CPU upgrade on a T400?

[GlueFactoryBJJ]

I was wondering if anyone has actually done a CPU upgrade on a T400? I have a Lenovo Thinkpad T400 Type 2764-CTO with a P8400 in it that I'd like to swap out for a P9500 or P9600 ( ), if it can be done.

Anyone with experience in this would be great because I really don't want to pull it apart just to find that the CPU is soldered in. I have a lot of desktop DIY/repair (I was in IT for >15 years), but I'm not as comfortable with laptops as the space in them is TIGHT. I've worked on them before, but I had trouble with my mother-in-law's Toshiba and don't want to get started, run into some surprises, and THEN find out I can't do it anyway.

Thanks, in advance, for your help.

Best regards,

Scott

[ZaZ]

It's doable and not that hard. The CPU is not socketed, but unless you've got a specific to push the CPU frequently, perhaps you do, the CPU upgrade offers little marginal value and is probably not worth the effort or cash. Typical notebook usage is not very CPU intensive. T9500 won't work either. It's the wrong socket. You'd need either the T9400 or T9600.

[richk]

I have a spare E8235 (processor from a MAC) that has the same performance specs as a T9600. I used it for 6 months in a T400 with no problems. (swapped by the original owner). The "E" processors run a little hotter than the "T" or "P" ones, but I am not a game player, so it was fine for me. The reason I took it out was that I changed to a W500 and before I got rid of the T400, I swapped in the processor it was supposed to have. If you are interested in the E8235, send me a PM

[GlueFactoryBJJ]

I wasn't planning on putting in the T-series of CPU's because they use more power at the same speed (generally 35w for the T-series vs. 25w for the P-series). I am using my T400 for video encoding more and more now as the desktop I was using died and I'm looking at spending 3-4 times as much to put upgraded components into it (it was 5-6 years old anyway and it was getting more and more difficult to find drivers) as buying an upgraded processor (P9600) for the T400 would run ($265).

I basically run Adobe Premiere CS5 and do other encoding using Handbrake (amongst other programs) for MP4 (re)encoding of various source files.

In addition to a 15-20% speed improvement, the P9600 has a 6MB cache vs the 3MB cache on the P8400.

P8400:

http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=35 ... processor)

P9600:

http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=37 ... processor)

Finally, I cannot find any information on Intel's web site for the E8235 processor. Could you point me to a spec page?

Thanks everyone for your time and help!

Best regards,

Scott

[MrPeter1985]

If it's any cheaper, the T9400 I have is nice.

http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=35562

It goes to 2.66 in Performance Mode.
If you could splurge a bit, a T-P9800 is nice

[richk]

e8235
http://www.cpu-world.com/sspec/SL/SLAQB.html

[webmonstah]

Just to add in for other people finding this thread while researching the feasability of upgrading a T400 cpu, I've recently upgraded a T400 (model 2767) to a Core2 Duo T9900...

http://ark.intel.com/products/39312/Int ... 6-MHz-FSB).

I'm yet to test the difference it has made on the battery life but it's running absolutely fine using version 3.22 of the BIOS. My main concern was heat but I've been keeping a close eye on the core temps and they report ~45 degrees celsius under light load (10%) and 75-80 under 100% load. Hope that helps anybody looking to upgrade!

[anarti77]

webmonstah - your temps, even with new cpu are great, same as my i7 in T410.

I have swapped few cpus in thinkpads, in T61, R61 and now T410 (from i5 to i7) and it's been great, no problems.

Question is, how much more performance can you gain upgrading that cpu. I have seen very cheap T410 on ebay. You would get more performance difference upgrading to i5 than core 2 duo to core 2 duo I'm afraid.

I have replaced T7300 to T9300 in my old T61 and there has been a nice boost in performance (RAW images conversion to jpg etc) but not as much as the diference between T9300 and i5 520m - it was a revolution in my opinion when I first compared those 2 thinkpads!:)

Its very easy process to swap CPU once you know how to open your thinkpad.

Last time I swapped i5 to i7 (2 core) it took me 20 minues only)

Good luck!

[tomkrishan]

I have a spare E8235 (processor from a MAC) that has the same performance specs as a T9600. I used it for 6 months in a T400 with no problems. (swapped by the original owner). The "E" processors run a little hotter than the "T" or "P" ones, but I am not a game player, so it was fine for me. The reason I took it out was that I changed to a W500 and before I got rid of the T400, I swapped in the processor it was supposed to have. If you are interested in the E8235, send me a PM

sounds interesting. did you had any doubts regarding the stability whilst running the machine
since the E8235 runs with 44 W (??? V) instead of 35 W as the official offerd T9xxx (1.050–1.162 V) or even instead of 25 W (1.00–1.250 V) as the P8xxx and P9xxx? did you made any test under heavy load etc.?

because of the heat development I assume lenovo didn`t offered officially the use of the T9800 - T9900 pu`s

thnx for sharing in advance!

[MartinBrice]

Just to add in for other people finding this thread while researching the feasability of upgrading a T400 cpu, I've recently upgraded a T400 (model 2767) to a Core2 Duo T9900...

http://ark.intel.com/products/39312/Int ... 6-MHz-FSB).

I'm yet to test the difference it has made on the battery life but it's running absolutely fine using version 3.22 of the BIOS. My main concern was heat but I've been keeping a close eye on the core temps and they report ~45 degrees celsius under light load (10%) and 75-80 under 100% load. Hope that helps anybody looking to upgrade!

I too just upgraded (2 days ago) my T400 to a T9900. I haven't gotten a chance to really look at how well it's cooling, but I can say that so far I haven't seen a problem.

I'm sure I'll have more to say when my system upgrade is complete. I also upgraded my memory from 2gb to 8gb, am upgrading from Vista Home to Win 7 Ultimate, and am planning to upgrade the hdd as well. I'm debating swapping the CDRW with either a battery or a DVDRW. My objective is to turn what was originally a school issued laptop into a system I can use for high MP RAW photo editing, other graphics manipulation, and maybe even video and audio editing.

[tomkrishan]

I too just upgraded (2 days ago) my T400 to a T9900. I haven't gotten a chance to really look at how well it's cooling, but I can say that so far I haven't seen a problem.

sounds cool & would be very interesting if you could post some temperature results or even a report of a stress test under heavy load ... but of course don`t flame your T400!