R61e purchased, want to swap screens and CPU.

Message

excal32 · #1 Post by **excal32** » Fri Oct 07, 2016 1:11 am

Greetings all -

I found some very cheap no trackpad R61e's on eBay - $19.99 + shipping, with ac adapter, and they work! Only a celeron and 512mb ram but heck, it all works and comes with a battery, ac adapter and hard drive!

So the situation is I have a T61p which had water spilled on the keyboard and it instantly powered off and was ruined. I have kept it around mainly as it has a very nice 1920x1200 screen. As the R61e i just purchased is also 15.4", will it "just work" if I swap the panels? If not what work will need to be done?

Are the lids compatible? As in could I just leave the 1920x1200 panel in the lid it's in and swap those on the two machines?

I will plan to upgrade the RAM and CPU, i will have to find out if the RAM in that T61p was still good or not.

Thanks in advance. I am very anxious to get this machine put together, as i have been wanting a no touchpad machine to put this panel into for a very long time.

Edit:: I almost forgot to ask, is there a better CPU replacement option than the T7800? I don't want to spend core 2 extreme levels of money on a machine this dated. Not like a core 2 extreme is going to give an i5 a run for its money.

#2 Post by **RealBlackStuff** » Fri Oct 07, 2016 2:08 am

After applying Middleton's BIOS you can put in a Penryn CPU, such as T8100/T8300/T9300/T9500.
Best value would be T9300.
Never tried a 15.4" T61/R61 lid-swap, but the screens themselves are interchangeable.

TPFanatic · #3 Post by **TPFanatic** » Fri Oct 07, 2016 2:16 am

The lid bumpers (little protrusions on the lid bezel, little indentations on the palmrest and kb bezel) are not consistent between the two lids, the latches would probably not work either and the hinges probably mount in different locations. So you would have to do lid surgery on both machines to get the screens out.

Fingernails will get the stickers covering the lid screws out, try to keep track of them all.

Note that the T61p's screen is mounted in a magnesium frame between the screen and frame rails, while the R61e's is mounted directly to the frame rails. T61p will also have a plastic antenna piece on the left side. You should remove the plastic lid backings off both to get the best access to the screws, also remember to unhook the Thinklight from its housing in the lid backing. You'd best consult the HMM or lid disassembly videos to see how it's done. Good luck!

excal32 · #4 Post by **excal32** » Fri Oct 07, 2016 2:46 am

Many, many thanks to both!

The part that worries me most is the difference in how the panels are mounted. Is there any chance it won't fit or otherwise be able to mounted?

I'll start going thru the HMM's right now. Still, any confirmation that it's actually mountable would be greatly appreciated before I rip the R61 apart. Thanks again.

#5 Post by **RealBlackStuff** » Fri Oct 07, 2016 3:03 am

RealBlackStuff wrote:... but the screens themselves are interchangeable.

excal32 · #6 Post by **excal32** » Fri Oct 07, 2016 3:07 am

Sorry RBS, I misinterpreted

Note that the T61p's screen is mounted in a magnesium frame between the screen and frame rails, while the R61e's is mounted directly to the frame rails.

to imply the mounting points might not be matched. Thanks for the conformation.

axur-delmeria · #7 Post by **axur-delmeria** » Fri Oct 07, 2016 3:18 am

Take note that the R61/R61e/R61i HMM specifies different LCD cable FRUs for WXGA and WSXGA+, with further subtypes having/not having bluetooth and/or webcam connectors.

They do have the same inverter FRUs though, so that's one less thing to worry about.

excal32 · #8 Post by **excal32** » Fri Oct 07, 2016 3:19 am

axur-delmeria wrote:Take note that the R61/R61e/R61i HMM specifies different LCD cable FRUs for WXGA and WSXGA+, with further subtypes having/not having bluetooth and/or webcam connectors.

They do have the same inverter FRUs though, so that's one less thing to worry about.

Hmm, I was worried about this too but figured the T61p's cable would fit, if it wasn't broken for some reason. I will order the part I need if the HMM's show me the T61p's cable can't be used in the R61e.

Thank you for your advice!

The T9300 is purchased.

axur-delmeria · #9 Post by **axur-delmeria** » Fri Oct 07, 2016 3:40 am

This Google-translated page shows an R61 with a WUXGA panel using the lid assembly from an R500.

It's possible that the T61p cable would be a bit short, because the R61 chassis is thicker than the T61p.

#10 Post by **Tasurinchi** » Fri Oct 07, 2016 10:28 am

I did mod a R61e with a WUXGA panel out of an old T61p. It was long time ago but if my memory is right the cables are different!! And I used a WSXGA+ cable...

TPFanatic · #11 Post by **TPFanatic** » Fri Oct 07, 2016 11:35 am

These R series laptops, R61 and R500, don't use ribbon LCD cables like the T-series, instead it looks like a bunch of wires held in a bundle. R-series is the budget line, so ribbon cables are too expensive. That's why the top of the R-series keyboard bezel has this upward plastic protrusion to house the wires as they travel into the lid. Once you have the lid bezel off between the two models you'll see what's going on.

Parts compatibility between the R500 and R61 is not too absurd, at least in the lid department, since the only difference between them is audio and modem port rearrangement so the R500 has Displayport, while R61 has S-Video. But the lids are the same since the microphone is kept in the same place on the palmrest. R500 and R61 are closer than T500 and T61.

excal32 · #12 Post by **excal32** » Fri Oct 07, 2016 4:24 pm

Thanks for the help everyone!

Will a U7700 (10 watt) run fine in a R61e with Middleton Bios? Thinking of getting one to cut down power consumption.

ajkula66 · #13 Post by **ajkula66** » Fri Oct 07, 2016 4:28 pm

excal32 wrote:
Will a U7700 (10 watt) run fine in a R61e with Middleton Bios? Thinking of getting one to cut down power consumption.

No. It will not work at all. You need a full voltage CPU.

If you want to keep the power down, but not cripple the system, T8100/8300 is what you should be looking at.

axur-delmeria · #14 Post by **axur-delmeria** » Sat Oct 08, 2016 1:13 am

If you can find a Core 2 Duo L7700 (17 watts TDP, 1.8GHz, 65nm Merom-based) in a PGA package, that would be nice.

T8100/T8300 is good as well, from a performance and availability standpoint. Also, you might have better results undervolting them in an R61e compared to my experience with a T8100 in the X61 I used to have.

excal32 · #15 Post by **excal32** » Sun Oct 09, 2016 4:10 am

Sorry for going OT in my own thread but didn't feel it was worthy of a thread:

Is this cpu burned looking to anyone? obviously i would be cleaning it off and applying new paste...

Thanks

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Core-2-Qu ... j#viTabs_0

I only really use older programs using technology that has not progressed since multi core days so it might run well for my purposes to get a cpu like this with the 12mb cache.

#16 Post by **RealBlackStuff** » Sun Oct 09, 2016 6:45 am

CPU looks mean next to nothing, it's their functionality you should worry about.
You already bought a T9300, why bother?
I know it can be done, but on the cheapest of the cheap R61 series ...
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=110620

ajkula66 · #17 Post by **ajkula66** » Sun Oct 09, 2016 9:31 am

excal32 wrote: Is this cpu burned looking to anyone? obviously i would be cleaning it off and applying new paste...

You'd have to do a lot more than just clean it in order for it to work in R61, but you know that already. I'd question the ability of the stock cooling system to handle that CPU properly, especially under load.

RealBlackStuff wrote:You already bought a T9300, why bother?

This.

If a T9300 doesn't cut it for your needs, a newer system is required, realistically speaking.

excal32 · #18 Post by **excal32** » Thu Oct 13, 2016 4:59 pm

Thanks to both of you,

I have a T7300 on the way for my "cheap" CPU and the T9300 is also on its way.

I got the R61e today and was excited to find it already had a Atheros brand AR5xxx series Wifi card installed, I don't believe that was stock, as Wifi light doesn't work

but I have an AR98xx series to put in.

Gonna have to upgrade RAM as soon as possible, installing Kubuntu on 512mb was a little slow...

jaspen-meyer · #19 Post by **jaspen-meyer** » Sat Oct 15, 2016 1:10 am

excal32 wrote:Gonna have to upgrade RAM as soon as possible, installing Kubuntu on 512mb was a little slow...

One of the fun parts about thinkpads is that the disks are easy to get at. Next time you could install the OS from a machine with plenty of ram and then put it back into the low ram machine.

excal32 · #20 Post by **excal32** » Tue Oct 18, 2016 1:49 am

Haven't gotten around to the screen panel swap but just wanted to thank everyone that stopped in this thread to help out, for helping out!

I have just done three R61's tonight and all worked perfectly after the job.

Started with Three Celeron 540 enabled Stock R61e.
Now have:

2x R61e T9300, 4GB, 256GB SSD, Atheros 9380 Card. Middletons Bios
1x R61e T7300, 2GB, 64GB SSD, Atheros 5b125 Card. Middletons Bios

Very very happy with all three... and even with the same RAM and SSD the Celeron to the C2D is a HUGE boost.

axur-delmeria · #21 Post by **axur-delmeria** » Tue Oct 18, 2016 6:10 am

That's good to hear.

R61e purchased, want to swap screens and CPU.

R61e purchased, want to swap screens and CPU.

Re: R61e purchased, want to swap screens and CPU.

Re: R61e purchased, want to swap screens and CPU.

Re: R61e purchased, want to swap screens and CPU.

Re: R61e purchased, want to swap screens and CPU.

Re: R61e purchased, want to swap screens and CPU.

Re: R61e purchased, want to swap screens and CPU.

Re: R61e purchased, want to swap screens and CPU.

Re: R61e purchased, want to swap screens and CPU.

Re: R61e purchased, want to swap screens and CPU.

Re: R61e purchased, want to swap screens and CPU.

Re: R61e purchased, want to swap screens and CPU.

Re: R61e purchased, want to swap screens and CPU.

Re: R61e purchased, want to swap screens and CPU.

Re: R61e purchased, want to swap screens and CPU.

Re: R61e purchased, want to swap screens and CPU.

Re: R61e purchased, want to swap screens and CPU.

Re: R61e purchased, want to swap screens and CPU.

Re: R61e purchased, want to swap screens and CPU.

Re: R61e purchased, want to swap screens and CPU.

Re: R61e purchased, want to swap screens and CPU.

Who is online