TLDR
New 11th gen motherboard based on the T61/T60 series
- Compatible chassis: T60, T61
- Intel 11th gen 1165G7
- Thunderbolt 4
- All stock displays supported
- eDP 1.4 display supported: up to 4K60
- Coreboot supported
- Price for motherboard and peripherals: $1500SGD (Price breakdown below)
Introduction
The T700 project is a drop-in replacement motherboard for the TP T60 and T61 series of laptops. This consists of an aftermarket motherboard not produced by L that fits in the chassis with little to no modifications necessary.
The goal is to recreate the TP experience as much as possible, while incorporating the latest CPUs and technology. As the motherboard is not from L, it will require quite a bit of hands-on from the user to get the best experience out of the machine. It will be as stable as any other computer motherboard but will not have original TP software support and features.
Specifications
- Chassis compatibility
- CPU: i7-1165G7
- RAM: 2 slots of DDR4-3200, up to 64GB
- Firmware: Proprietary firmware from factory, Coreboot once fully ported over
- Stock batteries supported
- All stock displays are fully supported
- Stock ANSI keyboard and trackpoint fully supported (with support for TP drivers)
| External I/O | Internal I/O |
|---|---|
| 2 * USB-A 5gbps | eDP 1.4 up to 4K60 (4 lanes of DP signal) |
| 2 * USB-C with Thunderbolt 4 hardware built-in USB 10gbps Supports USB Power delivery for charging Displayport with HDMI alt-mode Stock BIOS does not support Thunderbolt 4 Coreboot will support Thunderbolt 4 on both ports | 1 miniPCIe, with 1 lane of PCIe3 and USB, modifiable with intel FIT tool (Flexible IO) |
| RJ45 gigabit ethernet | 2 M.2 2280 NVMe with 4 lanes of PCIe 3.0, designed for M.2 SSDs |
| VGA | 1 2.5” SATA 6gbps slot |
| 3.5mm Audio in | 1 SATA DVD combo slot (adaptable to 1 2.5″ SATA 6gbps slot) |
| 3.5mm Audio out | LVDS support up to QXGA panel |
| Barrel jack 20V DC in | Stock batteries fully supported |
Display
4:3 classic displays
The T700 will have full support for all stock displays, including widescreen displays. However, a batch of xiphmont’s kit will be recreated and custom designed for the 15.0″ UXGA displays. This will incorporate the best of the 4:3 displays and bring it to modern standards.
eDP modern LED panels
The T700 has an eDP 1.4 port built-in, enabling up to 4K60 panels. The following panels are shortlisted as viable options:
- XPS15 15.6″ 16:10 4K series (OLED, LCD) for the T60/T61 15.4″ widescreen
- 16:10 size is the same ratio as the 15.4″ T60/T61 widescreen
- Needs a very small CNC cut to fit the extra 0.2″
- XPS15 15.6″ 16:9 4K series (OLED, LED) for the T60/T61 15.4″ widescreen
- 16:9 ratio making the panel slightly wider and shorter
- May only require a horizontal CNC cut instead of all 4 sides
- Zenbook 14X 16:10 (OLED, LED, high refresh rate) for the T60/T61 14.1″ widescreen
- Slightly smaller than the 14.1″ but same aspect ratio. Practically a drop-in replacement.
- There are no viable 4:3 panels or 3:2 panels, or at least not trivially. They either look too ugly or does not fit properly. If anyone knows any viable panel, please let me know.
Coreboot and Thunderbolt 4
The T700 will have coreboot ported over by 3mdeb. The cost of port is 10K EURO or more which is included in the price of the motherboard as well. Coreboot will not be present on launch and will have manufacturer BIOS but will be made available by a BIOS update.
At launch, the stock BIOS will not support Thunderbolt 4. The TB4 hardware is fully incorporated in the motherboard design though. Coreboot should enable full TB4 functionality once it has been fully ported.
In the event that the cost of coreboot is too high, a refund of $140SGD will be offered for every preorder.
Price
As the LED backlight is still being looked into, there will only be an estimate pricing for full builds.
All prices listed are by TransferWise or USDT. PayPal is accepted with an additional surcharge.
Motherboard and peripheral
Price: $1500SGD via USDT or TransferWise
Price: $1630SGD via PayPal
Pricing includes:
- Motherboard
- Modified fans
- Port covers
- Coreboot development
- Full testing of motherboard
- Worldwide airshipping
Full build
Estimated cost is about $1750SGD to $2200SGD including shipping depending on the cost of display and development (coreboot and LED backlight).
The estimated price does not include storage, RAM, CMOS battery and main battery. It includes the charger and international shipping. Components costs are available on my store and is close to market prices.
Full build will come with your choice of refurbished or used chassis.
Timeline
Periodic updates will be issued here as well as in the blog post section. Key information will be updated here while build log will be available in the blog post section.
- T700 blog post 1
- 13 Feb 2022: Timeline update. Estimated end of production is still accurate but prototype has been delayed.
- T700 blog post 2
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| November 2021 | Start of crowdfunding |
| January 2022 | Estimated start of production |
| February 2022 | Delivery of second prototype motherboard |
| May 2022 | Estimated end of production |
| May to June 2022 | Delivery of motherboard |
| May to June 2022 | Payment of full builds |
| May to June 2022 | Shipping of motherboard |
| June 2022 onwards | Shipping of full builds |
Terms of crowdfunding
An initial payment of $1500SGD applies. Once the board finishes production, you can choose to complete the full build with peripherals. Payment is not refundable until at least 20 builds are crowdfunded. The final price will depend on the cost of components etc and if the final price is too high, you can choose to get a refund.
In the event that coreboot fails to materialise, a refund of $140 will be offered to everyone who preordered. If any dev wishes to take up this challenge, please drop an email as well.
For PayPal payments, a full refund will cost a merchant fee of 4.45%. As such, please opt for TransferWise or USDT payments if possible.
Please email/DM from the contacts page to place an order.