Need Some Advice on Buying a T61

[Skater]

I've been using a T60 and Windows 7 for years, and I love them. However, the T60's 4GB, or should I say 3GB, Ram limit has become a problem. So I'm thinking about buying a used T61 6465 CTO with Win10, so I can take advantage of the T61's 8GB limit and Win 10.

As far as I've been able to tell, the major problem with the T61s was the NVIDIA GPU, but all 6465's had an Intel GPU. So I don't have to worry about that problem?

I was just wondering if anyone can tell what else to be wary of before I buy that machine, and whether Lenovo has a site that can tell me more about the unit if I put its serial # in.

Thanks very much for the advice.

Steve

[theterminator93]

Unfortunately with it being a CTO machine, it really could have any configuration.The only way to be sure is to get specs from the current owner.

IMHO, the nVidia machines that were destined to die, have died. Anything still ticking at this point is already 15 years old, and if it were to die, it lived a great, long life! I have yet to see an NVS 140m system fail prematurely as a result of the chip defect, but I have seen several FX 570M systems (T61p only) die. The newer the T61 build date, the better (anything after 08/08 had the GPU issue fixed for sure but these are very rare), but truly I wouldn't be worried about it. The likelihood that the GPU will die on you as a direct result of the chip flaw is about the same as some other catastrophic failure that has the same effect (dead motherboard).

The T61s have the added benefit of being able to be (relatively easily) modified to use the 1066 FSB Core 2 CPUs, quads among them (with extra work). Flash the appropriate BIOS (either the one to support 1066 FSB or Middleton's if you're sticking with 800 MHz FSB) to allow better WLAN cards, SATA-II support for faster SSD access, and more.

Depending which T60 you were using, the T61's screen may be quite horrible by comparison. They all have a CCFL TFT display with no LED/IPS options. The best T61 displays were the WUXGA screens found on the T61p.

The 14" widescreen T61s have a somewhat hard-to-find battery that is common with only the T400. The 14" standard screen and 15" widescreen models use the same battery as any of the T60s.

My last thoughts for now are that the T61 with Windows 7 is an absolute delight to use. When I was "cornered" into upgrading my FrankenPad T601p to Windows 10, it became noticeably slower - even with a T9900, a SATA-II SSD and 8 gigs of RAM. YMMV, but that aside, they're great machines.

[RealBlackStuff]

If your T60 is a 15", with a few small modifications and a specific T61 motherboard you can turn it into a T601F Frankenpad.
For more info, see my website:
https://theboardroom.info/franken_pad.html
https://theboardroom.info/t61mobo.html

[Skater]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge with me. After considering my options, I decided to pick up a used T61 with 15.4" screen on Ebay, and it turned out to be a real nice unit.

However, I thought I could take the WSXGA 15.4" LCD out of my T60 and put it in the T61. However, after searching through a ton of posts, I'm still not sure whether I can do that.

So I was hoping I could get the simple answer here: Yes or No?

Thanks in advance.
Steve

[RealBlackStuff]

Yup.

[Skater]

Thanks for the fast reply, Sir, particularly because it affirmed what I was hoping.

Tabhair aire.

Steve

[TPFanatic]

I believe you can even just swap the entire lid from T60 to T61. This may be easier and less risk to breaking the little plastic clips for T60's lid bezel. This is what I would do, personally. The sticker with the model name can itself then be swapped.

T61 (and T500) are prone to the left hinge freezing up and cracking the lid's magnesium rollcage, at worst; or becoming annoyingly floppy with wear. T60 lid does not have this weakness, and has the benefit of having a more centered display and is slightly thinner as well.

[Skater]

Thanks for that info. I thought I could swap the screens without removing them from their covers, but I wasn't sure, and I didn't know about the T61's hinge problem. So I'm definitely going to swap those screens with the covers still on it.

I finally got the T61 up and running pretty much the way I want it, and I just managed to install the Middleton Bios.

The only things left for me to do now is to add 4GB of Ram, which I just ordered, and upgrade my Intel Pro 3945ABG mini- wifi card.

However, after reading a number of posts, I can't figure out which card to get, because there have been so many different types, and the model numbers on Ebay are mind-blogging. Moreover, I know that my wifi card has 3 connectors but many of the more modern ones on Ebay have 2 connectors.

So I was hoping someone could tell the best card to get at this point, and whether I also need to upgrade my Intel 82566MM Gigabite network connector, or anything else.

Thanks very much for the help, as it already answered a lot of questions for me.

Steve

[TPFanatic]

I don't think the 3rd antenna wire is too important. I think Intel Ac 7260 is the last Intel card that just plugs in, it's a 2 antenna, make sure it's the correct mpcie form factor. Intel 6300 is a 3 antenna that was used in thinkpads up to 2012 or so.

[Skater]

Thanks again for the quick response. Follow up questions:

1) Some of the 7260 wifi cards I see on Ebay say their for 14.1" laptops, and others say their for 15.6" laptops. Given that my T61 is a 15.4" model, which of those will fit my slot?

Also, if they only have 2 connectors, does it make any difference which wires I use, and what should I do with the third wire?

Thanks in advance.

Steve

[theterminator93]

I've only ever seen half-height mPCIe wifi adapters for laptops, so I'd say it's a pretty universal fit. Just flash Middleton's BIOS and you should be good to go.

The black and gray antenna leads tend to be the primary and secondary (respectively) on most systems. If there's a white one, you can use it or discard it depending on how many antennas the WNIC supports.

[TPFanatic]

I'd just wrap some electrical tape, scotch tape, or heatshrink tube around the unused antenna.

[Skater]

I hate to bother you guys again. However, in addition to the fact that my Intel EM3945 mini pcie wifi card is a full-height card, every one of the 7260 class cards are 1/2 height cards, and the pins on my card and the 7260 cards are different.

So, I can't see how any of those cards are going to fit into my pcie slot, which is marked 7011N, or how I can secure a 7260 card to my motherboard, given that their holes don't match up. I found adapters that can be used to secure a 1/2 height card to a full height socket, but the pin differences are still a problem?

Thanks in advance for the additional help

Steve

[TPFanatic]

Good eye on noticing the difference.
The different cards are NGFF (next gen form factor).
you would need to find one with the same M-PCIE form factor.
Half size to full size adaptation can be done at home by trimming say a old credit card. Official adapters are usually just a small aluminum plate.
I had thought t61 had half size mounts already in place like T500, but apparently not. Sorry.

[Skater]

I think I just solved my problem. Amazon has this card, which has the same pins as my card:

7265HMW Mini PCIE WiFi Bluetooth Adapter,Wireless-AC 1200Mbps (2.4GHz 300Mbps or 5GHz 867Mbps) Network Card for Laptop and Desktop,Support Windows 7(32/64bit),Windows 7,8,8.1,10,11 64bit

https://www.amazon.com/7265HMW-Bluetoot ... 173&sr=8-4

It's 1/2 height, but I'll either get an adapter or use a credit card to make it fit my motherboard.

The card got great reviews. So I'm assuming it will work. But I'll file a report after I try it in case other people have the same problem.

Take care,

Steve

Steve

[Gonzaleitor]

I put an Intel Centrino N-6300 and it works great (i'm writing this from my T61 with Win XP). The only thing is that is half size...

[Gonzaleitor]

I think I just solved my problem. Amazon has this card, which has the same pins as my card:

7265HMW Mini PCIE WiFi Bluetooth Adapter,Wireless-AC 1200Mbps (2.4GHz 300Mbps or 5GHz 867Mbps) Network Card for Laptop and Desktop,Support Windows 7(32/64bit),Windows 7,8,8.1,10,11 64bit

https://www.amazon.com/7265HMW-Bluetoot ... 173&sr=8-4

It's 1/2 height, but I'll either get an adapter or use a credit card to make it fit my motherboard.

The card got great reviews. So I'm assuming it will work. But I'll file a report after I try it in case other people have the same problem.

Take care,

Steve

Steve

This seems like a great option! Give me a holler if it works fine!