Finding a 51nb T70 motherboard.

[horrorofpartybeach]

As someone who owns a handful of ThinkPads, my favorites have always been my T42 and T60, but aside from those I own an X201 and an X230. The structural integrity, Lenovo branding and 16:9 aspect ratio of the newer models always leave me wishing my "T" models had the balls of their newer counterparts.

So today I ended up stumbling upon 51nb and everything they've done thus far with their custom motherboards, and as usual I seem to have missed the boat. I spent pretty much the entire day scouring different sections of the internet both English and Chinese trying to find a way to get my hands on a motherboard but I've found absolutely nothing. In a last ditch effort, I shot Jacky on 'lcdfans' via facebook a message and am still awaiting a response (though based on other people's experiences talking to him, I get the feeling I won't see a reply for a long time if at all).

I understand these were made in small batches, and if what I've read and observed are correct, it looks like they've moved on to the X210 series (which is strange to me, I wouldn't even consider it a "vintage" thinkpad, I own the X201 and have never witnessed performance issues either it, I'd consider it modern).

So with all of that said, this is my first endeavor into the world of ThinkPad enthusiasm, and I'm having a hard time telling if I'm being left "out of the know" and haven't stumbled across the information I need to acquire one of these motherboards, or of my observations are correct and I'm SOL. Does anyone have any information or leads to acquiring one of these? I'd appreciate any help I can get on this one because I'm getting pretty bummed out.

[jlee]

It's gonna be rough. I waited about a year before I coudl get mine. Keep in mind, you'll have to do some serious modding and take apart the entire computer. I got mine prebuilt for around 1400 with 32gb ram, 512 gb nvme storage. Best of luck

[horrorofpartybeach]

Thanks for your time, I appreciate the response. So I was under the impression that the custom motherboard just dropped into place once the computer was disassembled, I've repaired and refurbished a few ThinkPads so I'm comfortable with the disassembly process. Are there any modifications that need to be done to the chassis that you're aware of? I know when building a frankenpad (T61 in T60 case) that something needs to be filed or grinded down. Unfortunately if if can't manage to get my hands on one 51nb's boards, I might have to take the frankenpad route, but I'm less enthusiastic about that considering even the most powerful configuration falls pretty short by today's standards.

[imcgaunn]

Do you happen to still be looking for a T70? I recently snapped one up (fully-assemble, in my case) on e-bay, but I have had some problems with power management suspend/resume and am considering selling it again. These problems seem to be well-known, but definitely would want anyone buying this to be aware.

In general there are some software quirks with these machines, but I think that anyone looking for one of these probably is expecting that

There is quite a bit of information and support available in the 51nb forums, the only drawback is that they are in Chinese, and google translate chokes on their hacker idioms .

I'd recommend perusing these three forum posts first, but if you are still interested I would be happy to sell mine to you:
https://forum.51nb.com/forum.php?mod=vi ... id=1739986
https://forum.51nb.com/forum.php?mod=vi ... id=1718306
https://forum.51nb.com/forum.php?mod=vi ... id=1738291

[TuuS]

If you are considering the t601 route you can get up to 2.5 gigahertz quad core and 8 gigabytes of RAM. Also upgrade from SATA 1 in your t60 to SATA 2. There are still some NOS motherboards available with discrete graphics that don't have the well-known GPU defects. It will not keep up with a T70 but it's a well-tested design and you won't have the issues you will with a prototype board like that. If you can find a T70 I would get it, and many of the people who built them have been selling them. I would have bought one myself but I had medical issues I was dealing with, but I still use my t61 as my primary. I have faster laptops I just don't like them.

If you're interested in one of these motherboards send me a private message. And for those lurkers who only read the last sentence, I'm talkin about New Old Stock t61 motherboards I have no T70 motherboards.

[nathanvy]

Hi all,

New user here. I'm very very much interested in acquiring a T70 motherboard and display (or a full T70, I guess). I have a T60 (mostly works) and a T61 (kinda works) for parts if required. I'm quite comfortable with electronics and actually performing the mod. I haven't been getting any responses from lcdfans, and I don't speak Chinese so navigating 51nb is pretty tough.

Anyone know where I can get a T70 and/or the internals in 2019?

[xytech]

Let me know if anybody wants these machines. I've got a 7820HQ motherboard and a fully built QXGA 7700HQ machine. I am also building a 7300HQ if anybody's interested too.

Thanks!

[nathanvy]

Let me know if anybody wants these machines. I've got a 7820HQ motherboard and a fully built QXGA 7700HQ machine. I am also building a 7300HQ if anybody's interested too.

Thanks!

How much for the 7700HQ machine?

[IzzardWizard]

Let me know if anybody wants these machines. I've got a 7820HQ motherboard and a fully built QXGA 7700HQ machine. I am also building a 7300HQ if anybody's interested too.

Thanks!

How much for the motherboard if still available? Anyone know of a decent guide for performing the T70 mod?

[sergi0]

Hello,
I am interested by a T70. What about the 7820HQ ? What is its price ?
Cheers,
Serge