Forum RSS Feed Follow @ Twitter Follow On Facebook

Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
[-]
Welcome
You have to register before you can post on our site.

Username:


Password:





[-]
Latest Threads
[REQUEST + BOUNTY] Lenovo Thinkpad P14s ...
Last Post: loadit
Today 02:23 PM
» Replies: 3
» Views: 74
[REQUEST] Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro (76CNxxWW) W...
Last Post: Dudu2002
Today 10:53 AM
» Replies: 845
» Views: 317111
[REQUEST] Lenovo Thinkpad E130 (H4ETxxWW...
Last Post: Dudu2002
Today 10:51 AM
» Replies: 509
» Views: 101062
[REQUEST] Lenovo Yoga 11E (N15ETxxW) Whi...
Last Post: Dudu2002
Today 08:15 AM
» Replies: 5
» Views: 2522
[REQUEST] Lenovo G50-70 (9ACNxxWW) BIOS ...
Last Post: Dudu2002
Today 07:23 AM
» Replies: 139
» Views: 40965
[REQUEST] CPU Support for Ryzen 5 3600 o...
Last Post: flexpavillion
Today 04:32 AM
» Replies: 1
» Views: 337
Clevo P775TM1-G BIOS
Last Post: ActivatedNut
Today 01:36 AM
» Replies: 145
» Views: 55312
ASUS P5G41T-M LX2/GB Unlocked Hidden Ove...
Last Post: GangsteR23
Yesterday 04:58 PM
» Replies: 25
» Views: 64130
lenovo z570 Advanced Menu Unlocked
Last Post: Kaluva12345
Yesterday 04:58 PM
» Replies: 7
» Views: 4101
[Request] HP Elitebook 6930P WLAN Whitel...
Last Post: Maxinator500
Yesterday 02:25 PM
» Replies: 15
» Views: 6568
Lenovo ThinkCentre M715q 2nd Gen & AMD R...
Last Post: RedfieldHUN1987
Yesterday 09:23 AM
» Replies: 2
» Views: 148
L14 Gen 3 AMD , Need UEFI unlock advance...
Last Post: frankeinstein2532555
Yesterday 04:08 AM
» Replies: 0
» Views: 95
[REQUEST] Lenovo Y400 & Y500 (6BCNxxWW) ...
Last Post: freedome
03-26-2024 11:00 PM
» Replies: 188
» Views: 52215
[REQUEST] Lenovo G510 (79CNxxWW) Whiteli...
Last Post: ghostinoss
03-26-2024 09:21 PM
» Replies: 655
» Views: 167184
[Request] CPU support for Lenovo IQ57I
Last Post: DeathBringer
03-26-2024 10:02 AM
» Replies: 5
» Views: 239
unlocked Bios for Machenike s16
Last Post: Dudu2002
03-26-2024 09:06 AM
» Replies: 5
» Views: 328
[REQUEST] Bios Unlock Whitelist HP DV6-6...
Last Post: DimanTLT63
03-26-2024 03:03 AM
» Replies: 0
» Views: 145
[REQUEST] HP Pavilion G6-1252ss Whitelis...
Last Post: joseefitness
03-26-2024 01:40 AM
» Replies: 0
» Views: 126
[REQUEST] Lenovo S310 & S410 (8BCNxxWW) ...
Last Post: morgley
03-25-2024 10:43 PM
» Replies: 14
» Views: 6333
Acer Nitro ANV15-51 Bios Bin File Reques...
Last Post: Papethzkie23
03-25-2024 06:04 PM
» Replies: 0
» Views: 138

Lenovo ThinkCentre M700 10GS - Kaby Lake Support Request
#1
I found a Lenovo ThinkCentre M700 10GS (Small/SFF Model) at the thrift store the other day, and it appears to be in perfect working order. It's currently running with an i3-6100, but spec sheets say this model can be configured with up to an i7-6700. My goal is to turn this thing into an entry level gaming machine on a budget, and so getting a feel for what the BIOS and whitelist will and won't let me do is naturally important. I have an i5-7500 at home, so Kaby Lake support would be both convenient for me and beneficial for future upgrade paths.

I've found a few threads about people looking to do the same, but can't seem to find anything conclusive on whether or not it actually worked. Furthermore, Lenovo is apparently still updating the BIOS on this machine. Here is a link to the most recent BIOS update, which came out this past January. I've reached out to Lenovo asking if the system has Kaby Lake support, but they said there was no word on adding support...frustrating. 

Meanwhile, I've successfully upgraded the system from Windows 7 to Window 10 with no issue, and have successfully updated the BIOS to the aforementioned January revision. Interestingly, the Lenovo BIOS update tool asked me if I wanted to modify the serial or model number before I started the update process...figured I'd mention that in case doing so would be beneficial in replacing it with a different BIOS entirely. Additionally, I found an update in the chipset category of the support page that seems to be a firmware update tool that involves Kaby Lake. I'm not sure how it's related, but figured it was worth mentioning.

As for a potential donor BIOS, I found that the ThinkCentre M710 and the ThinkCentre M710e both support Kaby Lake CPUs. There are some significant differences between the models though...the biggest of which being the fact that both of the newer models use the B250 chipset, while the M700 uses H110. If nothing else, I imagine that this difference would keep me stuck at DDR4-2133 even with a 7th gen CPU. Let me know if you think there may be additional roadblocks. Regardless, here is a link to the M710 BIOS. 

Finally, I am hoping someone can tell me whether or not there is a whitelist for GPUs and wifi cards. The former is obviously most important for a gaming machine; I was hoping to put a Low Profile GPU in here like an MSI GTX 1650 (Or something less expensive but same form factor), but if there's a whitelist can't be circumvented, then this whole project is a bust. Regarding the wifi card, I happen to have a spare intel 3168 M.2 card, but I know the 3165 and 8260 models listed on the spec sheet are readily available, so that's not as big of a deal. But if you happen to be in the areas, I'd love to know what the deal is there.

Ok I think that's everything. Thank you in advance for the assistance, and please let me know if there's anything else I need to provide.
find
quote
#2
Post screenshots of first (CPU) & third (Mainboard) tabs of CPU-Z with supported CPU.
Show a photo of current motherboard.
find
quote
#3
(02-26-2020, 12:35 PM)DeathBringer Wrote: Post screenshots of first (CPU) & third (Mainboard) tabs of CPU-Z with supported CPU.
Show a photo of current motherboard.

Will do this as soon as I get home from work tonight! Thank you!
find
quote
#4
(02-26-2020, 12:35 PM)DeathBringer Wrote: Post screenshots of first (CPU) & third (Mainboard) tabs of CPU-Z with supported CPU.
Show a photo of current motherboard.

Here's a link to the photos you requested. Let me know if you need anything else! Interestingly, the BIOS version doesn't appear to match the version on the website...though when I redownload it and try to reinstall, it says its the same. Sidenote, I was saddened to see that there's no M.2 wifi slot on this board, despite there appearing to be leads for it near the second PCIe slot. Oh well, there will still be a PCIe slot leftover for that.

Thank in advance!
find
quote
#5
Have you a hardware programmer?
find
quote
#6
(02-27-2020, 12:43 AM)DeathBringer Wrote: Have you a hardware programmer?

I don't know what that is in this context, so I'm going to guess the answer is no.  Sad

EDIT: Did some googling...I definitely don't have one. Guessing it's necessary for this mod? Sounds like updating this system is more complicated than usual, huh? At this point, I'm not even sure if its worth either of our effort. The only deciding factor left would be to figure out whether or not there is a GPU whitelist. If it's already restricting GPUs and cannot be easily stopped from doing so, then I'll probably just sell this machine as is and use the money to buy something much easier to work with. That said, if it is worth the effort I'm not opposed to buying and learning how to use one of these BIOS programmers, especially if it could help me in the future. Let me know what you think. Thanks!
find
quote
#7
I can't help you without a hardware programmer.
P.S. Whitelist removal is offtopic in this section.
find
quote
#8
(02-27-2020, 11:06 AM)DeathBringer Wrote: I can't help you without a hardware programmer.
P.S. Whitelist removal is offtopic in this section.

Thanks for letting me know! I'll head over to the whitelist section to see what I can learn. Is there a hardware programmer you recommend?
find
quote
#9
(02-27-2020, 11:47 AM)kazoodac Wrote: Is there a hardware programmer you recommend?
Anyone you can use.
find
quote


Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)