M4800 Owner's Thread

[Aaron44126]

49 minutes ago, K4sum1 said:

I did figure out it only is the internal display that disconnects, but Windows moves all the windows to the main display when I open it back up. I guess it makes sense, but I don't remember it being an issue with my other laptops.

 

This is "normal Windows behavior" which I believe has been addressed in Windows 11, which is better at remembering your Window positions for multi-screen setups (and which I have not personally tried to see if it really works better).

 

It might work better in this case if you make sure that the external screen is set as the "primary" screen when both displays are running.

[KMikhail]

20 hours ago, MELOCODI said:

Idk, not a case for me, it is still better then the modern stuff you can buy, at least where I live right now. Even with all upgrades it is better than anything in it's price range + it is easy and nice to service it. Even in my situation I think that it was a good decision.

Most expensive upgrades are more expensive than the laptop itself and not transferrable to a next one. I'd buy 2X 8TB SSD, but at 900$ total it makes no sense since they will be stuck with the obsolete M4800. So, you can improve performance, but at much higher cost than the laptop and in an obsolete format.

 

19 hours ago, Aaron44126 said:

"normal Windows behavior"

When a connection to my TV gets lost for some reason... sound is also redirected back to the PC speakers AT FULL VOLUME 😄 Needless to say, not fun in a late night.

[K4sum1]

4 minutes ago, KMikhail said:

I'd buy 2X 8TB SSD, but at 900$ total it makes no sense since they will be stuck with the obsolete M4800.

Modern laptop moment

[KMikhail]

Just now, K4sum1 said:

Modern laptop moment

Yes, it makes more sense to invest into expensive pcie counterparts within long-supported laptop, not sata ones in an old one.

[K4sum1]

M.2 is cool and all, but SATA is still great for bulk storage.

[K4sum1]

On 7/8/2022 at 11:44 PM, M4980 said:

As the M4800 has such huge bezels, I'm inclined to believe that the LP170WQ1-SPA1 17.0" 16:10 2560x1600 display would fit inside the M4800's lid after relocating the antennae, removing the webcam, shortening the hinges, and removing obstructions. The result would be funny to say the least

Anyone try anything like this yet?

[M4980]

4 hours ago, K4sum1 said:

Anyone try anything like this yet?

 

Nope it's too much hassle for me

Assuming the screen would even fit once things are trimmed down, there also needs to be a pcb created to hijack DP and allow 40pin edp screens to be used

I made the decision to switch to Precision 7520 instead as it has MXM and 40pin edp 

[Kitje]

11 hours ago, M4980 said:

Assuming the screen would even fit once things are trimmed down, there also needs to be a pcb created to hijack DP and allow 40pin edp screens to be used

Maybe even without extensive mods to the point of hijacking DP, going for an eDP motherboard with a UHD cable could work too.

[M4980]

9 hours ago, Kitje said:

Maybe even without extensive mods to the point of hijacking DP, going for an eDP motherboard with a UHD cable could work too.

 

I tried that with my M4800 and the LP156QHG 40pin display, it did not work

The QHD+ model only works in discrete GPU mode which is unsupported by my T1000

I guess it would work for you if you are able to use discrete mode 

[unnoticed]

Seem like the thinkmods ExpressCard nvme mod is dead.
On their discord channel they recommend to cancel the order and members asking for eta for delivery.
I was thinking of giving my M4800 some love but now I dunno, I started using my M4800 as a workstation laptop again.
I have issues with the wireless with bluetooth dropping out with the 7260hmw card so I ordered a AX210 from aliexpress with the same antenna sockets that worked     great. No more issues.

 

Maybe I can buy the generic aliexpress version.
But i will need a custom bootloader via usb such as rEFIt
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003693699414.html

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003444599237.html

 

Perhaps I can utilize the last minipcie slot for an internal usb stick with rEFIt
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005118963040.html?

 

[K4sum1]

Why NVMe when it's slower than SATA through the 2.0 x1 bus?

[unnoticed]

On 7/10/2023 at 6:53 PM, K4sum1 said:

Why NVMe when it's slower than SATA through the 2.0 x1 bus?

You're right, I was thinking mostly for vm storage as I am running a bunch of labs on my M4800.
Having one more drive, even if it is a bit slower is a plus.
But you are absolutely correct, I forgot about that, I might not use it as a system drive.

[MELOCODI]

I've ordered i7 4980HQ, now I am waiting for it to arrive, I will try to put it into my M4800, I'll stay in touch.
I think it should work.

[unnoticed]

37 minutes ago, MELOCODI said:

I've ordered i7 4980HQ, now I am waiting for it to arrive, I will try to put it into my M4800, I'll stay in touch.
I think it should work.

uh where did you find that with socket 946?

[MELOCODI]

7 minutes ago, unnoticed said:

uh where did you find that with socket 946?

TaoBao

[unnoticed]

15 minutes ago, MELOCODI said:

TaoBao

Care to share a screenshot? I dont have a taobao account

[MELOCODI]

1 minute ago, unnoticed said:

Care to share a screenshot? I dont have a taobao account

[nforce4max]

There is a type A RTX 3000 that became available on eBay a couple months back and gotten one myself with some expectation of having to mod however for the M4800 there is more work than expected. Some metal work for both the heatsink which may be inadequate to begin with and the removal of the estata + usb combo port at the back as the pcb is blocked by this port is required.

 

For those with a 7510 or 7520 will have an slightly easier time installing this card but still has to mod the heatsink as before due to the position of the mounts for the x bracket being offset though the two holes at the top are normal so will install as normal after some other modifications. To the left of the mxm there is a small black connector to be removed that is blocking the pcb. To the top right corner the ethernet port would have to be removed (huge ass nope for most) and lastly the retaining bracket for the edp connector has to be taken off so as the pcb extends so much farther to the left.

 

For both machines, one will need to cool the mosfets so I recommend using fairly thick thermal pads on the backside and then for the top side using tiny stick on copper heatsinks which should do the job.

 

  By this point some are wondering what the final results are well sorry to disappoint I've not completed this as I've not fully decided which laptop I am going to mod and not too fond of having to desoder ports to make room for this card to fully mount. There is an possible issue on the backside where the caps could be blocked by other components on the motherboard for example.  

[unnoticed]

Was thinking of using the PP minicard slot that is sitting empty to put my Logitech G903 transmitter inside the laptop but that didn't work.
I ordered a simple minipcie to usb from aliexpress:

The PP slot doesn't have a usb repeater... I forgot to check that out before I found that out the hard way by swapping my Intel AX210 in minicard 1 slot with pp slot and moving antenna wires over there barely making it to the pp slot.

 

 

Wifi worked but bluetooth did not because that uses the usb repeater and the mini pcie to usb worked just fine in the minicard 1 slot.
I put everything back where it was and called it a day.
Maybe I can find a flex cable or make individual wire loom and jam it between the card and slot and run it over to the minicard 1 or minicard 2 where my msata is that is not using the usb circuit.
Shame having one slot in the laptop that's good for almost nothing.

 

[nforce4max]

The mini pcie slots are good for 2230 and 2242 nvme drives as extra storage but yea the lack of usb comes no surprise because it is pcie after all. Going to mod an m6800 sometime next week to accept an 2280 drive though I have to do a fair bit of metal work. For the M4800 you get a 42mm slot with ease while there is another slot however there isn't much room to work with

[unnoticed]

10 hours ago, nforce4max said:

The mini pcie slots are good for 2230 and 2242 nvme drives as extra storage but yea the lack of usb comes no surprise because it is pcie after all. Going to mod an m6800 sometime next week to accept an 2280 drive though I have to do a fair bit of metal work. For the M4800 you get a 42mm slot with ease while there is another slot however there isn't much room to work with

....that is a great idea!, that could work!
The nvme card might hit the chassis on the opposite side, maybe I can file away some of the material.

There is like a bend where the backside comes down and extend as a panel, but there is just air underneath for about 10mm or so.

[nforce4max]

On 9/1/2023 at 2:48 AM, unnoticed said:

....that is a great idea!, that could work!
The nvme card might hit the chassis on the opposite side, maybe I can file away some of the material.

There is like a bend where the backside comes down and extend as a panel, but there is just air underneath for about 10mm or so.

Just finish the mod and it worked well thus far but fair warning it is a tight fit as the adapter adds some height. I strongly recommend doing a full disassembly as magnesium makes a lot of dust as I just learned while grinding away also wear an n95 dust mask. At least the bottom panel doubles as a heatsink. Will take another look at my other Precision laptops but pretty sure they're limited to just 30 and 42mm drives and to get an 80mm drive in the M6800 I had to grind away at the bottom pan close to the dock connector leaving an small hole but otherwise it works. Did have to shorten the adapter as it wouldn't fit otherwise.

 

Edit: I got out an M4800 and all you'll get is a single 30mm nvme drive, to get it installed you'll be left with a small hole but beyond that any metal work should only be done with the board along with everything else removed as magnesium dust will cause shorts. The other slot is the usual msata wwan slot and haven't bothered with the slot used for the wifi card.

[MELOCODI]

I have installed a fingerprint sensor on my M4800, it is recognized everywhere, but when I try to set up a fingerprint in Windows - it doesn't register it.

[KMikhail]

Meanwhile, I've spotted an T1200 MXM card, costs around 200$.

 

The T1000 MXM looked actually like the one of the previously super expensive semi-embedded solutions, so I wonder how much time will it take for the RTX A2000 MXM 8gb to appear on the ebay? A2000 should be a good tep up from the Maxwell/Turing generations.

[MELOCODI]

17 hours ago, KMikhail said:

Meanwhile, I've spotted an T1200 MXM card, costs around 200$.

Where did you find it?