Install a 1066MHz FSB CPU on T61 (including Core 2 Quad)

[RMSMajestic]

Could you please also post a valid md5sum hash of this ROM file?
I feel a bit uneasy flashing a BIOS with unknown md5sum value...

B24E9158205E3B702C6AC12AFAACAA98
there has been a few people tested the BIOS without any problem,
or if you don't want to take the risk, just flash the 2.27 xiaofei290's original BIOS

[RMSMajestic]

What about ASPM Power Management in this BIOS?

should be the same as 2.29 middleton BIOS

[86turbodsl]

So what would be the fastest cpu to install on a t61 with this new bios but no hardware mods?

Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk

[QWERTY Andreas]

Without HW mods its still the X9000...

[Hixon]

Amazing work by guys who did this. I am finally at the stage where I can perform the whole mod so I can fit my new T9400 inside. But I have some questions which I have to ask.

1. So there are 2 good BIOS options now. The one listed here (on german TP forum, obv. without quadcoreAPIC) and the amaninsh@51nb's version (new BIOS based on 2.29 middleton BIOS with newer CPU microcode, supporting all T9 T7 P8 X9 T6 P7 CPUs). So after all, which one is better for a T9400 dual core mod?

2. I have the Merom(old) version board with X3100 graphics. Plus, I have 2X2GB Micron DDR-800 memory modules installed. Now, do I have to perform the SPD profile modification? If yes, which one the 533 or the 667mhz version? Or do I have a chance to run the machine without messing with the SPD at all? And just out of curiosity, why are we doing this SPD modifications? So the intel graphic can run on its basic frequency, so it wont produce errors at higher freq? Or we are doing this to keep the memory more stable with the lower freq?

3. After the hardware mod of step 2 in el-sahef's post, will I still be able to run my old cpu (T7100)?


Thank you very much in advance.

[RMSMajestic]

@Hixon
1. amaninsh's BIOS works better for dual-cores. Besides for sure xiaofei290's original version MIGHT NOT support T7100

2. Almost definitely you'll need a SPD modification. And given that the graphics is the X3100, I'd recommend 533. You have the chance to run without any SPD modification, but the chance is as low as finding a virgin, or finding a normal person in a mental asylum. amaninsh managed to find RAMs and chipset good enough for 888@5-5-5-15, but that involves testing 30+ RAMs.

3. You should be able to use your old T7100 after the hardware mod, but probably not after you flashed the BIOS. Well, I mean, I have not tested amaninsh's BIOS and all people I know haven't tried to use T7100 with amaninsh's BIOS

[Python.p]

So if i use one of those BIOS with Intel 965PME is there chnace to use better CPU or i´m misuderstand this?

[el-sahef]

Yes, you can use better CPUs with those BIOS like T9800 or P9500 but you will have to do all the required steps (for dualcore: 1 and 2, for quadcore: 1 - 5) in this post which involves modifying the mainboard.

[dastardlyman]

for anyone nervous about doing all this.
I have a T61 with intel x3100.
I put the middleton bios on it last year and have run a T8300 processor since then.

if you work in the following order you can do the 1066fsb upgrade with the MINIMUM of risk.

1. get yourself a SPARE 2 gig ram chip. take your normal ram out of the t61 and put the spare ram chip in.
flash the spare ram spd chip according to the instructions . check it with cpu-z .
if you cannot do this - stop right there. no point in going any further - if it goes wrong - you've blown a ram chip and you can
put your regular ram in and you are fine. no harm done. don't go to part 2 unless this part has worked.

2. assuming part 1 has gone well then you can make a dos usb stick and phlash the "amanish" bios according to the instructions.
I have just done these two steps - and I have not had to do any board modifications.
The T61 runs JUST fine with the T8300 and the modified RAM with the "amanish" bios.
so at this point all I have had to do is change the RAM, write the ram spd and phlash the amanish bios.
(if you are going quad core - the amanish bios is the wrong bios)

3. step 3 is buy a T9400 cpu off ebay for £15 - wait for it to arrive from china!
when it has arrived - then and only then do you cut the mainboard, solder on the wire and put in the T9400

assuming step 3 goes well - ive not done step 3 yet - then I can shell out for a faster chip - the T9400 is the cheapest 1066 fsb chip and the one to "prove"
the principal with.

im not going to bother with any of the quad core mods on my T61

[RMSMajestic]

3. step 3 is buy a T9400 cpu off ebay for £15 - wait for it to arrive from china!
when it has arrived - then and only then do you cut the mainboard, solder on the wire and put in the T9400

assuming step 3 goes well - ive not done step 3 yet - then I can shell out for a faster chip - the T9400 is the cheapest 1066 fsb chip and the one to "prove"
the principal with.

im not going to bother with any of the quad core mods on my T61

I'm pretty sure you canfind one P7350 or P8400 for a cheap price locally..... and they are good for testing... 15GBP for a t9400 is a little bit expensive

[RMSMajestic]

GOOD NEWS

Thanks to highsun, the ultimate 2.29 BIOS with quad core support and Nvidia undervolt(1.05V) is finally ready, it is based on amaninsh's BIOS and has newer CPU microcode
MD5 2c707e2126d20c43591dbe0821137f22
available here:
http://www13.zippyshare.com/v/pQuATdgO/file.html

[dastardlyman]

many thanks to everybody!
this has to be the most satisfying mod ive ever done.

and I agree with comments about T9400 price!

I stayed up late last night and did the board mods.
I can verify that the T8300 works just fine with a modified board.

cutting the board trace is VERY difficult - you need a GOOD magnifying glass and a very sharp Stanley knife blade.
but with patience it is do-able.
soldering the thin wire is also VERY difficult - you need a steady hand and a decent soldering iron.
but I got that done as well.

the only other "tricky" part for me was the ram spd stuff - you need to "disable driver signature enforcement"
every time you reboot. which is annoying. if you don't - you cant read or write the spd in windows 8.1 64 bit.

it is great to see a T9400 working in my T61.

thanks again to everybody.

my little T61 tip is buy a Broadcom crystalhd board and put it in the spare wifi slot.
then all your 1080p H264 content can get played back with only 4% cpu usage - even on an old intel X3100 T61.
(I use gom player - as you can easily tell it to play 1080 using the Broadcom crystalhd)

best wishes to everybody
from Manchester UK.

[RMSMajestic]

my little T61 tip is buy a Broadcom crystalhd board and put it in the spare wifi slot.
then all your 1080p H264 content can get played back with only 4% cpu usage - even on an old intel X3100 T61.
(I use gom player - as you can easily tell it to play 1080 using the Broadcom crystalhd)

best wishes to everybody
from Manchester UK.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

I found BCM970015 barely useful......
The hardware decode is based on sacrificing the video quality.... Anything better than a T8100 could play a 40GB blue-ray 1080p without any problem (Don't talk about the ducks taking off video ) Now my BCM970015 is sleeping in my drawer gathering dust :/

[dastardlyman]

yes the cpu can play the 1080p without any problem.
but its good to get the crystal hd to do all the work. . .
I will have a look at the picture quality again. maybe it is bad and I never noticed?


The T61 that I have modded is a 15" one.
Its great - all fine. no problems at all - I love it!

I have a SECOND T61 here - its a 14.1 inch version with intel x3100 graphics
I have phlashed the bios and modified the ram spd and put my T9400 cpu in it and it works fine.
HOWEVER - I have modified the mainboard and it STILL RUNS AT 200mhz!

please could someone show me the correct picture of how to modify the board of a T61 14.1 inch version?
the board is NOT the same as a 15 inch board.

this does not work:
http://atviras.lt/mwf/attach/77/7777/at800.JPG
I have done that and its still 200mhz.
way back on page 2 of this thread user "totoro-kun" has the same problem
but I cannot see a fix for this anywhere. . . .

thanks again guys-
you are the best!

[pticdado]

Hi,

I am embarking on a T61 (8895-A24, 42W7648 mobo) modification project and would like to get some opinion about which RAM modules are considered to be best suited. My target is Q9000 CPU and 2X2GB RAM.

In RMSMajestic's original post he warns against using Elpida/Hynix/Crucial 4GB DDR2 as they have SPD locked. However, there is no warning with regard to 2GB RAM modules. Has anybody encountered any problems with these?

Searching the usual place I found many different 2GB modules that seem suitable:

2GB 2Rx8 DDR2 800 / PC2-6400S-666 / 200 Pin

Kingston KVR800D2S6/2G CL6 (Nanya chips)
Hynix HMP125S6EFR8C-S6 PC2-6400S-666-12
Hynix HYMP125U64CP8-S6
Samsung M470T5663EH3-CF7 PC2-6400S-666-12-E3
Micron MT16HTF25664HY-800E1 PC2-6400S-666-13-ZZ
Micron MT16HTF25664HY-800E1 PC2-6400S-666-12-ZZ
Elpida EBE21UE8ACUA-8G-E
Nanya NT2GT64U8HD0BN-AD PC2-6400S-666-13-F1.800
Elixir M2N2G64TU8HD5B-AC PC2-6400S-555-13-F1.800
…

Are there any particular 2GB RAM modules that are better than other or offer any advantage? Is there any particular module especially recommended?
Additionally, which BIOS version is considered to be best suited for Q9000 and 42W7648 with Intel graphics?

Best regards

[el-sahef]

@ dastardlyman: For 14.1" widescreen mainboards, try to cut the trace at the marked spot: http://abload.de/image.php?img=141wideltuf5.jpg (191kB picture)
The wire in the image you posted is correct.

@ pticdado: Every hynix RAM I owned had its SPD locked. Samsung, Kingston and noname sticks allowed SPD modification but the Samsungs were not stable with the edited SPD. No idea about the other brands you mentioned. Surprisingly, I had the best experiences with noname brands (CSX) from ebay. There is always some luck involved .

[dastardlyman]

el-sahef - thank you for fast reply!


I will cut that trace like you have shown .
then keep the wire as in the original picture.

[dastardlyman]

@El-Sharef
it was tricky - I have cut the trace on my 14 inch T61 - but no joy - im still at 200Mz
not 266Mhz
by the way your picture did not exactly match my T61 - but I had a really good look with the magnifying glass
and I can see what you meant to accomplish. and so I cut the trace .

and also ive tried three different types of RAM - and they all programmed successfully but you MUST
do all the steps that are detailed earlier in this thread.
reprogramming the RAM takes patience!!

thanks again - im hopeful that you have another solution for my 14inch T61.

[dastardlyman]

ok, I have had a look at the german forum here:

http://thinkpad-forum.de/threads/172581 ... ndervolten
(by the way if I use google translate the images disappear - so don't translate if you want to see the images.)

im sure I have done it all correctly. but its still at 200mhz on this 14.1 inch T61.
(my motherboard looks the same as the one on page two of this thread - it does not look like the one on the german forum)
when I have time I will look at all of this properly - I will report back when ive done that.
there are circuit diagrams and allsorts to look at that are linked on this and other forums.

I will be happy to HARD WIRE my 14.1 inch T61 so it is locked at 266mhz.
(why would I ever want to run it at 200 mhz if it has a T9400 cpu??)

[el-sahef]

Strange, I am pretty sure that it should work.

Maybe it doesn't because of the cut you already did before. Totoro-kun hardwired the pin at the clock generator to 266 MHz setting:

So I've performed a pin mod to SLG8LP564V clock. I found line, that went from pin 7 and cut it carefully with a sharp scalpel. After this, my FSB was overclocked to 266Mhz

You can download the datasheet here: http://www.dz863.com/datasheet-82690886 ... s-Chipset/

[pticdado]

el-sahef, thank you for sharing your experience with various RAM modules.
Regards

[RMSMajestic]

@pticdado,
All the 2GB DIMMs I've had (Kingston, Samsung, Elpida) have editable spds.
For the 4GB DIMMs, Elpida ones are much trickier but they have editable spds (sorry, I've made a mistake before)
Some no-Name brand 4G DIMM: completely editable and capable of running on 888@6-6-6-18.

Besides, KJC@51nb has replaced the SPD chips on the locked DIMMS with editable ones (24c02b-th ? not exactly sure about this)and edited them, guess you can do that as well


@dastardlyman
have you cut the lines completely?
Did you forget to remove the wire on the CPU socket?

[dastardlyman]

RMS-majestic

Ok, on my T61 intel x3100 14.1 inch
Ive cut the trace in TWO places and I soldered on a wire.
but im stuck at 200Mhz.
do you mean the cpu wire is NOT necessary on the T61 41.1 inch??
if that's the case then I will remove the wire!

I was going to find the PLL chip and cut the trace from pin 7
but I will remove the wire from the cpu first!

[Qing Dao]

I don't have a T61, but I was reading el-sahef's posts in this thread about modifying the SPD timings. Last night I tried modifying some SPD settings with my X61 and found most of my DDR2 memory to be locked. Well today I read up a bit more about it and tried a solution. I know that doing this is very important for the 1066Mhz mod on T61s and that DDR2 memory modules are getting quite scarce (I'm looking for some 4GB sticks for my X61!). Anyway, I made another thread with my solution for the locked SPD EEPROMs.

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=117168

[RMSMajestic]

RMS-majestic

Ok, on my T61 intel x3100 14.1 inch
Ive cut the trace in TWO places and I soldered on a wire.
but im stuck at 200Mhz.
do you mean the cpu wire is NOT necessary on the T61 41.1 inch??
if that's the case then I will remove the wire!

I was going to find the PLL chip and cut the trace from pin 7
but I will remove the wire from the cpu first!

https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/ ... 9784_o.jpg
This wire is UNNECESSARY if you have followed el-sahef's method

[el-sahef]

I think he meant this wire, which is necessary. If he meant this wire, then it is not.

To make it absolutely clear what I meant:

There has to be a cut in the trace at this spot, the cut previously done here has to be undone and the wire here is right.

Alternatively to undo the unnecessary cut, pin 7 of the clock generator can be connected to ground: http://abload.de/img/cimg0545uluqz.jpg

Everything in this post related to 14,1" widescreen boards only!

[thinkpadcollection]

Hi, Say got a 14.1" widescreen T61 with nvidia GPU motherboard:

The information is so overwelming, how exactly do one do the steps to modify the board to take P9600 but run processor at 800fsb for ultra low power use?

Cheers, Thinkpadcollection

[Qing Dao]

Hi, Say got a 14.1" widescreen T61 with nvidia GPU motherboard:

The information is so overwelming, how exactly do one do the steps to modify the board to take P9600 but run processor at 800fsb for ultra low power use?

Cheers, Thinkpadcollection

What you want to do is simple, but just re-inventing the wheel. Update the BIOS and install a T6400. You will have the same thing, a 2Ghz late-stepping Penryn at 800Mhz FSB.

[el-sahef]

Flash the modified BIOS (instructions in step 1 b) in this post) and solder the purple connection on this image: http://abload.de/img/fsb200k8qj4.jpg (225,73 kb image). I think that this should be sufficient but if it does not work, then I suggest that you also do step 2 in this post and try again.

[Qing Dao]

Flash the modified BIOS (instructions in step 1 b) in this post) and solder the purple connection on this image: http://abload.de/img/fsb200k8qj4.jpg (225,73 kb image). I think that this should be sufficient but if it does not work, then I suggest that you also do step 2 in this post and try again.

I picked up a T61 motherboard a couple of days ago. All you would need to do is cut the trace. That will run the computer at 800Mhz FSB and keep the full multipliers of the processor working as normal. I tried it with a T9400. It was running at 200Mhz x 10 with only the BIOS update and the trace cut.