Thinkpad 770ED Upgrades/Mods

[Guest]

After searching the net for a while, I finally found a PII-400 MMC-1 that I have successfully installed in my 770ed. I now have fully popluated (2 x 128 MB) RAM, a new Hitachi 7200 RPM 60 GB HD, and a 400 MHz processor. It runs nice... as long as the temp doesn't get too high. Can anyone tell me the specs on the fans for the 770ed vs. 770x and 770z? I'm looking for dimensions, voltage pulled, air flow, etc.

I'm thinking about getting a Lasagna fan (designed for GPU & chipset cooling) and replacing the stock fan... I know about the mount-point issues.

Has anyone had any experience with this type of upgrade on their 770?

Thanks.

[cmeilahn]

Interesting... I registered before I posted the original message but didn't check to verify that I was logged in after registering... I wasn't... Let's hope I get a reply

[pkiff]

I don't know the specs for the fan you're asking about, but just a quick FYI: I'm using a PII 400MHz in a 770E (and mine is identical to a 770ED, I think, since I added the extra DVD/MPEG accelerator board), and I haven't run into overheating problems. It does run pretty hot sometimes, but the original fan should nevertheless suffice, I think. I did have some problems with total system freezes at one point, but I think those were probably memory problems rather than CPU overheating problems - the 770E/ED seems to be abit wonky and sensitive about its memory modules.

Phil.

[cmeilahn]

Thanks... I've had this system running clean and smooth for a long while now. After I put in the new Proc. board, it still runs fine, better actually. The problem is with heat, though. Of course the temperature evaluation is all subjective, based on touch.


As long as it is "up" on its legs and has good, cool air flow, the machine chugs along happily. If I do something silly like work with it somewhere without sufficient AC, it will shut down once the temp hits a certain point... I haven't tested to find out what that "point" is yet. Also, the Hitachi 7200 rpm drive runs considerably hotter than the "standard" 8gb drive from IBM, which is adding to the problem. It could be that the memory chips are getting heated up enough... I thought about doing a little case mod to add ventilation slits in the memory bay's cover, but haven't acted on the idea yet.

I "know" that the overall heat is significantly more with this setup than "stock" and want to find a way to cool things off without using an external cooling pad like the passive Nexus heatpipe or one of the active fan-pads.

[sickofit]

Sorry,can't help with the voltages,etc.....Just wanted to jump in and offer some recently made findings....I too was running a 770ED upgraded to a 400Mhz,10Gb Fujitsu HD,416Mb RAM....found it ran hot,even before the cpu upgrade,but I NEVER had the system shut down on me....I would leave the thing on for 5 days sometimes,never shutting it down,just the screen!!!!....I think it has something to do with the fan never coming on...has been mentioned a few times on the old board,seems there was a patch for this for older operating systems..???...The only time I ever heard the fan,or felt airflow was at startup,when it cycled.......

Now,just recently,i've aquired a 770X,and put a 450 PIII in it,XP Pro ,the same 10Gb Fujitsu HD,and maxed the RAM out at 525MB at the startup screen,516 in XP system folder!!!...all matching kingston sticks for a 390X...Now as I write this,it's the first time using this one on my lap,AND IT'S COLD TO THE TOUCH!!!....the fan runs almost all the time,with a nice cool breeze blowing out the back!!!....First started out on just battery,then after 2 hours it ran out,and it has been plugged in for about another hour,still cool,only spot that's a little warm is the memory door,so you might want to try that little bit of modification to that....Been about 3 hours maybe a little more,and I have everything set at max performance,not max battery....NICE !!!

Not Really Sure..???

Hardware Issue with OP System???
Different DC Card in the X....Is that it????
Fans look the same,didn't check part #'s

Kinda of a shame,I have this ED sittin here collecting dust,but it was so good to me,i'm not sure I can part with it,especially after doing the 400Mhz Upgrade...Wasn't cheap!!!

Well,Gotta Go

GO FLAMES GO !!!!


Greg St.L

[cmeilahn]

I have been monitoring my laptop with MobileMeter (available at http://www.geocities.co.jp/SiliconValley-Oakland/8259/ ) and have been able to determine that when the "Thermal Zone 0," which should be the CPU Temp, reaches 98 deg. C the system shuts off. It does not go into standby mode, as it should per ACPI specs. I suspect it is due to the other parts of the system not being designed for a P2-400. My system is as follows:

(mostly) stock 770ED
288 MB RAM
Hitachi 7200 RPM, 60 GB HD
DVD player
IBM DVD decoder card
P2-400 MHz (stock is 266)
XP Pro (on primary 60 GB HD
Win 2k Pro (on alternate HD - IBM 8 GB)
Linux (on another alternate HD - IBM 8 GB)
Proxim a/b/g wireless pcmcia card

Temp sats (deg. C) as detected by MobileMonitor using ACPI Thermal Zones under low load (web surfing on the couch with wireless b) with good air-flow (legs open with laptop legs propped on my knees):
Thermal Zone 0 (CPU): 81
Thermal Zone 1 (Memory?): 61
Thermal Zone 2 (?): 50
Thermal Zone 4 (?): 43
HDD: 49

Under moderate load, THM0 (CPU) quickly jumps up to 95+ and if I put the system under "normal for me" load (photo editing, page layout, multi-tasking, etc.) the temp goes up to 97 and stays there... and if it goes higher, the system shuts off (blank screen, flat-lined, etc). When the fan cuts in, the CPU temp will drop back to about 85 under heavy load.

Same thing happens on Win2k. Don't know about Linux because I can't get a monitor to tell me temps reliably yet.

Bottom line... most likely CPU temp.

Anybody have any recommendations or ideas to help make this a bit more stable?