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iamdarkyoshi

Retired Staff
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  1. Like
    iamdarkyoshi got a reaction from TempestCatto in Off Topic Chit Chat   
    guys I got a thing

  2. Informative
    iamdarkyoshi got a reaction from trevb0t in Cheap Fake Ebay GPU Thread   
    I'm sure you guys have seen some of the fake GPUs being sold on places like ebay. 
     
    This is a thread to document what these cards ACTUALLY are supposed to be, and what BIOS I have found works best. I will NOT be linking to the ebay listings themselves. If you want one for whatever reason, you can find them yourself.
     
    If you haven't heard about these, they somehow take the BIOS of a card and modify the device ID and memory size in order to fake its specs. It'll show up in device manager, nvidia control panel, ect as the card they changed it to, but of course that doesn't make it perform any better.
     
    They lack any fan speed control, and the heatsinks are all aluminium so far.
     
    "1GB 750Ti"
    This card genuinely has 1GB of DDR5 onboard, and it is a reference 550Ti PCB.
    Here is the BIOS I found to work best on this card: 550ti.rom
    I had to desolder the chip and flash it with a CH341A programmer, for some reason it wouldn't flash with NVFlash.
     
    "4GB GT730"
    Card actually appears to have 768MB of videoram
    It also appears to be a GTX 630, as the size of a 730's rom is too large to fit on the BIOS chip.
    I have not found a stable bios for this card.
     
    " GTX960 4GB"
    Worst disappointment yet actually. They've changed to an uglier silver shroud as well lol
    Its a 768MB GTS 450 with no SLI connector. It will actually run stable with the 1GB 550Ti bios above for some reason, with slightly lower specs.
    The closest GTS 450 768MB BIOS I've gotten is this one, and its clocked too high for the card to run correctly: GTS450.rom
    If you know how to change the clocks at a BIOS level for this card, please let me know!
     
    A "1GB GTX 650" and "2GB 750Ti" are on the way, along with a "4GB HD 7670"
     
    These cards are pretty bad for the money actually, which surprises nobody really. They have no fan speed control, and the heatsinks are quite crap.
  3. Funny
    iamdarkyoshi got a reaction from MS Eierfeile in iamdarkyoshi's Lenovo T430 Modding Log   
    Waaaaaaait
     
    Thats a 15in 2011 if I'm not mistaken
     
    How has your GPU not poo'd itself yet? That model had rampant GPU failures
  4. Funny
    iamdarkyoshi got a reaction from MS Eierfeile in iamdarkyoshi's Lenovo T430 Modding Log   
    Cameras break as soon as they are powered on when I'm in front of them, so it'd be a waste
  5. Like
    iamdarkyoshi got a reaction from MS Eierfeile in iamdarkyoshi's Lenovo T430 Modding Log   
    Figured I'd document this whole saga. Its half build log half modding log, figured build logs was the best place for it.
     
    So as many of you may know, the lenovo thinkpads have gained quite a reputation of being damn good machines, if not with some drawbacks. The T430 is probably one of the most popular machines to modify, and parts are fairly cheap for them.
     
    I'm not done modding mine yet, but here's what I've got so far:

     
     
    Lets start with the screen, probably one of the easier and most worthwhile mods. As you can see above, the blacks are so much darker and don't look awful like the original TN panel.

    Screen
    To quote The Definitive T430 Modding Guide...
    Well... this guide must be a little outdated. 1080p IPS upgrade kits exist on aliexpress, and I can say that mine was a perfect drop in replacement, having no issues whatsoever. @TheGamingBarrel has apparently managed to find a 1440p kit...
     
    Due to the lack of LVDS 40 pin screens in IPS, we have to resort to newer eDP 30 pin screens (Used in laptops around haswell and up) but to do this, you'l need a board to convert one signal to the other. Thats where the kit comes in. It comes with a new LCD and converter board, complete with cables. I just tore my bezel off, ran the eDP cable to the LCD and hid the converter board next to a very convenient place next to the CPU cooler, and connected it where the old LCD used to go. Booted it up and was treated to an orgasmically good looking image. 

    This mod cost about 150$ after shipping prices. Bit expensive but damn well worth it.
     
    Keyboard
    I got most of my info from here: http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Install_Classic_Keyboard_on_xx30_Series_ThinkPads
    The T430 was the first thinkpad to introduce the new crappy keyboard style with the grid between the keys. The T420 had the classic style keyboard, which also had more keys on the top right. It used the same connector as the T430, but a few things were different between the two keyboards, like the bottom nubs and the keyboard matrix having a slightly different pinout.
     
    With a bit of modification of the bottom five nubs and a piece of tape over a couple contacts, we had a drop in replacement for the original keyboard.
     
    Sorta. The old keyboard had more keys and the fn keys are different. There's a fairly easy fix, however: https://github.com/hamishcoleman/thinkpad-ec
     
    Just create a flash drive to boot to and update the firmware. You'll need an AC adapter plugged in or it'll wait to actually flash it. 
     
    The caps lock LED will not work, as the T430 never had one. I will be creating a mod for this issue in the future. A couple blue fn functions will also not work, as they were never present in the T430.
     
     
    CPU and RAM
    My T430 came with a dual core "i5" but I plan to upgrade it to a quad core i7. The one I selected is a 3630QM, more of a midrange CPU for this machine nowadays. There are two flavours of coolers on these things for the intel integrated GFX models. One has a denser fin stack. Mine's got the denser fin stack, but the fan is INCREDIBLY whirry.
     
    I'm still waiting on this part to arrive. Mail service delivered it to the wrong location, and are currently trying to find it
     
    As for RAM, I stole the 8GB sticks out of my dead lenovo yogas, and they both worked, so I've got 16GB DDR3L in here.
     
    According to the modding guide linked above, you can go all the way up to an intel extreme edition CPU in these as well as higher clocked RAM, and overclock them. I don't really need that much power or heat lol

    Battery
    When I got my used T430, it still had its original 6 cell battery. It only lasted about 30 minutes on a charge. Lenovo still sells brand new batteries for these machines, including a 9 cell extended battery, available here on amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0085MPGDG/
     
    With my screen at full brightness as I write this thread, I've got 4 hours left on 65% battery. Not bad.
     
    Charger
    With a bigger battery, faster CPU, more RAM and a better screen, a bigger PSU certainly couldn't hurt. But lenovo put a different connector on their beefy 170W chargers. It has two nubs inside that prevent it from fitting into the T430's DC jack. 
     
    However, you can knock those nubs out with a screwdriver and it'll work perfectly on the T430. Just don't damage the pin inside the connector.
     
     
    Trackpad Surface
    My T430's trackpad was pretty worn. Turns out its actually a sticker! I just peeled it off and cut a piece of carbon fibre vinyl wrap to fit on it. Finger glides very well over it.
     
     
     
    ~~~~~Uncompleted Mods~~~~~~
     
     
    Caps lock LED
    To get around the T430 not having hardware to switch the caps lock LED on and off, I figured the easiest way to fix the issue would be to mod in the controller for a cheap USB keyboard, and wire the LED connection on the controller to the one on the keyboard. I'll need to find an unused USB line in the computer, as well as figure out the pinout of the keyboard so I can figure out what pins are the LED. I think the mPCIE slots actually have a USB line on them, and I'm not using the second mPCIE slot. I'll have to test this tomorrow to see if I can get a USB line off it.
     
    More USB 3.0 Ports
    Pretty easy one here, they make expansion card USB 3.0 controllers. I'd just stick it on the expansion bay on the right of the laptop, preferably securing it somehow so it doesn't come out when I unplug something.
     
    Better sound
    This one's going to be a different one. The stock speakers sound clear, but they're not very loud and lack good bass. I plan to 3D print an optical drive shaped speakerbox and put a couple little drivers from some HP wankwoofers in it, trying to keep the original cabinet size for them in the 3d printed bay.
     
    I can then put a high pass filter on the main speakers and crank the volume using a 5v class D amp, as well as another one to run the drive bay wankwoofers.
     
    I'd just need to figure out where the analog audio is on the mainboard and tap into it for the custom amps.
     
    Better Wifi
    Stock wifi card ain't that good. Lenovo locks out custom wifi cards, but thats something a custom bios can fix.
     
    My wifi at home is so damn good that the stock wifi card is pretty quick, so this one's not too high on the list.
     
    Different LED colours
    Pretty silly and pointless mod here, but I'd like to change the colours of various indicators on the machine. Easy as SMD rework and a pack of SMD LEDs. Don't tempt me to make an RGB thinklight.
     
     
     
    All in all, the T430 is a well loved and very good machine. Modding it to make it your own unique laptop is a lot of fun too. Even if you do make the system font comic sans

     
    I'll keep this thread updated as I finish more planned mods, lemme know if you guys have any ideas!
  6. Funny
    iamdarkyoshi got a reaction from Letgomyleghoe in Why Fittings so expensive?!?!   
    Hehe. Nipple.
  7. Like
    iamdarkyoshi got a reaction from Ben17 in README: How to respond to a no POST or no power up situation   
    The outputs on a power supply are low voltage. You would not even feel anything. I test my supplies using the paperclip method, and I use them as bench power supplies.
  8. Like
    iamdarkyoshi got a reaction from sub68 in How many computers do you have lying around the house?   
    I'm at about 20-30 desktops, 10-15 laptops, several phones, 8 xboxes, 5 xbox 360's, and other assorted junk
  9. Like
    iamdarkyoshi got a reaction from Faisal A in LTT Official Folding Month 2019!!!   
    I fired up my most powerful rig yesterday to be greeted by j

     
    This is literally all it does now.
     
    This is the beefiest of the rigs, and its J'ing me
     
    Not a good start
  10. Agree
    iamdarkyoshi reacted to Nowak in The Librem 5 - The fully open source Linux phone is finally shipping   
    And it doesn't follow stupid "modern" design trends, nice
  11. Agree
    iamdarkyoshi reacted to elfensky in Spot on launch   
    I am just really curious what real world uses spot has. Given the price and the (small) payload capacity of 2 14kg, I'm just not seeing the cost-benefit, especially given the "use-cases" in the video. 

    You want a robotic guard dog to walk the perimiter? laser fences and 24/7 cameras will do the job better for far cheaper. 

    You want it to transport goods? I mean sure, rushing ammo-packs on to soldiers in a field would work, but we're talking civilian applications here. And using a multi-thousand robot used to transport a single brick per trip, are you fucking kidding me? (okay, maybe a few bricks given it's 14kg, but still)

    And for like 99% of terrain, a minituarized tank-like vehicle (threads) will be far cheaper to produce, more stable and be able to carry much, much more. I mean, they themselves even have a bigger one to transport soldier' equipment etc. 

    I just can't think of any reasonable use-cases for the thing within the civilian sector. 
     
  12. Agree
    iamdarkyoshi reacted to rcmaehl in Apple NEEDS to Innovate - Zenbook PRO Duo Review   
    @James

    Audio+Video broken after 8:43ish
     
    Time to fire Colton
  13. Like
    iamdarkyoshi reacted to IsaacG in Fixing Shorted Xbox 360 fan header   
    Just finished. I need to do some more extensive testing to make sure the fan I added doesn't clip anything inside the case during long periods, but I managed to keep the original aesthetic.

  14. Like
    iamdarkyoshi got a reaction from leon1912 in ASUS Laptop clockspeed is really low   
    It should not be running that low, unless it only sometimes goes to 500mhz. If its stuck on 500mhz, try updating your BIOS. Download the bios update from their website, extract the contents to a freshly fat32 formatted USB drive, and then open the easyflash utiliy in the BIOS. Point it to the bios update file you downloaded and you should be good to go.
     
    If it still doesn't fix it, try downloading chipset and power management related drivers from the same page you got the BIOS update from.
  15. Like
    iamdarkyoshi reacted to IsaacG in Fixing Shorted Xbox 360 fan header   
    I found the pinouts online and I am able to run all the fans off of the dvd drive as of right now. I haven't had a chance to try running a dvd in there, but I will update it when I do. I will also post a picture when I finish.
  16. Funny
    iamdarkyoshi got a reaction from Derkoli in LTT Official Folding Month 2019!!!   
    I fired up my most powerful rig yesterday to be greeted by j

     
    This is literally all it does now.
     
    This is the beefiest of the rigs, and its J'ing me
     
    Not a good start
  17. Like
    iamdarkyoshi reacted to Windows7ge in In need of a replacement PSU.   
    Well, I left it running for >24hrs with four HDDs in it and everything appears to still be working. No strange noises. The PSU isn't getting hot. Both the +12V & +5V rails coming off of it are solid. The evidence is suggesting the PSU was crushed against something not dropped.
     
    And for how cheap the chassis itself may appear they're charging a stupid amount of money if you try to buy this new. I only put about 10min into searching but of what sites I found selling it the asking prices are $1,000~$1,500. My assumption is they're looking to justify the price with the proprietary nature of the enclosure (backplane, fan controller PCB, the PSU looks purpose built for this system based on the connectors, etc)
     
    It also comes with two PCI_ex8 np950-h's and a PCI_e 68-pin miniSAS cable. None of which I plan on using so I'm not sure what use I'll have for them.
  18. Like
    iamdarkyoshi got a reaction from genexis_x in Is there a better 2-in-1 laptop than the Surface Go < 600?   
    I work in a PC repair shop and honestly every surface device ever released is complete and utter garbage. They are so anti-repair, it makes apple look good. Seriously, even the bottom cover for the keyboard on the 2 in 1 surface laptop thing is glued on.
     
    I'd personally pick up dell's ryzen 2 in 1. Best buy has it for 500$ right now and it's fast enough to do basic gaming
  19. Like
    iamdarkyoshi reacted to Jrdi in Is there a better 2-in-1 laptop than the Surface Go < 600?   
    Look into the Lenovo Flex 14? Ryzen 5 3rd gen, 8GB RAM, NVME SSD & Pen for around $550.
     
    https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Convertible-Touchscreen-Processor-Graphics/dp/B07PB5M8DS
  20. Agree
    iamdarkyoshi reacted to DrMacintosh in Android 10 To Fix 193 Open Vulnerabilities   
    Very cool. Now if only anyone would actually get the Android 10 update. 
  21. Funny
    iamdarkyoshi got a reaction from TVwazhere in LTT Official Folding Month 2019!!!   
    I fired up my most powerful rig yesterday to be greeted by j

     
    This is literally all it does now.
     
    This is the beefiest of the rigs, and its J'ing me
     
    Not a good start
  22. Funny
    iamdarkyoshi got a reaction from GOTSpectrum in LTT Official Folding Month 2019!!!   
    I fired up my most powerful rig yesterday to be greeted by j

     
    This is literally all it does now.
     
    This is the beefiest of the rigs, and its J'ing me
     
    Not a good start
  23. Funny
    iamdarkyoshi got a reaction from Cyberspirit in LTT Official Folding Month 2019!!!   
    I fired up my most powerful rig yesterday to be greeted by j

     
    This is literally all it does now.
     
    This is the beefiest of the rigs, and its J'ing me
     
    Not a good start
  24. Funny
    iamdarkyoshi got a reaction from mattheginger in LTT Official Folding Month 2019!!!   
    I fired up my most powerful rig yesterday to be greeted by j

     
    This is literally all it does now.
     
    This is the beefiest of the rigs, and its J'ing me
     
    Not a good start
  25. Funny
    iamdarkyoshi got a reaction from Gorgon in LTT Official Folding Month 2019!!!   
    I fired up my most powerful rig yesterday to be greeted by j

     
    This is literally all it does now.
     
    This is the beefiest of the rigs, and its J'ing me
     
    Not a good start
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