Thinkpads Forum

My adorable X41 machine just can’t cope with the latest release of the PCB/FPGA CAD system I am using, so I bought a reasonably high-spec. T61 off eBay here in the UK to use as my ‘road’ machine. Model 6457-7MG (2.6GHz T7800, 3GB RAM, NVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M). The offset 15.4” display is a bit odd – sort of reminds me of the really early Thinkpads.

It is in immaculate condition, except for a missing rubber foot and display hinges with half an inch of ‘give’ (is this a common problem?). These bits I can order from IBM parts no problem for about $35.

The question I want to put is this; can I swap the processor with the T7200 in my T60p? The T7200 has an FSB of 667MHz and the T7800 is 800MHz. Will the T60p motherboard cope with the 800MHz FSB?

Also, what is the general opinion about the two graphics chipsets? The T60p has the ATI V5250 (256MB) and the T61, the NVS 140M (128MB). On paper, the ATI (X1700) chipset is the clear winner.

I mostly do 2D CAD work, so the extra display memory (and 3D features) are not an issue (and I don’t play any games). But what I _DO_ want to do is watch Blu-ray movies on my machine connected to my full-HD external display (over DVI). Neither machine has an HDCP compatible display port, but I intend to use ‘ANYDVD-HD’ to get around this limitation.

Should I just leave my T61 alone and use this as my main machine, or would swapping the processors (and extra 1GB RAM) make sense? Better CPU and better graphics?

Any and all suggestions would be very much appreciated.

Peter H in Rotherham, UK

T7800 will not work in a T60p mobo. The FireGL 5250 is according to most benchmarks more powerful than the NVS 140M, for an exact comparison take a look at notebookcheck benchmark results. BTW, I think FireGL is based on X1650, not X1700, but I could be wrong...

T7800 is quite a powerful cpu and since you do only 2D CAD and no gaming, I would keep the T61 despite the lower-spec´d graphics. BTW, there are some folks at this forum who managed to dramatically overclock their NVS 140M and squeeze impressive performance out of it...

Also, your T61 can take up to 8 GBs of RAM with the appropriate OS, whereas T60p has a hardware limitation to 3 GB.

Hope this helps

Marin

Is it possible to go the other way around i.e. put a T60 CPU in a T61 motherboard (don't ask why).

jketzetera wrote:Is it possible to go the other way around i.e. put a T60 CPU in a T61 motherboard (don't ask why).

The problem I believe is T60 and T61 has a different CPU socket. So the answer is No.

I was just able to seat a Core Duo T2400 (1.83GHz, 667 MHz) CPU in a T61 motherboard CPU socket without any problems. However, before I proceed reassembling the entire system, I really would like to hear if anyone knows of what can be expected (fail/success/burnt out CPU)?

I don´t think it will burn..., the laptop simply won´t boot and will probably produce some error right after powering on the machine. Try it out and we will see

Marin

It won't work. Although they both have same pin configuration, those pins are used differently. One is socket M and the other is socket P. I also read it could damage either cpu/mobo but I can't find the link now.

Tony Chan wrote:It won't work. Although they both have same pin configuration, those pins are used differently. One is socket M and the other is socket P. I also read it could damage either cpu/mobo but I can't find the link now.

I was looking at aT60P a couple of months ago and asked on this forum if the latest Core2Duo CPUs would work. Was told "yes" if it has the Rev 3 motherboard and the latest BIOS. Suggest the OP do a search on this forum to find this and other posts to find out the limitations.

sktn77a wrote:Interesting: I was looking at aT60P a couple of months ago and asked on this forum if the latest Core2Duo CPUs would work. Was told "yes" if it has the Rev 3 motherboard and the latest BIOS. Suggest the OP do a search on this forum to find this and other posts to find out the limitations.

T60/p can take Core2Duo CPUs but not the latest, they have to be for Socket M. The highest one is the T7600. Rev. 3 motherboard and a recent BIOS requirement is correct.

sktn77a wrote:I was looking at aT60P a couple of months ago and asked on this forum if the latest Core2Duo CPUs would work. Was told "yes" if it has the Rev 3 motherboard and the latest BIOS. Suggest the OP do a search on this forum to find this and other posts to find out the limitations.

There are 2 types of Core2Duo cpu: Socket M and Socket P. Socket M ( T7200/7400/7600 ) will work on T60 which has socket M, as long as you have latest bios and rev. 03 motherboard. T61 use socket P and will only take socket P cpus like T7100/T7300/T7500/T7700/T8100/T8300/T9300 etc. Although you can put say a T9300 into T60's cpu socket physically, it will not work because some of the pins on the socket is doing different thing. This could be very dangerous to both cpu and motherboard.

Basically its Intel trying to squeeze more money out of the end users, by creating all these incompatibilities. Either they try to physically alter pin arrangement, or if the socket is physically the same then control it via software.

rssb wrote:Basically its Intel trying to squeeze more money out of the end users

Yeah, I'm sure it's a big Intel conspiracy. Can you please explain to me how Intel makes money by creating these incompatibilities, which actually prevent you from buying a new CPU from Intel and upgrading it?

[conspiracy]...because one will have to buy new mobo or even a new laptop, which then also comes with the new Intel wifi card. Now, one could argue that buying a new laptop is not direct cash for Intel, and this is true. However, if the cpu was upgradeable, the demand for new laptops would drop and hence the demand for Intel components from the side of laptop manufacturers would also drop. [/conspiracy]

Aaah, I see now! So, that 1% of laptop owners who actually consider upgrading the CPU, and instead get stuck having to buy a whole new laptop, which has an Intel OEM CPU (on which Intel makes far less profit than on a retail CPU), and an Intel WiFi (which I won't be surprised to hear that is sold at a loss).

dr_st wrote:Aaah, I see now! So, that 1% of laptop owners who actually consider upgrading the CPU, and instead get stuck having to buy a whole new laptop, which has an Intel OEM CPU (on which Intel makes far less profit than on a retail CPU), and an Intel WiFi (which I won't be surprised to hear that is sold at a loss).

Exactly! Don´t forget the new Intel SSDs that have *compatibility issues* with the older Intel-based mobos (see the other thread), so if one wants 250 MB/s sustained read, one has to buy a new mobo (or laptop) to it (ICH9 or higher needed)

Cheers,

Marin