T42 processor upgrade

[T42-2379DWU]

Will my model T42-2379DWU support an upgrade to a Dothan M745 1.8ghz Stepping B1?

Any particular bios version needed?

Will there be any cooling issues if it is upgraded?

IBM used a thermal pad between the heatsink and processor, If I do swap, can I just use thermal compound instead?.

Any pointers would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[sarbin]

welcome to the forum.

first, here's a great reference for you:
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-46464
it's the hardware maintenance manual with most everything you'll need to know in order to dig into your thinkpad. towards the end is a complete parts reference.

you should be fine with the dothan 745. cooling should be no problem as long as the heatsink/fan assembly is good. personally, i only use arctic silver 5 in my machines. i've upgraded the cpu on my a31p, t43 and t60p (twice).

hth some.

[T42-2379DWU]

Thanks for the quick response, yes I like AS5 myself, I have not done any notebook processor swaps, just knew they used a thick pad instead of paste, I just wondered if there would be a gap or if the heatsink would mate up ok after removing the pad and applying paste. Appears that it will.

Any bios I should go with or stick with my 3.06f, I don't like flashing unless I just have to.

[sarbin]

the only pads i've seen in my machines has been between the gpu or northbridge and the heatsink assembly. i've never had one for the cpu. can't really answer on the bios question. how out of date is your current bios?

[T42-2379DWU]

CPU_Z says 6-18-2004 v3.06f

[sarbin]

from here:
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-50273
it looks like there have been a good number of updates (15) to your machine's bios. most recent in june '07. check out the txt file to see if you want to update, cpu-upgrade or not. looks like the embedded controller would need to be upgraded as well. if you choose to do it, i'd recommend the bootable diskette process rather than the 'execute from within windows' process.

[T42-2379DWU]

I did the embedded controller earlier today, looks like they recommend doing the bios first..eek, I will have a look at the bios release notes, thanks again.

[T42-2379DWU]

Update:

Just flashed the bios, all went well, at v3.23 now.

Thanks for your advice.

[sktn77a]

You can also use the PM755 (2.0GHz) or PM765 (2.1GHz). I ran the 765 in all (4) my T4x while I had them. I have 1 left, a T42 2379-R1U, maxed out with 2Gb RAM, 2.1 GHz CPU and a 160Gb HDD. My daughter loves it and doesn't want to trade up to a newer computer!

I've never seen a T4x with a thermal pad between the CPU and the heatsink (IBM used them between the GPU and heatsink on the higher graphics performance T4x).

[poshgeordie]

I've never seen a T4x with a thermal pad between the CPU and the heatsink (IBM used them between the GPU and heatsink on the higher graphics performance T4x).

And when applying AS, use the smallest amount you can spread over the CPU surface, since like all heatsink compound it's purpose is to fill in the surface imperfections between the two mating surfaces, and not to create an extra layer between the surfaces.

I mention this because I see far too many laptops where the stuff is smeared over everything and the owner wonders why their laptop's running hot!