A31p cpu upgrade.

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whiteashcm1 · #1 Post by **whiteashcm1** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 12:00 am

i just bought a A31p pretty cheap.. it has a 1.6 p-4m cpu.. i have a 2.4 p-4m (SL6K5), is this cpu compatible???? if so great.. also i plan to increase the memory to 2 gig.. i also want to get rid of that crappy Win 2k and install xp pro.. so two things, is the cpu upgrade possible??? and two can you install 2 gig of memory after a bios uprade to the most current version??? any help appreciated... steve[/b]

lithium726 · #2 Post by **lithium726** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 12:42 am

Yes and No. that Processor is compatable with the system and it will take up to 1GB of ram. This is a limitation of the Intel 845MP chipset, and not a fault of the Bios or system.

BTW, you have a UXGA screen, not SXGA

JHEM · #3 Post by **JHEM** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 1:15 am

lithium726 wrote:it will take up to 1GB of ram.

You meant to say TWO GB of RAM.

Regards,

James

lithium726 · #4 Post by **lithium726** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 1:45 am

No, I meant 1.

http://www.intel.com/products/chipsets/845mp/

edit: ftp://download.intel.com/design/chipset ... 860401.pdf

ah. it must have only been tested with 512MB Dimms at the time. My bad... 845PM supports 2GB then

JHEM · #5 Post by **JHEM** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 12:29 pm

lithium726 wrote:ah. it must have only been tested with 512MB Dimms at the time. My bad... 845PM supports 2GB then

Correct, that's what IBm tested in the A31p and wht they'll support.

If you have problems with 2GB RAm in the machine, don't call them as they don't want to hear about it.

I, and many others here in the Forum, have 2GB installed in our A31 machines. I've also had the same PC2100 RAM in my T30 where it also works quite well.

Regards,

James

Scratch · #6 Post by **Scratch** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 1:06 pm

Hi James,

Do you have the part number for the 1 Gb DIMMS available or can you point me at a source?

Is the proc upgrade easy to do?

How about adding the integrated wireless and antennae?

I'd like to bring my mint condition A31p current if at all possible and these upgrades should make it like a new machine.

JHEM · #7 Post by **JHEM** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 1:32 pm

Scratch wrote:Do you have the part number for the 1 Gb DIMMS available or can you point me at a source?

IIRC I got the meory on sale at newegg.com. Plain vanilla PC2100 RAM.

Scratch wrote:Is the proc upgrade easy to do?

It's a cinch. Thanks to my bud Rob for this: http://home.comcast.net/~electrosoft/a31p/a31p.htm

Scratch wrote:How about adding the integrated wireless and antennae?

Ditto! Get the HMM for the machine: http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-39796 and follow the diagrams and instructions. I just put the antennae for Bluetooth in mine and upgraded everything.

Scratch wrote:I'd like to bring my mint condition A31p current if at all possible and these upgrades should make it like a new machine.

It does! The machine is a screamer with a 2.6GHz CPU and 2GB RAm.

Regards,

James

#8 Post by **daeojkim** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 2:54 pm

James,

Would the cooling system in the A31p adequate for 2.6GHz while it is running at full throttle?

I thought I read somewhere that it would tend to slow down because the cooling system can't keep up with 2.6 GHz heat production.

BTW good to see you again.

JK

JHEM · #9 Post by **JHEM** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 3:21 pm

daeojkim wrote:Would the cooling system in the A31p adequate for 2.6GHz while it is running at full throttle?

Barely. But the 2.0GHz machines had a different fan than the 1.7 and 1.8HGz ones.

I posted the part number in a similar thread here in the Forum.

Thanks for the welcome.

Presently sweltering in 80+ degree weather in Tulsa.

Regards,

James

a31pguy · #10 Post by **a31pguy** » Fri Apr 14, 2006 10:35 pm

Yes - good to see you again James!

The a31p will take 2 gb of ram and the 2.4 and 2.6 ghz processor. JHEM has aptly pointed out before - that the hard drive is the main component which increases speed - specifically a 7200 rpm drive with lots of cache memory.

The bios and embedded controller need to be updated to the latest code - because it has a microcode download for the CPU.

The a31p and a31 suffer from poor case cooling. If you plan on running the system at full throttle - I suggest removing the ultrabays and setting up a fan that points inward. This reduces the throttling back - but doesn't eliminate it completely.
Hope this helps.

JHEM · #11 Post by **JHEM** » Fri Apr 14, 2006 10:49 pm

a31pguy wrote:Yes - good to see you again James!

Thanks Art, glad to be back.

How sick is that??

Regards,

James

zone · #12 Post by **zone** » Sat Apr 15, 2006 2:41 pm

whiteashcm1 wrote: have a 2.4 p-4m (SL6K5), is this cpu compatible???? if so great..

Yes it is, use Artic Silver 5 paste with your SL6K5 to ensure proper thermal conducting.

Im running SL6P2 2.5GHz in my A31p for past five months without any issue, great upgrade from original 1.8GHz IMO.

zone · #13 Post by **zone** » Sat Apr 15, 2006 2:57 pm

a31pguy wrote:Yes - good to see you again James!

Yes - also, good to see you a31pguy in this forum after a quite while.

Whatsmore nice to see that you didn't sell your A31p the best one on the planet as it seems from your sginiture.

Well, while ago, think early December you were promised to share with us your BT CDC installation experiance, however if Im not mistaken no How To on that issue so far.
I ordered BMDC200b (IBM FRU PN: 91P7319 ) from ebay, hope everything will be OK but anyway think that would be great benefit for all forum members and lurkers to have here your report on BT card in A31p.

BTW Im slowly approaching to your A31p with my setup but I dont think that I'll make it better then yours, 'coz Im still goin to held DVD-RW instead of third HD, however Atheros card is so far better thing that your current Intel.

Anyway great to see you in this forum again.

Sleep Machine · #14 Post by **Sleep Machine** » Sat Apr 15, 2006 8:04 pm

I've been running a 2.6 in my A31p since December 2004 with 2 GB of memory and a 7200 60 GB drive. No cooling issues. Last upgrade will be 7200 100 GB drive. T60p with Vista is on my Christmas list.

A31p cpu upgrade.

A31p cpu upgrade.

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