Progress on the Z61m "Ark"

[schen]

Since I wouldn't feel right about calling my little project the "Holy Grail" to avoid any possible infringement on Underclocker's archetype Z61m; I guess I'll call it the "Ark of the Covenant" or Ark for short.

Now that its Fall (or what passes for it down here in Texas) and things have settled down some, there's actually been enough progress on it to report on.

* About a month ago I received a gift from a friend in the form of an Iomega external drive with a dead connector. All that was required of me was to pull the drive and copy to files for him. So this liberated Samsung 500Gb SpinPoint drive will go into an Enhanced UltraBay SATA adapter and serve as file storage for the Ark in it's function as a portable digital photographic studio.
* A few weeks ago, 2 2Gb RAM modules were acquired....yup, I know it'll only see 3Gb, but I'm kind of OCD with my personal machines.
* Today I finally found a T7200 CPU at a price I was willing to pay.
* Just now I "offered" on (which was accepted), a 1.8" Samsung 128Gb SSD with a 2.5" SATA adapter.
* Waiting patiently on an "offer" for an Atheros A/B/G/N WiFi card.

Now I just have to figure out what I'm going to do about that pesky lid situation before all the stuff comes and I get neck deep into the OS load!

[Tasurinchi]

Now I just have to figure out what I'm going to do about that pesky lid situation

I think many of us will be interested too .

Wife's Z61m is in almost perfect condition apart from the lid (which I help myself to ruin it more than it was) I think both her and me will be very happy if there is a way to bring the Ti coating in original condition (me probably being more happier than her )

[kenzking]

My z61t's lid was showing a bit of clear coat peal. I used rubbing alcohol to remove the clear coat on completely; found on a post here to try that.
It showed finger prints really badly after this. I tried putting a light coat of car wax on it... it hides fingerprints and such pretty well now! It's been well over a month now and its still holding up.

Maybe this can help you out. Either way if you decided to fix it you have to remove the coating. This was very easy and I'm happy with the results.

[schen]

My z61t's lid was showing a bit of clear coat peal. I used rubbing alcohol to remove the clear coat on completely; found on a post here to try that.
It showed finger prints really badly after this. I tried putting a light coat of car wax on it... it hides fingerprints and such pretty well now! It's been well over a month now and its still holding up.

Maybe this can help you out. Either way if you decided to fix it you have to remove the coating. This was very easy and I'm happy with the results.

Thanks for the idea. I hadn't run across that in my searches. Its definitely something I'll keep in mind if I don't come up with something else by the time all the parts show up.

[schen]

Building of the "Ark" has finally started in earnest. After the arrival of all the important parts last week, and the return from the long promised camping trip for the kids, I finally got it going tonight. So here is whats happening so far:

* Stripped the machine down to keyboard bezel removal to swap in the T7200 Core 2 Duo/2.0Ghz "Merom" processor in place of the Celeron M 420/1.6Ghz CPU.
* While there, replaced the stock Intel 3945ABG WiFi card for the Atheros AR5BXB72 giving me the "N" on top of the ABG wireless.
* Put the machine back together, install the Lenovo 45N7952 1.8" SSD via an adapter to replace the 40Gb mechanical HDD.

So, I'm sitting here typing this while the machines is doing a clean load of Windows 7 Ultimate, literally "as we speak".

* It had previously received 4Gb of RAM
* A replacement 1680 x 1050 screen for the malfunctioning original.

There are a few items left to take care of such as a replacement for the shiny keyboard, loading drivers and software. Of course, there is that ever-present question of what to do with the titanium lid to deal with. When I do though, I intend on taking this project with pictures to the "Pictures..." conference. Until then, all I can say is that I'm pretty darned pleased with this "poor man's" mobile workstation.

[ZaZ]

all I can say is that I'm pretty darned pleased with this "poor man's" mobile workstation.

I don't know, my R60e with SXGA+ FlexView might wrest the "poor man's" title from the Z61m, but nicely done nonetheless.

[schen]

I don't know, my R60e with SXGA+ FlexView might wrest the "poor man's" title from the Z61m, but nicely done nonetheless.

I'd probably have to agree on that since I'm a believer that the "R" series machines are often overlooked and generally undervalued in the market. However, since I lean toward somewhat unusual machine AND still have a bit of a bad taste in my mouth from working on a crippled R60 for 4 years at work, the "Z" was a better fit for me.

Although, at some point, I might take on an "R" just to prove a point that they can be superior computers when not poorly spec'd and handcuffed by a poor IT department!

[ajkula66]

Congratulations on getting "The Ark" done...

Now, will that also become a "Princess Edition" in a year or two?

As for R60e FrankenPad...yes, these are the ultimate "poor man's workstations" IMO...I built one for my twin boys, played with it around a lot until I settled for a somewhat mediocre configuration, but this thing has been on 24/7/365 for almost two years now and hasn't missed a beat (knock wood)...

[schen]

Congratulations on getting "The Ark" done...

Now, will that also become a "Princess Edition" in a year or two?

As for R60e FrankenPad...yes, these are the ultimate "poor man's workstations" IMO...I built one for my twin boys, played with it around a lot until I settled for a somewhat mediocre configuration, but this thing has been on 24/7/365 for almost two years now and hasn't missed a beat (knock wood)...

The princess herself is somewhat of a petite model so I'll probably stick to something small and light for her. Actually, there's an X31 sitting in the cabinet right now waiting for me to move the screen over and paint the bezel to match. Like you, the "poor man's workstation" would probably be a project for my son as he gets old and higher needs than the Z60m that he just migrated to.

Actually, "The Ark" is destined to become a portable digital photography studio for my other side business of family portraiture. I love my X300, but the single SSD, and the rather weak screen makes it a poor option for that job. Hopefully, the 15.4" WSXGA+ screen will make that perfect for that.