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Any considerations with this mobo swap?
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canonmasta
- Posts: 7
- Joined: Wed Nov 15, 2023 8:54 am
- Location: Madrid, Spain
Any considerations with this mobo swap?
Good morning. I am new in the forum. I take this opportunity to introduce myself, my name is Alvaro from Spain and I am the proud owner of a second hand x230 with i5 processor that goes like silk. It is like new. The seller had not even removed the stickers from the 'ThinkPad' logos. The battery is new and the condition is amazing. Looking on Wallapop I found an i7 motherboard and I decided to buy it to give some more life to my all time favorite laptop. Here comes the question:
Are there any considerations I should take into account when making the motherboard change beyond changing the thermal paste on the processor or fan cleaning?
Thank you very much for the answers!!!
Are there any considerations I should take into account when making the motherboard change beyond changing the thermal paste on the processor or fan cleaning?
Thank you very much for the answers!!!
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axur-delmeria
- Senior ThinkPadder

- Posts: 4413
- Joined: Mon May 28, 2012 5:49 am
- Location: Metro Manila, Philippines
Re: Any considerations with this mobo swap?
To be honest, upgrading from an i5 to i7 dual-core doesn't give much of an improvement, unless it's actually one of those modified boards with the quad-core i7-3612QE or i7-3615QE. IMO that's the only CPU upgrade worth undertaking.
Planned Purchase: T480s i5-8350 FHD Touch
Impulse Buy: Thinkpad not named for safety reasons
RIP: X220 4291-C91 X61 7676-A24 760XD-U9E
Impulse Buy: Thinkpad not named for safety reasons
RIP: X220 4291-C91 X61 7676-A24 760XD-U9E
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canonmasta
- Posts: 7
- Joined: Wed Nov 15, 2023 8:54 am
- Location: Madrid, Spain
Re: Any considerations with this mobo swap?
I have the board. It's a i7-3520M and i'll do just for fun. Any considerations with the swap?
Re: Any considerations with this mobo swap?
Follow the HMM and you'll be fine. I second what axur-delmeria responded, this swap is not worth the labor.
sent from my iPhone
Registry Tweak To Enable 2 Finger Scroll On Old Synaptics Touchpads
Registry Tweak To Enable 2 Finger Scroll On Old Synaptics Touchpads
Re: Any considerations with this mobo swap?
How did the swap go? The only consideration I would add is that it seems like you are desecrating a mint-condition machine there! 
Four 15" T61 Frankenpads collecting dust and one X62 that sees no use, but X201 and X230 in service.
Re: Any considerations with this mobo swap?
I wouldn't exchange a nearly new motherboard with an used one unless you have no other option.
I found my X1 Carbon 5th virtually new years after it was discontinued. 6300U with 8GB of RAM. I found a donor machine with 7600U and 16GB of RAM in good shape. I swapped the motherboards. I ended up with an X1C5 in nearly pristine condition with Spanish keyboard. I only did it because it's such a pain in the butt to swap the keyboard layout/language in the models with integrated palmrest. And of course, because it was a quite good jump. Otherwise, new motherboard > old motherboard.
I found my X1 Carbon 5th virtually new years after it was discontinued. 6300U with 8GB of RAM. I found a donor machine with 7600U and 16GB of RAM in good shape. I swapped the motherboards. I ended up with an X1C5 in nearly pristine condition with Spanish keyboard. I only did it because it's such a pain in the butt to swap the keyboard layout/language in the models with integrated palmrest. And of course, because it was a quite good jump. Otherwise, new motherboard > old motherboard.
X301: SU9600 | 8GB | 1TB | WXGA+
X1C9: 1185G7 | 32GB | 1TB | WUXGA | WWAN
X1Y8: 1365U | 32GB | 1TB | WUXGA
For the sake of ecology I donated all my classic Thinkpads.
X1C9: 1185G7 | 32GB | 1TB | WUXGA | WWAN
X1Y8: 1365U | 32GB | 1TB | WUXGA
For the sake of ecology I donated all my classic Thinkpads.
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