Pimp my thinkpad X-series

[luispaniccia]

Hello everyone!
nice forum, yeah my first topic...
but everyone started to sell on X-bay with 0 feedbacks

so to the point!
I bought myself a x21 on x-mas with the idea to get a new HD more MEM and upgrade the CPU. As the CPU in a x21 is just 700mhz, I decided to get a new fan to support up to 1.1ghz normal for the PIII and that I also have.

I got the fan from a x24, because I thought that the size would be the same... well no. it isnt.

now I have a fan from a x24 and a 1.1ghz coppermine CPU that I got for the x21.

does anyone knows if I actually could bring a bit more power in this old x21?

thanks in advance!

greetz,
Luis Paniccia

[asiafish]

Sorry to dissappoint you but the CPU in the X21 is soldered to the mobo and not upgradeable.

Ram, HD and miniPCI are the only upgrades you can make.

[luispaniccia]

Sorry to dissappoint you but the CPU in the X21 is soldered to the mobo and not upgradeable.

Ram, HD and miniPCI are the only upgrades you can make.

is than no chance to upgrade it?
or better still which x2.. cpu not soldered?

cheers!

[asiafish]

X series CPUs are all soldered. If you want an upgradeable CPU you need a T series or possibly an R.

The X series are not designed as ultra-performance machines unless your definition of performance is battery life and light weight.

[vincentfox]

I'll never understand the obsession with *HOT* CPU in a laptop.

My X22 is PIII-800 and does all I could ask of it.

The best thing you can do for X-series is put in more RAM and a good hard drive.

I put in a 512 to bring mine up to 640 megs. Never even come close to using all that memory so far.

I have the Samsung 40-gig 5400 RPM 8-meg cache unit from newegg. Fantastic drive and quiet too. Nothing makes such a difference on an old laptop as a peppy new drive.

Even my old 240X benefitted a lot from a new hard drive.

Next job is opening them up and surveying for possibility of CCFL backlight tube replacement, the screens are good but not as bright as I would like.

[asiafish]

Try the BIOS settings for power if the screen is dim. From the factory X series are set to run at reduced brightness in the BIOS when on battery. Personally, I like this for the increased battery life, but it does make a huge difference in the brightness.

I agree with you on the speed. My X22 is much the same as yours, 640MB RAM and a 40GB 5400RPM Hitachi drive (also quiet and fast). My only wish for the machine is built-in wireless, though I'll probably get one of those 3Com PC cards with the retractable antenna instead of messing with internal antennas.

I have XP Pro installed and find performance to amost identical to my 1.8GHz X32 with the same software. There is no lag at all on any application except Photoshop. I get almost 4 hours of battery life at boot. About the only features of the X32 that make it essential are the flexibility in the batteries (I use the clip-on extended battery for 10-hour runtime) and the convenience of built-in wireless. If I had known the X22 would fulfill my needs so well I would have just bought two of them and enjoyed the extra money in my pocket.