Hello. Many of the older thinkpads were regarded as being peak for the ability to repair and easily see into them at both the hardware and software levels.
I was wondering, what PC, if any, is similar in this regard? Aside from building your own PC ofc. Any opinions are welcome. Thank you.
If you’re interested, the Dell T1650 is currently supported by Libreboot. I use it for everything; it has a Xeon E3 1275 V2, 32GB DDR3L ECC RAM, NVIDIA 2080 SUPER, 2x4TB HDD (RAID 1), 1TB NVMe M.2 (PCIe x4 adapter needed), and a 700W PSU (EVGA 700BR). It handles all my games, and I use Proxmox VE as my host, allowing me to create virtual machines where I can passthrough my GPU and use anything proprietary in the VM. Even the GPU drivers can be passed through (no need to install on the host), so essentially, I’m running 100% free software on my host.
Obviously, nothing can be 100% FOSS in the hardware (proprietary ECs, proprietary CPU microcode, proprietary storage firmware, etc.), BUT you can free the BIOS. There is currently a blob needed for the PCIe x16 slot, but it can be reverse-engineered in the future – not sure if there is anything else; I’ll have to ask. There is one board coming soon that I know can be made blobless in the BIOS, and that is the Dell Optiplex 9020 MT. It’s a Haswell board capable of using an i7 4790K with AVX2 instructions. I’m actually the first person to use this board, as I’m the one who made the port along with some help from the Libreboot team. The board is currently in its testing phase still, but soon in the next couple weeks we will make it availble in the next release.
This is super cheap hardware; you can find the whole PC on eBay for like $50-$60, or you can just buy the motherboard for like $15-$25. I bought only the motherboard because I’m using it in my gaming computer case. Also, you don’t even need any fancy flashing equipment, all you need is a insulated screwdriver to short one of the SERVICE_MODE pins on the motherboard to unlock the BIOS chip, which then allows you to flash Libreboot through your OS. Libreboot is more secure than any non-free BIOS/UEFI. At least with Libreboot, you can have transparency, and you get new updates with better features coming out.
For example, Libreboot supported Argon2 encryption in GRUB for fully encrypting your storage drive. This allows you to encrypt the /boot partition and fully encrypt your disk with ease when installing a fresh operating system. Also, you can run Windows on the host with Libreboot, it is supported but not officially. I highly recommend Libreboot, as you can tell.
Framework is the best option these days for upgrades and repairs
Aren’t they really expensive? Sure if you have the money, but what do you recommend as a budget option?
Pay now or pay later.
Many people just don’t have £2000 to spend on a laptop, no matter how much it could save them in the log run.
The most recycling friendly laptop is the one you already on, isn’t it? In addition, if somebody dropped a quarter of that price on a laptop, then used It’s in exchange for a different laptop every couple years, couldn’t they have a half decent system for around a decade without having to worry about a laptop that’s expensive up front but easy to upgrade?
I’m not very good with hardware replacement myself, but based on some of the comments here, if I needed a laptop I might consider a used ThinkPad
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I got my PC built for me by a local computer shop for $100. Worth it to me for the time it saved plus they did a 24 hour stress test on it to make sure all the components worked.
There is no “budget option” if you value repairability, nor has there ever been. The best you can do is buy a secondhand ThinkPad or other workstation laptop. If you don’t like that option, make more money.
Well ThinkPad back in the days weren’t cheap either but then even a 2nd hand one could still last a while and one could still get them fixed.
Dell Optiplex… You can buy them used all over still. Find one with a decent processor and upgrade everything else. The fans are easy to find and replace. I’ve got a Linux based MCPC that’s about a decade old that’s still going strong. I’ve got one for my kids with Linux on it. I’ve bought several for elderly relatives and upgraded the ram and drive to ssd. They really just seem to go forever.
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Tuxedo
This tread is full of random comments about framework, when the op clearly asked about PCs
Framework absolutely makes PCs. Most notably in the laptop form factor.
By PC do you mean a desktop? Guess any desktop you build yourself. Are their features you want like the best Linux support or something?
Mini-PCs from brands like Minisforum? RAM and SSD are easily replaceable. You will get the best CPU+iGPU combo. No need to worry about PSU, as it comes in a brick form-factor. That, or Framework.
Framework.
But if you are really opposed to that option for whatever reason, you can maybe take a look at iFixit’s repair scores.
Since when framework makes PCs? 🫠 very sketchy comment
Are you under the impression that PCs and laptops are different? Because they’re not. The word you are actually looking for is “desktop”, but OP didn’t use that word.
Easy enough to imply it from all of the other comments in the thread, and the fact that the op referred to the ThinkPad in the title. You’re correct, and it’s not your fault the op used the wrong word, but context indicates that they were talking about desktop PCs.
Half the comments in the thread are about Framework - a laptop manufacturer. Are you illiterate?
Are those half of the comments illiterate? Bots? Ads?
No, they’re just from people who understand the definition of “PC”.
So, you can recommend smartphones too then
Or just read the context of the post
Are you looking for a laptop or a stationary machine?
Framework laptops seems kinda cool but they don’t ship to me yet so I have no personal experience. https://frame.work/
Many computer stores offer to build your computer from parts for a fee, that would give you the custom PC without building yourself.Can recommend a framework as a laptop. It also allows you to just use the motherboard as a standalone machine. But it being laptop hardware and only having one m.2 slot might be a deterrent for OP.
For a laptop, Framework is absolutely peak for repair and upgradability. They even offer newer generation motherboards that continue to work with older generation framework laptops. Enabling you to upgrade the core components while not having to rebuy the chassis, monitor, etc.
For a desktop, either build one yourself or buy from one of the companies that assemble it for you. Companies like Maingear.
Aside from building your own PC ofc.
Are you talking about a pre-built PC that has decent repairability? If so you’d really just want to avoid brands that use proprietary or irregular parts. For example Dell Optiplex computers can be bought cheap but they use their own power supply and some have smaller cases that might not fit most graphics gards.
Is there any reason you are posting this to a privacy community? Were you hoping for something that is Libre/Core boot compatible like some ThinkPads are?
I was looking for something that I’m confident doesn’t spy at the hardware level.
I used Thinkpads as an example because after the early 2010 ones, they got those weird i7 (I believe) processors and we don’t know much of what they do but some speculate they record keystrokes and phone data home.
What PC can you trust has good hardware in privacy? I don’t want to buy a PC and run Linux, trying my best, and the thing spies at the hardware level.
Lenovo uses proprietary, closed source firmware. There’s no way to know what it’s doing.
They absolutely do not record keystrokes and phone that home. You’re talking about the Intel Management Engine, which is completely useless to almost everyone, but there’s no evidence that it spies on you. There have been security vulnerabilities found in it that could let someone else compromise your system (notably: only if you’ve provisioned Intel Standard Manageability), but there is practically zero chance that Intel is doing that or even selling that sort of capability.
Pretty sure this section of the Libreboot website talks about what you mentioned if OP wants more info
Well you can find a list of Libreboot compatible hardware here. I feel like your biggest issue, especially if you are relying on a prebuilt Windows PC, is all the bloatware they come with on top of Windows itself.
How confident do you need to be? I don’t think I’ve seen any convincing evidence of any firmware spying in PC components.
Well, except the NSA’s Clipper chip, but I don’t think that really ever got implemented.
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So you just have to buy an openWRT router and it would stop it automatically or is this something you would have to be knowledgeable about how it looks in a system log to block it? Also, do you have to have some sort of custom modem as well or just the router being openwrt is enough?
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The Thinkpad
Not really true any more. The build quality isn’t as good as it used to be and the upgradability has suffered too.
While I agree, it’s hard to find a cheap and reliable laptop that’s not a thinkpad. The keyboards have suffered and some of the models are harder to repair. But they’re still spill proof, tough, and have lots of ports. I don’t regret my thinkpad t14 gen 3 purchase. I might get a thinkpad t14 gen 2 soon.
The models are getting imposible to repair. Everything is plastic and isn’t designed to be taken apart. It’s lenovos fault, their build quality is crap across the line. Of all the comouters I’ve fixed (which is a lot), lenovos are by far the worst to deal with
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I’m not unfortunately. I had to fix a coworkers thinkpad t14 gen 3. The motherboard failed. Then the replacement was throwing fan errors for no reason, finally went away when I updated the bios. Now its going back to lenovo because there are graphics artifacts on the screen during normal use. It being made out of slightly better plastic doesn’t mean anything, they cheaped out on everything.
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I don’t think I’ve been in those subreddits unfortunately. I guess Lenovo fired all their good engineers? My father has a Lenovo all-in-one. I actually cracked the screen trying to open it to upgrade the ram. To get to the motherboard you need to remove the front bezel, but the screen is just a thin panel that juts right to the edge with 1 or 2mm of space to spare. It’s a crapshoot whether or not you can undo all the plastic snaps without accidently grabbing the screen. It really is affecting every computer in their lineup
no fucking way chat is this real
Just carefully read the manual for the model you’re interested in. Switching out a keyboard on T14s Gen1 is hell, as an example.
Jesus, it’d be easier to list the parts you don’t have to remove.
And with how easy it has traditionally been to do that same replacement on ThinkPad T-series I was shocked the first time I encountered it.
holy shit, it’s not just 4 screws anymore?
Any PC you build yourself?
Yes.
Honestly, any enterprise OEM will be similar, such as Dell or Lenovo. Yes, their mainboards are proprietary, but you can easily source them from legitimate parts vendors. That’s why there are so many refurbished Optiplexes and ThinkCentres on Amazon. They’re trivial to repair and most don’t even require tools.
You cannot easily upgrade to a dedicated GPU unless replacing an existing unit, which is standard for laptops as well.
I see core 2 dou optiplex computers in offices to this day, they run pretty good for a computer that had Windows XP out of the box at one point.
Framework
Framework
Framework
How much frame would a Framework work, if a Framework could work frame?
