Upgrading T41?

[Quicklite]

I recently purchased a T41, and got to say its so far surprisingly good in terms of build quality and reliability. Though it came with relatively low spec: Pentium m 1.6 (banias core), 512mb ram(256x2), 40gb HDD , and 18 minutes battery life .

For me the ram, hard drive and battery capacity all are touch small for my usage, and I'm currently deciding which part to upgrade first. These things are possibly on my list:

2x1GB of DDR 200-pin PC2700/3200
(DDR is extortionately expensive , about 30 pounds for 2 gigs)

9 cell 6600mah battery
(34 pounds inc delivery from Hong Kong)

160gb Samsung drive/250gb WD drive
(about 45/60 pounds inc delivery)

Sata ultrabay bridge +500gb sata 2.5 WD drive
(about 90 pounds in total)

As it works out, the total cost of upgrade will be more expensive than the laptop itself, thus I'm deciding to upgrade selectively, as its not really worth it to upgrade completely. So are there anything I can cut out? I ran a few large programs in the backgroud, 512mb doesn't nearly cut it; I will mostly browser the net, type documents, frequently watch Divx movies and sometimes use photoshop and play some half life engine games.


I think 2 gigs of ram could be excessive, as I've just switched back to version of XP after using windows 7 on it for a day; I could buy just 1 gb at about 20 quid now, and end up with 1.25 gb of ram. The problem of getting just one is first, they are obsolete in supply, I'm afraid they'll only get more expensive in the future, also getting a matching pair from similar manufacturing period is better.

Primary storage is important for me as well, currently I've nearly no space left on the 40 gb drive, and external drive is way too bulky to carry around; the infamous samsung 160gb drive is out for about a year now, it would be a nice start, given good performance and less power usage than WD's 250gb; though the tendency of super clicks and auto transfer mode switching somewhat bothers me, and WD seems a better choice.

On the other hand, I'd like to carry my divx collection with me as well on a 465gb ultrabay slim sata drive, while not essential, this could probably wait as 500gb aren't exactly great in value atm.

Then there is the 9 cell battery, while it may have larger foot print than default one, its at similar price as smaller ones, so I'll probably stick with that. Can anyone help me to decide what to upgrade? and are there anywhere that I could get those components for less in the UK?

Thanks in advance

[TomKroscavage]

Yes, I would. The hard drives you can move.

[Harryc]

Personally I'd sell the machine and get a T43 or newer with the specs I was looking for, but it sounds like you are on a budget. There is no getting around storage if you are out of it, get the larger hard drive first.

[Quicklite]

Are there any obvious advantages that T43 offer? updated processor, Sata and DDR2 support seem to be the main reasons for upgrade.

[Harryc]

Cheaper faster RAM, faster processor, less prone to GPU (video chip) failure over time, newer components. There are some downsides to the T43 itself...noisy fan, hard drive compatibility issues with non-IBM drives.

[aaa]

Are there any obvious advantages that T43 offer? updated processor, Sata and DDR2 support seem to be the main reasons for upgrade.

The T43 does not have SATA, and it also has the 2010 issue. It's not much of a processor update either (unless you get a 2ghz one or something). Cheap DDR2 is nice though.

[TomKroscavage]

It is said the GPU failure rate is lower in the T43. By the time the T43 came out IBM had to see this was going to cost them a lot of money, but they did not fix the problem. I have three t43s with the GPU failure. IBM may have taken steps to lower the failure rate with the T43.

[Quicklite]

The thing is, one of the reason I bought T41 is due to its exceptional value and reliability, I just don't see myself getting a T43 when its not as good in value due to diminished returns, and GPU problem is definitely not my idea of investment.

Also for the price of higher end T43, there are new laptops with better raw spec, though not excel as much in reliability and usability; I will probably upgrade to a 160gb HDD first though. Then swap my laptop for a T42 from a friend in January.

[Beaver]

Anyway if the Quicklite will decide to upgrade the CPU, I am taking his old one

[Quicklite]

Actually I'm thinking of that, . The CPU is banias version, If I was to get a intel m 735 B1, ,the Dothan one, can I do the infamous pin-mod on it?

[Beaver]

I am considering to find some Dothan, Pentium M 745 SL7EQ (B1) 1800 MHz 2048 KiB 400 MT/s. Looks like it's consuming less power than my Banias 1.5. I do not know anything about pin-mod, SL7EQ should be Micro-FCBGA so it will be plug&play upgrade.

[Harryc]

...and GPU problem is definitely not my idea of investment.

Well, that's the point isn't it. The T41 is much more likely to develop a GPU problem than a T43. Use two hands when you pick up that machine and don't flex the chassis. Good luck with it.

[Quicklite]

Well, that's the point isn't it. The T41 is much more likely to develop a GPU problem than a T43. Use two hands when you pick up that machine and don't flex the chassis. Good luck with it.

Oh thanks very much for the tip. Is the issue resolved in T43?

I am considering to find some Dothan, Pentium M 745 SL7EQ (B1) 1800 MHz 2048 KiB 400 MT/s. Looks like it's consuming less power than my Banias 1.5.

Good choice , though I thought despite being manufactured on 90nm technology, Dothan processors also have twice the L2 cache, as such the battery life is very similar in many cases.

not sure if pin mod will work though

http://laptoplogic.com/resources/detail.php?id=35

[Harryc]

The issue is not completely resolved on the T43 unless you get one with an Intel Chipset. In fact many folks here buy T40's and T41's and put an Intel board into it for that very reason. Hey, if you had the cash I'd recommend a T60 or later.

[Johan]

To upgrade a T41 CPU no pinmod is necessary - for a few hints to T41 CPU upgrade see the thread T40 Upgrades Help (CPU, RAM, HD) and follow the advices there! These days 1.8 GHz Dothan's (SL7EN) can be found on eBay (in the USA) at around $25 - and 1.7 GHz Dothan's at around $15. Given this modest price difference, I'd say get a 1.8 GHz. Try ask on the Marketplace on this forum if anybody has one for sale?

RAM for T40/T41/T42 (PC2700) is fairly cheap, in the USA, as e.g. evident from the thread FRYS.com: 1GB PC2700 Cruical SODIMM - $10 after rebate! so if you know somebody in USA, try ask them to buy and ship to you! For your needs (as described), I would start off by keeping one of the 256 MB modules you already have, and add 1 GB... that would keep costs down. You can always upgrade more later, if need be.

Using two HDD's in your ThinkPad will of course consume more battery than one... unless you put the UltraBay one to sleep! Since 500 GB (!!) 2.5" SATA HDD's are now available, you could in principle get 750 GB internal storage in a T41 - that should be enough for most people!

Johan

[sjthinkpader]

Likely the best value is a R52 with intel GPU. These are much cheaper than T43 and only slightly thicker and heavier.

[aaa]

Pinmodding refers to overclocking a 400fsb cpu to 533 (also increasing clockspeed). You need a 533 machine and a 400 cpu to do it, so only the T43 can do it. There is a more involved hack for the older T4x models, it's on this forum.

[Quicklite]

To upgrade a T41 CPU no pinmod is necessary - for a few hints to T41 CPU upgrade see the thread T40 Upgrades Help (CPU, RAM, HD) and follow the advices there! These days 1.8 GHz Dothan's (SL7EN) can be found on eBay (in the USA) at around $25 - and 1.7 GHz Dothan's at around $15. Given this modest price difference, I'd say get a 1.8 GHz. Try ask on the Marketplace on this forum if anybody has one for sale?

RAM for T40/T41/T42 (PC2700) is fairly cheap, in the USA, as e.g. evident from the thread FRYS.com: 1GB PC2700 Cruical SODIMM - $10 after rebate! so if you know somebody in USA, try ask them to buy and ship to you! For your needs (as described), I would start off by keeping one of the 256 MB modules you already have, and add 1 GB... that would keep costs down. You can always upgrade more later, if need be.

Johan

Thanks you the links and tips; I live in the UK, and DDR rams here are EXTREMELY expensive relatively, they cost 3-5 times more than DDR2 ones; even on ebay. I think I'll just use this laptop otherwise as it is for now, though I've ordered a 6 cell battery already. As good as this laptop is, I think its pretty obsolete hardware not worth upgrading.

I'm definately not going for intergrated intel graphics thinkpad for sure though, no matter how much trouble Ati one will cause, integrated one just lack the punch imo.

I haven't decided what to do next, I'd probably swap this laptop for a T42 SXGA+ with a friend in January, then upgrade that; or I sell off for a T43 with V3200 or a XPS M1710, those are much bigger, but it suits my multimedia usages ( I know its something completely different).

T41 is a great machine, and I'm sure I'll like T43 as well, however, I'm open to other brands as well; If I sell off T41, I'd want something further up the chain, where as T43 seems too similar. While T61p is nothing short of exceptional machine, but the choices opens much wider at that price range, and the likes M1710 would seem better option. Forgive me, for my mind works oddly, but to be honest, my budget is not nearly as important as the fact that I would like to enjoy using it.



Thanks everyone for your input, I deeply appreciated them.

[rbena]

Just to add, beyond the basics of the quality of a Thinkpad, the focus is likely on what applications you'll need it to run.
If it comfortably meets your needs without spending too much more, then it may well be the best option. OTOH, if it can't easily run what you want and also provide some future-proofing, a newer model may be the best option - as this provides an entire "system upgrade" vs component upgrading.

Good luck with your decision.

[Quicklite]

The genuine IBM 6 cell battery from ebay has just arrived, and is rated at about 2:20 on a full charge, quite good actually; hopefully tomorrow a 512mb of DDR memory module will get here, so I would have 768mb RAM. so far so good.

The new forum is pretty nice btw.