02-26-2020, 11:27 AM
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.
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.
