T440p modding, and the creation of mods.

[MrDale93]

Hello

This is my first post here, I'd heard of this forum before but never really knew what I could contribute to it, until now.
I intend to mod my T440p to its absolute limit, but then I want to go further and make my own mods for it. I think by having a presence on this forum and documenting anything and everything that I do, it will not only help me wherever I get stuck but also give anybody else reading about what they can do with their T440's too.

So, a bit of a backstory. I've had 2 Thinkpads previous to this - I had an L470 that had the bios locked so it wouldn't allow the use of the Linux distro I wanted, and I swapped that for an X1 Carbon gen 4 that was brilliant. My youngest child got the keyboard wet and that unfortunately stopped the Q key working altogether. I did some shopping around for what would be the perfect model for me and settled on the T440p I got the woman looking on Facebook marketplace as I don't use it and she found one not far away going for just under £100. We went and picked it up the day after and its been my main laptop since December when I got it.

This came with Windows 11, a 1366x768 screen (non-IPS), a 128gb SSD and a WWAN card, disc drive, Intel core i5-4300m @ 3.3ghz, 8gb ram(2x4gb) and a non backlit keyboard, no track point, and it is also not the model with a dGPU so I'm working with integrated graphics. From what I can tell with whats written on the outer case and the woman I got it from, it was used as a work laptop and I presume she has upgraded to something newer.
I got it knowing full well that a lot of people would prefer something older for nostalgia's sake, or something like a T480 for the higher speed ram and the slightly faster CPU options. This doesn't bother me, I have a high end desktop for when I want more performance or to play games, this is simply for light work and/or sitting on the sofa when I cant be bothered sitting at a desk for hours on end.

Since getting it, I have:
Cleaned the entire thing, inside and out, repasted the CPU. Cannot get the ink off the case, need to try isopropyl.
Switched the 128gb SSD for a 1tb Crucial drive.
Swapped the panel for a 1920x1080 IPS model.
Swapped the keyboard for the backlit model. Actually a funny story how I got that, I may write that out in another post if folk want to read it.
Removed the WWAN card and added a 16gb NVME SATA drive. No idea what to use it for though so any suggestions would be welcome. Got it the same time I got the keyboard.
Swapped the disc drive for a 2nd drive caddy and put the 128gb back on as a boot drive, now using the 1tb for storage.
Switched to Linux Mint Cinnamon, Arch was having issues when choosing my distro but I cannot do with Windows on my laptops - now the problems have been sorted I've finally switched to arch (btw) as this is my preferred distro by a mile.

I still need to:
Swap the touch pad for a Synaptics model with the buttons, instead of this trapdoor feeling thing.
Swap the ram out for 16gb (2x8gb).
Swap the CPU for the quad core option. Not sure what model to choose just yet.
Get a 9 cell battery.
Replace the boot drive for a new model, rather than an already used drive that I don't know the history and usage of. Using it isn't the most sensible option I know, but who cares, I'm a rebel.
Get the bigger heatsink, the one with the heatpipes for the GU model. I like overkill cooling and if it manages to knock even half a degree off, that'll do nicely for me.
I also want to replace the paste with them phase changing pads rather than traditional paste, as I hear that performs far better than paste.
I have no intentions of replacing the WiFi card, this one works fine for my usage and I see no reason to run coreboot instead of the bios that's already on it.If there would be good reason aside from the WiFi card, let me know.


Once this is all done, I want to look at my own mods for it. I am considering buying some heatpipes I can mess about with to figure out a way to make my own cooling solution for it. I'm also considering trying to find a better performing fan to put in there, rather than the factory option. Anything for better cooling!
USB-C charging is also something I'll be looking at - whether or not this would need to be directly soldered to the traces of the original rectangular charger port or added somewhere else doesn't bother me, I've got a solder gun, a dremel to make the necessary cuts in the case and plenty of experience using both.
I would also like to swap the speakers out for something better, like the ones from a Mac. I hear these give much better low end, they are all around better although still limited with them being laptop speakers.

I have read plenty online, especially on Reddit, of people asking if it is possible to do similar things to their Thinkpads and getting told no, it cant be done regardless of what model it is. I beg to differ on a lot of it. The speakers may be a bit of a problem and any replacement will need to have their voltage tested to ensure they match I suppose. On the other hand, the heatpipes, and the USB-C should be fine, maybe just a bit fiddly.
There was a dude on Reddit a couple of months back who has designed, printed and made his own motherboard to fit in a different Thinkpad and he is looking at making them for other models too if it works well enough and gets enough attention - so if somebody can remake this of all things and have it work well enough, I can change some already existing parts for better options.

This has been quite a lengthy post I know, and there is a lot of information in it, but as I said I wanted to get other peoples input on this away from Reddit as it doesn't matter what you say on there, you end up with 98,000 people saying even the slightest thing is impossible and not to bother. I figured a group of other Thinkpad people might be a bit more inclined to agree, if not offer help with it themselves.

Let me know what you think, and if I'll come across something which actually is impossible for whatever reason.

[TPFanatic]

welcome to the thinkpads forum your passion for mods, maximizing your thinkpad, and sharing your journey will fit right in!

[MrDale93]

welcome to the thinkpads forum your passion for mods, maximizing your thinkpad, and sharing your journey will fit right in!

Thank you for the welcome! I'm glad to see some appreciation for what I am attempting, hopefully it doesn't turn into a failed project!
I've heard good things about this site so hopefully I can make some good content to upload here, and Im sure it'll be of use to me too

[ogopogo]

Welcome. By the way, this is my first post/response also. I have 2 T440p's and did similar upgrades as you.
Both has 16 GB ram, 3 SSD's, 6 OS total (I'm a fairly new to linux distro-hopper).
First one has an i7-4600M CPU with Nvidia GPU and the other an i5-4300M with integrated graphics. First one has backlight keyboard, fingerprint reader, I flashed BIOS to unlock advanced menu and remove whitelist, so now has an intel AX210 NGW wifi card.
Bought an i7-4702 from Aliexpress but returned it because it didn't work well, and have another shipped now.
I think both have 1600x900 display, and also they have original touchpad. This don't bother me, but plan to change touchpad for a T450 one in the future.
I think your planned mods are possible, but I don't have experience in that. Other people have made cooling mods and posted here, the USB-C charging mod, and even new port for M.2 SSD.
As a side note, NVME's aren't supported, this need to be an M.2 2242 NGFF.

[RealBlackStuff]

My T440p came with i5-4300M, 4GB RAM, FHD (LP140WF3-SPD1), DVDRW, clunkpad, but no SSD and no wifi card.
Bought it in 2018 for $123.06 when I still lived in USA.
Not long after this T440p had i7-4702MQ (TDP 37W), iGPU with dGPU fan, FHD, AC-7260 wifi, 16GB RAM, 250GB SSD in main bay, 500GB SSD in Ultrabay-adapter, nothing in WWAN slot, LiteOn non-backlit UK keyboard, clunkpad replaced with Alps T450 touchpad.
Last year it also got a PTM7950 thermal pad
Almost the way you plan it.
That machine still runs Windows 7, without any updates since 2018.

You could put your pagefile (or similar) on that WWAN-SSD.

[MrDale93]

Welcome. By the way, this is my first post/response also. I have 2 T440p's and did similar upgrades as you.
Both has 16 GB ram, 3 SSD's, 6 OS total (I'm a fairly new to linux distro-hopper).
First one has an i7-4600M CPU with Nvidia GPU and the other an i5-4300M with integrated graphics. First one has backlight keyboard, fingerprint reader, I flashed BIOS to unlock advanced menu and remove whitelist, so now has an intel AX210 NGW wifi card.
Bought an i7-4702 from Aliexpress but returned it because it didn't work well, and have another shipped now.
I think both have 1600x900 display, and also they have original touchpad. This don't bother me, but plan to change touchpad for a T450 one in the future.
I think your planned mods are possible, but I don't have experience in that. Other people have made cooling mods and posted here, the USB-C charging mod, and even new port for M.2 SSD.
As a side note, NVME's aren't supported, this need to be an M.2 2242 NGFF.

Hello, happy to see somebody else doing work to their T440p too!
What Distro's are you using? There is a site that gives you a quick quiz with some questions to answer, it'll take your answers and suggest a few different distro's that might suit your needs - its called distrochooser, dont know if its something you can make use of.
How is the performance of the two models with one having a GPU and the other having integrated graphics?
A new CPU and a better touchpad are two of the upgrades I want to get done sooner rather than later, the i7-4712MQ is what I am looking at, switching from the current i5-4300M.
The idea of a new port for an M.2 sounds really intriguing, that's something else to look into so thanks for that! I am aware that the NVME drives aren't supported and they have to be M.2 SATA drives but that is worth mentioning for anyone else who stumbles on this page looking around for ideas

[MrDale93]

My T440p came with i5-4300M, 4GB RAM, FHD (LP140WF3-SPD1), DVDRW, clunkpad, but no SSD and no wifi card.
Bought it in 2018 for $123.06 when I still lived in USA.
Not long after this T440p had i7-4702MQ (TDP 37W), iGPU with dGPU fan, FHD, AC-7260 wifi, 16GB RAM, 250GB SSD in main bay, 500GB SSD in Ultrabay-adapter, nothing in WWAN slot, LiteOn non-backlit UK keyboard, clunkpad replaced with Alps T450 touchpad.
Last year it also got a PTM7950 thermal pad
Almost the way you plan it.
That machine still runs Windows 7, without any updates since 2018.

You could put your pagefile (or similar) on that WWAN-SSD.

That's not a bad price at all for a laptop such as this back in 2018, not even a bad price right now either Id wager, how has it treat you the past 7 years? Any issues?
The PTM7950 is something I need to get sorted as I hear that really does give a lot better performance than the typical paste stuff, and as I mentioned somewhere in this post I do like me some good cooling capabilities.
How are you finding Win 7 after all those years? Do you ever get bugged by Microsoft to 'upgrade' to 11?

Using that little drive for pagefile might be worth doing, so thank you for that suggestion.

Oh aye, and with your signature - every day is a lovely day for a Guinness!

[axur-delmeria]

The PTM7950 is something I need to get sorted as I hear that really does give a lot better performance than the typical paste stuff, and as I mentioned somewhere in this post I do like me some good cooling capabilities.

Aside from good thermal performance, PTM7950 provides long-term stability, meaning you don't have to open up your laptop every year (sometimes even earlier) because the thermal paste dried up again. Not having to worry about that is awesome.

I live in a tropical region and have tried a number of thermal pastes in my Thinkpads over the years and have been disappointed in each one of them. I've even used liquid metal on my X220 as a last resort, after carefully weighing the risks and being prepared to immediately buy a replacement Thinkpad if I end up spilling it and destroying the X220.

I applied PTM7950 on my T480s back in 2023. Until now it performs well, temperatures are the same.

[RealBlackStuff]

That T440p is still my daily driver, and has not given me any problems whatsoever.
Micro$haft never asked to upgrade to W10/W11 either, simply because it had no updates since 2018.
But several programs in its Windows 7 OS are now (or soon) no longer supported.
So my choice was either upgrade to W10 (no W11 for me) or go to Linux (maybe later).
I'm preparing my T480 with W10 LTSC 2021, which will also not get any updates.
It has been debloated already of a lot of rubbish.
I have 'converted' it to look like W7 with the help of Open Shell.
The Edge browser was replaced with Firefox (and Chrome for special occasions, such as F1).
Hope to heave everything ready by the end of this week.
Then I'll transfer the SSD (already with W10 LTSC 2021) from my wife's X250 into the T440p and give it to her, as she wants a larger screen.

[MrDale93]

The PTM7950 is something I need to get sorted as I hear that really does give a lot better performance than the typical paste stuff, and as I mentioned somewhere in this post I do like me some good cooling capabilities.

Aside from good thermal performance, PTM7950 provides long-term stability, meaning you don't have to open up your laptop every year (sometimes even earlier) because the thermal paste dried up again. Not having to worry about that is awesome.

I live in a tropical region and have tried a number of thermal pastes in my Thinkpads over the years and have been disappointed in each one of them. I've even used liquid metal on my X220 as a last resort, after carefully weighing the risks and being prepared to immediately buy a replacement Thinkpad if I end up spilling it and destroying the X220.

I applied PTM7950 on my T480s back in 2023. Until now it performs well, temperatures are the same.

Long term stability is something I want too, I dont want to have to open it up to be replacing something often, no matter how small of a job like paste replacement.
Replacing paste once a year seems a bit extreme, I assume living in a tropical region plays a big part in that? Here in the UK with our gloriously average weather we can get away with leaving that stuff for 5 or 6 years without having to worry about it.
Liquid metal is something I would like to use, but I'd rather put that in my desktop that wont be moving around like a laptop, although it is some pretty good stuff from the videos I have seen. Have you tried NT-H1? It's made by Noctua and its pretty good, no complaints from me as a long time user. Thermal Grizzly is often cited as one of the best pastes around, but Id rather get some of that PTM stuff and know I dont even have to think about it at all, for possibly even longer than any paste

[RealBlackStuff]

Noctua NT-H2 is the better/newer paste.
Thermal Grizzly is on its way out once it has gone over 80 deg. C.
Leaves really those PTM7950 pads.

[axur-delmeria]

Replacing paste once a year seems a bit extreme, I assume living in a tropical region plays a big part in that? Here in the UK with our gloriously average weather we can get away with leaving that stuff for 5 or 6 years without having to worry about it.

Ambient temperature of 30 degrees Celsius and above for most of the year makes things dry out really fast.

Liquid metal is something I would like to use, but I'd rather put that in my desktop that wont be moving around like a laptop, although it is some pretty good stuff from the videos I have seen.

If I had known about PTM7950 back then, I wouldn't have used liquid metal at all. Destroying your computer because its electrically conductive thermal paste spilled out is a risk no one should have to take.
I did it because the X220's thermal issues were really severe, it was already on its last legs, and I was prepared to buy a newer Thinkpad but wanted to hold it off as long as possible. After applying liquid metal I got another year out of it, until it started having more problems (like the USB 3.0 port randomly dying) that I realized it was time to let go.

Have you tried NT-H1? It's made by Noctua and its pretty good, no complaints from me as a long time user. Thermal Grizzly is often cited as one of the best pastes around,

I've used both, and have been severely disappointed.
They're more suitable for desktop applications.

So far, PTM 7950 is holding steady so I have no reason to try anything else.

[ogopogo]

Welcome. By the way, this is my first post/response also. I have 2 T440p's and did similar upgrades as you.
Both has 16 GB ram, 3 SSD's, 6 OS total (I'm a fairly new to linux distro-hopper).
First one has an i7-4600M CPU with Nvidia GPU and the other an i5-4300M with integrated graphics. First one has backlight keyboard, fingerprint reader, I flashed BIOS to unlock advanced menu and remove whitelist, so now has an intel AX210 NGW wifi card.
Bought an i7-4702 from Aliexpress but returned it because it didn't work well, and have another shipped now.
I think both have 1600x900 display, and also they have original touchpad. This don't bother me, but plan to change touchpad for a T450 one in the future.
I think your planned mods are possible, but I don't have experience in that. Other people have made cooling mods and posted here, the USB-C charging mod, and even new port for M.2 SSD.
As a side note, NVME's aren't supported, this need to be an M.2 2242 NGFF.

Hello, happy to see somebody else doing work to their T440p too!
What Distro's are you using? There is a site that gives you a quick quiz with some questions to answer, it'll take your answers and suggest a few different distro's that might suit your needs - its called distrochooser, dont know if its something you can make use of.
How is the performance of the two models with one having a GPU and the other having integrated graphics?
A new CPU and a better touchpad are two of the upgrades I want to get done sooner rather than later, the i7-4712MQ is what I am looking at, switching from the current i5-4300M.
The idea of a new port for an M.2 sounds really intriguing, that's something else to look into so thanks for that! I am aware that the NVME drives aren't supported and they have to be M.2 SATA drives but that is worth mentioning for anyone else who stumbles on this page looking around for ideas

Thanks, I´m running mainly Devuan, on 2 machines, Fedora, Garuda (planning to uninstall this last two and using their drives for space because I barely use them), besides Windows 10 and 11. Also I have a 2-in-1 laptop with Fedora, and an old Samsung with Loc-os.

I´m not on gaming, so don´t overclock and so. I´m on mainly web browsing, videos, playing some chess, light programs and that type of stuff. I have noticed that the one without nvidia GPU runs hotter and the fan is noisy compared to the other one. A good replacement will be that fan w/ heatsink (I think is Delta one, don´t remember model now) if don´t have it. I´m planning only adding another heatpipe, with thermal glue, to see how it performs. On the nvidia one I have now installed an i7-4702 finally (somewhat cheaper than 4712 and very slightly worse performer), that suite my needs well. I have almost no use of that GPU. No need to buy an i7-4980 or like that. Currently I use cooler master paste, also have a small thermal pad over heatpipes.

If you upgrade touchpad maybe you already know that it is recommended to put in some rubber pads on top of the screen to protect it. For the new M.2 port the user TecnoGame on Youtube did it, idk how really it performs. I don´t have soldering abilities right now, but willing to learn.