X61 - Proposed hacks under $500: Dual HDD/SSD both bootable

[vavet]

I usually stash an mSATA SSD in the PCMCIA slot

I think nowadays it is cheaper to get a normal ssd of the desired volume rather than installing additional drives of alternative forms.

Also, I've seen references to it, but I'm not 100% how to tell whether I have the ultralight screen or not... any tips?

I have met ultralight screens on both x61 and x61s machines. I believe it more depends on the production date than the model.
Do some search here I am sure this topic has been discussed few times.

[flyingfishfinger]

I think nowadays it is cheaper to get a normal ssd of the desired volume rather than installing additional drives of alternative forms.

True to an extent. However, 1TB of SSD is still far more expensive than 1TB of a regular drive.

I just received 8GB of Elipda RAM which work great. First accessory!

HDMI adapter is in the mail... I'll keep you all updated.
Cheers,

Rafael

[axur-delmeria]

However, 1TB of SSD is still far more expensive than 1TB of a regular drive.

Very true. A 1TB HDD can be had for less than 80 USD. An equivalent SSD costs more than 5 times that. :O

Regarding the HDMI adapter, I believe it will work better with a USB 3.0 connection.

[E350]

flyingfishfinger: Thank you for going (apparently) where no other X61 owners have gone before. Maybe the HDMI will work. Maybe it won't. But I, for one, am happy you are doing the experiment so that we will all know. Good job and good luck!

As "Dr. Bill" Wattenburg would say, "Do the experiment!"

[flyingfishfinger]

Regarding the HDMI adapter, I believe it will work better with a USB 3.0 connection.

Probably. If it chokes on USB2, I'll look into those USB3 mPCIe adapters...

R

[flyingfishfinger]

@axur-delmeria: Did you ever succeed with that SXGA mod for your T9300 X61 you mentioned in some other thread? I haven't seen too many folks doing it on a regular X61, so I'd be interested in hearing about your experience...

R

[axur-delmeria]

I haven't done it yet.

I'm short one DF19 connector (I salvaged one end from the cracked LCD from my cousin's X60), haven't ordered it yet (been busy lately).

[PandorasThinkpad]

Hi!

Just got my latest thinky a day ago, it's an X61s with the L7700 and i will likely follow up this moddings here in case i would like to do it by myself. Or whatever i would be able to do by myself.

Something strange with my X61 T9300 is the type, in the bios and on the base ít is the type 7674-VNJ, but in the lenovo support this isn't a model with T9300, as i wrote, strange thing.

For now, i haven't any money left, i even have no connections, to purchase such an adapter from mini pci to expresscard and so on....if there would be any trader here in germany this would be fine, but there isn't any trader for such special equipment.

So let's see what your are going to realize with your X61 T8300 or T9300, i'm really really very interested in.

Sincerly,

PT

[flyingfishfinger]

Ok, so let's say I wanted to put together the SXGA mod. Haven't done this before, so pointers would be helpful. Here is what I understand:

1) Thisis the reference. However, it seems he never wrote the rest, or maybe I just can't find it.

2) The discussed panel from further up *should* work. Also just found a X60 T6363-2AU for a good price. This seems to have 1400 x 1050, but I'm unclear whether this resolution comes in IPS and not-IPS. Can anyone help confirm?

3) Adapter cable. Make or buy? If someone has one, I'd be happy to receive a PM and chat.

R

[ajkula66]

All X6* tablets with 1400x1050 are IPS - actually AFFS - but that's the same thing for your purposes.

[flyingfishfinger]

X60T 6363-2AU aquired for $60 (!). Hope the panel works...

PS: How does the digitizer layer work? Is it possible to keep the touch feature of the screen when doing the mod? Seems like it'd be a nice extra feature. I'm sure it's been discussed but I haven't seen (or searched very hard for, honestly) explicit references to this.

R

[ajkula66]

Great catch.

Good luck with your project.

[flyingfishfinger]

The HDMI adapter I ordered from Newegg last week got lost in the mail. They have excellent service and customer care, so I'm expecting a replacement tonight. Will update once I try it out!

R

[flyingfishfinger]

Received new heat sink assembly, X60T (no glass layer!) and the HDMI adapter kind of works (see other thread). Now I just need to find the time to perform the overclocking mod, then the HDMI should behave better. Next steps:
1) Flash RAM to new timings
2) Increase FSB and VCore hacks as well as switch heat sink & thermal paste
3) Install switches to enable / disable FSB/VCore pin mods (remove Firewire port and install there?)
4) Install HDMI adapter into PCMCIA slot / heastsink reworking (it'd stick out of the palm rest as it stands)
4) LCD cable modification for SXGA+ screen
5) Dual hard drive project / acquire mSATA SSD

It looks like if I don't break anything, I should have about $100 left in the budget.

Then, a Wifi adapter question! Since I kind of want to have a spare mPCIe slot, I was going to remove the Wifi card and replace it with a USB dongle. What's the smallest well-performing dongle that also supports AC (might as well, while I'm at it). I saw this, for example...

R

[RealBlackStuff]

I have one of these, quite a bit smaller, but also slower (only wifi-N):
http://www.amazon.com/Premiertek-PL-537 ... B00BQM8KUI
Premiertek: 19(L) x 11(W) x 6(H) mm
Edimax....: 40(L) x 16(W) x 7(D) mm

[flyingfishfinger]

Yeah, I have one of the Edimax, but I'm not too impressed with the fact that it's just N. I use it on my Raspberry Pi...
I'm trying to find an adapter that won't loose too much functionality compared to the 4965. AC would be a lovely boost.

[flyingfishfinger]

Attempted the overclocking mod. New Arctic Silver 5 and the higher-end cooler installed, as well as a jumper to choose between the two FSB speeds.
I can get to 2.925Ghz (multiplier 11x) without increasing the CPU Core voltage, any higher and I get a BSOD.
http://drive.google.com/uc?export=view& ... k81dzJwdU0
Whew, it didn't die!!

R

PS: Hope the inlined image is ok..

[600X]

Nice work, I always recommend a switch when overclocking via increasing FSB, I also have a switch in my X301. Since it can sometimes cause instabilities it can be very handy to be able to quickly revert to stock clocks at any given time.

So what's next on your mods list?

[flyingfishfinger]

Honestly, not sure what the best order is. I still need to get a nice mSATA SSD (haven't wanted to pull the trigger before I was sure I didn't brick the machine), so I'm debating on whether to install switches for the FSB / VCore or get an SSD first. Both are probably a good idea. I also want to retest the HDMI adapter to see if it works any better.

After that I'll do the SXGA mod (or maybe in parallel, since I've been using an external VGA for this mod anyway).

R

PS: Can one switch FSB clocks while running??

PPS: Photos later. Took some with the "office iPhone" to which I don't have access.

[600X]

PS: Can one switch FSB clocks while running??

I've been asking myself the same question but have been hesitant to try it out on my own X301.

[flyingfishfinger]

Just impulse-bought an Crucial M500 240Gig mSATA drive... this is what happens when I get tired and delirious. Assuming I don't break anything, I've got $125 left in the budget to play with.

[vavet]

I am trying to find a guide for overclocking an x61s (L7700). Can you suggest one?

[flyingfishfinger]

[quoteI've been asking myself the same question but have been hesitant to try it out on my own X301. [/quote]

Apparently not....from the German forum:

Klappt das auch im laufenden Betrieb oder wirft das den Rechner aus der Bahn? So ein "Power-Boost jetzt"-Schalter neben der Tastatur hätte ja schon was schräges.

Nö, im laufenden Betrieb funkzt nicht, muss ausschalten, umschalten, und einschalten...

vavet-
If you can read German, try this thread. It's a fairly comprehensive guide on overclocking X61/s CPUs. You should be able to get an L7700 to 2.66Ghz, but you'll need to increase the CPU voltage.

[vavet]

If you can read German, try this thread. It's a fairly comprehensive guide on overclocking X61/s CPUs. You should be able to get an L7700 to 2.66Ghz, but you'll need to increase the CPU voltage.

Thank you for the link, unfortunately my German is not as good as I would like it to be. So I have just few questions:

1. As I understand the whole pinmod is brought to just cutting the pin 7 contact on the board. Am I right?

2. For L7700 it says
Original clock 1.2 GHz = 1.8 GHz
Original FSB 200MHz = 200MHz
OC clock 1.60 GHz = 2.40 GHz
OC FSB 266MHz = 266MHz
max. OC clock (Dual IDA) 1.86 GHz = 2.66 GHz

What if I leave FSB equal to 200MHz? does it mean That I will get 2.40GHz only? Does it mean I can skip doing pinmod and keep the machine closer to the original tempretures?

3. I would like to stick to my 5300 ram for now. Is it possible with the mod?

My goal is not the max performance. I'd prefer less power but more stability and cooler temperatures.

[flyingfishfinger]

Yes, cutting pin 7 will give you the higher FSB. However, it's better to add a switch with a resistor so you can select whether to tie the pin high or low as needed.

For your CPU: Your default frequency is 1.8Ghz, using an FSB of 200Mhz. If you cut pin 7, that will give you an FSB of 266Mhz, and therefore a frequency of 2.4Ghz.
Dual IDA unlocks an extra multiplier, you can do this without the pin mod. Based on the numbers, I'm assuming your multipliers (using RMClock, for example) go to x9 by default. If you enable Dual IDA without the pin cut, you should be able to get to 2.0Ghz ( x10).

However given his note, you'll probably get a BSOD for some of the above combinations. That means your CPU doesn't have enough current to be loaded at a given frequency, so you'll have to increase the core voltage. I have to ask though, if your goal is cooler temperatures, why do you need to OC at all? I would suggest UNDERvolting, which will reduce your temperatures at the default frequency.

R

[vavet]

Yes, cutting pin 7 will give you the higher FSB. However, it's better to add a switch with a resistor so you can select whether to tie the pin high or low as needed.

Ok, thanks for confirmation. And what kind of resistor is needed?

For your CPU: Your default frequency is 1.8Ghz, using an FSB of 200Mhz. If you cut pin 7, that will give you an FSB of 266Mhz, and therefore a frequency of 2.4Ghz.
Dual IDA unlocks an extra multiplier, you can do this without the pin mod. Based on the numbers, I'm assuming your multipliers (using RMClock, for example) go to x9 by default. If you enable Dual IDA without the pin cut, you should be able to get to 2.0Ghz ( x10).

So can I enable dual IDA with RMClock Or it is only for changing the multipliers?

However given his note, you'll probably get a BSOD for some of the above combinations. That means your CPU doesn't have enough current to be loaded at a given frequency, so you'll have to increase the core voltage. I have to ask though, if your goal is cooler temperatures, why do you need to OC at all? I would suggest UNDERvolting, which will reduce your temperatures at the default frequency.

R

I think you didn't got me right. My goal is a good balance between performance and heat. I am not willing to get it cooler than it is now. Just don't want to reach 90C as it is mentioned in the German page.

[flyingfishfinger]

Middleton's BIOS will enable DualIDA for you. Then in RMClock you should be able to set one extra multiplier than you did before and get you to 2.0Ghz, I believe.

I don't know enough about flashing RAM to give you a good answer. For that, I just followed his instructions...

[flyingfishfinger]

UPDATE: Tried out the mPCIe SATA controller again that I initially played with (linked in first post) and it seems to work this time around. I have no idea why, but it's probably because there's either something different about this new motherboard or I have a newer version of Middleton's BIOS which helps.
Either way, I can now boot with the SATA controller installed, and it is detected correctly both under Windows and Ubuntu. This means I CAN do the dual HD project, even if I may not (yet) be able to boot FROM the new controller... SUCCESS!
Next up is to rewire the HDD bay interface card. I'll post pictures as I have time...

R

[xiphmont]

I am trying to find a guide for overclocking an x61s (L7700). Can you suggest one?

Unless you're planning to put the mobo into the larger X61 case (with the larger heatsink) I'd personally not bother. An undervolted L7700 setup with the best available heatsink/fan and will still throttle under sustained load, even without overclocking or dual-IDA. Overclocking (and dual IDA) just makes it throttle down to SLFM sooner. If the processor hits Tj=100C before the BIOS can throttle, you get a hard shutdown, and dual-IDA alone can be enough to do it.

[edit: whoops, my notes on the matter from when I tried it says the L7700 did not throttle under sustained load without OC or Dual-IDA, but I needed to either undervolt, or go to the bigger/better heatsink to achieve that. Dual-IDA + undervolting + the better heatsink + removing all the plastic stickers covering ventholes was stable, but would throttle running linpack. At that point I decided there was no point to pinmodding; dual-IDA alone exceeded the machine's thermal capacity even when everything was tweaked for best possible heat dispersal]

In an X61 case with the bigger heatsink, well that's a different matter.

[E350]

vavet: The X61s is a fine machine. I still have one and a half X61s sitting on the shelf for want of W7 64-bit operating systems which I transferred to my X61 2.40GHz machines. IMHO (and I am no computer engineer), the X61 is cooler and substantially faster, although a little thicker. While I may set up the remaining X61s for my mother-in-law (where its small size and light weight may be appreciated), I personally will never go back to the X61s for my use...

flyingfisherfinger: Although as a true redneck Sacramentan (e.g. Deep Dish, "Sacramento") I can't handle the Beserkeley politics... But I gotta say "GoodOnYa" mate! for pushing the X61 to its limits. In addition to hearing about your progress with the HDMI adapter I am looking forward to your comments on 802.11ac cards/adapters and even routers.

Great Thread!