HCL-Lenovo-T440p 20AN WARNING!!

[Bjarne Thomsen]

I was so occupied by finding a Laptop with a TPM chip that I was less
carefull in reading the specifications on the Intell processor. This
Lenovo T440p 20AN has a i7-4710MQ processor. I assumed that such a
high-end CPU from Intel must have VT-d. BUT there exists 2 versions of
i7-4710: MQ and HQ. The custommer price is the same, the speed is the
same, and they have exactly the same specifications, except, you might
have guessed, MQ is missing the VT-d. So why does Intel produce 2
processors, one without and one with the VT-d capability? The only other
difference between MQ and HQ is the socket, FCPGA946 instead FCBGA1364.
Why should a customer like myself be concerned by sockets and mainboards?
I attach the Qubes-HCL.
Bjarne Thomsen

[7v5w7go9ub0o]

Thank You for posting this!

Lenovo (U.S.) is starting an "insights panel" that will presumably help
steer their future development. Please send them a copy of your note -
they need to appreciate the importance (to some of us) of some of the
high-end "techy stuff" (and a BIOS capable of configuring it).

Even if you are not from the U.S., I bet they'd appreciate your letter!

<https://www.lenovoinsights.com/Portal/default.aspx>

[bjarne....@gmail.com]

This looks as a good idea, but I have difficulties registering a username. Every time I click on JOIN NOW the same page appears again. I did get an account at their store, but that username/password is not known to lenovoinsight. Lenovo recommend Windows. Does this imply that I must use Windows to register?

[bjarne....@gmail.com]

It looks like the lenovo ID that I chose when creating my account is not compatible with lenovoinsights' usernames, probably special characters.

In the meantime I found a list of FRU for T44p 20AN:
http://download.lenovo.com/parts/ThinkPad/t440p_fru_list_20140217.pdf
On page 3 I read that i7-4800MQ and i7-4900MQ are possible replacements.

[bjarne....@gmail.com]

Amazon sells such a ThinkPad:
http://www.amazon.com/Thinkpad-T440p-20AN0069US-i7-4810MQ-Computer/dp/B00HK0VP4I/ref=pd_sim_sbs_pc_2/186-0539416-8464041?ie=UTF8&refRID=0C0D827NTA59D2S3F7HM
and the processor
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Intel-4810MQ-2-8GHz-Threads-Cache/dp/B00KDFX2C0/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1412918074&sr=1-1&keywords=i7-4810MQ

[bjarne....@gmail.com]

sudo systemctl status tcsd.service:
dom0:systemd: Starting TCG Core Service Daemon...
dom0 tcsd: TCSD TDDL: TrouSerS: ioctl: (25) Inappropriate ioctl for device
dom0 tcsd: TCSD TDDL: TrouSerS Falling back to Read/Write device support.
dom0 TCSD: TrouSerS trousers 0.3.13: TCSD up and running.
dom0 systemd: Started TCG Core Service Daemon.

So, is TPM working? What does it mean that the ioctl is "inappropiate"?

[bjarne....@gmail.com]

Yes. I have now installed anti-evil-maid on two USB sticks, and they boot with
2 different secret messages.

[bjarne....@gmail.com]

My WARNING against Lenovo ThinkPad T440p still stands. I failed to notice that the T440p on Amazon is made by something called the "Computer Upgrade King". The processors i7-4810MQ and i7-4910MQ (with VT-d) both have different physical dimensions (37.5mm X 37.5mm X 4.7mm) from the dimensions (37.5mm X 32mm X 1.6mm) of the i7-4710MQ (without VT-d) in my ThinkPad T440p. Even though the socket (PGA946) is the same for the 3 processors, the cooling device probably needs to be modified in order to upgrade to a processor with VT-d. This is not all. It turns out that the TPM chip in the Dell Latitude E7440 that I purched instead has no support in the latest linux kernel 3.17.2. Does anybody on this list no why?

[bjarne....@gmail.com]

I now understand that the package dimensions referred to by Intel is the dimensions of the IHS (Integrated Heat Spreader), which is never used in a laptop PC. Why Intell is selling a mobile processor with an IHS beats me. IBM/Lenovo sells i7-4800MQ and i7-4900MQ also called FRUs, but their prices are extremely steep. I finally found that overclockers.co.uk had some i7-4900MQs in stock at a more reasonable price. At the same time I obtained a new heatsink with a low-noise fan.
With this new processor VT-d is working, and the anti-evil-maid is installed on a USB-stick, which is also working.

[cprise]

On 12/05/14 16:21, bjarne....@gmail.com wrote:
> I now understand that the package dimensions referred to by Intel is
> the dimensions of the IHS (Integrated Heat Spreader), which is never
> used in a laptop PC. Why Intell is selling a mobile processor with an
> IHS beats me. IBM/Lenovo sells i7-4800MQ and i7-4900MQ also called
> FRUs, but their prices are extremely steep. I finally found that
> overclockers.co.uk had some i7-4900MQs in stock at a more reasonable
> price. At the same time I obtained a new heatsink with a low-noise
> fan. With this new processor VT-d is working, and the anti-evil-maid
> is installed on a USB-stick, which is also working.

Should the HCL be updated to reflect that the T440p has VT-d working
with the correct processor?

[Hakisho Nukama]

Is this a laptop model, that is sold in store?
Or do I modify my laptop. rip the old CPU off and install the new one?

HCL output:
Lenovo Thinkpad T440p (20AN00C1MD)
(i7-4710MQ, QM87, GeForce GT 730M) GLET70WW (2.24 ) Yes No Yes
R2 3.12.23-1 a i5-4300M, i5-4330M, i7-4600M, i7-4800MQ or i7-4900MQ
CPU could support VT-d Bjarne Thomsen

And the other model supports VT-d. Any changes needed?

Best Regards,
Hakisho Nukama

[cprise]

Maybe Bjarne could run the hcl report again to reflect the i7-4900MQ he
added to the system. Lenovo does sell the T440p with that processor, so
it seems reasonable to add an entry for that configuration showing that
everything (VT-d, TPM, etc.) works.