51nb.com released T50 (= new mobo for T4x's) in Shenzhen

[shawross]

Guys maybe we should take a poll to find out how many boards the people on this forum would purchase so Lazycat can relay the level of interest. I would hate to miss out and I can see them moving on to the T60 next before guys have their T4X's satisfied.

Also personally I would like to purchase all the extras required eg. CPU, memory, etc and maybe we can get a better deal with a group discount as such.
From 1 of the images it looks like they are using a WIFI dongle
This is an opportune moment I feel.

[Frobe70]

I have a lot of old T4x units waiting for new mainboards depending on price, but I will at least buy one new board for T4x and one for T6x.

[Norway Pad]

Guys maybe we should take a poll to find out how many boards the people on this forum would purchase so Lazycat can relay the level of interest. I would hate to miss out and I can see them moving on to the T60 next before guys have their T4X's satisfied...

This requires Lazycat to do a great deal of work for us, but if he thinks some indicator of the interest is useful to bring back to the people on the 51nd forum, I think a poll, or simply a PM to his inbox is a way to go. He is after all our link to this fourm. Or maybe the level of interest is of no interest to them, as they know that all the boards will be ripped away during a couple of days on eBay?

..From 1 of the images it looks like they are using a WIFI dongle.

The specs of the board, posted in the other thread, says it has support for MiniPCI-E WiFi card. I think the Mini PCI-E socket is the one on the front part of the board, middle/front of the palmrest.

[Medessec]

..From 1 of the images it looks like they are using a WIFI dongle.

I believe what you're seeing is a wireless mouse receiver or some other peripheral wireless receiver. I could be wrong though.

There is indeed a Mini PCI-E slot directly under the palmrest, where the enormous Mini-PCI port used to be.

I think if we want to do a poll or some other topic indicating our interest... we should probably have a price figure first.

[DRobinson]

I think if we want to do a poll or some other topic indicating our interest... we should probably have a price figure first.

I agree. I have an idea of the amount I could put towards this. If over that, I would probably start to put away for it, but may not be an early adopter.

[Arturus]

how does 51nb.com normally operate? Are these things available for a while, or do we need to get in as quickly as possible?

I'm up for one, perhaps even two.

[86turbodsl]

I'm in for one, assuming it doesn't cost more than a new pc...

[Medessec]

I'd be willing to pay quite a bit if these are going to be the only ones. I'm pretty sure it will be reasonable.

[derrickq]

All, has anyone heard a price for this Mobo yet?

Currently the Mobo is 799 RMB Yuan, which is about 131 USD. Below are upgrading cost estimation from HOPE@51nb, all RMB. (1 RMB = 0.1641 USD)
http://forum.51nb.com/thread-1418443-1-1.html
主板799 Motherboard
内存200(4G) Memory (DDR3)
CPU300(I5) (1st generation of i7)
硬盘自己配 Your own HDD (2.5 sata)
半高无线网卡100 half-height wifi card
屏幕自己搞定 Your own LCD(T4x or T6x series)
总共应该一千多搞定了吧。 around 1xxx RMB in total

Note: The price may be higher because of the cost of custom duty, tax, postage and etc. There are 200 pieces of T50 moboes in the first batch, I guess you guys would not get them (nor many guys from 51nb now)... I believe HOPE will produce more and then may or may not consider selling them internationally. If you guys really want T50, someone in this forum should talk to HOPE directly through PM in 51nb. (No worries, HOPE knows well about English )

[86turbodsl]

Well, that sounds like a very reasonable price for this product. I'm definitely in!

[Medessec]

Awesome... really appreciate the information. And indeed- I personally figured the first batch would be mostly for getting the board out to members, and to see how well they work. I didn't think we'd wind up with any, and that we'd be looking forward to a new production batch. But again... would love to stay updated.

I've gone ahead and used that price as a basis for a poll:
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=112375

Hopefully some of the members get a hold of this... it'll give you guys at 51nb an exact idea of how much we would like to get our hands on these boards.

[derrickq]

For those guys who want to play around in 51nb.com:

51nb does have an English version but you need to choose it for each page you visit.
There is a combo box in the bottom right corner, click it and choose 'English', then you will find the forum is in English now though the content of the thread is in Chinese.
You can now sign up and post your thread or send PM

You can also use Google translator:
http://translate.google.com/
Type the link in it then you can get your info in your language

[Medessec]

I use Google Chrome, which almost instantly picks up if you're on a foreign website, and asks if you want to translate the page. It works to a degree... but it works well enough for me to get a general idea of what the members are talking about.

I may have to look into that English version feature... although I doubt I'll make an account or anything.

[derrickq]

I use Google Chrome, which almost instantly picks up if you're on a foreign website, and asks if you want to translate the page. It works to a degree... but it works well enough for me to get a general idea of what the members are talking about.

I may have to look into that English version feature... although I doubt I'll make an account or anything.

Well, I did that because someone sent me a PM and wanted to know how to send a PM to HOPE in 51nb
I hope HOPE would consider selling T50 aboard so that we can continue enjoy classic thinkpad... Lenovo has lost most of the great designs and features of classic thinkpad.

[lazycat]

I see a lot of people in the forum asked repeatedly :what's the price for a T4x upgrade to T50? is it cost-effective?

In fact, I think, T50 is for those who have a certain ability of DIY,who favor the old THINKPAD elements, and are ready to accept imperfectness; but not for those who expect cost-effective, who just wanna buy-and-use thing like a commercial off-the-shelf product.

About the price, as I checked at taobao.com, CPU prices vary from 120-900 RMB depending on the model I3/I5/I7 you want. 4G DDRIII: 240 RMB. INTEL 6300 card (please notice that T50 requires half-height WIFI cards) 80-120 RMB. AS a lot of old T4x have fan problem, changing a new set of cooling system will cost you 80 RMB for fan + heatsink. if you only buy a new fan, 20 RMB.

For me, I'll pay the motherboard for 800+ RMB, CPU 850 RMB, 8 G memory for 460, intel 6300 WIFI card and fan system 160, maybe later add a 256M SSD. plus the cost of driving to Shenzhen from Guangzhou, the final cost will reach 4,000 RMB--the money you can buy a nice new notebook. - Please don't say i'm silly, I just like it.

However, you can also make a economical plan. if you go with a lowest level CPU I3 330M, 125 RMB, 2G DDRIII: 159 RMB, a spare SATA I or II hd, the WIFI card 80 RMB, the T50 motherboard 800, in a total, less than 1200 - but surely someone will still feel expensive.

So, you should think clearly what you want before you start, do not be hasty, do not be a parrot.

I also want to remind you: you should also consider the problem of warranty, debugging and etc. Also there might be some unlucky ones will encouter failure T50 board-- any brand ,any models of motherboards will have failure rates, not to mention the T50 board is actually a custom-built product. After all,it can not be compared with the commercially released ones, which are mass producted from the automatic assembly lines of big fatcotries.

After reading these words above, my friends, what's your choice then?

[lazycat]

one more thing, i forget to plus the income & outcome taxes and ship cost for you guys...

[Medessec]

Well... I suppose I can share how I'd plan it out.

800 RMB apparently translates to ~$135, I'll say $150. Slap on about $80 for International shipping and customs charges on their end... receiving a package in California isn't going to be that bad. So for $230 the board would be in my hands. I have a T43 shell with an original UXGA screen that I picked up on ebay for about $40, so that'd be a barebones T50 hammered down. On top of that I'd need a Hard Drive, CPU, and DDR3 RAM. I wasn't sure what sort of DDR3 we were supposed to use, or what chipset the T50 mobo uses... Hopefully QM57(what the W701 uses), but it's more likely the HM55 or HM57. Either way- most processors will only support PC3-8500 or PC3-10600. Hard Drive will be absolutely no problem, I'd probably end up getting a sizable Solid State, then using an Ultrabay HDD if they've worked out SATA Ultrabays, but I don't think they have. If that's the case, then a Seagate Hybrid Drive, probably one of the older 500GB drives. Not sure if I recall the T43 having the tri-antenna cables for tri-antenna Wi-fi cards, but I'd love to put in an Intel 5300 or 6300 for Wireless connectivity.

Basically it tallies up to:
-T50 Motherboard shipped: $230
-T43 chassis with UXGA screen: I'll make it $80, rarely you'll find one for $40.
-8GB PC3-10600 DDR3 Apacer RAM: $75
-Intel Core i7-620M(Dual-core with Hyperthreading at 2.66 GHz): $80 (It's what they're using in the screenshots)
-Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 Mini PCI-E Wireless card: $25
-Seagate Momentus XT 750GB: $85

Total: $575

And that's an expensive configuration from scratch. It is kinda pricey, but you are getting a supremely unique 4:3 laptop solution.

[lazycat]

you can add a hdd by hdd-tray on cd position, other than ultrabay

[Norway Pad]

Like I wrote in the poll that got started here, this project will be more expensive than a used T410 I was planning to buy this winter. So compared to this newer laptop, with more ports, docking option, and a standard mass-produced mobo; fitting a T50 board in an old T4x will newer be the smart or cost-effective way to do it. But as Thinkpads is my big hobby, I see the value in having a nice old Thinkpad with brand new internals. And I suspect we are all in the same boat there, as we bothered to sign up for a forum in the first place and spend hours discussing old laptops that the cost-effective guys discarded years ago.

[irus]

if these are reliable quality wise then its worth spending on.

[lazycat]

Latest News From Hope@51nb.com:

30 minutes before, Hope@51nb.com announced in the fourm that T50 will put on sale in the mall aera of 51nb.com this Saturday. The price is 799RMB, express fee not included. The first batch would have only 20 pieces. Only local sale in shenzhen supported. They might consider sell outside shenzhen next week.

Hope also reminded that 3 minor problems remains:
1. the WLAN light couldn't work
2. the middle key of the track-point system couldn't work
3. the screen flickers a little if you don't turn it the maximus brightness.

he says they will try to solve these problems in future.

[shawross]

Ok there might be boards available out of this current batch. It is difficult to try to interpret if this is the last batch and out of this batch how many will be available. It is early days yet but there might be only 50 boards picked up from this forum.
I tend to feel like I am trying to find the light switch in a dark room.
I am not too worried about the WLAN light and I don't use the keys above the mouse pad but the brightness issue is of more concern to me. I am typing this on a T43 and I checked and the screen is on maximum brightness.
I only have the low resolution 1024 x 768 T43's and I don't know if this problem will affect all the screen types the same.
I suppose there is only 1 way to find out. I thought the guys from 51nb.com might pick up the whole first batch but with the bugs they might not. There may be other bugs as well.
Hope has done a great job to get it this far really.
I am still in but over the next week I will decide if I still go for 2 boards or just the 1 and if it works out then buy a follow up board if it is available depending on batches and of course bugs.
Thinkpad seems a very apt name at this stage.

Thanks to Lazycat for the feedback

[Medessec]

This is really amazing news- I wasn't surprised they still hadn't worked out all the bugs... they still left a bit of adventure in these boards

I'd probably only get one board at first, hoping it's not DOA or a lemon. I have a huge variety of T43 shell hardware(14" and 15" frames, heatsinks from all T4x iterations, and XGA, SXGA and UXGA screens) so I'd probably be down for doing some extensive playing around with it... do some trial and error and hopefully not wreck the board. However... I'd love to know exactly what chipset this board has... so I know if I have RAM to spare, and exactly what CPUs I want to pick up to play around with.

[irus]

However... I'd love to know exactly what chipset this board has... so I know if I have RAM to spare, and exactly what CPUs I want to pick up to play around with.

Someone mentioned HM55/57 chipset. so it would be sata II 3.0 gbps, ddr3 ram and all core i7 first gen processors which would work with this board.

[lazycat]

However... I'd love to know exactly what chipset this board has... so I know if I have RAM to spare, and exactly what CPUs I want to pick up to play around with.

Someone mentioned HM55/57 chipset. so it would be sata II 3.0 gbps, ddr3 ram and all core i7 first gen processors which would work with this board.

You are right, it's HM55/57. But it's not all first gen i7 are supported. Actually only the ones with integrated graphics card are supported.

[Norway Pad]

.. announced in the fourm that T50 will put on sale in the mall aera of 51nb.com this Saturday.

Could you give us the link to the mall section of the forum? I have the 51nb.com pages up in translated form now, but still hard to get exactly what forum I would be searching in.. I will have it handy for next week when there is a sliiight chance I can actually buy one..

Thank you!

[axur-delmeria]

Looking at this pic http://www.51nb.com/batch.download.php?aid=64201, it seems that the Ultrabay connector is IDE (for T4x/T6x) and not the newer SATA interface for T4x0/T5x0.
Am I mistaken?

[lazycat]

.. announced in the fourm that T50 will put on sale in the mall aera of 51nb.com this Saturday.

Could you give us the link to the mall section of the forum? I have the 51nb.com pages up in translated form now, but still hard to get exactly what forum I would be searching in.. I will have it handy for next week when there is a sliiight chance I can actually buy one..

20 pieces of T50 boards are on sale in the mall: http://mall.51nb.com/goods-1063.html
but please pay attention: this 20 pieces are only for local people in Shenzhen or ones who mail the machine to 51nb.com for installation. The reason is that guys of 51nb.com want to summarize the problems people might encounter during the installation, then they can try to solve the problems or give a answer. HOPE said he want to wipe out all the installation issues so that poeple won't meet again when they get the board to do the installation themselves.

I have already upgraded my T43 to T50 yesterday in 51nb's office in shenzhen. I'll post the details later.

[Medessec]

it seems that the Ultrabay connector is IDE (for T4x/T6x) and not the newer SATA interface for T4x0/T5x0.
Am I mistaken?

Nope. seems that's true. Probably because they wanted the Ultrabay aesthetic(the bezel piece on the outside) to match, and so if the upgrade was happening to someone who already had a bunch of T43 accessories, it will still be compatible.

I would really like for them to do a motherboard with the Serial Ultrabay Slim(T500/W500) because the outside bezel is a lot closer to the T43 aesthetic than the T60/61 ultrabay, and I think we can all agree that a T43 with a Blu-Ray drive in it would just be the most awesome thing.

And indeed-we'd appreciate a full review from you, lazycat. It'd be great to hear about your experiences with the board... see what crops up and exactly what problems you encounter, and how much you enjoy the new power.

[lazycat]

Looking at this pic http://www.51nb.com/batch.download.php?aid=64201, it seems that the Ultrabay connector is IDE (for T4x/T6x) and not the newer SATA interface for T4x0/T5x0.
Am I mistaken?

It is a SATA interface, but in a special assembly way to accommodate the DVD drive interface. accturely, it's the same interface in T4x. That's why you can add a SATA hdd to CD position in T4x machine by an ultrabay.