Thinkpads Forum

I got my hand on a t61 , 14'' 4:3 , intel graphics , t8400 , 2gb ram 1+1 , no hd no battery no power adaptor - for very cheap .

I got the battery and I had the PA .

To complete it , I would like to know if any ddr2 2Gb ram module will fit in
and would like to know what SSD hard disk ( cheap ,and I'm not interested in a big size ) would fit ; and if I would need a bios upgrade to install it .

And if there's anything more I should look into for -cheap- upgrading

Many thanks for answering

There is no T8400 CPU, do you mean T8100 or T8300?

Regardless, put in Middleton's BIOS http://ali.dj/blog/sata-ii-support-for- ... 61-x61-r61

You can put in up to 2 x 4GB = 8GB 200-pin SODIMMs (either PC2-5300 or PC2-6400, a.k.a. DDR2-667 or DDR2-800).
Look for name brands like Elpida, Samsung, Hynix, Micron, Crucial, G.Skill, but stay away from "Value-RAM" and the likes.
Any SATA SSD (minimum 64GB I'd say) will fit (2.5", 7 or 9.5 mm high).

t8300
it's safe to upgrade bios?

If you are asking if it is safe to use a non-factory BIOS update, then, in this case, yes. Middleton's BIOS has been installed on many systems. Follow the instructions, make sure you have a fully-charged battery AND have the laptop connected to the AC adapter.

Replacing a mechanical hard drive by any SSD will give you a very noticeable increase in performance for boot up, program loading etc. The prices seem to be dropping almost daily. You can get a 120 GB SSD for $40 USD and up depending on brand, claimed read/write speed etc.

I'm contemplating buyin another t61 , a second one - just in case
4:3 14'' , intel graphic chipset , for very cheap .
But it is equipped with a t7250 ( 2gb ram and 60gb hd )

how much would it be to max out the cpu ?

how much of an improvement would be going from t7250 to t9300

boodi wrote:how much would it be to max out the cpu ?

Presuming that we're discussing T9300 and not T9500 or X7900/9000, $30 or less here in the U.S.

how much of an improvement would be going from t7250 to t9300

Definitely noticeable.

how much of an improvement would be going from t7250 to t9300

I went from a T7700 (quite faster than a T7250) to a T9500 and the performance boost was very noticeable, even when browsing the web. T9500 is the same as the T9300 but with a small 100 MHz clock increase.

is the operation ( chip removal+substitution ) easy?
do i need something other then screwdrivers ?

boodi wrote:Is the operation (CPU removal+substitution) easy?

Yes.

do i need something other then screwdrivers ?

Thermal paste and isopropyl alcohol. No additional tools apart from screwdrivers.

RealBlackStuff wrote:Look for name brands like Elpida, Samsung, Hynix, Micron, Crucial, G.Skill, but stay away from "Value-RAM" and the likes.

Kingston will fit? --> http://www.ebay.it/itm/Memoria-Memory-R ... SwEeFVNJpU

Nope, you need to look for the smaller SODIMM as I already told you.
They are for LAPTOP only, and have 200 pins.
Check this: http://www.ebay.it/sch/i.html?_from=R40 ... p&_sacat=0

ok thanks .

1x4gb is any worse then 2x2 ?
ddr3 would work ?

NO and NO.

keep in mind that a failed bios update will kill the motherboard, but the middleton bios is as safe as any, just don't try it on an unstable system. A random crash during your update and your board is toast.