ThinkPad R61i - Looking To Upgrade Hardware

[chrisdelo]

Hello Forum,

This is my first ever posting in a forum ... Now I have used forums for pretty much solutions to all the Tech Problems I have ever ran into .. But this one has got me stumped ... Just purchased a USED Lenovo ThinkPad R61i ... AND AM HEAD OVER HEELS IN LOVE WITH IT!!! Of all the Laptops I have ever used/owned/worked on this one is by far the absolute BEST ONE!!! Am enjoying the challenge of this excellent machine ... but am having some trouble finding the hardware specifications to complete the upgrades I wish/hope to be able to ... And I apologize in advance if this is the wrong place to post or I say anything out of line .. I AM A NEWBIE to this ... But I was hoping ot be able to upgrade the CPU in this machine to hopeful at least a Core 2 Quad CPU from the original Pentium Dual Core 1.86 GHz Sloth it has now become ... Also .. am having a little trouble with the two USB Ports on the right Hand side of the computer .. sometimes my wireless optical mouse wont connect through those ports ... But it works on other devices such the Computer Cooling Pad Powered by USB ... Also .. Was wondering if it is even possible to upgrade the display on the Laptop ... I have a 15.4" Display now ... but was wondering if any one knew if there was another ThinkPad Model with a 15.4" display with a built in webcam??? Now many would say why not just buy a new one with webcam yada yada yada .. But this machine is ABSOLUTELY prefect for my needs and the constant abuse it will receive during my ownership ... any advice/suggestions/opinions would be extremely helpful .. Oh .. and also when I disconnect and reconnect the power supply the screen flickers, and then goes to some almost dead response computer and screen and have to power off to get the computer to work ... AGAIN THANKS TO EVERYONE .. HAVE A NICE DAY AND APOLOGIES FOR THE LONG POST THANKS!!!

[RealBlackStuff]

Welcome to the forum.

On the bottom is a sticker with e.g. TYPE 7648-CTO and under it PRODUCTID 7648A6U.
What does it say on yours?
Download the HMM here, full of illustrated info to take the machine apart down to the last screw: http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/detail. ... MIGR-67859
Largest CPU is C2D T9500 for that machine, no quadro.
Max display is WSXGA+ (1680x1050).
No webcam possible, only available on 14.1" widescreen models.

Oh yeah: starting a next sentence on a new line makes for MUCH better readability...

[chrisdelo]

Thanks for the serious help ... Much Obliged, and the new line makes a lot of sense thanks ... lol

The sticker on the bottom of my PC reads: TYPE 7650-DRU and PRODUCT ID 7650DRU
Looked up the upgraded display on Amazon, and looks like a deal for the replacement screen being ends up being $85 US ... do you think it would be worth it to upgrade
And the CPU is around $120-175 US on eBay ... haven't looked any where else, but am sure I will be able to find one, and just from the 1.86 I've got now would be an upgrade even though no capacity for the quadro ...

Also have you heard of any problem with the display switching on and off and then unresponsive computer after inserting/removing the charger?

And finally .. am going to upgrade to a full 2x 2GB Ram Module ... But any unit specific type you would recommend?

This is the one after some research that I thought was pretty good for the prices I could find in only after a short look online, but if there is one you think would be a better fit please feel free to suggest away

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820231122

Thanks

[ZaZ]

And the CPU is around $120-175 US on eBay

I would suggest before looking to upgrade the CPU, you should look to upgrade the hard drive to a Solid State Drive(SSD). A SSD is a hard drive made from flash memory and they're very fast. Unless you push the CPU frequently, a new CPU upgrade will make little difference for general usage. Typical notebook usage like Office, Media and Internet do not tax the CPU much, but a SSD will make your system more responsive. The downside of SSDs is they're expensive, but you could get a smaller like 60GB SSD for the main bay and then use the modular caddy for a larger platter based drive for storage. I have this set up in my X220i. It's the best of both works, a SSD as the boot drive for storage and a platter based drive for storage where speed isn't as big of a concern.

I would suggest a LCD bought at Amazon is probably a third party screen and not a Lenovo part. My experience with them is they will fit and work, but they're not as good as a genuine Lenovo part. I would suggest getting a genuine part. Something like this might be a good fit, but I don't know anything about the seller.

The memory you linked is desktop memory and will not work. You need some 200 pin laptop DDR2 memory, like this.

[RealBlackStuff]

Fred, you link to an LCD with contradictory info, it mentions both 15.4" and 14.1" size on the same page...

Rather than PC2-6400 I would recommend PC2-5300.
If you put in a C2D CPU (any speed), you could put in 2x4GB = 8GB RAM.
Combined with 64-bit Windows 7 you'd have a winner.
Add an SSD and it will be a screamer...

[ZaZ]

If you look at the pictures below, you can see the FRU printed on there. That's usually a good indicator it's a genuine part, but you're right, they should probably ask.

[lead_org]

R61i can be optioned with webcam on both the 15.4 inch and 14.1 inch version. My R61i with 15.4 inch LCD has a built in webcam.

And T9500 is the best CPU you can put into the machine, in some motherboard you may need to flash the aftermarket bios firmware to get the T8xxx and T9xxx CPU working.

[chrisdelo]

Thanks for all the comments

So ... I have a SSD already in their 128 GB Samsung 3GB/S ... so check!
@lead_org - Can you give me the product ID for yours so I can try to find the LCD case with the webcam ... mines a 15.4" and cannot find it anywhere
I've got a 64-Bit Win 7 Ultimate too ... So check!
I've got the 2x 2GB modules in already ... Are you guys sure I am able upgrade to a 2x 4GB if I have a C2D
I'm going to upgrade the CPU ... So that's why I'm wondering about the 2x 4GB modules ...
and am totally going to upgrade the LCD..

Thanks for all the help ...

[lead_org]

8932-9UM, yeap the R61i with the 965 chipset can support 2 x 4 gigs of DDR2 667 mhz ram.