Thinkpads Forum

Would upgrading my T7500 in my T61 to a T8100 penryn be worth it?
I'm assuming it would run cooler with similar performance?

And how could I tell if the motherboard would be compatible? I'm running the Middleton BIOS.
Machine type is 7664-16U, 14.1" W/S T61.

I think it worth only if you have a free or very cheap T8100.
T8100 is a bit cooler than T7500 when undervolting them. However, 100Mhz lower frequency and 1MB less cache make T8100 slower than T7500.

If you use Middletone's BIOS, any T61 is penryn "compatible".

I went T9300 from T7300. It seemed the best value for money.

sprtnbsblplya wrote:
And how could I tell if the motherboard would be compatible?

With your system board FRU number I could tell you if it has penryn support. Of course you can suppress the thermal error with middleton bios, but I prefer to have a penryn board when possible. Some merom systems did have penryn boards, but the penryn boards weren't available until 2008, so if your date code is 2007, no point in looking further. If it was made 08/01 to 08/04ish, it's probably a merom board, later dates could be penryn, but the fru number will tell for sure.

As far as going from T7500 to T8100, it's technically a downgrade, but will run cooler using less power and have similar performance. A T8300 would be a good upgrade if you want cool and efficient, or T9300 if you want to add power to the list.