Enthusiast made a new motherboard for the ThinkPad X200s

Sometimes computer technology is more - something more than a product with a fixed lifespan, which then without regret is thrown into a landfill. Some gadgets are lovingly kept and maintained in working condition for many years after the manufacturer has officially discontinued their release and support. This also applies to iconic IBM ThinkPad notebook models.

These reliable tools do not seem to obey the law of planned obsolescence. But they can do nothing with Moore's law. Processors and other characteristics of ThinkPad do not correspond to modern times, where a text message of 140 characters takes up more than 100 megabytes in RAM.

ThinkPad notebooks have a large and dedicated army of fans. By loyalty to their favorite model, they will easily give odds to fans of Apple technology, whose MacBook Pro laptops have already become the de facto standard among participants in hacker contests and many developers. In a sense, we can say that the MacBook Pro laptops replaced the ThinkPad, which, almost since its first release in 1992, has been the de facto standard for professionals.
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After the purchase of the IBM laptop section by a Chinese company, Lenovo, the ThinkPad models have changed: 4: 3 displays have been replaced with 16: 9, some keys have changed on the keyboard. Not all of these changes came to mind.

But now classic laptops from IBM can get a second life, writes Hackaday.

The enthusiast from the forum 51nb.com has developed a long-awaited upgrade for their favorite laptops - new motherboards that match the form factor with the case of the ThinkPad X200s. On the forum, the user under the nickname HOPE describes the upgrade procedure in detail .

Motherboard installation

The photos above show a replacement motherboard for the X200s, but in reality HOPE developed motherboards for three models: a motherboard for X62 based on X60 / 61 , a motherboard for X210 based on X200 / 201 and a motherboard for T70 based on T60 .

Motherboards are compatible with the original frame and case of classic laptops, but they support the latest generation of Intel Core processors, DDR4 memory, USB 3.0 / 3.1 interfaces, Thunderbolt 3, and much more.

In many cases, old holes in the case made for interfaces of the previous motherboard are suitable for new connectors. In addition, you can often reuse the original radiators and coolers.



Considering that these computers were created a decade earlier than the equipment that was inserted into them, the level of integration is really impressive. As a result, the laptop looks as if it really has just left the Lenovo assembly line.

This story shows the extent to which love can go to an old computer technology, if you have deep knowledge in the production of electronic components and contacts with manufacturers who can cheaply make a small batch of necessary components. In fact, HOPE not only changed the motherboard in its computer - which almost every user did on his own - but in reality he developed this board from scratch.

It is difficult to say how much this work cost. Even if we do not take into account engineering and design work, but even the manufacture of such boards was to cost a considerable amount, we are still talking about modern complex components: this is a processor with about 1100 legs, DDR4 and PCI-E are also extremely stringent requirements to power, plus a bunch of peripherals. Yes, and to the board itself put forward certain requirements and restrictions. It was impossible to develop it as you want, but it was necessary to do it in accordance with the dimensions of the existing chassis, fasteners, location of components. It is even surprising that a non-professional (presumably a HOPE user is still a non-professional, although who knows) is able to develop such a product and put it into production.

Modder versions of motherboards and notebooks ThinkPad X210 has already gone on sale. The craftsman's motherboard sells for 3,000 yuan (about $ 475). And it seems that buyers are very satisfied . Who would have thought that a decade-old IBM laptop could make a monster on a Core i5-8250U processor with a 1920 × 1200 display and excellent performance under Ubuntu.