Thinkpads Forum

I just got in a T61 15.4" Widescreen 6465-02u which has the T5270 CPU (1.4ghz) and was wondering if a CPU upgrade would be worth it. Intel graphics so I assume this motherboard will last?

The unit came with 4GB of RAM and I put a 500GB HD into it. I would imagine the top of the line CPU would be the most expensive option, but what would be the 2nd or 3rd best (usually cheap) for this model?

Also the hinges are kind of loose, common for this machine? My T60's are solid and so are my older IBM made models.

Yes, with the Intel graphics motherboard you are free of the infamous nVidia defect.

You should have no problem dropping a Penryn T9500 2.6 into the system, however the BIOS does not natively support that CPU and you will get a "thermal sensing error" upon POST (which can be bypassed with the ESC key). I did this a good number of years ago; I was coming from a T7700 2.4 though and didn't see much of a difference in real-world use (did the upgrade more for the benefits of the 45nm technology). Since you're coming from only 1.4 GHz, I'd say you'll definitely notice an improvement. The T7800 (2.6), T7700 (2.4) or T7500 (2.2) are the fastest Merom-based chips which will operate with no "issues" in the system. Anything faster needs the 1066 MHz bus.

You can also install up to 8GB into this unit, and if you look around here, you'll find a mod to be able to install the 1066 MHz quad core chips.

Bogus hinges are chronic on these... I've recenly deployed a batch of about 50 of these second-hand (although type 7665) in a corporate environment, and most have hinges with very noticeable play. Aftermarket replacements can be had on ebay, but they aren't very "stiff" like the OEM hinges are.

Upgrades in order:

1) Middleton's BIOS.

2) CPU such as T8100/8300 or T9300 if you can afford to spend a few bucks more

3) SSD. Forget the spinning drives.

You'll be amazed how much younger the machine will feel.

As for the hinges...they suck. I must have gone through hundreds of 15.4" T61 systems and the second one that I found the perfect hinges on (along with an October of 2008 production date) is the one that I'm typing on right now...

Happy upgrading.

Do I need a different heatsink/fan for a faster CPU?

Unknown_K wrote:Do I need a different heatsink/fan for a faster CPU?

No.

On my T61, I went from a T7100 1.8 to a T9300 2.5ghz. Results were astonishing!! Then I went for an SSD too, and as George points out your machine will feel as good as new, responsive and very fast.
This old T61 is better in my opinion to current offerings in the £200 to £400 price range (when you apply the new CPU and SSD etc)- Personal opinion.

As others have pointed out, a T9300 (best performance to cost ratio) will be a dramatic improvement over you current one. Hinge quality on the T60 is a tad cheaper than most previous IBM models, but the T6x series got a bit worse.

I snagged a T7300 (2ghz, 4MB cache) for a couple bucks shipped to see if there is much noticeable speed increase and will go from there. Snagged a faster CPU for one of my T60's for the heck of it as well.

While there is play in the hinges of the T61, it doesn't move from where I leave it. Never had a hinge issue with my T60 machines.

Any decent brands of aftermarket batteries for the T61 series?

As far as I know, aftermarket hinges are terrible compared to the OEM ones, and the OEM ones aren't the best hinges put on a thinkpad... Just stick with OEM ones and treat the hinges gently when opening the lid, and do not pick up the laptop by the hinges.

Unknown_K wrote:
Any decent brands of aftermarket batteries for the T61 series?

Being that your system is a 15.4" unit, you can use whatever worked in your T60...

Personally, I run away from aftermarket batteries.

I would not recommend aftermarket batteries. They often throttle the cpu in the laptop and may run into stability issues. On ebay and amazon, there are still some new old stock W500/T500 batteries that will work perfectly with the T6x series laptops. I got one and it still had 100% capacity!

I purchased an aftermarket battery from Ebay, £15 and it seems to be going strong. I get 4 or 5 hours from a single charge, using powersaver setting.
The battery has been charged 152 times and is sitting at 61.92wh.

T7300 came in. seems faster then the T5270 that was in there before.

Passmark v8.0 1045 results:

T5270: CPU Mark 1019, INT 1462 , FP 832
T7300: CPU Mark 1471, INT 2095 , FP 1168

Win 7 Processor score went from 4.2 to 5.1

decent increase for a CPU upgrade that cost $5.31 shipped.

You're getting around 40% performance increase, that's not bad at all.

The T5270 is a bottom-of-the-barrel CPU, I think even a T7100 (1.8GHz) would give a noticeable boost.

I have a T7100 sitting here if anyone wants it??

I have an extra T7500, $10 shipped. message me.