Upgrading the ol' R50

[t140568]

First off... Thank you for this site... it's wonderful! Having been glued to the it for the past few days, I decided to tear into (gently, of course) my R50 (1830-X5X) and give it a cleaning. While I was in there, I relocated the 1gb ram to the under-the-keyboard slot and tightened the hinge screws (goodbye wobbly-ness!).

Can I do wireless N? If so, which model card? If not, which wireless G do you fine folks recommend?
Can the screen be upgraded? SVGA? Higher? What would I need?
Also, is it possible to upgrade the processor?

Again, Thanks!

**EDIT/Update 2/10/09**
I've been able to upgrade the WiFi card to a TP-Link TL-WN861N Wireless N MiniPCI Adapter (Atheros AR5008)
I've had no luck attempting to upgrade the screen, but haven't tried much either.
The processor is upgradable. Perhaps, I'll pick up a 755 2ghz?

**EDIT/Update 2/22/09**
I picked up and installed a 2.0ghz Dothan. Performance gains are negligible. Though might have been more noticeable on a Windows XP installation. I'm using Ubuntu 8.10.
Now, if I can just get a better screen...

[sjthinkpader]

There are a few 11n miniPCI cards and I've used them in A31. Haven't tried any in R50 yet but they should work.

For a 14 inch R50, there are no LCD cables made for other LCD resolution. So although the MB should be able to drive a SXGA+ panel, this can only be done in a 15 inch chassis. There are other members who had made other solutions, this involves a lot of custom work.

[t140568]

I bought a TP-Link TL-WN861N Wireless N MiniPCI Adapter. I took a chance on ebay purchasing this card and I've been able to physically install the card into the available slot.
Upon bootup, I receive the 1802 Error.
I don't mind trying some of the hacks on thinkwiki, but before I do, I was wondering...
Has anyone tried this card before:?: or should I just go with another card altogether?

Thanks.

[sjthinkpader]

This card may be an Atheros chipset based card. It uses two antennae so you don't have to add a third antenna in the computer. Receive thru put (2T/2R) may be a little lower than cards with three antennae.

I used Ralink cards in A31/A31p and they are 2T/3R using three antennae. The Lenovo sourced Atheros and intel miniExpress cards in my T60 and X61s use three antennae and I believe they are 2T/3R.

[sjthinkpader]

I went and bought this card and installed it in my T42p. It works fine and I am typing the post over this card. Here is what I did:

1. Ran the no-1802 utility before inserting the card.
2. Insert the card.
3. Ran the no-1802 utility again and eliminated the "two ethernet card" error.
4. Use the T60 "IBM 11a/b/g/n" driver and forced the driver manually. The card identified as AR5008.
5. Use the WinXP Zero config utility to set it up as WPA-PSK AES. It didn't work with WPA2-PSK for some reason.

Since I am using a 3Mb aDSL, there are no benefit in accessing the web. But it did seemed to be faster accessing the NAS photo folders. The NAS is capable of 15MB (~150Mb) or so thru put and the limiting factor is the 100Mb ethernet port on my 11n AP. I will try a Gb AP later.

[sjthinkpader]

... It didn't work with WPA2-PSK for some reason.....

Here is how I got WPA2-PSK working:

1. Set it up as WPA-PSK AES authentication first.
2. After it is working, open the Wireless Profile in WinXP Zero config utility. Click on the Network Authentication drop down menu and change from WPA-PSK to WPA2-PSK then exit.

[t140568]

Got it to work running the 1802 CD Utility. Worked like a charm!

However, I noticed the card only connects at 1Mbps under Ubuntu w/Gnome. But, I think this is a limitation in the ath9k Atheros Linux driver. Haven't tried under Windows.

Thanks for the help!


****Update****
The newer ath9k driver now allows G and N connections, though under N it registers as "unknown speed."

[t140568]

For a 14 inch R50, there are no LCD cables made for other LCD resolution. So although the MB should be able to drive a SXGA+ panel, this can only be done in a 15 inch chassis. There are other members who had made other solutions, this involves a lot of custom work.

I (relatively) recently purchased the lid from a T42p. The LCD had a bad CCFL, so I replaced it and it's now functioning properly. Using the T42p Cable/Ribbon, Inverter, and LCD, I was able to get my 14" R50 to use the SXGA+ goodness. However, the part of the ribbon that branches off to the inverter is kept from laying flat by a screw hole/mount (...for Bluetooth antenna? -Which I don't have.). So, is the removal of this screw hole with a dremel some of the custom work you were referring to, or is there some other way around this?

I noticed the Ribbon from the R50 angles up and back down, while the T42p's arches toward the bottom of the LCD then runs parallel with it.

Parts used:
LCD LTN141P4-L02 is: P/N: 93P5570, FRU: 11P8348
Cable is: P/N: 91P6936, FRU: 91P6940
Inverter is: FRU P/N: 26P8464

P.S.
Man it's fun working on this thing.