ThinkPad is a line of business-oriented laptop computers and tablets designed, developed and marketed by Lenovo, and formerly IBM. ThinkPads have a distinct black, boxy design language, inspired by a Japanese bento lunchbox, which originated in 1990 and is still used in some models. Most models also feature a red-colored trackpoint on the keyboard, which has become an iconic and distinctive design characteristic associated with the ThinkPad line.
ThinkPads have enjoyed cult popularity for many years. There are large communities on the Internet dedicated to the line where people have discussions about it, share photos and videos of their own ThinkPads, etc. Older ThinkPad models remain popular among enthusiasts and collectors, who still see them as durable, highly usable machines, despite no longer being modern. They have gained a reputation for being reliable, or "indestructible", even.
- Screen
- Keyboard
- Processor
- Motherboard
- FrankenPads
- BIOS
- Storage
- RAM
- Charging
- Speakers
- Cooling
- Other Goodies
- Contribute
Truth be told, many ThinkPads have terrible screen, but there are ways to upgrade them.
- Classic 7 row keyboard in xx30 series
- Ortholinear keyboard for xx10/xx20/xx30 series
- Custom keyboard for T470s
- ThinkPad keyboards over USB: 380ED, T60, T61
Last ThinkPads with upgradable CPU are T440p and W541.
- Corebooted xx20 machines support xx30 CPUs
- X230 with quad-core CPU Original motherboard with standard dual-core CPU desoldered and replaced with quad-core.
- T440p with i7-4980HQ
New motherboards for old ThinkPads are the holy grail of mods.
TODO:
- X62/X63
- T70
- X210/X2100
- T700
- T25 Frankenpad: T480 with 7 row keyboard from T25
- Kit or full build from xyte.ch
- A Frankenpad Story Custom T25 with Quad-Core CPU and UHD LCD Panel
- Coreboot Lightweight firmware replacing proprietary BIOS.
- Libreboot Freedom-respecting Coreboot distro.
- 1vyrain Software-based jailbreak for xx30 series.
- SSD in Ultrabay Replace your CD drive with 2.5" SSD.
- ExpressCard to NVMe Adapter Additional M.2 2242 SSD for models with ExpressCard slot (R51e to P71).
- xx20 series support 8GB RAM modules. You can install two times more RAM than oficially supported.
- T480 with 64GB RAM
- X220 with speakers from Dell Latitude 5280
- X220 with Galaxy Note 10+ speakers
- X230 with Nexus 6p speakers
- Tex Shinobi Mechanical keyboard with classic 7 row layout and trackpoint.
- TrackPoint modules for Ultimate Hacking Keyboard
- /r/TrackPoint Builders
Contributions welcome! Read the contribution guidelines first.