Thinkpad T61p CPU Upgrade

[josh247]

Hey,

I've got a t61p with a T7500 and thought I might upgrade it. What I don't know is what possessors are compatible. What I have gathered from similar threads on the subject around T61s is that there are two possible socket types, M and P. Do all T61p's have the same socket type and if so which one? I also understand that there might be a problem with a FSB cap? Douse this mean that my choices are limited to 800mhz processors? Lastly if it is a P socket, what are the options, t9xxx, p9xxx or maybe q9100.

Thanks

[Harryc]

The T61 and T61p are based off of the Intel socket P processors. My understanding of P9XXX CPU's is that it may work in a T61/p, but is systemboard revision dependent. I am sure there are many threads to be found here about this topic if you use a forum search engine.
http://www.google.com/search?q=t61+cpu+ ... 3Alang_1en

[richk]

T9300 and T9500 CPUs were available in T61 machines. Having said that, CPU upgrades are not as cost-effective as more memory, or faster disks. Also, most T61(p) boards do not support the Penryn CPUs (T8xxx, T9xxx). Those CPUs have digital thermal sensors and give an error at startup. You can bypass the error, but the board cannot read the thermal sensors, so they don't shut down if you overheat. If you have a T7xxx CPU now, your machine did not originally come with a board that will work. If you had the board replaced during a repair, it might.

[josh247]

Thanks guys for the fast reply's and the helpful info. I took Harryc's advise and had a bit more of a search and what I found seemed to come in accordance with what richk has said. Some motherboards will accept a T9500 without a problem but some will have a thermal sensor issue. I was wondering if you could still use the T9500 despite of this as others seem to have but wouldn't this mess up the CPU's fan control. I also found this BIOS mod by middleton (http://forum.notebookreview.com/lenovo- ... ost6501443) that appears to fix the problem or douse it just get rid of the error message?

[richk]

I think it just kills the message. The board does not have the sensors, from what I have read.

[lead_org]

you can use it still, there is no problem as such.

[Jumphog]

I upgraded my t61 from a T7250 to a T9300, definitely a bit snappier after the upgrade I think mainly due to the extra 4mb cache. I had to use Middletons BIOS, which is great and very easy to flash. Im running linux and have no problem monitoring the CPU temps, Im not sure if the BIOS is getting them though. When I initially put the cpu in it worked but was idling at 90C! The heatsink was firmly in place and Id used new thermal paste, but it turns out that the 7250 is a tiny bit higher in the socket than the 9300. I ended up chopping a fin off a copper flower heatsink to make a little shim that sits over the core with paste either side. Works great and havent had any problems for since upgrading, its idling at 43c right now..

[josh247]

Thanks Jumphog, that's useful to know. So the main drawback is that it wont auto shut-down if it over heats. Is this really a problem? I cant imagine it getting that hot unless something went wrong but even then I would probably feel it. Douse the CPU fan run correctly without the motherboard getting the temp data? I think I may also up the ram to 4GB and switch to an SSD if nothing but to give my self a distraction from real work.

[Jumphog]

I dont know if it wont shutdown - I didnt push it that far! I know the fan works as normal though, under 35c its not on at all, then it kicks in and ramps up as the temp rises...

The T9300 in mine will max out (with the fan on) at a bit under 70c when its been at 100% cpu out for 15 mins or so, thats playing a couple of HD videos and having a few copies of Xaos (fractal generator) running as well. Ive got intel graphics by the way, so it might be a different story with a discrete chip.

[rssb]

Does this planar support penryn processors , currently has a T7300 processor in it.

Mfg part # FRU part # Description Serviceable?

42X5032 42W7873 PLANAR FRU YES
42X7338 42W7873 PLANAR FRU YES

Thank you

[lead_org]

Does this planar support penryn processors , currently has a T7300 processor in it.

Mfg part # FRU part # Description Serviceable?

42X5032 42W7873 PLANAR FRU YES
42X7338 42W7873 PLANAR FRU YES

Thank you

you can use the middleton's modified bios to get T9xxx, T8xxx CPU working in your motherboard.

[rssb]

Thank you lead_org, but as Richk mentioned earlier will the auto shutoff not work in a overheat scenario, if only the message is by passed by middleton's bios.

My actual MB fru and the ones listed in parts list differ.

On the MB it has 44C3924 as the FRU. Does anyone have a FRU list for these digital sensor supported motherboards.

[lead_org]

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=59815

here is the list of supported motherboard.

[Binh]

On the MB it has 44C3924 as the FRU. Does anyone have a FRU list for these digital sensor supported motherboards.

Yes, 44C3924 supports Penryn CPUs natively.