T43 cpu upgrade worth it?

[bosco]

I just recently bought a T43 (1871 model) with a 1.6ghz (P M 730) cpu. Is it worth $20-25 to upgrade to a 1.86ghz (P M 750) cpu? Will I see a significant performance increase? Need opinions please. Thanks!

[sjthinkpader]

Two steps is probably worth it.

[killer]

My T43 1871-FWG has 1.86GHz and its performance is excellent.
I have 1.5 GB Ram and that seems much better than the 0.5GB supplied. People have said to me that they favour RAM over GHz in order to increase performance. I have no idea but some smart boffin will come along who might know.
Anyway, practically speaking, increasing RAM is a lot easier than increasing GHz in my simple view.

[mouse@cheese.storage]

Hi,


They say (read this a few times in computer magazine) that a speed improvement of more than 6% is noticeable.
Personally, I agree on the main memory expansion often giving a better improvement than purely the processor, though that also depends a bit on what you do with your pc and what type harddrive you have in there (in relation to the memory swapping going fast or not).


WM

[bosco]

I've already maxed the memory to 2gb. And, two steps up, being the PM760, also costs twice as much. I see the PM750's on eBay from $20-25 and the PM760's from $40-50. Can I put the 760 in without worry? I thought I read something about a long fan.

Currently, the hard drive is the standard 40gb 4200rpm, which I might upgrade as well. I'm not looking to play games, but want something that will last for a few years for mostly web stuff, watching Hulu, ripping/burning music, MS Office, etc.

[underclocker]

You can't buy much more upgrade fun for $20. Definitely, go for it. It'll be faster.

Also, a 5400 rpm or 7200 rpm drive will make a noticeable difference. Make sure you get an IBM firmware model or you'll have to deal with an error message at every boot up.

[ajkula66]

To me personally (and I've had a lot of T43/p machines), 1.86 is a very sweet spot that combines solid performance with not too much heat. Money well spent IMHO.

And definitely get a faster drive as underclocker suggested...Fujitsus 120GB/5400rpm work without triggering the error, but are getting hard to find...

[richk]

About the fan, you have Intel graphics, so there is only one fan. I agree that you get a lot more improvement with a faster drive, but your options are limited if the dreaded 2010 error

[Alejandro Audisio]

Related question... is the PM780 the fastest CPU that was ever released on the T43p series machines?

[ajkula66]

Yes, PM780 was the fastest CPU available on T43/p machines, and on PM-based ThinkPads in general.

[superkk]

Do you mean both T43 and T43/p may be upgraded to PM780 ?

[ajkula66]

Yes.

[T400plus]

I have scanned the scrap sellers in my big village .. To upgrade my T41 .from a 1.6 GHZ pentium banias cpu(1mb cache and all that).
Why is it difficult to get only PM cpus .

[sjthinkpader]

The term "easier" may simply mean cheaper. The higher speed CPUs are quite expensive as compared to DDR2 RAM in the case for T43.

For T40/T41/T42, the scenario is quite different as DDR RAM are relatively more expensive than DDR2. Then CPU upgrade may cost less.

In my own view, CPU upgrade doesn't pay as hotter CPU only aggravates the internal thermal issues related to the GPU detaching. Middle range Dothans are a good upgrade from Banias due to the larger cache, relatively low cost and low thermal demand.

Subsequently, I don't have any CPU higher than 1.86Ghz due to all the reasons above.