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X210Ai is a new motherboard to upgrade ThinkPad X201/200

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Re: X210Ai is a new motherboard to upgrade ThinkPad X201/200

#41

Post by cyanydeez »

spankibalt wrote: post #34
cyanydeez wrote: post #21

Someone do this to the X230T. ALL OTHER 2:1 TABLETS ARE INFERIOR.

The HP ZBook X2 G4 leaves it in the dust, both conceptually (detachables are a superior form factor) and specs-wise; HP EliteBook 27xxp machines with similar guts are at least on par. I'd rather have a new and smaller (10" to 13") version of the ZBook X2 G4 instead, upgrade the Dreamcolor display, keep the Wacom EMR digitzer and a sensible dedicated pro-GPU with certified drivers, and add plenty of ECC-RAM. Abracadab…

Nope. Open, Twist, Close. No change in viewpoint.

Every other 2:1 tablet requires changing perspective. Like walking into a different room and forgetting what you wanted to do.

Re: X210Ai is a new motherboard to upgrade ThinkPad X201/200

#44

Post by syntaxing »

I owned one of the predecessor about a decade ago, the X62 upgrade to the X61! It was extremely expensive for what it was and I saved up for a while. But it was such a fun experience, felt like the original framework laptop. I got to swap out the screen too

Re: X210Ai is a new motherboard to upgrade ThinkPad X201/200

#45

Post by fuzzy2 »

loloquwowndueo wrote: post #40
fuzzy2 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And that’s about it, I’d say! I find that everything else is really, really bad. It creaks, it wobbles, it warps, and it did so from day 1. The fan is loud and kicks in quite early. Well maybe the X200 isn’t as bad, but the X220 certainly is. And even after 14 years, it still smells when it gets hot. Sorry for the rant. I really want to love it, but I just can’t.

Yet after 14 years you still have it and use it? Quality also went down while with later models - back in 2014 I was laptop shopping, based on the X2xx series reputation I tested an X240 and it was crap, even the keyboard was super bad, I ended up getting a Dell xps13 whose keyboard was miles better and it still works today.

Well "use it" is a bit of a stretch. I’m a bit of a device hoarder. It's one of my experimentation platforms for Linux stuff, currently running Fedora Kinoite (with Universal Blue).

My daily driver (of sorts, don’t really need a laptop anymore) is a MacBook Pro Late 2013, with NixOS. It’s so much better in every regard, it’s not even funny. It also still has its original battery.

Re: X210Ai is a new motherboard to upgrade ThinkPad X201/200

#46

Post by ho_schi »

prmoustache wrote: post #36
scrlk wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Won't fit, the X200/201 use a different chassis design to the X220/230.

I never understood why laptops brands have so many SKUs and change chassis design on every generation. When I compare both internally and externally my personal thinkpad from 2019 to the one my company is providing me since last june, I don't see any outstanding difference that justify having incompatible mainboard, keyboard, trackpad, screen, hinges or even fans. It looks like they change the layout and parts dimens…

It are only minor changes.

Recent ThinkPads are close to be identical: X280 - X13 Gen3 (minor change: 16:10 with X13 Gen1).

X13 Gen 4 - Gen 6 are sadly nearly identical, especially the ugly camera bump which is not required. No camera needs that space and video conference systems cannot used the full resolution.

Luckily sometimes the batteries are compatible.

Re: X210Ai is a new motherboard to upgrade ThinkPad X201/200

#47

Post by varispeed »

jdboyd wrote: post #8

Currently $1,299.00 for the Ultra 7 and $1,449.00 for the Ultra 9. I won't say it isn't a fair price, but it is a really hard one. It would be perhaps more interesting to start making ARM or maybe even RISC-V motherboard replacements for some of these beloved chassis.

This is a small shop. Given complexity I'd say the price is a steal. You certainly couldn't make it at that price in the West. Probably 2-10 times more expensive.

Re: X210Ai is a new motherboard to upgrade ThinkPad X201/200

#48

Post by mushufasa »

t312227 wrote: post #22

hello, as always: imho (!) i own a x200s ... bought it in march of 2009 =?> so its approaching 17 years ... it was a really great device with one of the best keyboards for a small notebook. and i still use it multiple times a week for example to browse hackernews, reddit, ... or watch some video etc. buuuut: its nearly 17 years old ... everything is starting to wear - i wouldn't invest a dime into it right now. what…

My understanding with this project is they also replace the screen and battery with newer parts e.g. higher resolution, or at least that's an option, and all the ports are new (it's a new motherboard). So really the only 'old' parts are the keyboard and chassis. My understanding is there's lots of cheap replacements for the keyboard floating out there given the mass production and the original intention for this device to be easily serviceable by IT departments instead of "RMA everything."

Re: X210Ai is a new motherboard to upgrade ThinkPad X201/200

#49

Post by walterbell »

t312227 wrote: post #22

hello, as always: imho (!) i own a x200s ... bought it in march of 2009 =?> so its approaching 17 years ... it was a really great device with one of the best keyboards for a small notebook. and i still use it multiple times a week for example to browse hackernews, reddit, ... or watch some video etc. buuuut: its nearly 17 years old ... everything is starting to wear - i wouldn't invest a dime into it right now. what…

What's a good alternative to 2010 Thinkpad X200 series, with potential for coreboot support?

Re: X210Ai is a new motherboard to upgrade ThinkPad X201/200

#50

Post by backscratches »

walterbell wrote: post #49
t312227 wrote: post #22

hello, as always: imho (!) i own a x200s ... bought it in march of 2009 =?> so its approaching 17 years ... it was a really great device with one of the best keyboards for a small notebook. and i still use it multiple times a week for example to browse hackernews, reddit, ... or watch some video etc. buuuut: its nearly 17 years old ... everything is starting to wear - i wouldn't invest a dime into it right now. what…

What's a good alternative to 2010 Thinkpad X200 series, with potential for coreboot support?

Can't recommend starlabs enough, fully replaceable everything, coreboot, modern specs, Linux compat, firmware over lvfs
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