woot! finally got new t43 - couple questions and my thoughts

[eric530]

Finally got my 2687dsu, ($1611 epp) took about a month

couple questions:

does that sticker on the lid come off easily?

They include a hex screw for the ultrabay slim, do I need to worry about the bay getting stolen? (Have a lock and no I don't plan on just leaving it somewhere unattended if at all possible)

and if theres a screw for the drive, are there any worries about the battery walking off?



Just my initial thoughts,

I like it! perfect screen, no dead/stuck pixels yet. Like the build quality still, (last laptop was t23 and x21)
Only things I dont like so far:
-I feel like im gonna break the palmrest near the pcimia slots.
-battery is kinda loose for my liking (9cell) i feel like hot gluing it in (gasp) i never remove the battery, hot glue is mostly removable, less likely to get stolen? i dunno

fingerprint scanner is good and works but is useless for me.

Ripped it apart before turning it on, I guess i didnt want any thermal pads to melt, and just wanted to get my ram in.

applying thermal compound wasnt too hard, the screw chart on the label is kinda nice. (get the right screw driver, you'll strip the screws if you dont, and that would suck)

getting the fan assembly out (on the 14.1) is kinda annoying had to slide it sideways and out. Mine had compound that looked like the normal cheap stuff you buy, and the thermal pad covering the ATI chip actually doesnt look "that" bad, pink rubbery layer with what looked like wax or something that melts inside.
I would maybe replace it if i ever take the fan off again after its melted.
Theres a foil strap (screwed down by a keyboard riser) thats helps hold it down and it seemed to be making pretty decent contact.

Downvolted alittle will prolly test later and try and get it lower
15x at 1.100v (chc)
Ran prime95 large ffts, and had the laptop on a bed+blanket (probably the worst thing for heat)

cpu ran up to about 66c (after 15 min)

I can hear the fan, but it's not what I would call loud, doesnt bother me sound like what it should. I've only heard it rev up when i turn the computer on.

[eigh]

1.1 @ 15x, hmm, ill have to tone mine down and see if it runs fine at that. i got mine earlier this week and i love it also. build quality is great, and im very satasifed. the only thing i dont like (but it cannot be changed) is that the screen is heavy and makes the laptop lean backwards when on a surface. if its not on a hard surface i have to lean it forwards to get it to lay fine.


other than that i think it works great. i think im too scared to put some real thermal paste on it. i put my xtra ram and and i think im fine with just that.



t43 ftw!

[eric530]

I think it can go lower than 1.100V x 15x
have tried it at 1.02v b4 but didnt get to run many tests

my settings, (search for others)
which i think are pretty conservative
2.0ghz sonoma

6x@.716 <ran fine at .700v
8x@.780
10x@.860
12x@.924
14x@.988
15x@1.1


hrm... get a 9cell ? the battery sticking out keeps my laptop pretty stable

i dont think adding thermal compound is really needed, esp if you don't want to or arent comfortable with taking computers apart, there was the normal compound on my heat sink, and that thermal pad really didnt look as bad as people say, I left the pink sheet, and I think i'll keep a thermal pad, not heat sink compound. It looks like the heatsink was made for a thermal pad, or they just happened to have a big gap between the chip and heatsink and used a pad.

[JHaislet]

I've got the exact model and run mine at 15x @ 1.068v. I was running it at 1.052v, but Firefox would give me problems, even though 1hr of Prime95 and some other tests ran perfect. Oh well, 1.068v isn't too shaby. It stays around 48-49c @ 15x @1.068v with room temp about 73F.

I also run at 6x @ 0.700v and its solid as a rock, and usually stays around 43-44c @ 73F room temp. I removed the pink rubber pad & left the heatsink wax stuff (but put AS between wax & ATI heatspreader). I haven't opened it back up since doing that, but the touchpad seems a bit cooler since then. I did keep the pink rubber pad incase I need it further down the road.

[eric530]

ok so the sticker peels off no problem.... (being alittle paranoid there)

but anyways, anyone have any suggestions on putting name/contact info on your laptop.. incase its ever picked up and some goodhearted soul decides to return it?

i thought there used to be some ibm utility that let you save your name/contact info and it'd pop up on the start up screen and couldn't be erased unless you had the password, but getting a custom message on startup (or that thinkpad screen) would be nice

[eric530]

uh.. guess i like to talk and ill make another reply to myself...
turned on laptop and didnt turn on CHC (have it set not to autorun incase it locks up)

rendering adobe premiere, finally turned on chc, cpu temp was at 82, and is now slowly dropping back down, at 57 right now.

This normal? is that extra .800V causing that much heat? or is the cpu switching better in chc?

[JHaislet]

Your first assumption is probably correct. I remember seeing mid 70's when I was doing a bunch of cpu intensive stuff; that was, before I found CHC.

[eigh]

i dont think adding thermal compound is really needed, esp if you don't want to or arent comfortable with taking computers apart, there was the normal compound on my heat sink, and that thermal pad really didnt look as bad as people say, I left the pink sheet, and I think i'll keep a thermal pad, not heat sink compound. It looks like the heatsink was made for a thermal pad, or they just happened to have a big gap between the chip and heatsink and used a pad.

ive built my own desktop, so i am not a complete idiot when it comes to the internals of a computer, but im just cautious because i know how tightly packed and finely engineered the entire thing is (one day i just started thinking of the physical space and the components taking that area up. if im right, about half of the thinkpad is mobo/cpu/ram/vid card/ ports and thats all. the rest is taken up by optical bay/batter/hd/fan/card slot).

i dont remember if lenovo had vids about how to replace the thermal compound on the cpu, and ill proboly get nub slapped with a link (did you replace the thermal compound on cpu, or also video card?). im hoping this doesnt void the warranty on the thinkpad if i open it up for this purpose, right?