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Thinkpad T700 i7-10710 private project

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lulujyc
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Re: Thinkpad T700 i7-10710 private project

#61 Post by lulujyc » Thu Oct 01, 2020 1:05 am

H-Atkinson wrote:
Tue Sep 29, 2020 12:09 pm
How many boards are still available? Im still on the fence.

Also, can you confirm that the Thunderbolt 4 ports support PCI Express? If so, how many lanes?
Boards are still available for purchase. Thunderbolt 4 basically equals fully functional USB3.1 10g typec plus 2x/ 4x PCIe. It will be 4x on T700.
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lulujyc
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Re: Thinkpad T700 i7-10710 private project

#62 Post by lulujyc » Thu Oct 01, 2020 1:08 am

Oct 1 Update:

T700 test batch is producing now, within 3-4 weeks the boards will be made, and within 6-8 weeks that batch will be tested. The second batch (which is what they're selling) will need another 6-8 weeks to produce and to test, and before the Chinese New Year (Feb) the boards will be shipped.
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Lister
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Re: Thinkpad T700 i7-10710 private project

#63 Post by Lister » Thu Oct 01, 2020 6:14 am

Hi, are all motherboards tested before shiping?
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Re: Thinkpad T700 i7-10710 private project

#64 Post by lulujyc » Thu Oct 01, 2020 9:24 am

Lister wrote:
Thu Oct 01, 2020 6:14 am
Hi, are all motherboards tested before shiping?
51nb tests all the boards before shipping from Shenzhen. If you buy from me I'll do additional testing before shipping it out overseas :)
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QCFium
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Re: Thinkpad T700 i7-10710 private project

#65 Post by QCFium » Sun Oct 04, 2020 6:52 am

Does it support 'all' the screens including QXGA one with or without EEID modification ?

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Re: Thinkpad T700 i7-10710 private project

#66 Post by lulujyc » Mon Nov 02, 2020 7:37 am

Image
Image
Good news from 10/29: T700 Test Batch is under production!
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Re: Thinkpad T700 i7-10710 private project

#67 Post by lulujyc » Sun Dec 27, 2020 12:30 am

Quick update: the test board is confirmed to boot.
https://i.imgur.com/mZmHpbg.jpg


FORUM warning:
picture(s) WAY too big, tags removed. Please read the Forum Rules, especially Section 5: viewtopic.php?f=16&t=14339
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Lister
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Re: Thinkpad T700 i7-10710 private project

#68 Post by Lister » Sun Dec 27, 2020 3:15 am

That's good news, what are the temperatures and how does the turbo work? Thanks.
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Re: Thinkpad T700 i7-10710 private project

#69 Post by lulujyc » Mon Dec 28, 2020 7:05 am

Lister wrote:
Sun Dec 27, 2020 3:15 am
That's good news, what are the temperatures and how does the turbo work? Thanks.
AFAIK the board can only boot to bios as for now; the factory is busy updating the bios and ec and diagnosing the board to reach a working state. I'll update this information once they're confirmed to boot to os.
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atagunov
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Re: Thinkpad T700 i7-10710 private project

#70 Post by atagunov » Thu Jan 07, 2021 9:03 am

Hi, are there any people here interested to add an extra on/off button to their 51nb-style machines inclusive of T700 and X210(0)? As things stand you can connect external monitor/keyboard via USB-C and power via a separate lead - so you effective dock your 51nb-style machine but it's far from obvious how to switch it on without opening the lid. And I really like switching my Thinkpads on without opening them when they are docked. For one thing hinges become stiff and perhaps I'd rather open the machine 30 times a year when I need it mobile as to opposed to 365 times a year inclusive of the days when it's just docked.

If you solder a socket on one side of a micro PCB and a plug on the other and make connections between the two you should be able to break out two leads to add an extra on/off button. It will be a "sandwitch" "interposter" board which you would plug the keyboard cable into on the one side and which would plug into 51nb-style motherboard with its other side. Master Xue Yao tentatively said there should be enough space for such a sandwich even in a X200 body. T60 body is supposedly even thicker, I hope there will be enough space between the motherboard and the keyboard. Then you'd have to find a suitable button and stick it somewhere inside Thinkpad. I'm thinking about putting it into the unused expresscard slot in X2100 and attaching it with a hot glue gun to something, possibly to the motherboard itself.

Plugs are sold in quantities of at least 10, and I have become strangely reluctant to pay another £10 on top of everything I have already spent but if there was one or two people who would be willing to get the boards off my hands and it was practical to send them from the UK I would feel confident some of this £10 will come back to me and I'd go ahead buying. Would anybody here be interested? Board with plug/socket soldered on only - you'll have to add the button yourself. Timescale to deliver the boards - year 2021 :) I would only take payment once I have the boards and have made sure they work in a regular T60/T61 and/or in my future X2100.
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greenblob
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Re: Thinkpad T700 i7-10710 private project

#71 Post by greenblob » Fri Feb 12, 2021 2:02 pm

Are spots still available? I may be interested.

Maybe I missed your answers to these (either that or I'm too incompetent to understand), but if I have a 14" T60p and no power tools or soldering tools, would I be able to order a motherboard (and buy RAM/SSD separately) and transplant it into my T60p with minimal chassis modifications (I'd assume that some of the port holes need to be adjusted, for example)? Or would it be a more involved process than that? Is the motherboard also compatible with the existing heatsink, battery, and screen in my T60p?

Thanks.

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Re: Thinkpad T700 i7-10710 private project

#72 Post by atagunov » Fri Feb 12, 2021 7:22 pm

I suppose you could also try to send lulujyc or whoever you were going to order from a PM about availability. Re fitting the boards I just cannot imagine anybody making T60 boards that won't be a drop-in replacement. It is well known that 4:3 14" T60 and 4:3 15" T60 use identical motherboards. So there is absolutely no problem for T700 makers to produce boards that will fit either machines like a glove. T60 Hardware Maintenance Manual pdf, some care and a screwdriver is all you should need to fit such a board in. Is the 14" T60p chassis you got a 4:3 one? The board should fit then.
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greenblob
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Re: Thinkpad T700 i7-10710 private project

#73 Post by greenblob » Sat Feb 13, 2021 10:04 am

atagunov wrote:
Fri Feb 12, 2021 7:22 pm
I suppose you could also try to send lulujyc or whoever you were going to order from a PM about availability. Re fitting the boards I just cannot imagine anybody making T60 boards that won't be a drop-in replacement. It is well known that 4:3 14" T60 and 4:3 15" T60 use identical motherboards. So there is absolutely no problem for T700 makers to produce boards that will fit either machines like a glove. T60 Hardware Maintenance Manual pdf, some care and a screwdriver is all you should need to fit such a board in. Is the 14" T60p chassis you got a 4:3 one? The board should fit then.
I'm a bit concerned because I heard that in order to fit the X210 motherboard, you need to modify the X201 chassis quite a bit.

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Re: Thinkpad T700 i7-10710 private project

#74 Post by lulujyc » Sun Feb 14, 2021 8:04 am

greenblob wrote:
Fri Feb 12, 2021 2:02 pm
Are spots still available? I may be interested.

Maybe I missed your answers to these (either that or I'm too incompetent to understand), but if I have a 14" T60p and no power tools or soldering tools, would I be able to order a motherboard (and buy RAM/SSD separately) and transplant it into my T60p with minimal chassis modifications (I'd assume that some of the port holes need to be adjusted, for example)? Or would it be a more involved process than that? Is the motherboard also compatible with the existing heatsink, battery, and screen in my T60p?

Thanks.
Hi, yes you can order an MB from me. Please PM me and I'll send you the price chart. Some chassis adjustments need to be performed just like the T70 boards, and there'll be a tutorial after the boards are produced on the 51nb forums. The heatsink is not compatible but the battery and screen are compatible with the original ones.
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lulujyc
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Re: Thinkpad T700 i7-10710 private project

#75 Post by lulujyc » Sun Mar 07, 2021 8:36 am

3/7 Update:

The factory is currently testing the board (again) when installed in cases.
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codetrick
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Re: Thinkpad T700 i7-10710 private project

#76 Post by codetrick » Thu Mar 18, 2021 9:41 pm

It looks like the custom mb section on the 51nb forum is gone. Did they take it down due to pressure from Lenovo? Is there no longer an official channel to discuss past custom motherboards and this current one (T700)?

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Re: Thinkpad T700 i7-10710 private project

#77 Post by lulujyc » Fri Mar 19, 2021 11:47 pm

codetrick wrote:
Thu Mar 18, 2021 9:41 pm
It looks like the custom mb section on the 51nb forum is gone. Did they take it down due to pressure from Lenovo? Is there no longer an official channel to discuss past custom motherboards and this current one (T700)?
It isn't gone but the forum decided to limit it to only old users who sent a large amount of posts before can view that specific section due to pressures from Lenovo. The current forum for T700 boards (Chinese) is http://ibmnb.com/
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egoish
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Re: Thinkpad T700 i7-10710 private project

#78 Post by egoish » Thu Apr 01, 2021 3:01 am

how many are there left for sale?

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Re: Thinkpad T700 i7-10710 private project

#79 Post by lulujyc » Thu Apr 01, 2021 5:44 am

egoish wrote:
Thu Apr 01, 2021 3:01 am
how many are there left for sale?
it's still on time for you to grab one
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kct
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Re: Thinkpad T700 i7-10710 private project

#80 Post by kct » Thu Apr 22, 2021 7:20 pm

Hi, is the motherboard going to be the same for 15" and 14.1"?

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Re: Thinkpad T700 i7-10710 private project

#81 Post by lulujyc » Fri Apr 23, 2021 5:27 am

kct wrote:
Thu Apr 22, 2021 7:20 pm
Hi, is the motherboard going to be the same for 15" and 14.1"?
yes
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Re: Thinkpad T700 i7-10710 private project

#82 Post by lulujyc » Fri Apr 23, 2021 5:28 am

quick update:

2nd batch of TEST boards is produced and currently undergoing testing.
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Re: Thinkpad T700 i7-10710 private project

#83 Post by H-Atkinson » Tue May 04, 2021 2:21 pm

Whats the status of Ultrabay and dock support? Should we expect to see Ultrabay drive support, Ultrabay battery support, or dock support? Of the 3, I feel the Ultrabay battery should be doable if nothing else. I know Lenovo has a history of locking down custom docking and Ultrabay things, so I don't expect those, but it would be nice to see.
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Re: Thinkpad T700 i7-10710 private project

#84 Post by lulujyc » Wed May 05, 2021 4:44 am

H-Atkinson wrote:
Tue May 04, 2021 2:21 pm
Whats the status of Ultrabay and dock support? Should we expect to see Ultrabay drive support, Ultrabay battery support, or dock support? Of the 3, I feel the Ultrabay battery should be doable if nothing else. I know Lenovo has a history of locking down custom docking and Ultrabay things, so I don't expect those, but it would be nice to see.
None of those are supported due to patent issues :(
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Re: Thinkpad T700 i7-10710 private project

#85 Post by atagunov » Wed May 05, 2021 7:59 am

So what is there in the spot where the interposter board would normally connect?

The ultrabay is quite a big space.
It would be nice if it was possible to place a 2nd 2.5" SSD there - but the board would need to have a spare SATA connector somewhere, and SATA power too.
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Re: Thinkpad T700 i7-10710 private project

#86 Post by Anniemoose98 » Wed May 05, 2021 9:51 am

Are these still available? I know I'm a little late, but am very interested. If they are, how long are they currently taking to ship after payment? And is there an instruction set available so that I may see what I would be getting into modding-wise?
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Re: Thinkpad T700 i7-10710 private project

#87 Post by H-Atkinson » Thu May 06, 2021 2:26 pm

Sad to hear that we wont be getting ultrabay or dock support, but Im not shocked.

What shouldn't be an issue is the Ultrabay battery though, especially if you're already working with standard T6x batteries. It uses the same connector and protocol to charge as the standard batteries, its just inside the ultrabay. Is there room on the board to perhaps leave pads at least for people to add the tabs themselves? iirc the PD circuit is very simple, but its been a while since I looked at T61 schematics.
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Re: Thinkpad T700 i7-10710 private project

#88 Post by atagunov » Fri May 07, 2021 11:36 am

H-Atkinson wrote:
Thu May 06, 2021 2:26 pm
What shouldn't be an issue is the Ultrabay battery though
iirc the PD circuit is very simple, but its been a while since I looked at T61 schematics.
I think somewhere up this thread it has been confirmed that 2nd battery in Ultrabay is not supported either. It is same connector but these are additional complications for the motherboard. Indeed you should be able not only to draw power from the 2nd battery, but you also need to be able to charge it. Charging circuitry is not trivial for these smart batteries (each has a microcontroller inside, e.g. its own CPU). Further you need to make decisions: do I discharge one battery or the other? Do I discharge both? Do I charge one or the other? Both? These are decisions for Embedded Controller to make. EC also needs to be talking to batteries over SMBus protocol - to each one separately I presume and communicate condition of both batteries that it learns this way to the operating system. OS needs to know when to suspend for example when both batteries are low. And to display a % indicator. E.g. it does make EC firmware more complex. And we don't know how EC firmware is being made btw.. I can imagine them writing it from scratch. I can also imagine cobbling together various binary bits and pieces of different firmwares from Lenovo Thinkpads.

What you can consider however is to run an extension cable from the main battery connector to the Ultrabay. The idea then is to make the machine a little slimmer by not having a regular battery. You'd only be using an ultrabay one. If you're prepared to do soldering perhaps you can solder leads to where the regular battery connector is seating so that you don't have a cable dangling outside. You could possibly even remove the stock battery connector and plug that hole in the body with something.
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Re: Thinkpad T700 i7-10710 private project

#89 Post by lulujyc » Sat May 08, 2021 1:39 am

Only SATA 3 is supported in the ultrabay port -- meaning that either a CD ROM or an additional disk drive should be supported. Battery and other Ultrabay products will not be supported unfortunately.

UPDATE: Due to reasons including the COVID-19 recent outbreak in Guangzhou and the shortage of chips, I have been informed that the T700 project will not likely be shipped within 2021. For best measures, the crowdfunding will be ended on my end. I have refunded the money to buyers via Paypal. Thanks to everyone who were interested in this project again and many apologies.
Last edited by lulujyc on Wed Jun 16, 2021 6:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Thinkpad T700 i7-10710 private project

#90 Post by H-Atkinson » Mon May 10, 2021 2:06 am

So existing ultrabay CD roms and other SATA interface devices will work, or its just going to be a SATA port and we have to figure out how to fit our own hardware in?
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