T40 & HDD upgrade

[Metallo]

Hi there!

This is my firt post in this forum and I am glad I found this community

My T40 has its original HDD 40 GB from Hitachi and I want to upgrade to the max. capacity the configuration allows me (internally).
My understanding reading the forum is that I can go for a HDD of 100 GB 7200 rpm, correct?

I want to buy something that is not branded IBM because otherwise it would cost me a fortune
Is there a particular model you would recommend?

Also, I am confused when reading about the ultrabay slim device, is it additional space for a second internal HDD or I can only have one single internal HDD ?

Thank you guys for your advice.

Cheers
Alessandro

[sarbin]

welcome to the forum.

regarding hdds: you should be able to use any 9.5mm height, 2.5" PATA/IDE drive. just make sure it's not an SATA hdd. the largest right now is a 250gb/5400rpm western digital, i believe. a number of reports suggest that the newest 5400rpm drives are very near to the 7200rpm drive's performance.

regarding the ultra slim bay: most often it holds an optical drive. you can get a 2nd hdd adapter that allows for another hdd in the system. there are other devices also, that fit in the bay. one is a special battery. most people use either an optical drive or 2nd hdd.

hth.

[Johan]

Welcome to the forum, Alessandro!

You are correct in that a 7200 rpm (2.5" PATA) HDD would make your T40 faster compared to the 5400 rpm you have at present... but... bad news... the 7200 rpm 2.5" PATA HDD's are no longer available; all manufacturers (Hitachi, Seagate) have stopped producing them about a year ago. You may still find them here or there (if you are lucky!), but they are quite expensive. This issue - the goodbye to 7200 rpm 2.5" PATA HDD's - has been discussed on this forum quite a bit recently, and you will perhaps find the following threads of interest: Hitachi website - 7K100, 100 GB PATA HD is unavailable and T42p Hard Drive Upgrade? and 100Gb,rpm ATA drive availability and What do you guys think about this HD? and New T40 owner, new upgrade race!!. Like sarbin explain above, several ThinkPad users have reported that the newest generation 5400 rpm PATA HDD's appear practically as fast as "the old 7200 rpm PATA's" - this e.g. goes for the 250 GB Western Digital WD2500BEVE... as you will see in the threads mentioned in this post.

Good luck with your new soon-to-be high-speed T40!

Johan

[Metallo]

Hi,

Thank you guys for your comments.
I am evaluating the WD 250GB, I tried to find a 7200rpm on the market, but it is almost impossible, therefore I will go for the WD.

Another question I have is:

My T40 has an ATI MOBILITY RADEON 7500 32mb and does not support higher resolutions than 1024x768.
Is there a way to have something better changing the video card or is the screen itself that does not support more than 1024x768?

I read about the Omega drivers, could this been an option worth to try?

Thank you!
Alessandro

[Johan]

My T40 has an ATI MOBILITY RADEON 7500 32mb and does not support higher resolutions than 1024x768. Is there a way to have something better changing the video card or is the screen itself that does not support more than 1024x768?

I read about the Omega drivers, could this been an option worth to try?

You LCD does not support higher resolution than XGA. As far as I know, your GPU does not support SXGA+ resolution (1400x1050) on the built-in ThinkPad LCD. Also, the GPU (ATI MOBILITY RADEON 7500) is soldered onto the motherboard, and cannot be replaced except by swapping the entire motherboard. So, for now you're stuck with XGA, unless you swap the LCD to a SXGA+ and also swap the motherboard to one supporting SXGA+ This approach might not be worth the cost, if wanting a laptop with higher resolution...

You have, however, the opportunity of connecting an external monitor to your T40 (connect it to the VGA-output near the CD/DVD), and having far higher resolution at an external monitor - see which resolutions/refresh rates in the thread t41 external display 16:9 (the link pointed to in that thread is a T41 announcement letter, but also with a 32 MB Radeon 7500 GPU, but anyway the announcement letter with similar specifications for "your" T40 is at Hardware Announcement 103-181, June 17, 2003, New IBM ThinkPad T40 Notebook Models for Small and Medium Business).

Johan

[Metallo]

My T40 has an ATI MOBILITY RADEON 7500 32mb and does not support higher resolutions than 1024x768. Is there a way to have something better changing the video card or is the screen itself that does not support more than 1024x768?

I read about the Omega drivers, could this been an option worth to try?

You LCD does not support higher resolution than XGA, and since the GPU (ATI MOBILITY RADEON 7500) is soldered onto the motherboard, you're stuck with XGA unless you replace both the LCD and the motherboard... which is probably not the way to go if you want a a laptop with higher resolution. You have, however, the opportunity of connecting an external monitor to your T40 (connect it to the VGA-output near the CD/DVD), and having far higher resolution at an external monitor - see which resolutions/refresh rates in the thread t41 external display 16:9 (the link pointed to in that thread is a T41 announcement letter, but also with a 32 MB Radeon 7500 GPU, but anyway the announcement letter with similar specifications for "your" T40 is at Hardware Announcement 103-181, June 17, 2003, New IBM ThinkPad T40 Notebook Models for Small and Medium Business).

Johan

Johan,

Thank you very much for your clear explanation.

Cheers
Alessandro

[yak]

Yes, I've been using a 1280x1024 external LCD monitor with my T41 (Radeon 7500/32MB). No issues at all.

[Brad]

If you replace the LCD AND LCD cable there should be no trouble using the SXGA+ LCD with your 32mb GPU.

I have done this swap without any issues. There is a forum member who is currently using this configuration on that ThinkPad I made the upgrade to and has not reported any trouble.

I believe the GPU will also support UXGA with the proper cable and LCD. I have not attempted this upgrade but from all I have read it would be successful.

Brad

[Dead1nside]

Can you get a SATA 2nd HDD Ultrabay caddy for use on the T4x series?

[fasterbybike]

I believe the GPU will also support UXGA with the proper cable and LCD. I have not attempted this upgrade but from all I have read it would be successful.

I had no luck when I swapped the complete UXGA lid (with UXGA cable) from a T42P to my T40P (with FireGL9000 GPU). Yet lower spec GPU's in the A21P and A22P drive UXGA displays.

So - we know a T40 will drive SXGA+ but have mixed reports on UXGA resolution.

HTH

[Metallo]

Yes, I've been using a 1280x1024 external LCD monitor with my T41 (Radeon 7500/32MB). No issues at all.

yak,

that's very encouraging for me, in fact that was exactly the solution I was thinking about

Regards
Alessandro