Most important things to upgrade on my R51

[jwdjr2004]

Hi everyone,

I have an R51 from 2004. Pentium M 1.5GHz, 500MB Ram, 30Gb 4200 rpm HDD. It's treated me well, so i've decided rather than buy a new computer (which would probably be a T400), i would upgrade the old girl.

I ordered a new battery--the old one is totally shot. I also ordered (2) 1GB memory sticks. I assume that will make quite a difference.

I'm wondering how much of a difference getting a new faster/bigger HDD will make. I don't really care about size (since i have a desktop with half a Tb and another external drive). I just want to know how much of a difference the new drive will make [edit--in terms of performance]. Also, do you think it would be worth the trouble to upgrade my 1.5Ghz pentium M to a 1.8? How hard would that be to do? i've built desktops before, but have never cracked open a laptop. thanks!

-Jon

[RealBlackStuff]

Welcome to the Forum.
The sweet spot for an R51 CPU is the Pentium M 735 (1.7) Dothan, which has 2MB cache instead of the 1MB in your current Pentium M 1.5 Banias.

The upgrade to 2x 1GB RAM is perfect, you can use either PC2100 or PC2700 SODIMMs. The latter are usually cheaper (but they still work at PC2100 speed).

Another impressive speed-boost you will get from a modern 5400rpm hard disk.
See this thread: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=81055

To take your R51 apart, download this: http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-53169
The instructions are complete, illustrated, and quite easy to follow.

Finally, to give us a better chance to help you, put the TYPE/Model (such as 2889-CU4 [on the bottom of the laptop]) in your signature, or mention it at least in your postings.

[jwdjr2004]

great, thank you. i've got a R51 2888-2WU

[jwdjr2004]

another question,

i'm not really afraid of installing the hardware, but one of the limiting factors for me when deciding what to upgrade is how tricky it will be to get the software to recognize everything. I have only a vague grasp of what BIOS is. Kind of afraid that if my upgrades arent recognized immediately, i'll be up a creek. I see lots of people having problems with this sort of thing on this forum. any general advice?

[dr_st]

The R51, being a T42-equivalent, should run the RAM at PC2700/DDR333 speeds.

The first and most effective upgrade would be a bigger/faster hard drive. You can even get a 7200RPM one, but these are rare and pricy. Then, the RAM, which you already got. Finally, as RBS suggests - a Dothan CPU.

I don't know if there would be any limitations on the BIOS level in recognizing faster Dothans (1.8-2.1GHz). That's a good question.

The other components (RAM/HD) are pretty much plug and play.

[jwdjr2004]

it seems surprising that the hard drive upgrade would make a bigger difference than the RAM upgrade. I guess one of my biggest complaints is that my systems takes 10 minutes to boot. That seems like a hard drive issue, yes?

I think i'm going to install the RAM, see how big the improvement is, then make a decision about the HDD.

[ajkula66]

BIOS in R51 will recognize any Dothan CPU with no issues, I've had a PM765 in a R50p at one point...then I took it out and replaced it with 745 because of the heat...on a R50/51, anything above 745 will run very hot in my opinion.

Hard drive will make a world of difference, and modern 5400rpm drives are fast enough to blow your mind when compared to old 4200rpm ones that these machines had originally shipped with.

[RealBlackStuff]

I suggested the 1.7 Dothan 735 because of its low price (AND low heat).
The 1.8 Dothan 745 is 3 times more expensive (and not worth it IMHO).

[dacp]

OK now I am stuck on a tough decision, I too have a R51, done the 2 g upgrade and next want to upgrade the 1.6 processor. I have posted the same post last month and it was suggested to get the 1.8Ghz Pentium M 745 Dothan Intel part # SL7EN, how much difference is there in speed or power, is there much from the Pentium M 735 (1.7) Dothan?

[Harryc]

The 2MB L2 cache a Dothan adds is what is worth the upgrade as far as speed gains. You won't see a major difference between 1.7 and 1.8Ghz CPUs.

[dacp]

I am doing a search for that CPU is this is "Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0GHz T7300 SLA45(Socket P)" ?

The 2MB L2 cache a Dothan adds is what is worth the upgrade as far as speed gains. You won't see a major difference between 1.7 and 1.8Ghz CPUs.

[Harryc]

No, the 1.7Ghz Dothan is an Intel Pentium M 735, part # SL7EP
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_In ... processors
http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid ... Categories

[ajkula66]

Right now, I have three otherwise very similar ThinkPads running Dothans 725 (1.6), 735 (1.7) and 745 (1.8 ) . The real-life differences in normal daily use are honestly minimal and probably non-existent for most people.

I'd agree with RBS that 1.7 (if it really is 1/3 of the price when compared to 1.8, haven't checked but would trust his opinion) is likely the most bang you'll get for your buck, and it's a very sweet CPU.

[Tasurinchi]

As previous posters said, upgrading HDD and RAM will give a nice boost to your lady.

Regarding the CPU upgrade, what will be the main tasks for your R51?

Many times I was also considering a CPU upgrade, but at the end I use my TP for browsing, emailing, watching movies (when I'm travelling for leisure), copying fotos from my digital camera and easy stuff like that. I don't think that the performance improvements of some extra HZ will be so noticeable in the tasks I do.

But what's a solution for me doesn't mean it's a solution for everybody. I would say if you do similar tasks as I listed above, you don't need to open up your precious R51. (Unless you want to do it for the sake of learning).

I added a 1GB stick and a WD 320GB hard drive upgrade to an R50 I gave my father. BIOS had no problems at all, your R51 may be even newer so I personally would not be afraid of BIOS having hardware issues.

If you don't want to have a 10 minutes boot time. Grab an Ubuntu 9.04 CD and install it! Your R50 should boot and be ready to work within 1 min (it takes 45 seconds in my X31 and around 1:10 in my X41). A newer version will be released this month and rumour says boot times will decrease!

Hope this helps...

Cheers

Tasurinchi

[pianowizard]

it seems surprising that the hard drive upgrade would make a bigger difference than the RAM upgrade. I guess one of my biggest complaints is that my systems takes 10 minutes to boot. That seems like a hard drive issue, yes?

10 minutes is absurd even for a 4200rpm drive. The first thing to try would be to do a clean install of the OS, which should reduce the boot time to 4 to 5 minutes on your current 4200rpm HDD. If you think that's still too slow, upgrading to a 250GB or 320GB 5400rpm should further bring it down to 2 - 3 minutes.

[Tasurinchi]

If I remember correctly, the clean install of Win7 RC on the R50 mentioned in my previous post took 1:30 minutes to boot.

I agree that 10 minutes boot time is really slow. It coud be that you have bad sectors on your drive, but me thinks it's more probably an overbloated system.

I also think it makes no sense to upgrade RAM/HD without a new clean install.

[emeraldgirl08]

I have to reiterate what everyone else is saying about a faster HDD.

You will be pleasantly surprised by how much quicker access times are and how much faster your OS loads. One other thing also is not to load your start-up with too much unnecessary programs. I also wonder how much bloatware you have on your laptop. When I do a fresh recovery from the factory-restore CD's I get programs I don't want on my Thinkpads.

I don't need Access Connections is one. I let Windows built-in program handle that.

I've changed my own processors, applied the heatsink afterwards, followed the Hardware Maintenance Manual (an essential pdf), etc. It's not very hard. Make sure you discharge all static from yourself before you touch any circuitry, draw a map of where you've pulled a screw, and make sure you're not in a rush. These things will take a little time on your first try.

I started out with a 40gb 4200 Travelstar on my former T30. The move from that to an Seagate Momentus 5400 was noticeable and very much needed. I also upped my RAM to 1gb on that particular laptop. Very well worth it

[pianowizard]

It coud be that you have bad sectors on your drive

That's certainly a possibility. So, jwdjr2004, if you choose to try a clean install of Windows XP, select the regular format option instead of "quick format" so that the format process will scan for bad sectors.

[jwdjr2004]

regarding my boot time: windows seems to load up in a reasonable amount of time, but after the desktop comes up, it just sits there grinding for several minutes before it will open any apps. seems like it's running too many startup tasks...but i went through that a while back and tried to trim it down. I also used the ibm rescue/restore feature about a year ago to return it to factory settings. I also tried running linux pup a while ago, but im about a thousand times more comfy with windows.

I bought a new HDD, and i'm thinking maybe instead of cloning my old drive, i'll just install windows 7 on it.

my RAM came today from crucial. i got the 1gb DDR333 2700 x2 and installed them quick as can be. computer booted and recognized the ram, seemed ok. seemed a little quicker. then i noticed that the corner of my LCD down by the start button was turning black. I felt it and it was really hot. i used my air can to try to cool it down, and when i did, the picture came back. as soon as the corner got hot again, the black was back though. I had noticed the screen getting pretty hot down there before, but nothing like this. any ideas what's going on? pretty sure i didnt bump anything and i was grounded the whole time i had it open.

[edit] there is also noticeable screen flicker now
more details:
i took out the new ram, put in one stick of the old stuff--flicker goes away.
put in just one stick of the new--flickers

put in both new sticks--screen flickers .
flickering seems to happen when the computer is working hardest, i.e. on startup or when i open an application.

[jwdjr2004]

as it turns out, i put everything back to the way it was, and the screen still flickers and has that hotspot in the lower left. it seems now to be related to how hot the system is. the fan is working, but not on right now for some reason, despite the cpu heatsink being pretty toasty.

i cant imagine that anything i did in there would cause this.

[RealBlackStuff]

To help us help you better, please put your laptop info in your signature, e.g. R51 2889-CU4.
Go into User Control Panel/Profile/Edit Signature.
Get Memtest86 and run that on the individual RAMs in each slot, then the 2 together, and swap them after the first test.
If bad, return for replacement RAM under warranty.

And maybe you should replace the thermal paste between CPU and cooler.

[jwdjr2004]

ok, changed the signature.

so maybe i made a rookie mistake. I turned everything back on before screwing the keyboard back down, thinking that i could save a little time if there was a problem. then i got the idea that maybe not having the screws in place was causing something to short out or changing what's grounded/how well things are grounded. long story short, i screwed everything back together, turned the old girl on and theres no more flicker, no more heat. phew. i was freaking out a bit.

next up: hard drive, followed by CPU

[Tasurinchi]

next up: hard drive, followed by CPU

Nice to see your upgrade is going forward without major issues.

I bought a new HDD, and i'm thinking maybe instead of cloning my old drive, i'll just install windows 7 on it.

IMHO definitely the way to go...

Have fun and good luck with your project!

[jwdjr2004]

so it turns out the screen flickering and hotspot mentioned above are back. anyone know if this is fixable? i may have to see about returning my new parts and just buying a new laptop.

[emeraldgirl08]

I may have missed something... but is your fan even running?

[jwdjr2004]

yeah the fan is running fine. everything seems to be ok except for the screen flickering. the new ram is recognized and seems to be running fine. screen also flickers with the old ram.

[dacp]

Don't give up fellow R51 owner, might be an easy fix. Keep asking around here on the forums.

yeah the fan is running fine. everything seems to be ok except for the screen flickering. the new ram is recognized and seems to be running fine. screen also flickers with the old ram.

[jwdjr2004]

turning the screen brightness all the way down seems to alleviate the issue, at least for now. i can see the lower left corner has a pink tinge to it. maybe it got too hot.

my poking around online leads me to believe it's probably the ccfl tube.

[dacp]

that's possible I haven't taken mine down that far yet Good luck to you, screens are cheap on ebay-if that's the only problem.

turning the screen brightness all the way down seems to alleviate the issue, at least for now. i can see the lower left corner has a pink tinge to it. maybe it got too hot.

my poking around online leads me to believe it's probably the ccfl tube.

[sjthinkpader]

Although red tint usually means backlight CCF is going out but try an inverter first.