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.

  • hperrin@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    Idk, but I’ll tell you Dell and HP desktops are the opposite of the Thinkpad. Every part they can make proprietary, they do make proprietary.

    • Case
    • Motherboard
    • Power Supply
    • CPU Cooler

    Cannot be upgraded or replaced with off the shelf parts.

    If your system dies, you’re expected to just buy a new one and chuck the old one in the bin.

    • Samueru@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      I have had several used dell / hp motherboards, the only thing proprietary was that some were 12V only and needed a 6 usd adapter to work with regular atx psus.

      And also the power button connector, you have to figure out which pins are the ones that turn the PC on.

      • hperrin@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        New models integrate all the front IO into the motherboard, so they really only work with the case from the manufacturer. Like this and this.

        • Samueru@lemmy.world
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          9 months ago

          I’m pretty sure the second one will work on any case, just that you might be missing the I/O plate.

          • hperrin@lemmy.world
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            9 months ago

            Look closely at the opposite edge of the board. All the front IO (including the power button) is on that little protrusion.

            • Samueru@lemmy.world
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              9 months ago

              Oh, sorry I thought you were talking about the I/O plate.

              TIme to use an open frame case then lol.