Can't ya just swap out the whole guts of it? I know part of the beauty is it already is what it is; but there's gotta be other reliable platforms that could fit in and would be compatible with the peripherals of that chassis. The refurbished market gonna explode in the next decade.
Just completed my build of one of these a few weeks back and absolutely love it. Outside of having to remove the Bios whitelist, did all the upgrades and scored parts of the cheap. Your original video inspired me to take the project on, glad to see a follow up!
Dude! Because of your video I encouraged myself to buy one of those and today is my daily driver. These are the upgrades I put in it. i7-4800mq, 16 GB RAM, 256 m.2 SSD, 500 GB SSD and 1 TB SSD. The only thing left is the trackpad and the screen, but I'm happy with it. Runs emulators for GameCube, Wii, Switch, PS2 and RetroArch like a champ. I lack USB-C and HDMI, but the ultra dock solves the HDMI and cool USB 3 Dock makes it for some of those UsB-C needs. I Love It!
Hi, did you have thermal problems with the 4800mq ? I bought a 4800mq to replace the standard 4300m but I’m a bit worried about the temperature… What is your opinion ?
I modded one of these about 18 months ago, using your original vid as a reference. Was literally my first time "building" a PC. Still going strong! I very nearly got Macos working on it too. Saw the apple logo and bricked after that. But as far as python development goes, Ubuntu Mate and windows 10 both run super smoothly on my other two SSDs. Appreciate your work
I followed your tutorial to the letter and I still use my T440p to this day. I run Linux on it and it is flawless. I am a thinkPad fanboy (old man, actually) but that 440 is still the workhorse.
still rocking the t440p and IMO it is the current best thinkpad on the value front. your initial video definitely encouraged me towards it in addition to how hot it was in 2019-2021 to buy these. I wish I could have a classic keyboard and maybe the T480/T25 frankenpad would give a superior experience but it could only do that at 10x the cost (t440ps can be had for $100-125, frankenpad is $1000+ unless you do the complicated mod process yourself) I seriously don't know what my next laptop would be, I'll probably use this one for life.
Bought one on your recommendation a few years back, runs like a champ still! Had to replace that original trackpad with the better one, and I’m still considering a display upgrade, but it’s more than capable of doing what I need it to.
I watched that first video and decided I was gonna give it a try. I'm still rocking that T440P to this day. I don't really use it for gaming, but then I don't do a lot of PC gaming to begin with. It's been a great personal device with plenty of storage for all kinds of media content.
I have the T440P fully upgraded : SDD + 2tb HDD; 4910MQ; 1080p; 16gb of Ram. Recently replaced the battery as the old one died completely. I'm telling you; i'm doing everything except gaming on this thing : coding/ documenting / youtube / 4k video / etc. The only annoying thing is that stupid docking station that blocks the air vents because Lenovo Engineers had been drunk the day of release. It never let me down; and i won't change this gem with nothing. Will keep using it until it dies (think i will die before it and my family will inherit the thing)
The pricing is still very good for what you get (especially in regards to performance, durability and reparability), but it's starting to not make as much sense as it did 2-3 years ago, especially because this era of Thinkpad is starting to hit that part of the bathtub curve where it's starting to get expensive to buy and repair. I've been recommending the T480 more and more: It's neck in neck in performance to the T440p, but it already comes with everything: DDR4, NVMe, 1080p IPS screens, SD Card, keyboard and touchpad mods, same battery system and plenty of other features that made Thinkpads the de facto standard for good laptops. Plus, with a good undervolt and some tweaks, even the slim battery lasts a day of light-ish use with no problems! It's also starting to cost less than the T440p in the US market.
It's still my daily mobile driver - upgraded to a i7-4900MQ, 16 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD & FHD-IPS Panel with Fedora Linux and KDE Plasma Desktop. Still perfect!
Would you recommend it for normal everyday use in the same specs as yours? By normal everyday use I mean A LOT of web browsing, normal office work and plenty of programming (mostly python)
@@6kbps Absolutely. For normal everyday use, you won't notice any difference between this model and a new 2000 euro device. This only becomes noticeable with compilers or gaming
after i saw the OG video i searched ebay and scoured serials and blurry photos and found one with factory 1080P, lighted keyboard, i7 and Nvidia graphics, it looked brand new, it even had inventory sticker from wherever it came from, picked up the dock for like 15 bucks off ebay too, seller pay 20 shipping on a 15 dollar item, stuffed 16 gigs in it and a sata 1tb SSD still use it for mobile computer repair still loaded with ISO's and tools
I'm still using my upgraded T420 and it still destroys as a laptop today running on linux mint. I tested Windows 11 on it a little while ago but sadly the additional bloat finally started to degrade the experience too much especially due to the aging graphics chips but luckily it has all compatible drivers on linux so I can allow it to fully stretch its legs in its final years until it meets its final resting place as the new home server. This thing didn't originally have usb 3 but with the help of some old style pc expansion cards and ye old esata, it can still pull off quite a bit for what is now a 12 year old device.
I've been using a T440p since 2019. The only upgrades I've done was RAM from 8GB to 12GB and a dead battery to a working one, though I've been thinking of upgrading to a bigger SSD and 16GB RAM. 20AN007FMS. i7-4800MQ, 12GB RAM, GT 730M (OC'd to 1006MHz core and 1151MHz mem), 256GB Samsung SSD, 1080p IPS display
I just purchased a T540P. I love these old thinkpads. Built like absolute tanks, very serviceable, and can run forever. It really depends on what you need and if running Windows 11 (officially) is important to you. They run Linux great.
Thanks for the video. Picked up a T470 think pad for my wife when she needs to travel for work nice and light i5, the battery still going strong, just need to add more ram to it. Picked it up for 240 CAD.
Still happily daily driving a T450s. It's a dual core, but I upgraded the memory to 12GB, and added a 2 TB SSD. I can code, make music, watch Plex, and light game on it without any issue. If I want to play any modern games I can just use Steam in-home streaming or Parsec.
I bought one a few years ago. The day it arrived was the day you released your video in it. 35w 4c/8t i7,16gb ram, fhd screen, gt 7** dgpu, 512gb m.2,2x1tb 2.5 ssd, new battery. Main os is Linux, windows 10 and macos, each on it's own ssd. My only "complaint" is that its "thick" aka dense.the dgpu can handle emulation from ps3 and below just fine. I have a t480 I got for $250 w/i5,16gb,256ssd and touchscreen(don't use it), added 32gb ram, 256gb and 1tb ssd with egpu. Both are great for the price but for my needs the t480 was a good buy because it tops at 64gb ram and is lighter.
I used a first gen i7 desktop and second gen i5 laptop til last year. Wish I would've upgraded setups a lot sooner. Things like nvme, USB 3, and modern instruction sets really make a difference. I put in some time and found a used Lenovo desktop with an i7 10700f, 1660 super, 512 nvme gen 3, and 16gb ddr4 3200mhz for 300usd. Also an HP Omen laptop from 2019 with an i7 9750h, 16gb DDR4, 1660ti, 1080p 144hz wled screen, 256gb nvme gen 3, and backlit keyboard for 175usd. It can be done! I feel bad about abandoning old tech but the price isnt really worth it at this point
Thanks for the input. I just picked up a t430 for $60 on a whim after reading some cool Reddit posts, and man, it is a dog with the 3rd Gen i5 and mechanical drive. Totally getting rid of it asap
I'd personally buy used parts. Especially for an older machine. For things like screens, trackpads, CPUs, and even RAM failure rates are fairly low compared to HDDs/SSDs in my experience.
I bought a T450s in 2021, was 4 years old at the time. Retired gov't asset. i5-5300u, 8 GB, win10 pro, 256GB SSD. It's a perfect size, lightweight and slim. 3 USB ports, SD slot, VGA, displayport, ethernet. internal + hot swappable external battery. $400 canadian. best deal ever
This is a nice laptop I would also suggest looking for a refurbished HP Elitebook, its enterprise grade and comes with plenty ports and easy to disassemble.
I'm still waiting on kingston suv500b/1920 to come in this Friday, but thanks to your video, I got just about all the upgrades done besides the clunkpad. 😎 I'm very happy with this model and thank you for making a follow- up on this💪
I picked up a T540P a few months ago for $220.00 shipped. 16 gigs of ram, 1920 x 1080 screen, i7 processor, 500 gig SSD, an almost new battery (98% life remaining), and NVidia graphics in excellent condition. Only thing I don't like is the trackpad, but I'm going to upgrade that one of these days. I don't mind the weight or the size as I'm older and my vision isn't that good these days so the extra screen real estate and numpad are a huge plus. I don't game on it (unless you count Solitaire and similar games) so it's more than powerful enough for my needs.
Still viable. I have a similar w541 with a 4810mq and 32GB ram. Best laptop I've ever had. Lovely keyboard, loads of ports and a Dvd drive that I still use all the time. Batery life is pretty good too.
I'm still very happy with a W520. If only Nvidia's Linux drivers weren't garbage, it's basically impossible to have docking / multiple monitors and dual graphics working properly at the same time. In the end I just settled for Windows 10 + WSL2 for the sake of my sanity. I'd upgrade, but I'm extremely reluctant to let go of the classic Thinkpad keyboard. I've never enjoyed island style keys, and the old layout is functionally just plain better.
I still rock my nearly maxed out t440s since launch and it's been great! Only thing is I got it with an i5 but was considering slapping an i7 in there. Also, if you're interested, you can modify the bios and remove the wifi whitelist that Lenovo kindly stuck in there (😒) and slap a ax210ngw chip in there instead of the 7260 chip it comes with to get wifi 6e & Bluetooth 5.2
I still use a T460 as my personal daily on Ubuntu - it's great (even with the crappier screen). Obviously wouldn't use it for any modern gaming but it's plenty quick enough for web usage. 16GB of RAM on a i5-6300U. New work laptop is a Thinkpad X1 carbon and I'm blown away by it.
I do recommend Dell Precision M4800 over the Lenovo Thinkpad T440P because of body. Now it increases the body weight of the machine but I need a really tough one. It has the same specs and I can even upgrade the display to a 4k one. If you can handle a little bit more weight than I recommend a Dell Precision M6800. M6000 series is basically M4000 series with a bigger screen and a bigger and better GPU. The specs are same tho. Edit : I rock the Dell Precision M4800 with 32 gigs of DDR3 Ram and I7 4810mq.
Yeah I got the latitude e6540 with i7 4810mq and amd 8750m but it has shitty cooling lol, I probably would have chosen the precision if I have known better back in February
@@kofuchinoo Precision also becomes very toasty under full load (98 Celcius). Only way to fix this is to use Power Saver Mode in Windows or Manually tweak Processor Power Management Values. If you need any help regarding temperature then feel free to ask me
I still use the T440S. Not exactly the same, but close. I took out 4GB of RAM years ago, because I was convinced I would get a more snappy system since it was paired with a 8GB stick. Since then, any activity that needs more resources than whatever Firefox requires with 6 tabs open, will force-shutdown the app. You can't do _anything_ with 8GB anymore, so don't even consider it. And to think that people called me crazy for having 16GB in my PC in 2013... That's still working fine as well.
I bought one on eBay last year for $70. Even after the screen upgrade, RAM, and m.2 and another ssd in the optical drive bay, I've got just over $200 in it and I love it. It's poop for gaming, but I'm not using it for games
In 2024 I got one with an i7 and gt730m. Parts are inexpensive, but I only need a battery, SSD, and upgraded ram. Do I need it? Not at all. Have I wanted one for a few years? Absolutely. I wasn't paying those old prices though. That's ridiculous.
I'd suggest a Thinkpad E495 or any used 1st gen Ryzen laptop. Looks like the l i7 4910MQ is a good bit faster on the CPU end vs a 3500u but it gets destroyed on the iGPU and 47 watts vs 15 watts. Hell around 450 you could maybe find a gtx 1050 laptops these days, not a Thinkpad though.
like many others i bought me a 440p and just got straight to modding. my battery went out like a year ago and i couldnt for some reason find a source. this video got me looking again. man i jsut need a screen battery and CPU and ill be done with this build too.
I have bad news for you. The frame for mounting SSD in place of the CD/DVD, the same one as in the video, does not fit. It's 1.5mm too high. All others available for purchase were the same size. They fit other laptops but for some reason not this ThinkPad. Well, you have to make quite a bit of effort to insert the disk there, so if you're going to do such an upgrade, know what awaits you. I had to modify mine a bit to fit in but it works now
Love my T440P, though the only thing I'm frustrated with is no USB-3 or USB-C. After watching your video, I bought one and upgraded it about 3 years ago, and it's still going strong. hhhmmm may be time to find a dock for it.
Hey man! Great review! In your opinion, is the screen in your video the best one you can put on the machine? I'm particurally interested in the display brightness, how much nits is it? I have a w541 at 350 nits, which is just perfect. However I'm forced to sell it, and I was looking for a cheaper alternative. T440p looks dope!
Not a bad laptop but the better buy in 2023 is the T480. Got a clean base model for $160, upgraded screen to 1080p, ram to 16gb, added a second ssd, and got a charger. I still came in under $300
I think it's cool to have a setup like that. But I think it's for people who want a certain style. People who want to take apart the machines and put them back together. Is it actually viable? I would say no considering the only way to make it somewhat viable is to add all these upgrades. And there's only so much you can do with the upgrades. I mean, how easy are the batteries for that machine to find? I think it's really cool that you can upgrade it and that's one of the joys of those older machines. It would certainly be good enough for me. Lord knows I don't need anything complicated. How long do you think it would take before your upgrades are outdated?
I would never recommend this without upgrades, so that is right... however, since it was used extensively in business and is still used globally, batteries are very easy to get... the upgrades are already outdated for modern gaming... and the rest is subjective depending upon what your doing. You can do better with a $600 modern PC... but you will lose some ports and random extras... the other thing is that no keyboard feels as good as this one, so I think this one is perpetually good for writing.
@@teksyndicate you had me at the batteries are regularly available! That's been my biggest pet peeve with modern technology. Even laptops. Built-in batteries that you can't replace.
Nice work, I got this notebook and upgraded the display as well, but I can't find FHD at the time so I bought the 1600x900 one it still looked great. One question, I want to use it as desktop, so I changed the BIOS setting to enable auto power on when AC applied but that didn't work, can you try that to see what comes, thx !
even am using a high end pc, but if some of my friends looking for cheap as f secondhanded laptop , ofc i'll mention some budget secondhand thinkpad, like u cannot beat the 120 dollars thinkpad with the cheapest brand new chromebook under 200 dollars haha,and also the parts upgrade is cheap ( it's 2023 guys, ssd is cheap than we're living in 2013 )
Personally, no. But I am a graphics snob who thorougly enjoys high definition high refresh rate graphics. However, if one came into my hands, I would do my best to get it formatted and up to date with a light linux version on it and pass it off to my local library or see if anyone could use a free laptop for doing basic tasks on.
I love my t440p- I've been gradually upgrading it over the last few years, first with an SSD, then moving from Windows to Linux, then 16GB RAM, and most recently the core i7. I may or may not upgrade the screen, as it mostly gets used plugged into a television or monitor whereever I am at.
No more sense in buying the 420, 430, 440 and upgrading them when T480, 480s, 470s are now starting to be available as low as 200€ (with wear) or 250-280 brand new
I got an E14 ThinkPad recently. Compared to my T440p, it has two USB ports. Just two! And one of them is USB 2.0! For me, the T440p is still my favorite laptop.
Just got new one for 200€, uograded ssd and RAM and display and it runs amazing. It loads windows in seconds. Cannot wait to try Linux. Amazing Machine.
Hey Hey, I have one of these that I got before I saw your mod video, and did the mods. This thing's built like a tank and does everything I need to do for work & education. I have a beeeefy-err desktop for CGI & SAR, but that's a different world type thing. Ok, full disclosure: I bought a second T440P and modded it as a back up for my original, so ya, I like the T440p. Plus, it's old enough that it's not the most prime target for theft. Unless it's a computer-geek that wants it.......but, eh...if a geek sees my T440P, falls in love, and has to abscond with it: they have my blessings for their new, wonderful life.
Hi I Have t440p, the only issue I have is it has constant issue with the keyboard. Keyboard seems ok but just giving oncorrect output when pressed. Tried updating the keyboard driver still don't work
I just ewasted one at work. 😈 you shouldn't compare it to a new laptop, you should compare it something used but more recent. Ex-business dells and hps are the way to go.
That seems spendy TBH. I just got a Dell Precision 7520 which is Dell’s workstation class laptop with similar build quality and expandability to a Thinkpad with an i7 7700 hq. 32 GBs of ram, a color accurate 4K 15 inch matte screen, an nvidia Quadra m2200 dedicated graphics card with 4 GBs vram and a 256 GB SSD in near perfect shape for 280 shipped off eBay. I mean I am not knocking Thinkpads they have great keyboards and build quality, but are they really that much more expensive?
