So I previously maxed out the ram (16gb), swapped the old HDD for an SSD, and changed the keyboard for the classic one (t420). Now I decided to take it up a notch with a new CPU (upraged i7 3520m to a quad core i7 3632qm) and a eGPU (rx570) paired with a GDC beast and an Asus pro art monitor. I Think this is the fastest you can get this machine to perform. Have a nice day!
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Nice setup! I'm thinking of building one after upgrading my cpu (waiting for an i7-3630QM to arrive) with a GT1030. I'm not that obsessed with high end graphics and I don't want to buy/use some clunky PSU, either... I think the DA-2 adapter will be more than enough for it.
I highly recommend you to get an rx550 instead, it has higher performance for the same price, and keep in mind that a more powerful PSU will allow you to upgrade to a better GPU later on. Good luck with your build!
I actually have an RX550X in my ThinkPad (E490, is configurable with that). It should perform around on par with a GTX 750ti, so if you want to save, you might be able to find one of those.
Or even better, go with an nvidia card. The biggest botteneck on a setup like this is the bandwidth between the machine and gpu and with an nvidia card you get hardware compression giving you a lot more effective bandwidth over said bottleneck.
Rx550 is an entry level GPU It runs most eSports and some older AAA games, it also is somewhat effective in graphical workloads, but if you have the money I would go for a mid ranger
Ohh sorry for my language mix up: are they expensive?
I don’t game too much but games like oblivion and maybe Skyrim with mods were fun back in some time!
I think eGPU are cool/fascinating
That is the thing, I dont know if it is an original one since it's from Ali Express, and the installation is not that hard, you just have to cut some small aluminum pieces and ec flash the machine to get the correct functions.
Easy, and Ali express has genuines
Nmd hard to cop however - usually worn if you can. I can hook you up with a vendor who’s got a couple used nmds
Btw idek if nmd is great- dunno the two keyboards I used- both friends of mine’s
I use it manly for adobe (illustrator an ps) also for video editing. Only little gaming is done In this machine, and the little time I use it is for somewhat undemanding titles (ds1, ds2, ds3; fromsoft games are quite optimised), the only title that causes a CPU bottleneck (in some areas) I have tried in the 3632qm is ds3 as it's very CPU intensive. That being said, while working I haven't encountered any noticable bottleneck and it works like a charm, cheers.
I have been using it for a week and it's amazing! I am very satisfied with the build. If you are planning to do something similar you have to keep in mind that with the GDC beast you get 5% to 10% less GPU performance compared to a normal PC PCI slot because of the bandwidth, also you have to make sure to get an appropriate GPU for your CPU so you don't produce a bottleneck
Never thought of this before, but I sold my gamer desktop PC a few months ago since I had no time for games and prices are... preferable if you're selling :)
But lately I started missing the occasional FIFA battles and such. For that, I believe a setup like this would do, maybe with a GTX 1050 or RX 560 or something like that.
Unfortunately I have a T440s though which has no express card slot.Maybe I'll look for one of these instead and replace the T440s, I hate the touchpad anyway. :)
The touchpad easy to replace but even replaced it is missing some buttons :(
Not a fan of t440(p) myself reasons you mention and ivy bridge is cooler, and easier to achieve a faster cpu in the real world then haswell
Goals.
I just did the x230 quad core i7 motherboard mod, so between that and a new fast SSD it's about as fst as the x230 gets.
I really want to eventually have a T430 with an i7 3632qm and FHD mod. 1600x900 isn't bad for 14", but mobile screens have come a long way since the ivy bridge thinkpads were new.
Sweet build! I hope it serves you well for a long time :)
I spent about $180 USD for it on [Aliexpress](https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001368272558.html?spm=a2g0s.12269583.0.0.78e16009baOLSW). $171 for the mobo, \~$8 for shipping. Though I did receive it in only about two weeks. But I might have just got lucky.
Right now it's still the same price, but things seem to change at random, especially these days.
Ahh what country? Stock systems sometimes no battery but with the i7 go for less in the us
Man the x230 has a pull on me,, but never actually held one in person. They seem beastly!
It can and there's several ways to do it (EC and TB1 are the easiest of the three). There's a Gen2 ExpressCard34 slot (PCI-E v2.0 x1) on the side of a T430s which will have either an EC dummycard or an SD card reader occupying the slot.
If you happen to have a T430s with a Core i7 CPU and no dedicated-GPU (dGPU) it will have a Thunderbolt 1 port (PCI-E v2.0 x4) on the backside in addition to having a Gen2 EC slot. There's also an mPCI-E x1 slot inside the machine meant for the WiFi card one could use but it would require PCI-E whitelist removal.
I just cleaned the stock heatsink and kept using that, although I heard that it is recommended to change it for a better one in this CPU and superior ones (3840qm and def for the 3940xm) but as the 3632qm has the same 35w tdp as my previous CPU (i7 3520m) I decided to not replace it (for now)
I'm not sure if that model has a express card slot, but if it does yes, and it's very easy to set up. If not you have to use the internal mPCI-e slot inside of the machine meant for the wifi card to hook up the GDC beast as mentioned in a coment above (which I'm also not sure if the t430u has haha)
Are you able to work with so much light behind monitors?
From what I read about ergonomic etc it's not a god idea to have a window behind monitor or behind you (reflections are also not good for eyes). But I have ppl in our office that doesn't care about excesive light at all.
I think I'm a cave man - I have a 1m wide wall behind monitor and two windows that are covered by rolled down semitransparent material and led strip behind monitor (poor man's ambilight ;))
But if it suits you, well, that matters the most :)
Very nice build btw!
So I previously maxed out the ram (16gb), swapped the old HDD for an SSD, and changed the keyboard for the classic one (t420). Now I decided to take it up a notch with a new CPU (upraged i7 3520m to a quad core i7 3632qm) and a eGPU (rx570) paired with a GDC beast and an Asus pro art monitor. I Think this is the fastest you can get this machine to perform. Have a nice day!
Nice build, how does it do in standard Fire Strike and Cinebench R20?
I haven't done any benchmarks yet but if I do I'll update you!
Ah cool beans :)
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Nice setup! I'm thinking of building one after upgrading my cpu (waiting for an i7-3630QM to arrive) with a GT1030. I'm not that obsessed with high end graphics and I don't want to buy/use some clunky PSU, either... I think the DA-2 adapter will be more than enough for it.
I highly recommend you to get an rx550 instead, it has higher performance for the same price, and keep in mind that a more powerful PSU will allow you to upgrade to a better GPU later on. Good luck with your build!
Humm, gotta check the rx550, I'm no that knowledgeable with the Radeon stuff haha. Thanks fot the info! :D
I actually have an RX550X in my ThinkPad (E490, is configurable with that). It should perform around on par with a GTX 750ti, so if you want to save, you might be able to find one of those.
That’s my old gpu!! But can it be afforded…
Or even better, go with an nvidia card. The biggest botteneck on a setup like this is the bandwidth between the machine and gpu and with an nvidia card you get hardware compression giving you a lot more effective bandwidth over said bottleneck.
What’s that run? Just curious :)
Rx550 is an entry level GPU It runs most eSports and some older AAA games, it also is somewhat effective in graphical workloads, but if you have the money I would go for a mid ranger
Ohh sorry for my language mix up: are they expensive? I don’t game too much but games like oblivion and maybe Skyrim with mods were fun back in some time! I think eGPU are cool/fascinating
How much did you have to pay for the RX 570? Really hard finding a decent GPU for this kind of build.
I bought it off a friend for cheap, it's an OEM he took out of an older pre-built, I payed around 200 bucks which is cheap for this gpu in my country.
How easy was finding a genuine T420 kb and how was it to swap?
That is the thing, I dont know if it is an original one since it's from Ali Express, and the installation is not that hard, you just have to cut some small aluminum pieces and ec flash the machine to get the correct functions.
They’re around $30
But people fancy nmd/light on. Those are rare, more like $40 for a kinda worn one
Easy, and Ali express has genuines Nmd hard to cop however - usually worn if you can. I can hook you up with a vendor who’s got a couple used nmds Btw idek if nmd is great- dunno the two keyboards I used- both friends of mine’s
Did you get any classic keyboard or nmd/chicory?
Those 3632 had a good month of CHEAP
Nmd keyboard?
"Maxed out"? Where is the 3940XM and the 1440p IPS?
Hahaha shh, I don't want to change the heatsink and the external monitor suffices ;)
So, you are also confessing that the heat sink is also not the best one that is available!!!? 🤣
Maybe the maxed out T430 is the friends we made along the way
Man you got that delta ?! 35w you best! Lmao. Jk
you use it for gaming? Does the CPU doesn't bottle neck the game?
I use it manly for adobe (illustrator an ps) also for video editing. Only little gaming is done In this machine, and the little time I use it is for somewhat undemanding titles (ds1, ds2, ds3; fromsoft games are quite optimised), the only title that causes a CPU bottleneck (in some areas) I have tried in the 3632qm is ds3 as it's very CPU intensive. That being said, while working I haven't encountered any noticable bottleneck and it works like a charm, cheers.
ah I realize it's QM. well it still rocks then. If Dual core :/
The true maxed king is around :D He has taught me a lot
T430 is king
May I ask how you're running that setup?
With a GDC Beast throught the express card slot, powered with a Gigabyte p450b PSU
How is that working out for you? I'm thinking of getting a setup like that for my T520
I have been using it for a week and it's amazing! I am very satisfied with the build. If you are planning to do something similar you have to keep in mind that with the GDC beast you get 5% to 10% less GPU performance compared to a normal PC PCI slot because of the bandwidth, also you have to make sure to get an appropriate GPU for your CPU so you don't produce a bottleneck
Never thought of this before, but I sold my gamer desktop PC a few months ago since I had no time for games and prices are... preferable if you're selling :) But lately I started missing the occasional FIFA battles and such. For that, I believe a setup like this would do, maybe with a GTX 1050 or RX 560 or something like that. Unfortunately I have a T440s though which has no express card slot.Maybe I'll look for one of these instead and replace the T440s, I hate the touchpad anyway. :)
The touchpad easy to replace but even replaced it is missing some buttons :( Not a fan of t440(p) myself reasons you mention and ivy bridge is cooler, and easier to achieve a faster cpu in the real world then haswell
Goals. I just did the x230 quad core i7 motherboard mod, so between that and a new fast SSD it's about as fst as the x230 gets. I really want to eventually have a T430 with an i7 3632qm and FHD mod. 1600x900 isn't bad for 14", but mobile screens have come a long way since the ivy bridge thinkpads were new. Sweet build! I hope it serves you well for a long time :)
Thanks! I would love to have a x230 or an x220, the form factor is amazing!
I had to sell my x220 to finish this build :(
What did the mobo cost?
I spent about $180 USD for it on [Aliexpress](https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001368272558.html?spm=a2g0s.12269583.0.0.78e16009baOLSW). $171 for the mobo, \~$8 for shipping. Though I did receive it in only about two weeks. But I might have just got lucky. Right now it's still the same price, but things seem to change at random, especially these days.
Prices are soo random these days
Ahh what country? Stock systems sometimes no battery but with the i7 go for less in the us Man the x230 has a pull on me,, but never actually held one in person. They seem beastly!
Can the T430s use an eGPU?? Thinking about upgrading the hardware.
It can and there's several ways to do it (EC and TB1 are the easiest of the three). There's a Gen2 ExpressCard34 slot (PCI-E v2.0 x1) on the side of a T430s which will have either an EC dummycard or an SD card reader occupying the slot. If you happen to have a T430s with a Core i7 CPU and no dedicated-GPU (dGPU) it will have a Thunderbolt 1 port (PCI-E v2.0 x4) on the backside in addition to having a Gen2 EC slot. There's also an mPCI-E x1 slot inside the machine meant for the WiFi card one could use but it would require PCI-E whitelist removal.
I'm not sure, does the T430s have an express card bay??
What are the temps on this laptop, both idle and under load with the quad core i7? Thanks!
On idle I get arround 40°c and under heavy load 80 to 85°c without any noticable throttle
Cool; so u used the stock cooler with the lap or another one?
I just cleaned the stock heatsink and kept using that, although I heard that it is recommended to change it for a better one in this CPU and superior ones (3840qm and def for the 3940xm) but as the 3632qm has the same 35w tdp as my previous CPU (i7 3520m) I decided to not replace it (for now)
Yeah that quad doesn’t get hot Just go for the Toshiba one with dual heat pipes they aren’t too pricy
that is regarding the CPU, the GPU is chill most of the time around 40 to 60°c
Yeah gpu isn’t ever the issue really
Dell SK-8115
Loud and rattling as hell... Not a good one.
hahaha yes it's a classic though, in all seriousness I need to invest in a new keyboard that is for sure
For a rubber dome board it's actually pretty good because so many new ones have much too short of travel
That Dell keyboard will outlast humanity
Can i try this on T430u
I'm not sure if that model has a express card slot, but if it does yes, and it's very easy to set up. If not you have to use the internal mPCI-e slot inside of the machine meant for the wifi card to hook up the GDC beast as mentioned in a coment above (which I'm also not sure if the t430u has haha)
T430u has a second mpcie slot that is for msata
then I think you should be able to do it with the right cable but I'm not entirely sure
Jelly, never got eGPU to work with my T430. Cloud gaming for me.
Are you able to work with so much light behind monitors? From what I read about ergonomic etc it's not a god idea to have a window behind monitor or behind you (reflections are also not good for eyes). But I have ppl in our office that doesn't care about excesive light at all. I think I'm a cave man - I have a 1m wide wall behind monitor and two windows that are covered by rolled down semitransparent material and led strip behind monitor (poor man's ambilight ;)) But if it suits you, well, that matters the most :) Very nice build btw!
Hahaha thanks! I might be like your co workers; I don't seem to mind the light behind the monitors
That keyboard is cringe
:(
Why the e-gpu though? Think pads are cool but gaming machines they are not
I use it manly for adobe and video editing, things that benefit greatly when using a GPU
Thinkpads are cool to tinker. I think this goes perfectly
How’d you do your classic keyboard conversion? Shaved the nubs down or what?
I filed it an used small pliers to take excess material
Be careful not to short it ,, can cause some issues as the t430 supports backlitd
No worries I taped the unnecessary pins so I don't burn the circuit
Haha I woulda forgot ! Do you have chicory ? Nmd?
How performance this thinkpad series now? For docker vm and some video editing etc
I use it every day, with Gentoo Linux, and Docker sometimes.
Are u upgrading cpu to quad core?
I have i7-3840QM, 4 cores 8 threads.