Yeah, I really just want a refreshed early 2010s Thinkpad with a wide-open BIOS. The modern Chinese mainboards you can get for old Thinkpad chassis are very cool but the prices aren't so cool.
Whoa I had no idea that was a thing. Links?
I have a ThinkPad x230 (3rd gen i7) which makes an incredible Windows XP nostalgia device. It’s basically the newest hardware that exists with full XP drivers (other than USB3 which I don’t need) so it’s massively OP, which was the point of that project. Basically, “what if I had access to insanely futuristic hardware in 2002.”
Obviously I wouldn’t sacrifice that hardware but it might be cool to try that on yet another laptop. (Hey, I don’t have a laptop collecting problem!)
Have you guys had any experience or luck adapting Framework motherboards to run on Thinkpads? I’ve thought of doing this side project several times for my old Thinkpad x201.