Thinkpad T440p | Making my T440p Truly ultimate

Upgrading a ThinkPad T440p with a new CPU, screen, battery, and trackpad to extend its life and reduce e-waste.

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Key Takeaways

Modular laptops like the ThinkPad T440p allow for significant upgrades and repairs, extending device lifespan.
Replacing key components such as CPU, screen, battery, and storage can dramatically improve older laptops.
Repairability helps reduce electronic waste and supports consumer rights against soldered, non-repairable devices.
Careful handling and proper tools are essential during hardware upgrades to avoid damage.
Upgrading older hardware is a sustainable alternative to buying new devices.

What the video covers

The creator upgrades a ThinkPad T440p bought for €100 with a new i7 CPU, better 1080p screen, and new battery.
The video highlights the importance of repairability and modularity to combat e-waste and promote consumer rights.
The CPU is upgraded from an i5 4210M to an i7 4910MQ, improving performance significantly.
The original battery was dead and replaced, and the trackpad issue is addressed with a new trackpad installation.
The screen is upgraded to an Innolux N140HCG-GQ2 panel for better resolution, contrast, and color.
The laptop’s optical drive is removed and replaced with an SSD caddy to add more storage options.
The video shows detailed disassembly steps including battery removal, fan unplugging, CPU replacement, and SSD installation.
The creator discusses the environmental impact of soldered components in modern laptops versus modular designs like the T440p.
The video includes troubleshooting moments such as missing screws and careful handling of delicate cables.
The upgrades aim to give the T440p a new lease on life, emphasizing sustainability and technical skill.

Chapters

What CPU upgrade is performed on the ThinkPad T440p?

The CPU is upgraded from an Intel i5 4210M to an Intel i7 4910MQ to improve performance.

Why does the creator choose to upgrade the T440p instead of buying a new laptop?

The creator values modularity and repairability to reduce e-waste and supports consumer rights against soldered, non-repairable devices.

What screen panel is used to upgrade the T440p's display?

An Innolux N140HCG-GQ2 1080p panel is installed, offering better contrast, color, and aspect ratio.

Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown

Speaker A

Hello everyone, and welcome back to another video. It's finally happening today. The T440P that I bought for €100 is getting upgrades. That means a new CPU, a better screen, and a new battery. Please note, this video took a while to make as I had to save up for parts.

Speaker A

And we are also going to fix one of its worst issues, its trackpad. But one thing I noticed about the trackpad is it's much quieter compared to my Nitro's trackpad. Here, have a listen.

Speaker A

Anyways, what are we upgrading, you might ask? The CPU. We are going from an i5 4210M to an i7 4910MQ. That isn't the only thing holding back this laptop. The battery of my ThinkPad is toast, and I know this is to expect from an eBay listing which just cost €9. On my original list, which

Speaker A

I had saved, I wanted to replace the keyboard with a backlit keyboard. But due to the ThinkPad already having the features I wanted, that is already settled. The most terrible thing about this laptop is the screen. And so I didn't think long and I actually got a good screen panel. This,

Speaker A

my friends, is the Innolux N140HCG-GQ2, which is a 1080p display with a nice contrast ratio, and it also has better colors and the aspect ratio is also a lot better. Now,

Speaker A

I can hear you already asked the question, but why do you bother upgrading a T440p and basically giving old hardware a new life, just like the greatest technician that's ever [music] lived?

Speaker A

I in fact also don't like what manufacturers these days are doing. They're soldering each and everything into place. When something breaks, you have to replace the whole device and it just adds more onto this e-waste pile. Rights for consumers really matter to me and that is why

Speaker A

I picked the T440p in the first place. You see, if something breaks inside of a gaming laptop or generally just soldered devices, there is no shot that you're going to be replacing it.

Speaker A

And those types of devices just turn into e-waste the second something breaks, which is not ideal for the earth and its resources. And this is where I think manufacturers should finally take notice. Don't get me wrong, but I'm not that big of an economical person. Though I do

Speaker A

care about climate change to a certain extent. Anyways, with that out of the way, let's begin by upgrading the CPU and then we'll move on as the list goes on. You're watching BZGTV. [music] [music] [music] So, look what showed up in the mail. Um, I ordered it and it arrived. I'm hoping this is

Speaker A

the CPU. As you can see, it says i5 4300M 2 core, which I'm hoping is not inside of here. So, let's go ahead and begin. So, first of all, I'm going to remove the battery. Um, this Oh, this appears

Speaker A

to already have been replaced at some point. I noticed that. Okay. And let's now open it up.

Speaker A

And as you can see, here we are. So now we will have to I just noticed it does have an M.2. Okay, I didn't notice that in my initial video. Well, I guess I forgot to mention that then. But yeah,

Speaker A

so now we are ready to begin with the thing. Now the first thing we have to do is we have to essentially unplug the fan. All right, fan is unplugged. And now we need to remove these screws. I'm going to go in an X pattern. So let's go. Yeah, no wonder why it was overheating, but uh

Speaker A

yeah, let's clean it. So, now I've cleaned her up. As you can see, CPU. And um that is looking nice.

Speaker A

And now we're going to get a Torx bit and I'm going to remove the CPU. Out with the old and in with the new. There we go. Yeah, we see my full camera. Yippee. Thermal paste application. More than enough. So, the fan is back in, but let's put the top cover on and see if she'll start.

Speaker A

Would you look at that? We have an i7. Yes. Yes. Oh my god. I mean, I was nervous, but you know what this what it said on here. It's like, you know, I'm hoping it's going to boot. Please boot. Please. Please. Please. Yes, we have Arch. Okay, calm down. Let me log in. Look at it go. There

Speaker A

it is. i7 4910MQ. Holy, [laughter] it actually works. Okay, that's that's actually cool. So, I'm going to try to give it a little bit of a resource push and I'll keep you guys updated,

Speaker A

but I have to close it up first. So, yeah. Be right back. Okay, so hey there everyone.

Speaker A

Um, it's another day which has passed and guess what showed up? One of these. This, my friends, is going to be the optical drive replacement in the T440P as I don't need the um, well, you know,

Speaker A

the T440P's optical drive and if I do, I can swap it in again 'cause um, in fact, it's one of those variants which has the front of it which is kind of cool. Um, of course I have two SSDs to choose from. And since I'm more of a Linux folk anyway, I'm probably going to go with this one 'cause this

Speaker A

one 250 beans, right? It's a big drive. But like for a boot drive of a laptop on running Arch, do we really need 250? I mean, we could do that just to be safe, but Well, no. No, we're going

Speaker A

to use this one 'cause this one has already been through a bunch of stuff. So, plug her in. So, we have to we have to first of all install it. So, let me just see if we can do that here. So, we

Speaker A

have to do so inside of here there's instructions. One, put the SSD into the bay. Second of all, it has to be in this way. So, it has to go in like that. Now, we have the SSD in. This is also a very

Speaker A

weird screwdriver. So, the screw was I think inside of here. I have to screw it into there.

Speaker A

Yeah. And that's what secures it to the side. So, yeah, it makes sense. Okay. Like, what on earth does that actually do? But no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. It's fine. It's fine to get rid of that. We're going to do that in a sec. We'll lift it up. There's a there's a s well a sim card module. Oops. Why didn't I notice that before? [laughter] I didn't even know it has a SIM card, but okay, I'll take it. Okay, so let's take the optical drive out. It's this screw right here.

Speaker A

Mr. Reno, that one out. Wow, it's tight. But it's good that it's tight. That's what it should be. Okay. Now, do we just now carefully push this drive out? Yep. And there she is. T44, manufactured November 2014. The model number is the UJ2.

Speaker A

Are the back pins different? 'Cause that one is like this. Oh, I see. I see. Okay, I know what's up. Hold up. They did something wrong in the manufacturing process. This is supposed to be down, not up. So, I have to fix that and then we can put it in. I guess

Speaker A

I didn't see that. But good thing I caught it before caused any major damage to the T440P. But obviously when stuff doesn't go all the way you want it to go, then it always becomes a freaking battlefield. I have to do this in a certain way. Let me quickly try to

Speaker A

do this without looking above the camera. The fact that you can even mod this is like it's amazing.

Speaker A

The fact that you can mod a T440p to have an like optical bay illusion going on, which is cool. Did the screw just disappear? What? Where did it go? No, I'm missing a screw. All right, so guess where that was? I felt it under my feet. Come on, focus. There we go. Now I'm going

Speaker A

to screw it in and then we'll be done. Okay, we'll be done and we're doing it live. Let's throw in the caddy now. Let's see if it fits. Should not fit. Yeah. Oh, there we go. Please don't be punctured. I'm hoping the cable is fine. Please don't be punctured 'cause these ribbon cables,

Speaker A

if they get destroyed, that would be terrible. If you were to look where I am sitting here, well, you can actually see the difference from nice side to Oh, [laughter] but it's fine. Don't worry. We'll just close it up. Um, even though I'm thinking I am probably going to swap the SSD,

Speaker A

this one and this one. I'll swap this one into the bay, then put the other one in there. That one holds in the 2 and 1/2 inch. And I'm going to leave that on another thing to the side here 'cause

Speaker A

that one holds in this MX500 from Crucial. Oops. Be careful. I don't want to don't want to snap the hard drive holder bracket 'cause if I if I snap that, that would be bad. Okay, I know it's plastic,

Speaker A

but still, you don't want to break something that's plastic and pa

Speaker A

that one holds in this MX500 from Crucial. Oops. Be careful. I don't want to don't want to snap the hard drive holder bracket cuz if I if I snap that, that would be bad. Okay, I know it's plastic,

Speaker A

but still, you don't want to break something that's plastic and part of a laptop. folks.

Speaker A

But I wonder did they at least if they were going to if they were going to keep it serious, did they at least include the LED inside of here? We'll see when it turns on. So the SSD, which I want inside the bay, is now inside the bay. That's good. And then we'll throw that in.

Speaker A

Yoink. Bounce back in. Okay. And this has to go in this way if I recall correctly. Yep. Do that. Oh my. Yes. Screw that in. Screw that in. Screw our boy in, girl. Whatever it is. Screw that in. Wow.

Speaker A

She's looking so out of place. And this thing, by the way, just so for anyone asking, this thing had 250 gigs on on brand new. But the reason why I'm using a smaller SSD for booting instead of this,

Speaker A

cuz this I want to try to maybe see if this T440p can run games at some point or another. And I feel like if I do that, that's going to um have well some advantages coming with it, but uh we'll see

Speaker A

about that. So, put the top back on and then we'll slide it. I wonder what does a SIM card module, like a registered one, what does that cost? Cuz if this thing can hold SIM cards, I'm all for it.

Speaker A

Wait, I just noticed. So, if you spill liquid into here, it's going to drain out here. Is that what that's for? I mean, don't worry, I'm not going to do that. But still interesting. Didn't know that about my lover. My love book, also known as the T440p. Don't want to damage the sensors cuz

Speaker A

this thing has sensors inside of it which should usually I don't know why it's not closing. Why are we not closing as easily as before? You were closing easy before and now you're all weird. Or did I put the caddy on the wrong way? I know I have the talent to do that stuff. Let's check

Speaker A

cuz I know I have the talent to do this type of stuff where I accidentally put in on the plastic wrong and then I'm like [ __ ] hell. Come here. Come here. Okay. Good boy. Good boy. Yeah, you

Speaker A

have to call screws good boys otherwise they won't work. So I have to lift this up and out again cuz I think what I did I accidentally put the case on the wrong way cuz I think before it was the other

Speaker A

way around. And if you put it on I think um the wrong way. I think that means it doesn't close if you put it on the wrong way. Okay. So now it's back on the other way around this time. Flipped

Speaker A

it around. Just reput that together. So let's put the the panel back on. Let me show you that part.

Speaker A

So we'll lift the panel which is right here. And then we have to slide it on a little something like that. Yep. So it was on the wrong way. Okay, that was pretty easy to figure out. Nice. Nice,

Speaker A

dude. I think Yeah, it has to be like this. Then lift, turn over, open her up, and let's now take a look.

Speaker A

boot. Okay, so we're here. We're here. At least so far, she's starting, which is good. So, changing the screen, it's pretty easy. First thing you want to do is definitely remove the battery before starting. Then, you want to go underneath the screen and carefully pry up the bezel holding

Speaker A

it in. Make sure to go gently and slowly to not break your laptop. Then at the top of the screen, there are four screws which you have to unscrew. After you unscrew them, you can carefully lift the screen out. However, be very careful as there is a cable attached at

Speaker A

the bottom which you don't want to break. On that cable, there is a holder which holds it in. It's marked golden. You have to open that up and then you can remove the cable out of the plug. Then you

Speaker A

carefully remove the screen and put that to the side. It's time for the new screen. I recommend putting a towel on top of your T440p keyboard and then put the new screen on top facing the same orientation as your old one when you removed it. Please note the Innux screen does not come

Speaker A

with screws. Some people use adhesive. I myself did use adhesive to at least allow the screen to rest properly. But I didn't adhere it down cuz if you adhere it down and it's placed wrong, the screen will be off center, which is not ideal or it even could cause worse damage if

Speaker A

you try to remove it and the adhesive is too strong. So here's what the screen looked like before I upgraded it with the normal panel. So it didn't have the new panel yet. And here is what it looks like after the upgrade. And I have to say, here, take another look.

Speaker A

This is what it looked like before with trash colors. And this is what it looked like after.

Speaker A

You could straight up think that the T440p has an OLED screen just because the blacks are so good and the color accuracy is awesome. So, this is the screen that I was going with.

Speaker A

This is going to be to the exclusive folks. Did you really think I was done with the G440P? Well, no, cuz we got one of these. So, yeah, that's probably how it's going to be. So, we'll do it that way. Um, [music] now of course keep in mind that this as the uh TVP [music] variant,

Speaker A

it's supposed to scratch the screen, which I don't think it will, but we got it. So, [music] this, my friends, is a brand new trackpad. Here you can see the model number. You can tell me if it's a good one or a shitty one in the comments the video. Okay, but there we go. So, you thought

Speaker A

I was done. Hell no, we're continuing. So, let's go. So, you're now watching me upgrade the T440p's trackpad. [music] Now, I already hear you asking, why did you even bother? Why did you want to get a new trackpad even though you said you like the stock one? And to that, I have to say, well,

Speaker A

the stock one is good, but that one is better. Trackpad could be picked up on eBay for rather cheap. I ended up paying around about €15 for mine, and it had shown up a little late. But the trackpad is from a T560, which is an awesome laptop, and the T440P supports it without any

Speaker A

issues. So, if you're looking for a good trackpad, definitely go for one of them. They're good. While I was building, I had a little bit of a freakout moment just how complicated that could be. So, I asked my mom to help me with those things. By the way, before you say anything to my mom and

Speaker A

how this is completely her and my doing, I want to tell you that I have a condition [music] where my hands are constantly shaking and I don't have a steady hand. And if you know anything about laptops, you'll know they have a bunch of ribbon cables where I have to seriously be careful and

Speaker A

gentle with all the cables. The T440P is very sturdy in that regard. But still, I wanted to go one safe route, so I asked my mom to help me. We were slowly but surely catching up to the T440p

Speaker A

standard definition of well, you're about to break something, also known as just unhooking clips. I was worried of breaking something at any second cuz I don't like when stuff makes noise like it's breaking apart. I mean, yeah, that's what the clips are, but if you break a clip, it could

Speaker A

even break the whole housing, which would cost more money to replace. Something we also had to watch out for was the fingerprint reader. My model had it installed by default, so you always have to be careful when you open one of these. The models without the fingerprint sensor are much easier to

Speaker A

open compared to the models with the fingerprint sensor. For this section, I recommend going slowly with something like a small pry tool or a screwdriver. Slowly and gently unhooking the clips and also watching a tutorial on how to remove the trackpad. It's recommended so you don't mess up.

Speaker A

The models [music] without the fingerprint sensor, you don't need to watch out for much apart from a ribbon cable. The models which [music] either get added a fingerprint sensor or already have it, you want to open your model up very carefully and flip the top panel with the power button gently to the

Speaker A

right as to not tear the flex cable. Remove the ribbon cables ever so carefully. Then carefully undo the ribbon cable through the routing path. Unscrew the four screws at the bottom. Remove the trackpad, throw in the new trackpad, connecting the flex cable ahead of time so you can route it

Speaker A

all the way back through. And then it's basically doing those steps reversed. And then you're done.

Speaker A

[music] So, I know what you might be thinking. Well, what is your conclusion after giving it all the upgrades? And to that, I have to say, even though the video has taken a while for me to be able to make it, it was worth it every single penny. And I got the full ThinkPad experience. All

Speaker A

the way from the docking station to a hard drive bay to a new battery to a new screen and a new trackpad. It's the perfect match. Everything's in place. And what I even recently noticed, which you have seen before, a SIM card slot. So that could mean if I want to take it on

Speaker A

cellular connection at some point during its life, I can definitely do that without any issues. Parts for the upgrades are linked down in the video description. If you want to take on a project like this on your own, you can pick up a T440P rather cheap on eBay. Some

Speaker A

even already have the upgrades done. They're basically completed as is and then sold on.

Speaker A

But if you want to do it yourself, I respect your decision. As I already mentioned, links down in the video description. Anyways, with that out of the way, thank you guys so much for watching. I hope you enjoyed the video. [music] And if you have something to say, leave it

Speaker A

down in the comments down below. I always reply after the video goes live and even later. So, if you have something to say or you want to ask questions, go ahead and do it. And if you like my channel and like the content I make, consider subscribing. It would mean a lot to me.

Speaker A

And maybe while you're down there, also activate the bell to get notified whenever I upload a new video. Thanks a ton for watching and I'll see you guys in the next video. Bye. [music] [music]

Topics:ThinkPad T440plaptop upgradeCPU replacementtrackpad fixbattery replacementSSD installationInnolux N140HCG-GQ2modular laptope-waste reductionhardware repair

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