Should I buy i7-3840QM, will this CPU work with Thinkpad t430?

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Hi Qubes community the machine in question is not shown in hcl
Thinkpad t430 i5-3230m 16gb type 2342CTO
this cpu do not provide Vt-d so need to upgrade cpu
should I buy i7-3840QM will this CPU will work? will qubes run properly on this machine all features working so I do not get hacked and thanks for help sven

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This CPU does fit into your machine and it has all needed virtualization features, so it should work. It is not in the HCL tho [edit: actually it is], so there is a chance it wont work. My gut tells me it will but i won’t guarantee this.

Also the CPU is nearly 10 years old, so i would recommend newer hardware if this is possible for you. But if that is what you have and you want to spend 130 dollars or so for an upgrade, go for it.

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See here which CPUs are tested by the Community: Community-recommended computers.

Many people here say that old CPUs work quite well with Qubes for most tasks.

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Incorrect. Its in the HCL, used in one certified machine and also listed in the community list.

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Mea culpa… I blindly believed OP.

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Will go ahead with this hopefully it all works, keep you all updated

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I was going to ask the same question about upgrading the CPU on a t430. One of the community recommended laptops is a t430 with a i7-3840QM, so I’m interested to see if there are any issues with your upgrade.

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Actually its good, and i’ve been thinking building that one too, and you should really consider using coreboot + heads if you’ll go with custom t430.

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I have two T430, both with the same specs.

Upgrades:

I love this machine, because …

  • … it’s a 10+ year old ThinkPad: everything is fully supported and super stable
  • … it’s Ivy Bridge, so Intel ME can be nearly fully removed and disabled
  • … I have measured boot secured by heads and hardware HOTP (Nitrokey/Purism Key)
  • … 16GB is plenty, especially when using debian-minimal based qubes
  • … the upgraded fan and my custom thinkfan config make it very quiet except when under full load
  • … the carefully chosen SSD combined with BTRFS give a nice performance boost

The second exact same machine is my backup, just in case anything ever happens to the first one. That’s how much I like it. :wink:

To your question: no issues. The fan / heat sink can handle it. The external power supply does get a bit hot, but maybe that’s normal even with a 35w CPU. Anyway… I use this machine for pretty much exactly a year. Every day – all day. Highly recommend.

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Great shopping list! Is there a recommended “minimum” drive size for the SSD?

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I never got over the 250 GB mark yet. YMMV