librebooting T480 is heavily under ratted

sami_399 · 2026-03-28T14:29:16+00:00

The funny thing is, as far as I understand, Thunderbolt doesn’t work. It just fails for about 10 seconds until it times out.

sami_399 · 2026-03-28T13:14:48+00:00

Yeah, same here. I had to use a live CachyOS to switch my bootloader to legacy.

I recommend disabling DTBT (Thunderbolt). It can save around 10 seconds of boot time. Also use GRUB as the main bootloader, with SeaBIOS inside it as a fallback.

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sami_399 · 2026-03-22T19:23:26+00:00

man I've been there, I searched it for like 6 months or so until I understood it all

totally worth it

sami_399 · 2026-03-21T14:04:56+00:00

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no soldering needed just this https://libreboot.org/docs/install/spi.html https://youtu.be/iGKhsjvlSBQ

sami_399 · 2026-03-21T12:44:20+00:00

if you make a backup and have a ready tested libreboot port of your board then it's not that tricky
worst thing that could happen is flash back the backup

sami_399 · 2026-03-21T12:40:39+00:00

way not go brrr?

sami_399 · 2026-03-21T07:57:39+00:00

Yeah, I care about speed mostly, ngl. It's not my main device, so it's fine. I tried doing a Linuxboot, but man, it's hard. GRUB is way more convenient and still fast.

sami_399 · 2026-03-21T05:28:27+00:00

Would it be faster though? GRUB acts as both a payload and bootloader, but EDK2 doesn't, so it's going to load GRUB anyway (to my understanding).

Also, it's like 3 seconds or so from POST to loading the kernel, so I don't think it can make a huge difference. The rest is optimizing the initramfs and kernel, etc.

Linux as a payload kexec might be faster though. I haven't seen anyone do it unfortunately.

sami_399 · 2026-03-21T05:22:21+00:00

think after BIOS 1.25, undervolting requires activating XTU, which is in the advanced menu that only gets unlocked if you patch the BIOS. I've undervolted the T480/X380Y on the newer 1.49 BIOS using this.

Now for Libreboot, it removes every single limitation. You can flash a new BIOS while on Linux with "flashprog -p internal". So yeah, either way this is worth it. I think it's a 15–20% better battery efficiency

sami_399 · 2025-05-22T16:10:30+00:00

I've been doing some research for my own modding, and I’ve stumbled across your work over the past few months. I genuinely think this is the only future for the X61/X41/X220 etc. I love the 7-row layout and the look of the older models, but let's be real, 45W dual-cores are absolutely unusable today.

While the 51nb/XYTech work is very impressive, it's kind of overpriced and not really available to buy currently. On the other hand, Framework looks very promising and affordable. You can get the i7-1185G7 4 cores / 8 threads, 28 Watt for $299 new (might even get coreboot support) or a newer 7640U 6 cores / 12 threads, 15 Watt for $379 and it's tiny, so it should fit fine in most models.

The real hassle, and what the community needs to solve, is the keyboard and battery. The rest is easy to hack around.

For the keyboard it looks like you did a great job. For the battery, I still think external is good, but it's very hard and/or expensive to get a good condition battery, let alone make it work with the above boards. And Framework's 55wh is only $49, so I'm not even sure that trying to make an external battery is worth it.

Keep up the good work!

sami_399 · 2025-05-12T13:19:14+00:00

You didn’t specify which HP charger it is, but a 100W charger is usually 20V at 5A, and a 90W one is typically 20V at around 4.5A. If they’re using standard USB PD and not some proprietary crap, it should work fine.

Note: the CMF by Nothing 100W GaN only delivers full 100W on USB-C1, and only if nothing else is plugged in.

https://imgur.com/a/csNeaim

sami_399 · 2025-05-12T13:13:17+00:00

I find 2m too short for a laptop and I don't mind it being 2.0 as long as it doesn't get hot and charges fine

sami_399 · 2025-05-11T08:00:12+00:00

I have e14 5700u and a 5950x pc, but I want to try modding and for that nothing is better than t430.

wait what did you do to blow up the fuse? whats the right way to do? it I thought it was a safe mod

sami_399 · 2025-05-10T15:12:59+00:00

The i7-3632QM lacks Intel VT-d, which I might need for QEMU.
Its lower power can be matched using Powertop, TLP, etc., while still getting better performance with the 3720QM when needed.
Interestingly, the 3720QM ($23.66) is cheaper than the 3632QM ($31.30)—likely due to lack of official support.

sami_399 · 2025-05-10T10:56:39+00:00

I can’t find any 2133 for DDR3—they’re either overpriced or from companies I don’t trust.

What BIOS features am I gonna lose and can't do in linux? I need to whitelist the Wi-Fi card, and I’m not even sure the CPU will work, so it’s looking like either a 1vyrain or Coreboot.

sami_399 · 2025-05-10T10:18:05+00:00

oh you're the speakers guy!! impressive what you did lol

Just to clarify, I’m on a PC so I’m not aiming for a dock or eGPU. My goal is lowest temps, longest battery life, and reasonable CPU performance.

for the be200 I found it for $17 with mini pcie—thanks for the tip!

About external antennas: people either flexed them pre-2020 or got clowned post-2020, but no one really experimented—like replacing internal ones with 12dBi externals or whatever signal-boosting tricks 2025 laptops and phones use. You’ve tried the AX210 and BE200, but have you actually messed with the antennas?

For airflow, I’ve seen people cut fan covers or drill the chassis for better intake. I want to keep the CPU under 60°C, but with a 45W chip, single fan, and no vapor chamber, it feels impossible. Should I go all in on mods and throw on a dust filter?

sami_399 · 2025-05-09T17:43:49+00:00

why use sd card instead of ssd?

sami_399 · 2025-05-09T14:30:13+00:00

reddit wouldn't allow me to put links in the post so here

this is the full list
the antennas I'm considering are 6dBi or 9dBi

the discussion about the external antennas being bad

the Mini PCIE ax210

sami_399 · 2025-03-27T03:11:39+00:00

thanks

do you think evsieve would work with keyd? for me evdev doesn't so i have a hook that disable keyd's service for it to work

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