duel (ThinkPad X201/X200s hybrid)
Summary
Thinkpad X200s/X201 hybrid. Chassis and motherboard are from an X201. Display is from an X200s (1440x900).
Notes
- Was my college machine, and the second X200s I've owned (albeit second-hand this time).
- The Core 2 Duo was becoming too slow so I upgraded the main board and lower chassis to an X201. It is thicker, and louder, but I get to keep the high res display.
Hardware
| Make | Lenovo |
| Year | 2010 |
| Model | ThinkPad X201 |
| Chassis | ThinkPad X201 |
| Processor | Intel Core i5-560M |
| Memory | 8GB DDR3 1066 |
| Ports | 3x USB A 2.0 |
| 3.5mm Headphone | |
| 3.5mm Microphone | |
| RJ-11 Modem | |
| SD card slot | |
| USB C Power Input (mod) | |
| VGA | |
| RJ-45 LAN | |
| ExpressCard 54 | |
| Graphics | Intel HD Graphics |
| Storage | 256GB Crucial CT256 MX-100 |
| Display | 12.1" 1440x900 |
| Int. Peripherals | Conexant 20585 SmartAudio HD |
| Broadcom BCM2045B Bluetooth | |
| HDA CX20585 Soft Modem | |
| Intel 82577LM Gigabit Ethernet | |
| Intel AX200 802.11ac WiFi 6 | |
| Ext. Peripherals | ThinkPad X200 UltraBase |
| CSEXCEL 87WH battery | |
| Lenovo 94WH battery | |
| Dimensions | |
| Length/Depth | 21 cm |
| Width | 29.4 cm |
| Height/Thickness | 3.9 cm |
| Weight | 1.33 kg (2 lbs 15 oz) - with 48WH battery |
Software
| Operating System | Windows 10 |
| Debian 10 (buster) | |
| Unique applications | - |
Log
Another X200s
I got rid of the previous unit sometime after 2011. I know it had an issue with the screen coating, but I can't recall if there were other problems.
Bought this one on ebay with 6GB memory, 160GB hard drive. I had one in the past. I was looking for this model because of its small size, and it has a higher resolution display than was typical in that era.
Board swap plus new case
New parts: x201 i5-560M motherboard, hard drive bay cover, x200 chassis, 6300 wifi, x201 heatsink, x201 palmrest. I think the chassis required breaking out a some internal supports.
WiFi 802.11ax upgrade
I got hold of a Mini PCIe Intel AX200 WiFi card. It seemed like a fun upgrade.
The old Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 came out (3x3 802.11agn). The new card just uses two antennas.
It seems the WiFI slot lacks USB, so the bluetooth is non-operational. The Lenovo Broadcom onboard device is still running though. Maybe I could move the card to the WWAN slot, but the physical WiFi switch is supposed to be tied to the first Mini PCIe slot.
I just did a quick performance test from the same location:
| Card | Down | Up |
|---|---|---|
| 6300 | 51 Mbps | 39 Mbps |
| AX200 | 95 Mbps | 65 Mbps |
About 6 feet from the access point I was pulling 380/270 Mbps.
I don't know if I had a whitelist BIOS on this machine. The card worked fine in Debian 12, and Windows 10.