6 ms·

I love the form-factor of my X230 (which is my most-used personal computer), and I do wish I could have the X220 keyboard and a 1080p display. But there is noth

I love the form-factor of my X230 (which is my most-used personal computer), and I do wish I could have the X220 keyboard and a 1080p display. But there is nothing that could convince me to undertake a project like this. (My offspring has an X240, and it's terrible. And I hear that newer ThinkPads even have soldered-in RAM and glued-in batteries. I don't know what I'll do when my X230 wears out. Maybe bite the bullet and buy a Framework.)

NikolaNovak 5y ago
For me, the entire 40 series was a disaster, especially with the removal of all physical trackpad/trackpoint buttons. I've actually seen a security architect repeatedly slam the client-provided T540 onto a desk in rage. Lenovo apparently saw the error of their ways with the 50 series and they had dedicated buttons back ever since. X250 was my favourite of that form-factor, as it still had external and internal battery replaceable easily by user. I seem to recall even upgrading the RAM. They can be found for $250ish CAD if you wait/bargain a little. I too however could never commit to a project like that; just don't have the time/energy/priority. I believe it's the type of thing you undertake for the process, not results :). I ended up being one of those fools who paid for a T470-but-with-good-keyboard, the T25 Anniversary model, and 3 years later I'm still a very happy fool :).
- andix 5y ago
  I replaced the trackpad in my t440s with a spare part from a t450s. No problem.
  - ryantgtg 5y ago
    I might be the only one that likes this t440s style trackpad. I have no desire to mod it. I love that you physically click it. Coming from a macbook, I was at first baffled that apparently you can’t rest your thumb on it while moving the cursor, but I quickly got used to that. And now I can’t stand macbook trackpads!
    - andix 5y ago
      The newer ones you can still physically click. Although it doesn‘t move that far anymore. The main difference is, that the 4-series doesn‘t have dedicated trackpoint buttons. If you are a heavy trackpoint user, this is just bad.
      - ryantgtg 5y ago
        Ah gotcha. That makes total sense. I last like ten seconds each time I try to use the trackpad, probably because of lack of buttons. I probably need to replace my t440s soon because the ram/processor is problematic for my usage (gdal and geospatial data conversions, big gimp and inkscape files, simultaneous rails/npm servers for dev, etc). I’ll look into one with the sweet buttons.
    - NikolaNovak 5y ago
      Depends on your use patterns: 1. If you use TrackPoint, the lack of buttons is murderous. Just a complete deal breaker. I have no idea how it passed any usability testing. 2. If you use trackpad alone, we still felt it was inferior to the 30 or 50 series. Clicking trackpad did not feel "positive" somehow; felt like sometimes it would register a click, sometimes it would register a swipe before the click. Most of all, it made it difficult to JUST CLICK. Imagine you're in photoshop and you want to select a specific pixel... if you have a dedicated button, np. With buttons integrated with trackpad, it felt that I could never select the specific pixel without it moving ever so slightly when I just wanted to push a button.
formerly_proven 5y ago
Yes, the X270 was the last X series with a separate battery. All later models have only built-in batteries.
andix 5y ago
Most of them have one soldered and one replaceable ram module. And so far (t440s, t450s, t470s) I could always easily replace the battery. No glue, just with a screwdriver and a prying tool to open the case.
nh2 5y ago
Join my lobbying of frame.work to team up with TEX to bring a Thinkpad-like keyboard option to their laptop: https://community.frame.work/t/what-keyboard-options-will-be-available/178/43 https://community.frame.work/t/what-keyboard-options-will-be...
- jacknews 5y ago
  Can we lobby for a framework Surface? That way you can choose your own keyboard, without the existing one getting in the way.
icey 5y ago
I’ve done most of these upgrades minus the screen. The keyboard swap wasn’t too bad. Coreboot was a little more scary because of flashing rom and things. The 220 keyboard is pretty nice, although I had to buy two because the first one I bought had a dead key :( My franken230 is my “thinking machine”… it’s what I use any time I want to write something out because the experience of typing on it is so nice.

NikolaNovak 5y ago

For me, the entire 40 series was a disaster, especially with the removal of all physical trackpad/trackpoint buttons. I've actually seen a security architect repeatedly slam the client-provided T540 onto a desk in rage. Lenovo apparently saw the error of their ways with the 50 series and they had dedicated buttons back ever since. X250 was my favourite of that form-factor, as it still had external and internal battery replaceable easily by user. I seem to recall even upgrading the RAM. They can be found for $250ish CAD if you wait/bargain a little. I too however could never commit to a project like that; just don't have the time/energy/priority. I believe it's the type of thing you undertake for the process, not results :). I ended up being one of those fools who paid for a T470-but-with-good-keyboard, the T25 Anniversary model, and 3 years later I'm still a very happy fool :).

andix 5y ago
I replaced the trackpad in my t440s with a spare part from a t450s. No problem.
- ryantgtg 5y ago
  I might be the only one that likes this t440s style trackpad. I have no desire to mod it. I love that you physically click it. Coming from a macbook, I was at first baffled that apparently you can’t rest your thumb on it while moving the cursor, but I quickly got used to that. And now I can’t stand macbook trackpads!
  - andix 5y ago
    The newer ones you can still physically click. Although it doesn‘t move that far anymore. The main difference is, that the 4-series doesn‘t have dedicated trackpoint buttons. If you are a heavy trackpoint user, this is just bad.
    - ryantgtg 5y ago
      Ah gotcha. That makes total sense. I last like ten seconds each time I try to use the trackpad, probably because of lack of buttons. I probably need to replace my t440s soon because the ram/processor is problematic for my usage (gdal and geospatial data conversions, big gimp and inkscape files, simultaneous rails/npm servers for dev, etc). I’ll look into one with the sweet buttons.
  - NikolaNovak 5y ago
    Depends on your use patterns: 1. If you use TrackPoint, the lack of buttons is murderous. Just a complete deal breaker. I have no idea how it passed any usability testing. 2. If you use trackpad alone, we still felt it was inferior to the 30 or 50 series. Clicking trackpad did not feel "positive" somehow; felt like sometimes it would register a click, sometimes it would register a swipe before the click. Most of all, it made it difficult to JUST CLICK. Imagine you're in photoshop and you want to select a specific pixel... if you have a dedicated button, np. With buttons integrated with trackpad, it felt that I could never select the specific pixel without it moving ever so slightly when I just wanted to push a button.

formerly_proven 5y ago

Yes, the X270 was the last X series with a separate battery. All later models have only built-in batteries.

andix 5y ago

Most of them have one soldered and one replaceable ram module. And so far (t440s, t450s, t470s) I could always easily replace the battery. No glue, just with a screwdriver and a prying tool to open the case.

nh2 5y ago

Join my lobbying of frame.work to team up with TEX to bring a Thinkpad-like keyboard option to their laptop: https://community.frame.work/t/what-keyboard-options-will-be-available/178/43 https://community.frame.work/t/what-keyboard-options-will-be...

jacknews 5y ago
Can we lobby for a framework Surface? That way you can choose your own keyboard, without the existing one getting in the way.

icey 5y ago

I’ve done most of these upgrades minus the screen. The keyboard swap wasn’t too bad. Coreboot was a little more scary because of flashing rom and things. The 220 keyboard is pretty nice, although I had to buy two because the first one I bought had a dead key :( My franken230 is my “thinking machine”… it’s what I use any time I want to write something out because the experience of typing on it is so nice.