t41: RAM type& nhc voltage - please advise, thank you.

[cantsleep]

I just got this Thinkpad T41 2373-4GU for $320 cpu 1.6Ghz banias, ati7500 32mb, 40gb travelstar, 768mb pc2700, bluetooth II/56K, ibm a/b/g, dvd/cdrw 1024x768 max. At first, the motherboard got problem, somehow the seller didn't know that this thinkpad has warranty until late 2008. I think I got a good price. Motherboard is fixed from EzServ.

However, I'm having some questions. Firstly, is there a way I can call IBM and trade them my current - whic is very new keyboard (made in china) for the one made in Thailand (wouldn't mind for a used one)?

Second, I'd like to upgrade the RAM, PC2700 is very expensive, can I use PC3200? PC4200? or DDR2? Which fits and works with my Thinkpad?

Lastly, what are the Notebook Hardware Control's voltage settings work well that would hopefully gains some minutes to my 9-cell battery that is 35% wear (180 cycles)?

Thank you for reading this post. Wish you good night and good lucks.

from Seattle cs 09-12-06

[christopher_wolf]

Sounds like a sweet deal you got there; the deal that keeps on giving, eh (at least until 2008)?

You can ask IBM to replace your keyboard if you, ahhh, find something anomalous with it that prevents proper operation and tell them such. The worst case is that you end up paying for a new Thai NMB if you really want one, but there is a good chance it won't come to that if you tell them enough stuff.

For NHC's settings, I would do one of two things; either you slowly feel it out and undervolt/underclock as necessary or you search around here, particularly on the stickied undervolting P-M thread here, and then apply the lowest and most highly recommended voltage+clock settings. You might also want to recalibrate that battery via the power manager and, if possible, set a charge threshold for it (around 85%~87% is where the charge shut-off threshold should be located if my estimations of the wear level in relation to the cycle count are correct).

Right now, I am blanking on the memory specs for the T41, but you should be able to go with higher memory, provided they have the same timings and will clock down to the right speeds.

Enjoy your new T41

HTH

[mysbca]

Second, I'd like to upgrade the RAM, PC2700 is very expensive, can I use PC3200? PC4200? or DDR2? Which fits and works with my Thinkpad?

No, you can't use PC4200 or DDR2. T41 is DDR only.
PC2700 SODIMM is not that expensive. Brentpresley has 1GB sticks for $82.50 here: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=29631

Since you already have 768MB, you will need to remove at least one 256MB stick to add more RAM.

[cantsleep]

Your advices are appreciated & being considered. Thank you.

ie. I'm still at work, can't write longer. Sorry.
seattle09-14-06cs