upgrade T40 now or not?

[myoldTPT40]

Dear Thinkpad Users,
I'm thinking about upgrading my old T40 now. It's kind of too late maybe, because I

can see most of the T4x users already have done it two or three years ago. So I'm also

seeking some advice on whether I should do it. Comparing the prices of the parts with

new computers right now, seems it's not a economical decision, but I love my old TP.

It's been with me since 03, when the price is still sky high for this model. (I'm kind of

always keep the old stuff for emotional reasons.)
At first what's in my mind is just to add some storage space and increase the memory.

However, I realized that I can also upgrade the cpu a little bit, at least from 1.5GHz to

2.0. That should be quite an obvious increase in performance. But after I added up all

the parts together I found out that I at least need 200 bucks to do this, especially the

memory for it is rare now and price is high, I don't know how much gain I could get

out of it. Probably I should do the memory two years ago (but at that time we were

waiting for our first baby and have not a bit of time to think of that).
Now in lenove outlet there are T400 and T500 at only 500-600 dollars and probably

they are much better than my upgraded T40, but I just love this machine, even I can

get a new one, probably I will not sell this old book. Now I'm just wondering if I

should do the upgrade. Or wait untill I get a new one and save this old TP in the shelf,

frame or laminate it?
And I should say my T40 has been taken good care of all these years and it runs even

faster than my wife's newer laptop from HP. I only re-do the XP pro systems once and

never re-install it for more than 6 years and always tweaking and cleaning the system,

and select those small and trimmer softwares for same applications and try to

minimize the burden of the system.

Thanks for all your opinions.

[myoldTPT40]

And I think maybe at least I upgrade my 2100B wireless to a B/G wireless card, And I've found one quite cheap on Amazon.

TP-Link TL-WN560G - Network adapter - Mini PCI - 802.11b, 802.11g
http://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-TL-WN560G ... sim_gs_e_2

I'd like to know if you guys think it's ok?

[tim S]

I think $200 is really high.
A quick check of eBay shows 1G of ram at about $45.00 and a used 2.0G (SL7EM) CPU at about the same price. So at $90 to $100 the upgrade is feasible I think. By the way the 1.8Mhz is almost as good as the 2.0 at half the price or less.

Tim S

[myoldTPT40]

Yes，you are right. 200 is high, and 2 weeks ago I didn't even wanted to do that much upgrade. But more and more i search the amazon, ebay and other stores, read on forums, the more I found those parts. then the urge can't stop to make my own T40 as better as I can.

At first just want to add an HDD, and then think memory is not enough, but memory is too expensive now. I wanted to have 2G, max out the machine.
If I only do the cpu or only do the memory, which will give me a large increase in performance?

I think $200 is really high.
A quick check of eBay shows 1G of ram at about $45.00 and a used 2.0G (SL7EM) CPU at about the same price. So at $90 to $100 the upgrade is feasible I think. By the way the 1.8Mhz is almost as good as the 2.0 at half the price or less.

Tim S

[RealBlackStuff]

You can never have enough RAM, that should be your first priority.
Next is a decent hard disk, 4200rpm doesn't cut it anymore nowadays.
5400rpm with at least 8MB cache is a decent upgrade.
7200rpm is usually overkill compared to modern 5400rpm HDs.
CPU is of lesser importance, but if you want, 1.7 or 1.8GHz is more than adequate. Anything higher creates too much heat.

[myoldTPT40]

yes，you are right, remind me higher clocked cpu need to get that long fan. Anyway I probably need to get a new fan in a few months, that s another 20 buck probably.

probably I'll get memory first and hard drive. when my fan nearly fails I'll get a better cpu together.

Western Digital's Scorpio Blue 320G now is my wish, but don't know if can use on T40. I saw many of you use the 250G version, is it because when you do that it's the biggest one or 320G can't work on T4x series?

You can never have enough RAM, that should be your first priority.
Next is a decent hard disk, 4200rpm doesn't cut it anymore nowadays.
5400rpm with at least 8MB cache is a decent upgrade.
7200rpm is usually overkill compared to modern 5400rpm HDs.
CPU is of lesser importance, but if you want, 1.7 or 1.8GHz is more than adequate. Anything higher creates too much heat.

[lukee]

Hi myoldTP40,

you need to decide if you need powerful graphics or not. TP40 is equipped with Radeon 7500, which is old DirectX 7 card. However it has enough power to play some older 3D games. If you use your ThinkPad for work purposes only, you can get more power by:

- maximize RAM size (2 GB)
- upgrade CPU to 1.83 GHz
- install fast HDD (Hitachi 7k100 or Samsung HM160HC is a good choice!)
- install b/g/ or "n" WiFi card
- use heatsink which covers also GPU
- you can increase another storage possibilities with UltraBay SATA HDD adapter (inserted SATA HDD you can use in future in your next ThinkPad Hitachi 7k500 is a good choice for future also)

[RealBlackStuff]

As long as it is a 2.5" laptop model and NOT SATA, any size hard disk (largest is 320GB) will do as a main drive.
See e.g. this selection at Newegg

[myoldTPT40]

Thank you very much.
I'd like to ask why everyone seems to like to buy that Atheros wireless card. Is that much better than others? I feel I just need a .11G card, maybe for now. Is the intelpro2200 BG a good choice? and there are many without a brand, will those casue that bios problem for T40?

Hi myoldTP40,

you need to decide if you need powerful graphics or not. TP40 is equipped with Radeon 7500, which is old DirectX 7 card. However it has enough power to play some older 3D games. If you use your ThinkPad for work purposes only, you can get more power by:

- maximize RAM size (2 GB)
- upgrade CPU to 1.83 GHz
- install fast HDD (Hitachi 7k100 or Samsung HM160HC is a good choice!)
- install b/g/ or "n" WiFi card
- use heatsink which covers also GPU
- you can increase another storage possibilities with UltraBay SATA HDD adapter (inserted SATA HDD you can use in future in your next ThinkPad Hitachi 7k500 is a good choice for future also)

[myoldTPT40]

then I'll go get it. Thanks a lot. My biggest concern is the space, for my musics, ebooks and RAW pictures from camera. although I already got a large external one, but still want the internal one to be big enough. Although i know it may be too big and this time I'll never fill it up as the old 40G HD.

As long as it is a 2.5" laptop model and NOT SATA, any size hard disk (largest is 320GB) will do as a main drive.
See e.g. this selection at Newegg

[kge420]

OP:
I have a T40 that I have upgraded over the course of a few months. I started with the HDD which is a 40gb. Next was an ultrabay HDD($10) and an 80 gb HDD for the sole purpose of streaming iTunes. I upgraded the cpu to a 1.8 Dothan($20). I installed a b/g wireless card and finally installed a bluetooth module($9). Then came a usb card($9) because my T40 has the usb 1.1 symptom. As all of this was going on I kept my eye out for 1gb ram sticks. I was able to find two Crucial sticks for $20 each on craigsList. The hard drives and wireless card were leftovers from older projects. The original cost of this machine was $40.
This T40 is as solid as a piece of wood and incredibly useful as a music streaming device and web browsing, RSS feeds etc. Your machine owes you nothing. I say keep it and do the upgrades and use it within it's limitations and you will be quite satisfied.

[kge420]

Forgot to mention a new battery ($28). I get 4+ hrs with this machine listening to music and reading web pages. Best netbook ever in my opinion!

[myoldTPT40]

Thanks for the inputs.

That's quite what I'm thinking about, just use it to the limit. However I wonder if I could find those parts for such low costs now. Since most of the parts I'm eyeing one are new ones (quite skeptical about used ones, afraid of breaking down in a few months then everything goes in vein).

And after reading the hardware manual, I'm also very inclined to add a SVGA+ screen now, just can't find a cheap original one. I'm afraid that if I could finishe my dream update, the cost will buy me a new model from the outlet, hehe.

Forgot to mention a new battery ($28). I get 4+ hrs with this machine listening to music and reading web pages. Best netbook ever in my opinion!

[Raceboy]

Just FYI, using faster (Dothan) CPU will not require long fan. Long fan is just for higher end graphics like Radeon 9600 and FireGL T2.

You will benefit most from the memory, then HDD.

Dothan CPU will definitely be an improvement, especially if you use NHC and undervolt it (lower voltage= lower temps = less power consumption= more battery time). But better CPU is hardly noticeable in everyday work.

[myoldTPT40]

I just feel the long fan can also help to vent the heat deeper inside the machine. Since it's quite old, let it become more cooler may be help.
Yes, CPU may never be noticed after the upgrade. so don't know if all this are worth the effort. maybe months later can get a T500 or T400 for $400 and will be way stronger than this upgraded T40.

Just can't get this upgrade thoughts out of my mind, like all those old PC years with Pentium 200 MMX.

Just got the intel pro wireless 2200 from my wife's HP machine and can't boot with the 1802 error, seems have work to do now.

Just FYI, using faster (Dothan) CPU will not require long fan. Long fan is just for higher end graphics like Radeon 9600 and FireGL T2.

You will benefit most from the memory, then HDD.

Dothan CPU will definitely be an improvement, especially if you use NHC and undervolt it (lower voltage= lower temps = less power consumption= more battery time). But better CPU is hardly noticeable in everyday work.

[underclocker]

Wecome to the forum.

The T40 is one of my overall favorite machines, too. Contrats on 7 years of trouble free use, many T40's didn't make it that far!

While I admire your committment to the model, I have to present you with two realistic options.

1) Sell it for $125-$150 (or possibly more) and carefully select a used replacement T60 via eBay or this forum for $200-$250. The T60 is effectively the identical size and weight as a T40, allbeit a slighly less sleek design. It is far faster and more durable in every way. You won't look back. Total upgrade cost -> approx. $100.

2) If you really can't break up with your T40, do the only upgrade that will make a significant performance difference, install a PATA SSD hard drive. You might have to pair back on data that is stored on your primary drive, since SSDs are expensive, but you'll cut boot time in half and programs will load instantly. I've done nearlly every upgrade possible to a T40 (many, many times). Most provide nice psychological performance boosts accompanied by marginal performance improvements, but an SSD provides one you can actually measure. Total upgrade cost for a 32GB PATA SSD -> approx. $100.

[myoldTPT40]

Thanks. I still can't get over my T40. Probably the time my hands on it is more than on any other girls. hehe.
Economically, upgrade is not a good decision. Even just get a large hdd will cost 70-80, let alone the memory, cpu, heat sink etc. And need to stick with the ati 7500 on board.
Already got a 750G external drive for 90, so storage space won't be a problem now, SSD probably will be in consider.

Wecome to the forum.

The T40 is one of my overall favorite machines, too. Contrats on 7 years of trouble free use, many T40's didn't make it that far!

While I admire your committment to the model, I have to present you with two realistic options.

1) Sell it for $125-$150 (or possibly more) and carefully select a used replacement T60 via eBay or this forum for $200-$250. The T60 is effectively the identical size and weight as a T40, allbeit a slighly less sleek design. It is far faster and more durable in every way. You won't look back. Total upgrade cost -> approx. $100.

2) If you really can't break up with your T40, do the only upgrade that will make a significant performance difference, install a PATA SSD hard drive. You might have to pair back on data that is stored on your primary drive, since SSDs are expensive, but you'll cut boot time in half and programs will load instantly. I've done nearlly every upgrade possible to a T40 (many, many times). Most provide nice psychological performance boosts accompanied by marginal performance improvements, but an SSD provides one you can actually measure. Total upgrade cost for a 32GB PATA SSD -> approx. $100.