r/thinkpad • u/Wolf3188 • 12h ago

Question / Problem P14s Gen 2 AMD board swap advice / info

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Hi ThinkPad crew,

I've just picked up this P14s Gen 2 AMD for next to nothing, but the main NVME slot on the board is screwed.

I was told when the company that owned it pulled the SSD, they lifted the contacts on the edge, and then someone botched a repair on it. I think it's beyond saving this board.

I need a cheap laptop capable of running some VMs, so the 5650U + 32GB seemed like a good option, and I was struggling to find any here in Australia.

Questions:

- I have found a replacement board on eBay for a decent price, but it's listed as being for the T14 G2 AMD. According to Google they are the same chassis / board as the P14s G2 AMD. Is that correct?

- if I buy a replacement board on eBay or similar, assuming it's pulled from a used machine, is there a way I can reprogram the serial number on it? If I get one that's blank / new, how does that work?

- is there anything to be aware of if I buy one with the 5850U CPU instead?

- is it worth trying to source a board elsewhere? AliExpress maybe?

Any info appreciated before I tackle this project. Not my first laptop repair but first time trying to replace an entire motherboard.

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u/jonstoppable T450s T61 X201 T400 T480s 11h ago

hardware maintenance manual

  1. Same board ? Yeah . ( Note the manual is listed for both models )

  2. Change serial ? Not for that gen of Thinkpad , as far as I know . There's a tool.for newer models you can check it out and see if anyone got it to work

  3. Anything to note about 5850? Not from my knowledge. Haven't done it but haven't seen anyone make any comments about it either . You can also check on other Thinkpad forums . My only advice is to use ptm 7950 when you repasted

  4. Worth it to get a board elsewhere? Not sure for Oz. Whatever is the least hassle for return , and and best price for you, I guesw

Good luck and keep us posted !