Hello. Many of the older thinkpads were regarded as being peak for the ability to repair and easily see into them at both the hardware and software levels.
I was wondering, what PC, if any, is similar in this regard? Aside from building your own PC ofc. Any opinions are welcome. Thank you.
Idk, but I’ll tell you Dell and HP desktops are the opposite of the Thinkpad. Every part they can make proprietary, they do make proprietary.
Cannot be upgraded or replaced with off the shelf parts.
If your system dies, you’re expected to just buy a new one and chuck the old one in the bin.
I have had several used dell / hp motherboards, the only thing proprietary was that some were 12V only and needed a 6 usd adapter to work with regular atx psus.
And also the power button connector, you have to figure out which pins are the ones that turn the PC on.
New models integrate all the front IO into the motherboard, so they really only work with the case from the manufacturer. Like this and this.
I’m pretty sure the second one will work on any case, just that you might be missing the I/O plate.
Look closely at the opposite edge of the board. All the front IO (including the power button) is on that little protrusion.
Oh, sorry I thought you were talking about the I/O plate.
TIme to use an open frame case then lol.
To be fair, everything about a Thinkpad is proprietary too. It’s accepted because it’s a laptop.
A lot of things, yes, but not everything.
This is from iFixit:
Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 3 2022 PROS Most repairs are very straightforward and require only basic tools. The keyboard replacement procedure is best in class. CONS Partially soldered memory and I/O ports hinder certain repairs.It scores 7/10 on their repairability meter. Definitely not the best, but far from the worst.
You didn’t say repairability. You were critical of the proprietary parts.
Dell and HP desktops are even easier to repair than home built because of the no-tool clips for parts and custom sized cables. (But in my opinion that ease of repair doesn’t offset the proprietary parts they use.)
In laptops, there aren’t a whole lot of parts that can be standardized. Thinkpads have standard storage (NVMe drives) and half standard RAM (some have soldered or partially soldered RAM). So yeah, they’re fairly standardized. In terms of laptops, so are Dell and HP. But in terms of desktops, where everything can be standard, Dell and HP use a lot of proprietary parts, hence they are the opposite of a Thinkpad in terms of desktop.
I own a Dell T1650 and Dell Optiplex 9020, and yes you are correct about them making everything proprietary, but the motherboard can still be used as long as you have the adapters for it. You will need to DIY, or buy a custom cable from a vendor that makes them for the motherboard. I use a Dell Optiplex 9020 MT motherboard in my NZXT case, I use a EVGA 700BR, a custom 24 pin to 8 pin connector, and a molex to fan adapter cable for my other fans, and everything works great! Also, I added Libreboot support for it as well :D
CPU FAN: https://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-i70-CPU-RR-I70-20PK-R1/dp/B07QNN9MW3/ref=pd_aw_ci_mcx_mh_mcx_views_0?pd_rd_w=uGY4W&content-id=amzn1.sym.0e5c7f8b-153f-45ea-a1fd-9585fc3a0cd5%3Aamzn1.symc.2b06b7e8-a86c-4e6e-b02c-90d58278f4f1&pf_rd_p=0e5c7f8b-153f-45ea-a1fd-9585fc3a0cd5&pf_rd_r=NJ3TZ775JESQ13BRMSND&pd_rd_wg=031k7&pd_rd_r=981f2986-2fe4-4291-a6c6-8daa32270b4e&pd_rd_i=B07QNN9MW3
CPU FAN ADAPTER CABLE: https://www.amazon.com/CRJ-5-Pin-Female-Adapter-Motherboards/dp/B0871P9X72/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?crid=19CH0DE3GUFGG&keywords=dell+optiplex+9020+fan+adapter&qid=1694594053&sprefix=dell+optiplex+9020+c+fan+adapter%2Caps%2C683&sr=8-5
POWER SWITCH CABLE: https://www.amazon.com/Warmstor-3-Pack-Desktop-Button-Computer/dp/B072FMVZJZ/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=2KW0OE1E7QEFW&keywords=power+switch+cable+for+pc&qid=1707797019&sprefix=power+switch+cable+%2Caps%2C111&sr=8-3
28 PIN TO 8 PIN ADAPTER: https://www.moddiy.com/products/Dell-OptiPlex-9020-PSU-Main-Power-24-Pin-to-8-Pin-Adapter-Cable-30cm.html
MOLEX TO CASE FAN ADAPTER: https://www.amazon.com/Molex-Case-Sleeved-Adapter-Cable/dp/B08393S29W/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?crid=YC96W76081OT&keywords=molex+to+fan+adapter&qid=1707797145&sprefix=molex+to+fan+%2Caps%2C91&sr=8-4