it for a similar, 1-ch LVDS (the AUO B116XW02 V0 - it's TN not IPS, but I'll take my lumps)

Ive spent the last few days looking through every panel that would possibly fit. The one that fits bet is the LP116WH6-SLA1, having the same bolt holes, pinout, layout and specifications as your B116WX02. The only difference is the width, 278mm on the AUO panel and 280mm on the LG. It has been done though, its a bit of a tight fit. I plan on buying one of those panels.

There are others that have different mounts that could work. I checked the LVDS spec, a 6-bit signal on an 8-bit display will go back to fall back mode and use the upper 6 most significant bits. If your up for some drilling and possible cable extensions, go to panelook and search by 11.6" LVDS IPS panels.

Here's a pre-configured link for you: https://www.panelook.com/resmodlist.php ... c_family=3

^^ this is every LVDS based 11.6" IPS 1366x768 panel.

Thank you very much indeed, Thinkpad4by3, for all that really useful detail regarding unofficial display upgrades. Really appreciate you collating the summary on Panelook, and thank you for confirming my hope (or suspicion) that the 1-ch 8-bit LVDS display would sample back to the upper 6-bits. (I wonder whether the image quality would be appreciably improved over the usual 6-bit lane, or whether it would be effectively degraded overall, given the additional processing demands? But I dither).
Don't mind cable extensions - better than the LVDS-eDP adapter-type alternatives I realise now that I would need for my original choice (if it were single lane to begin with), and the practicality of a 40-pin LDVS to 40-pin eDP adapter would likely send me down a completely new rabbit burrow that I can't afford to travel.
Cheers

The extra 2 bits on each channel is handled by a 4th twisted pair. When connected to a 6 bit display, its just driven on 3 pairs not 4. The 8-bit display has no idea its not getting an 8-bit source, and will do nothing in response. Technically, you won't get the top colors...ie you can only get 11111100 instead of 11111111, but this should be imperceptible. Unless your doing color work on a X131e, in which case I ask why?...it should look the same except for the added colors and contrast from IPS.

More info: https://inova-semiconductors.de/files/d ... penldi.pdf
Specifically section 5.4.1

Quick update: Thanks to Thinkpad4by3's advice, I am now happily typing from my X130e with the LG LP116WH6-SLA1, in all its IPS (and 8-bit, according to Win10 - 1366x768 active signal resolution, SDR colour space) glory. The jump in clarity wasn't as noticeable as when I have upgraded my W500 and T61(especially) from aged, factory-fitted screens, but very welcome indeed.
I am noticing a bit of lighting "bleed" from the base of the display during boot-up and before POST but when the system is up (and I use dark themes primarily) here is no noticeable effect. Some occasional glitching for fractions of a second in the upper quarter of the screen when displaying solid white pages, but not predictable in frequency and this is only day 1 of the new screen.
To enable it to fit snugly within the lid dimensions, I unscrewed the top left bracket (is that the right term?) so I could slide the display into a tight fit on all sides. I opted not to re-use the screws in any of the bracket holes. Instead, I used small pieces of "Red Devil" double-sided tape under each of the 4 sets of screw holes so that the display was abut the brackets. Replacing the front display bezel was a little tricky nonetheless, and needed some vigorous massage to get the clips in place and holding.

Looking now to upgrade the BT daughterboard to 4.0 - as per the OP's recommendations.
[EDIT:} removed 32GB ram unofficial limit due to redundancy - update with new observations regarding screen flickering.

UPDATE: Screen flickering was becoming more frequent, and associated with on-screen elements of high visual contrast.When adjusting the screen angle the flickering became more apparent, and I suspected the ribbon connection was slipping under the fixing tape. However, dimming the screen slightly had immediate effect in suppressing flicker, and going through the LP116WH6 datasheet I see confirmation of "If Jitter of PWM is bigger than maximum, it may induce flickering." Mention of "...PWM Frequency should be fixed and stable for more consistent brightness control at any specific level desired." However, my Win 10 Pro (build 1909) only sees the screen as a "Generic PnP", and the Intel display adapter (Intel HD Graphics)appears happy, I can't update drivers for the LP116WH6-SLA1 in an effort to remove flicker. I did do a Windows Update in between, but rolling back to the restore point didn't improve matters. Any recommendations on progressing forward would be welcome

[UPDATE +1day]: So the issue in my case isn't hardware configurations per se, but due to the front bezel not being snugly connected. Top left side of the screen needs to be snapped back in when the symptoms start, and then the display is perfect. The "bleed" I mentioned earlier is in areas is artefact where the bezel is a super-tight fit. Efforts to track down latest drivers since Win10 apparently doesn't play nice with Intel HD Graphics 3000, came to a dead end however. Cheers

ThreeIguanasPerSecond wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 26, 2020 2:00 pm

the X120e is identical to the Edge 11, both hardware and software-wise. in this case, there are 6 more CPUs to choose from if you are interested in swapping out your X120e's motherboard with an Edge 11's motherboard. the 6 CPUs are: Intel Core i3-380UM @ 1.33 GHz / Intel Pentium U5400 @ 1.2 GHz / Intel Celeron U3400 @ 1.06 GHz / AMD Turion II Neo K625 @ 1.5 GHz / AMD Turion II Neo K325 @ 1.3 GHz / AMD Athlon II Neo K125 @ 1.7 GHz

There is a hardware difference if the Edge 11 is configured with an Arrandale-based processor, though.

That particular architecture does not support 8 GB RAM modules of any type, which limits it to 2x4 GB (2Rx8) configurations. K10/Geneva on the other hand, supports 2x8 GB (2Rx8) configurations with no issues.