T61. Windows 10. Audio Glitching

[maxemillian]

I have a 14" T61. It's got a T7700 and an SSD and I have flashed the Middleton BIOS.

I use the computer to write and edit documents using Microsoft Word.

I sometimes listen to music when working, but when I play an .MP3 file the output stumbles and stutters and sounds unpleasant.

I've tried the SoundMax driver and the Microsoft HD Audio fallback; there is little difference between them.

I have also tried using Foobar2000 with the AISO plugin, but the stuttering persisted.

CPU usage is sometimes high, but the stuttering occurs even when the computer isn't under serious load.

CPU temperature is around 60 when the computer is in light use.

I know the T61 is old hardware, but I think it should nevertheless be capable of decoding an .MP3 while editing a Word document?

Anything else I can try?

Thanks,

[kfzhu1229]

A T61 with Middleton is definitely capable with playing back music. Mine 14" widescreen variant did so in Windows 10 with zero issues.
I would say try it again on a fresh install of Windows 10 with just the video adapter driver installed (use the default HD Audio driver) and see if the issue persists.
Also make sure things like chipset and RAM are not overheating. If you use 4GB sticks there is a good chance that can overheat.

[maxemillian]

"try it again on a fresh install of Windows 10 with just the video adapter driver installed"
Video driver? As in the one on this page https://support.lenovo.com/dk/en/downlo ... ve-edition?

I did a fresh install of Windows from a bootable USB yesterday. With the exception of the SoundMax driver, I haven't installed any drivers beyond those that Windows automatically pulls during the installation process.

Thanks for your help!

I have a single 4G stick of ram; I'll check its temperatures later.

[kfzhu1229]

I have a single 4G stick of ram; I'll check its temperatures later.

Wow you have a single 4G stick of RAM? Well you better get another 2GB stick or else a single 4GB stick is such a waste of potential on such a laptop due to how prohibitively expensive those are!

[maxemillian]

Ah, then maybe it is 2*2GB.

I tried rolling back the audio driver and installing the display driver, but the audio issues persist.

I couldn't find temperature readings for the ram.

I will do a full reinstall today; is there anything else that I could try in addition to that? Any drivers known to cause issues?

[maxemillian]

I believe it is related to the wireless driver. LatencyMon reports ndis.sys as having massive latency, and when I disable wireless networking the audio plays fine.

I've tried a couple of the wireless drivers listed here https://thinkpads.com/support/Thinkpad- ... m/T61.html, but neither installed successfully; both failed with an "Msi not found" error.

Does anyone have a link to a working driver for Intel 3945ABG?

[RealBlackStuff]

More likely it's that crappy card that needs replacement.
Best for that machine is the Atheros AR9380 a.k.a. AR5BXB112.

[kfzhu1229]

I believe it is related to the wireless driver. LatencyMon reports ndis.sys as having massive latency, and when I disable wireless networking the audio plays fine.

I've tried a couple of the wireless drivers listed here https://thinkpads.com/support/Thinkpad- ... m/T61.html, but neither installed successfully; both failed with an "Msi not found" error.

Does anyone have a link to a working driver for Intel 3945ABG?

it is very possible your WiFi card is dead, if you also get unreliable wireless transmission on top of the audio problem.
But with my working Toshiba oem and dell oem 3945ABG cards, I had zero issues under Windows 10 and under 5ghz WiFi

[maxemillian]

I reconfigured my router to broadcast at 5GHz and both latency score and stuttering are much improved!

I may yet purchase the newer card. On searching for the Atheros AR9380 I can see two shapes (one long and one short); will either format work?

[RealBlackStuff]

I only ever used the long ones (in dozens of Frankenpads).
If you only have 2 antenna wires, don't use the middle connector.
If you want the mini, you'd also need a bracket such as this: https://www.ebay.ie/itm/224534058856

[maxemillian]

Okay, I'll go with a long one. Will the antenna wires be inside the laptop already? Or do I need to purchase them in addition to the card? Some of the listings I can see offer antenna wire add-ons.

[kfzhu1229]

Okay, I'll go with a long one. Will the antenna wires be inside the laptop already? Or do I need to purchase them in addition to the card? Some of the listings I can see offer antenna wire add-ons.

They are built into the laptop.
And also, pretty sure these cards are going to be extremely easy to find in Taipei as you have huge electronics malls everywhere, like how it is in Shenzhen.
After flashing Middleton BIOS, you also wanna make sure you AVOID HP OEM cards as they will NOT work on anything that doesn't have a HP badge on it. Toshiba OEM cards are hit or miss.
Half sized cards also work and the adapter should be plenty cheap in Taipei, but there's a chance the antennae will not reach that far to reach the antennae connections on a half sized card...

[maxemillian]

Yea, I don't think I'll encounter too much trouble finding the parts I need here!

I'll keep a look out for 2*4GB of ram and a faster processor, too; T9300 is the one to get in 2021?

[kfzhu1229]

Yea, I don't think I'll encounter too much trouble finding the parts I need here!

I'll keep a look out for 2*4GB of ram and a faster processor, too; T9300 is the one to get in 2021?

Yeah 4gb sticks are actually slightly cheaper and much easier to find over there.
I would go for a T8300 if its for a secondary machine, T9300 if its for just your primary machine, and T9500 X9000 only if you absolutely baby the machine. But then again these chips are also cheaper over there

[maxemillian]

It's not my primary computer, but I would like it be available for use for as far into the future as is possible. I dislike typing on hot laptops, so I guess the T9500 and X9000 are out?

Compared with the T8300, the T9300 has twice the L2 cache; will that be noticeable in typical web and office use?

[RealBlackStuff]

From experience (and price) T9300 has always been the "best bang for your buck".
I have built 76 FrankenPads, at least 80% of them with T9300.
Mind you, T8300 is still respectable, but for a few pennies more, the T9300 definitely wins.

[maxemillian]

Okay thanks. I'll go with the T9300.

[kfzhu1229]

Mind you, T8300 is still respectable, but for a few pennies more, the T9300 definitely wins.

Where did you get your T9300's and how much are they? I think I am looking at wrong places on ebay as I have zero luck of getting any T9300 chips that aren't like literally double the price of a T8300, and at that kind of price tag the T8300 makes more sense.
Yeah sure I got 3 T8300's for C$10 each that 2 of them turned out to be BGA479 converted chips, but they all work exactly what you expect, albeit maybe the heatsink sits a little taller now.
Also, seems like the T8300 and T9300 have the same clock speeds but I imagine the much larger cache on the T9300 makes a large difference
But I imagine the situation for T9300 (or even T9500) is much better in Taiwan than over here in Canada where I have to buy them from Shenzhen or order from Taobao and ask someone to deliver to me when they take a flight.

[RealBlackStuff]

I used to buy most of my CPUs on Amazon USA, because they were (usually) cheaper there than on eBay.
And I never bought any from China.
Sorry, don't have details any more..
IIRC I never paid more than maybe $25 for the T9300, but I'm talking around 2012-2017.

[maxemillian]

I installed the T9300 and found that Core 1 was around 10 degrees hotter than Core 0 (both under load and when idle).

I disassembled the laptop and reapplied the thermal paste, but there has been no change in temperature now that the computer is running again.

Is 10 degrees difference acceptable for this processor? Max. temp under load was 71°C.

Thanks,

Edit: the average temperature difference between the two cores is (according to HWiNFO64) 8°C. The average temperatures are recorded as 39°C and 47°C.

[kfzhu1229]

I installed the T9300 and found that Core 1 was around 10 degrees hotter than Core 0 (both under load and when idle).

I disassembled the laptop and reapplied the thermal paste, but there has been no change in temperature now that the computer is running again.

Is the mounting pressure sufficient? On my T61 14.1" widescreen I had lots of issues with having enough heatsink mounting pressure with the heatsink brackets that I have to bend them a little so that they can press down on the graphics and the CPU a little harder.

[maxemillian]

I'll take it apart and try that. When you say "bend," what exactly do you mean? Like bending the specific part of the heatsink that make contact with the CPU? Bending it into more of a "U" shape?

The computer does seem a lot faster than before. (It turned out that the previous processor was a T7250 not a T770.)

Today, after more extended use (working with Word documents and browsing the web), the temperatures of the two cores (without fan activated) are around 45°C and 54°C.