In an effort to keep my X230 snappy for a few more years until I find/make a newer laptop to my liking, I finally caved in and bought an i7-3612QE board. Posting some observations and thoughts based on the questions I had prior to buying. Previous CPU was the i5-3320M.
Setup
- Debian 12
- XFCE
- 16GB DDR3L
- Two SSDs
- Hyper-threading disabled
- 1vyrain BIOS with classic keyboard EC patch
Performance
- Not literally twice as fast, but the improvement is quite noticeable
- CPU no longer seems to struggle while loading Javascript-laden websites
- Rarely hits 100% CPU usage, even on Youtube (sadly bloated enough to be a sort of benchmark)
- Single-core tasks are only slightly better than before
Thermals
- High 40s at idle to mid 60s when busy
- Feels cooler compared to previous CPU, which I assume is due to the CPU usage being lower across all tasks.
- Did not upgrade to the AVC cooler. Toshiba cooler works well and is quiet as ever.
Battery
- About 4.5 hours of office tasks and light browsing from full to empty with an aftermarket 55 Wh 6-cell at 98% health
- Wattage in the mid 9’s at idle with brightness at a comfortable level for a well-lit room. Increase from low 8’s with the i5-3320M.
- When doing actual work, wattage hovers from 11 to 15 watts
- 16 to 18 watts watching Youtube videos
- SLT1 IPS display does consume ~1 W more than TN. I installed tlp but left it on default settings.
- 65W Lenovo charger only works when in sleep mode or shut down. In normal use, however, it will not draw the full 65 W. A 90 W charger or a 65 W GaN charger that the X230 believes is 90 W will both work (my 65 W GaN charger worked well and did not overheat, YMMV)
Other
- Make sure to enlarge the cutout on the black sticker on the underside of the cooler since the 3612QE die is larger
- EC flashing will require a 90 W charger or a 65 W GaN that the X230 believes is 90 W.
- Factory CPUs have BGA package underfill. I have not checked for myself, but it is likely that the upgraded CPU does not have underfill. This should not affect day-to-day use, but the lack of underfill will make the BGA solder joints more susceptible to fall and vibrational damage. Liquid may get trapped underneath in the event of a spill.
Value
- With shipping and taxes, the upgrade costs about 200 USD and takes 2 hours. The total cost-to-date on my X230 built from parts is around 500 USD.
- Do not think of this upgrade in terms of how much performance you get for the price. Think of it like upgrading and daily-driving a classic car. If it brings you joy to daily drive an X230 as it does for me, then it may be worth it.
superb write-up. yeah, the price tag is absolutely eye-watering levels and the classic car is an apt analogy. if you’re not an tinkerer/enthusiast, don’t even think about something like this. I got a T14 Gen1 AMD with a busted screen for $100 even, with original battery, that thing runs circles around this Ivy and is like half the heft, despite 14" > 12".
is like half the heft
that’s exactly why I use an old thinkpad, they’re much more solid than newer ones and are a lot more modular/durable/easy to repair because every component is bulkier.
200 USD is eye watering? Sure you can get a better newer complete machine for less, but that’s more a case of used thinkpads being cheap rather than this being expensive IMO. Seems like a deal to me, given that you’re paying for parts (mobo + cpu, which also need sourcing), BGA soldering and shipping.
Is there a reason why you have hyperthreading off? On an older machine like that I’d want all the performance I can get.
Security concerns: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyper-threading#Security
I gotta be honest. With an older CPU like that I’d take the security risk for that extra performance.
More people with skills like this need to lead with how much of a fussy pain in the ass the project is: linux, foss, self-hosting, etc.
Thanks for being plain about it, and everybody else do it too!
@jaggedrobotpubes @monovergent at least a Linux problem is a pain in the ass only until you solve it. while a Windows problem is a pain in the ass since you become aware of it. I have zero doubts about which poison to pick
I’d prefer an x220 because of the 7 row keyboard and because it doesn’t check for a battery chip. My x220 is beat to hell by now though and I will have to replace it soon.
oh yeah the quad core upgrade is great, browsers run so much better with a 3632qm than the stock 3320m. Also, although everyone says the delta cooler (the nice quiet one on the t430) is insufficient with the quad core, it works perfectly fine in my experience with fresh thermal paste
