October 10, 2013 at 14:39Frankenpad: the history of the phenomenon
Today, the victim of the subject of my article is not a particular exhibit my collection or just an interesting computer. This time I will talk about a rather non-standard phenomenon among fans of the ThinkPad brand, which would hardly have arisen among adherents of another brand. There are probably several reasons for this -
For a long time, users took the opportunity to keep their device convenient by updating (usually not dramatically, but noticeably) its “stuffing”. For a start, I would take about 1995-1996, but more on that below. The name was given later - in 2004, the first time the word FrankenPad (from the name of the creator of the monster from the parts of several people “Frankenstein” and the name of the laptop) was used on the user community forum ( forum.thinkpads.com ) in relation to the non-standard upgrade of the model 770 laptop But only in 2011 did this epithet begin to spread. Basically, this word concerned updating models of the T60 series to T61, but was often used also in relation to the transplantation of motherboards in the T4x / R5x lines.
For clarification, I want to note that for some models the upgrade kit was supplied by IBM itself. Let us agree to call the frankenpad only the result of an unofficial upgrade - independent or manufactured by a third-party company.
I suggest you delve into the history of the phenomenon and get acquainted with the possible options for building your own "monster".My faithful assistant Igor will help me with this. Ha ha ha . As dates, I will use the model year, which served as the basis for the creation of Frankenpad.
The iconic and probably the most famous model of the ThinkPad brand appeared in 1995. Belonging in size to the class of ultraportable laptops, the Butterfly provided a full-sized screen (matrices larger than 10.4 inches were not installed on laptops at that time) and a keyboard that was made to fold for the sake of compactness. At the same time, the laptop received a filling close to the maximum at that time - the i486-DX4 / 75 processor and up to 40 megabytes of RAM in the maximum configuration (top models had the same processor, but with a frequency of 100 MHz). Due to the lack of built-in drives, the laptop had a weight of 1.7 kg - more than a half kilogram lighter than the equipped ThinkPad 755CD CD-ROM.
But six months later, the first Pentium-based models appeared and everything turned around ...
The first laptop that can be called Frankenpad was created on its basis. A third-party company whose name has sunk into oblivion (maybe even it was not one company) after some time began to produce boards for updating these machines. An AMD 5x86-133 processor (P-rating 75, that is, corresponding to Pentium 75 performance) was installed on the board (most likely it was a modified and restored IBM-made motherboard), the memory capacity was supported up to 72 (64 + 8) megabytes.
To carry out such an update (as well as any other non-standard update) certain skills were required - the laptop needed to be disassembled almost completely and replaced the lower of the two main boards in the case (on one lived a processor with system logic, and on the other VRM, an audio controller and other important details) .
A relatively large break will follow - models 755, 760, 380 and 560 were not interesting from this point of view. In general, in principle, there were three big bursts of interest in the creation of the Frankenpad, the former being weaker than the others, and the latter the strongest. So…
Model 770, which came out in the curtain of 1997, was not only remarkable for having impressive dimensions and being the last in the 7-series. These powerful machines were the first laptops with DVD-ROM, among the options were analog video input, AC-3 digital audio output, MPEG2 encoding / decoding acceleration board (all three options were actually one - they were provided by the DEVA card - Digital and Enhanced Video Adapter), a unique 13.7 "screen with a resolution of 1280x1024. But at the same time the oldest model received only PII-366, after which the line was closed. The machines similar in functionality appeared only six months later, the 770 series gradually fell in price and began to fall into private hands. business user will buy a new laptop, and will not do risky manipulations with old hardware.
And here a wide variety of forms of franknading appeared. I can’t say what was the first of these, but the list of mono-building options was a lot:
1) installing a video controller from 770E to 770, on X / Z it was already on the AGP bus, the first two models used PCI
2) replacing Pentium II processors on Pentium III (770X / Z) - these laptops used a processor in the MMC-2 package, which made it possible to install the CPU up to P3-850, and with some manipulations (re-soldering the processor on the module, sometimes overclocking) - up to 1 GHz!
3) memory manipulation - the laptop has three memory slots, one of them is available only when completely disassembled and from the factory contains 32 megabytes (770 / E) or 64 megabytes (770X / Z) RAM. The 440BX chipset, on the basis of which the laptop was created, can support up to 1 gigabyte of memory in 4 slots, which theoretically would allow installing 768 megabytes in this laptop. But due to a bug in the BIOS, the maximum amount is 512 megabytes - 128 + 128 + 256 or 0 + 256 + 256.
One of the most massive laptops in history was released until 2001. Its popularity was very great, despite the considerable cost (I have no exact data, but 5-6 thousand dollars for a good configuration were the norm). Given the many versions, long life and popularity, these machines simply could not fail to undergo alterations. Basically, everything was about the processor. The memory upgrade was a regular procedure (up to 576 megabytes 64 + 256 + 256). As in the case of the 770, you can install the processor in the MMC-2 format (not on all versions, the first ones were set to MMC-1) up to 850 MHz, and if you modify the module itself, then up to 1000.
These two models determined the second wave of creation Frankenpad and it was addressed to 770 the first time this word was used.
Then again there was a long break. Let me remind you, speaking of a break, I’m talking about a break relative to model lines - there weren’t any breaks at the time - some users still upgrade Butterflies, 770 and 600. The new lines with the class designation did not provide such interesting opportunities. Yes, it was possible to transfer the display between the two models or transfer the new stuffing to the old case. There are more restrictions, but less sense. For a while ...
At first, the installation of IPS screens on ultra-portable X31 / X32 laptops became popular, but even this was not widespread. Although the concept is not widely appropriate here, the bill goes to tens and hundreds, rarely thousands of millions of computers released. Today, there is an update of screens in A31p, T42p / T43p, T60p from IPS to IPS-LED.
I can’t talk about these cars in such detail, but this is not such an interesting topic - it basically comes down to repair. Boards from the R series are cheaper, as well as donors from the R-series, while with some modifications they fit in the case of the T series. In addition, until T43, there were no models with integrated chipset graphics in the fortieth line of the T-series. Sometimes the boards were transplanted to increase battery life and reliability (video chips fell off even to the nVidia 8400/8600 series).
Another development option specific to the T43 / R52 is the so-called “SATA Mod” - in these laptops the hard drive has an IDE interface and it is difficult to find a replacement, especially if you need a high speed. In this case, the disk is actually connected to the SATA channel through an interface converter. When finalizing, the converter is turned off, the connector for connecting the disk is changed, and additional lead for the new connector is laid.
The latest model today and probably the last model in general, undergoing quite radical improvements is the T60 / T60p model. And specifically the 15 "version for the screen with an aspect ratio of 4: 3. It was the last ThinkPad model with this aspect ratio among the 15" inch models. These machines installed IPS screens with excellent color reproduction and wide viewing angles. The T61 series no longer had such screens. But there were more powerful processors (up to T7800, T9500 or X9000 instead of T7600), a much larger amount of RAM - up to 8 gigabytes versus 3 in the T60, and more powerful video - both integrated and separately. True, until August 2008 there were problems with the reliability of nVidia video chips, but that's another story. After refinement of the T60 using the T61 board, a machine is obtained that is capable of performing difficult tasks to this day.
The screen is not necessarily taken from the T60r - more interesting options are possible. The main thing is the case from T60 and the board from T61.
The maximum configuration will look something like this:
Not the last squeak of computer fashion, but very worthy!
In addition to the options described, there are certainly other, more exotic ones. I heard about options with laptops and transformers of the X-series, but there probably was also limited to rearrangement of boards or screens.
With new laptops, this will not work. But maybe it’s just not necessary? We now have IPS displays, SSDs, faster processors, video cards, memory. There is not only a convenient screen for many with a 4: 3 aspect ratio, and other user-friendly, but not so spectacular-looking classic keyboards, ThinkLight, real mouse substitute buttons are gradually disappearing ...
With frankenpads, a whole era can go away, but I hope it won’t. At least her spirit, I will try to save myself and other fans of the brand.
Thanks for attention! Stay tuned!
PS Links on the topic of the article:
1) ThinkPad user community forum (English) - forum.thinkpads.com
2) ThinkPad 600 update topic on the forum - link
3) ThinkPad 770 update topic on the forum - link
4) ThinkPad T60 update topic on the forum - link 1 , link 2
5) Butterfly pages on the Collection website - 701C , 701CS
6) ThinkPad 770 pages on the Collection website - 770E , 770X
7) ThinkPad T43p Page on the Collections site - T43p
- friendly and curious community of users of these computers
- a relatively long release of rulers based on one design, but with different fillings
- Convenient for small modifications
- this reason is not the most rosy - sometimes in new models the Killer Feature of the previous model was lost
For a long time, users took the opportunity to keep their device convenient by updating (usually not dramatically, but noticeably) its “stuffing”. For a start, I would take about 1995-1996, but more on that below. The name was given later - in 2004, the first time the word FrankenPad (from the name of the creator of the monster from the parts of several people “Frankenstein” and the name of the laptop) was used on the user community forum ( forum.thinkpads.com ) in relation to the non-standard upgrade of the model 770 laptop But only in 2011 did this epithet begin to spread. Basically, this word concerned updating models of the T60 series to T61, but was often used also in relation to the transplantation of motherboards in the T4x / R5x lines.
For clarification, I want to note that for some models the upgrade kit was supplied by IBM itself. Let us agree to call the frankenpad only the result of an unofficial upgrade - independent or manufactured by a third-party company.
I suggest you delve into the history of the phenomenon and get acquainted with the possible options for building your own "monster".
Year 1995. Model 701C / Cs “Butterfly”
The iconic and probably the most famous model of the ThinkPad brand appeared in 1995. Belonging in size to the class of ultraportable laptops, the Butterfly provided a full-sized screen (matrices larger than 10.4 inches were not installed on laptops at that time) and a keyboard that was made to fold for the sake of compactness. At the same time, the laptop received a filling close to the maximum at that time - the i486-DX4 / 75 processor and up to 40 megabytes of RAM in the maximum configuration (top models had the same processor, but with a frequency of 100 MHz). Due to the lack of built-in drives, the laptop had a weight of 1.7 kg - more than a half kilogram lighter than the equipped ThinkPad 755CD CD-ROM.
But six months later, the first Pentium-based models appeared and everything turned around ...
The first laptop that can be called Frankenpad was created on its basis. A third-party company whose name has sunk into oblivion (maybe even it was not one company) after some time began to produce boards for updating these machines. An AMD 5x86-133 processor (P-rating 75, that is, corresponding to Pentium 75 performance) was installed on the board (most likely it was a modified and restored IBM-made motherboard), the memory capacity was supported up to 72 (64 + 8) megabytes.
To carry out such an update (as well as any other non-standard update) certain skills were required - the laptop needed to be disassembled almost completely and replaced the lower of the two main boards in the case (on one lived a processor with system logic, and on the other VRM, an audio controller and other important details) .
A relatively large break will follow - models 755, 760, 380 and 560 were not interesting from this point of view. In general, in principle, there were three big bursts of interest in the creation of the Frankenpad, the former being weaker than the others, and the latter the strongest. So…
Year 1998-2000. 770 / E / ED / X / Z Series
Model 770, which came out in the curtain of 1997, was not only remarkable for having impressive dimensions and being the last in the 7-series. These powerful machines were the first laptops with DVD-ROM, among the options were analog video input, AC-3 digital audio output, MPEG2 encoding / decoding acceleration board (all three options were actually one - they were provided by the DEVA card - Digital and Enhanced Video Adapter), a unique 13.7 "screen with a resolution of 1280x1024. But at the same time the oldest model received only PII-366, after which the line was closed. The machines similar in functionality appeared only six months later, the 770 series gradually fell in price and began to fall into private hands. business user will buy a new laptop, and will not do risky manipulations with old hardware.
And here a wide variety of forms of franknading appeared. I can’t say what was the first of these, but the list of mono-building options was a lot:
1) installing a video controller from 770E to 770, on X / Z it was already on the AGP bus, the first two models used PCI
2) replacing Pentium II processors on Pentium III (770X / Z) - these laptops used a processor in the MMC-2 package, which made it possible to install the CPU up to P3-850, and with some manipulations (re-soldering the processor on the module, sometimes overclocking) - up to 1 GHz!
3) memory manipulation - the laptop has three memory slots, one of them is available only when completely disassembled and from the factory contains 32 megabytes (770 / E) or 64 megabytes (770X / Z) RAM. The 440BX chipset, on the basis of which the laptop was created, can support up to 1 gigabyte of memory in 4 slots, which theoretically would allow installing 768 megabytes in this laptop. But due to a bug in the BIOS, the maximum amount is 512 megabytes - 128 + 128 + 256 or 0 + 256 + 256.
Year 1998-2001. 600 / E / X Series
One of the most massive laptops in history was released until 2001. Its popularity was very great, despite the considerable cost (I have no exact data, but 5-6 thousand dollars for a good configuration were the norm). Given the many versions, long life and popularity, these machines simply could not fail to undergo alterations. Basically, everything was about the processor. The memory upgrade was a regular procedure (up to 576 megabytes 64 + 256 + 256). As in the case of the 770, you can install the processor in the MMC-2 format (not on all versions, the first ones were set to MMC-1) up to 850 MHz, and if you modify the module itself, then up to 1000.
These two models determined the second wave of creation Frankenpad and it was addressed to 770 the first time this word was used.
Then again there was a long break. Let me remind you, speaking of a break, I’m talking about a break relative to model lines - there weren’t any breaks at the time - some users still upgrade Butterflies, 770 and 600. The new lines with the class designation did not provide such interesting opportunities. Yes, it was possible to transfer the display between the two models or transfer the new stuffing to the old case. There are more restrictions, but less sense. For a while ...
At first, the installation of IPS screens on ultra-portable X31 / X32 laptops became popular, but even this was not widespread. Although the concept is not widely appropriate here, the bill goes to tens and hundreds, rarely thousands of millions of computers released. Today, there is an update of screens in A31p, T42p / T43p, T60p from IPS to IPS-LED.
2003-2006 years. Model lines T40-T43, R50-R52.
I can’t talk about these cars in such detail, but this is not such an interesting topic - it basically comes down to repair. Boards from the R series are cheaper, as well as donors from the R-series, while with some modifications they fit in the case of the T series. In addition, until T43, there were no models with integrated chipset graphics in the fortieth line of the T-series. Sometimes the boards were transplanted to increase battery life and reliability (video chips fell off even to the nVidia 8400/8600 series).
Another development option specific to the T43 / R52 is the so-called “SATA Mod” - in these laptops the hard drive has an IDE interface and it is difficult to find a replacement, especially if you need a high speed. In this case, the disk is actually connected to the SATA channel through an interface converter. When finalizing, the converter is turned off, the connector for connecting the disk is changed, and additional lead for the new connector is laid.
2006-2008 years. T60 / T60p and T61 / T61p models
The latest model today and probably the last model in general, undergoing quite radical improvements is the T60 / T60p model. And specifically the 15 "version for the screen with an aspect ratio of 4: 3. It was the last ThinkPad model with this aspect ratio among the 15" inch models. These machines installed IPS screens with excellent color reproduction and wide viewing angles. The T61 series no longer had such screens. But there were more powerful processors (up to T7800, T9500 or X9000 instead of T7600), a much larger amount of RAM - up to 8 gigabytes versus 3 in the T60, and more powerful video - both integrated and separately. True, until August 2008 there were problems with the reliability of nVidia video chips, but that's another story. After refinement of the T60 using the T61 board, a machine is obtained that is capable of performing difficult tasks to this day.
The screen is not necessarily taken from the T60r - more interesting options are possible. The main thing is the case from T60 and the board from T61.
The maximum configuration will look something like this:
| Parameter | Thinkpad T60p | FrankenPad T601p |
|---|---|---|
| Screen | 15 "1600x1200 IPS CCFL | 15 "2048x1536 IPS CCFL or 1600x1200 IPS LED |
| CPU | Core 2 Duo T7600 2.33 / 4M / 667 | Core 2 Duo T9500 2.6 / 6M / 800 or Core 2 Extreme X9000 2.8 / 6M / 800 |
| Memory | 3GB DDR2 | 8GB DDR2 |
| Video | Intel GMA950 or ATI Radeon X1400 or ATI FireGL V5250 | Intel X3100 or nVidia Quadro NVS140 or nVidia Quadro FX570M |
Not the last squeak of computer fashion, but very worthy!
In addition to the options described, there are certainly other, more exotic ones. I heard about options with laptops and transformers of the X-series, but there probably was also limited to rearrangement of boards or screens.
Instead of a conclusion
With new laptops, this will not work. But maybe it’s just not necessary? We now have IPS displays, SSDs, faster processors, video cards, memory. There is not only a convenient screen for many with a 4: 3 aspect ratio, and other user-friendly, but not so spectacular-looking classic keyboards, ThinkLight, real mouse substitute buttons are gradually disappearing ...
With frankenpads, a whole era can go away, but I hope it won’t. At least her spirit, I will try to save myself and other fans of the brand.
Thanks for attention! Stay tuned!
PS Links on the topic of the article:
1) ThinkPad user community forum (English) - forum.thinkpads.com
2) ThinkPad 600 update topic on the forum - link
3) ThinkPad 770 update topic on the forum - link
4) ThinkPad T60 update topic on the forum - link 1 , link 2
5) Butterfly pages on the Collection website - 701C , 701CS
6) ThinkPad 770 pages on the Collection website - 770E , 770X
7) ThinkPad T43p Page on the Collections site - T43p