ThinkPad needs hardware upgrades!

[MC.Morrado]

I have an old ThinkPad Edge [type: 0579 - 6AU] that's super slow with Wi-Fi but is crazy fast when I plug in an ethernet cable. Is there a brand new modern Wi-Fi card that works in it and also a handful of other ThinkPads?

 

I am also looking for 8GB of RAM to install. For now I'm focusing on the RAM and Wi-Fi card, I'll install an SSD and new screen eventually in the future.

[Needfuldoer]

Some ThinkPads had a BIOS-level PCIe card whitelist. (I remember running into this back in the day with my x100e, and yours is from around the same era.)

 

You might be able to replace your b/g/n card with at least a used part from another ThinkPad. (There are a bunch for under $20 on eBay, and I wouldn't spend much more than that on a laptop this old.) Can you pop the bottom cover off the laptop and see what kind of card you've got now? 

[Biohazard777]

3 minutes ago, MC.Morrado said:

ThinkPad Edge [type: 0579 - 6AU]

i3-380M 2c/4t , first generation, 32nm, DDR3
 

2 minutes ago, MC.Morrado said:

I am also looking for 8GB of RAM to install. For now I'm focusing on the RAM and Wi-Fi card, I'll install an SSD and new screen eventually in the future.

RAM + WiFi + SSD + Screen... IMO you are wasting money on upgrading something this old.

You can find something like the ThinkPad L390 for 150-200$.

L390 comes with 8th gen Intel (like i5-8265U /  i5-8365U / i7-8565U, they are 4c/8t, 14nm), since those are Whiskey lake they have QuickSync v6 - hw accelerated encoding and decoding for "modern" codecs.
Also, you get DDR4 (two slots), M.2 NVMe, Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac), IPS screen (just make sure you pick one with FHD resolution), USB 3.1 Gen 1 (typa A and C).
The only two downsides are
- low screen brightness, not for outdoor use
- that stupid micro ethernet port on it... requires a 10$ dongle, which you have to carry around to get the normal 1Gb/s ethernet port. IMO you are better off getting a USB 3 hub with 2.5Gbs Ethernet (can be found for < 20$).

[MC.Morrado]

1 hour ago, Needfuldoer said:

Some ThinkPads had a BIOS-level PCIe card whitelist. (I remember running into this back in the day with my x100e, and yours is from around the same era.)

 

You might be able to replace your b/g/n card with at least a used part from another ThinkPad. (There are a bunch for under $20 on eBay, and I wouldn't spend much more than that on a laptop this old.) Can you pop the bottom cover off the laptop and see what kind of card you've got now? 

I will check the Wi-Fi card when I can. I've become rather busy at this time.

[dlink377]

Don't waste money and time using stuff like this. Upgrading old computers like that is a money pit unless you are a collector.

[MC.Morrado]

29 minutes ago, dlink377 said:

Don't waste money and time using stuff like this. Upgrading old computers like that is a money pit unless you are a collector.

I am a collector of ThinkPads. How did you know?