T61 upgrade CPU t7100 to t7800

[laswyguy]

I have a 5 year old thinkpad t61 currently with a intel t7100 1.8 dual core processor. I can buy a used t7800 2.6 dual core on ebay for like 75 bucks. Will this work with my computer? I dont want to have to do anything but just have a tech drop in the new cpu.. how much faster will it make my computer..?

running windows xp, 3mb of ram, and a ssd.

[miro_gt]

dont bother, it will run too hot anyways.

go for T9500/T9300.

[laswyguy]

can i just drop in the t9300/9500?

[laswyguy]

i dont want to do any crazy formatting sh!t

[ajkula66]

Welcome to the forum!

If you're intent on spending $75 or so on a CPU, a T9300 is a much better choice, although it will likely require a modded BIOS to run properly on your machine.

[laswyguy]

i dont want mod anything... so will the t7800 work??

[ajkula66]

You'll have a *very* hot running machine.

Most of the folks that still use T61/p around here run the modded BIOS (aka Middleton's BIOS) on their T61/p machines. It will also enable full SATA II speeds so your SSD won't feel like a slug anymore...along with a couple of other things...

[laswyguy]

i dont know anything about computers.. is what you are saying a the guy tech who im dropping it off can do for me?
he said he would charge me $75 bucks to drop in my chip.. if it works or not..

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lot-of-2-Intel- ... 3cc97962fe

this dude on ebay would sell me one chip for 75 bucks.. so all in id be at 150 bucks..

[ajkula66]

A CPU replacement@$75 is a rip-off IMO.

You can do a lot better than spending $150 on a highly debatable upgrade.

[TuuS]

I'd recommend the T7700, it's much cheaper and I'd be glad to provide one for you if you like. The T7800 is pretty rare and I've seen them sell at 2-3 times the cost of the T7700, but it will work. One of the biggest upgrades going from the T7100 is your cache memory will double from 2mb to 4mb. The actual speed of the chip isn't as important. The most cost effective upgrade would be a T7300, which I have about a dozen and I'd be inclined to accept any reasonable offer, or I also have the T7500 and T7700 chips available, all pulled from fully working corporate laptops.

If you do buy a T7800, I'd avoid buying one that you don't know the chips history. They were only used in high-end laptops and usually only end up on auctions after something really bad happens to the laptop.


edit: it just occurred to me that this "tech" that's offering to install the chip, if he doesn't even know if the T7800 will work, then I'd have to question if he is the one you want installing it for you.

[laswyguy]

how much for the t7700?

[laswyguy]

is it going to make a difference even?

[miro_gt]

i dont want mod anything... so will the t7800 work??

I think you dont want to change your current CPU either. Think about it, you dont have to do anything, you dont have to pay anybody, and ... you keep using your computer.

So when you finally realize that you have a 5-year-old computer which is getting pretty old in computer terms, you either sell it and buy another one, or listen to what people with experience in the same matter recommend so that you get couple more years worth of usefulness with the ever advancing technology. If you're still not confident in replacing the CPU yourself then that's fine, pay the guy to do it. But get the parts that will make a difference, and forget about those that will not (like upgrading to T7300, lol)

you need to do 2 things:
- one of the above CPUs that I posted earlier;
- flash the middletons BIOS so that you can use it with no thermal error popping up at start up.

or pay the guy to do both of those for you.

good luck.

P.S.
in fact depending on what SSD you're using, the CPU upgrade may not make as much of a difference as it would from flashing the BIOS so that you can use SATA2 transfer speeds instead of your current SATA1. Therefore only with flashing the BIOS your computer will get faster. Free. Cheers.

[TuuS]

how much for the t7700?

I get $45 for a T7700 that's fully tested, if you want a T7300 I could give you one for $9 Either would be a big upgrade from a T7100 because they have twice the cache memory so they can run more simultaneous processes. If you want to install it yourself I'd be glad to help. As long as you're willing to learn and not do a haphazard attempt at the install, you'll have no problem and the knowledge you gain will be far more valuable then the laptop.

ps. if you want something in between, I think I have a T7500 too.

[laswyguy]

there is a factory bios updated from Lenovo 2.30, i downloaded the executable file.. and i think... my computer runs better? or is that just my imagination.. I spoke with a few computer places.. and none of them will do a non factory bios upgrade to the liability...they say it can brick my computer.

[ajkula66]

*Any* BIOS upgrade - factory or not - will brick the machine if something goes wrong.

You upgrade the BIOS by yourself, BTW. Takes less than 10 minutes.

[Cigarguy]

Updating with middleton's bios is no more or no less difficult than any other firmware upgrade. It's that simple and/or that complex.

[laswyguy]

ok so since im gonna pay someone to drop in a new CPU.. whats the fastest chip if I do with this middleton bios? can i drop in a t9900? who's this Middleton dude anyways?

[ajkula66]

No you can't drop in a T9900.

You can drop in a X9000 or a T9500.

[miro_gt]

ok so since im gonna pay someone to drop in a new CPU.. whats the fastest chip if I do with this middleton bios? can i drop in a t9900? who's this Middleton dude anyways?

that's the dude that did all those wonderful things for us T61 users, things that Lenovo would never do but make you buy newer laptop instead. And he doesnt even have a T61 ....

[TuuS]

ok so since im gonna pay someone to drop in a new CPU.. whats the fastest chip if I do with this middleton bios? can i drop in a t9900? who's this Middleton dude anyways?

When you get the "fastest" chip in any series the prices get crazy, not to mention that people don't remove these super fast chips unless there is a problem. Many have been overclocked and overheated so bad that the computer ends up getting fried and some Id!ot lists it on ebay claiming it came from a fully working laptop... but more then likely it was pulled after a puff of smoke went up in the air and after some cursing the parts are unloaded on an unsuspecting buyer.

Also, most users wouldn't even know the difference between the various high-end chips, so unless you have a couple hundred dollars you want to spend for "bragging rights", I'd avoid the fastest chips. I'd bet you'd never notice the difference between a T7800 and T7700, the performance is very close and as I stated before, the main upgrade from your T7100 is the cache memory, not the processor speed and you can get the same 4mb of cache in a T7300 that cost about as much as a good cup of coffee.

Also, if you're serious considering getting a chip like the T9500 or X9000 then you might as well get the proper system board that was designed to run it. If you look on my signature you'll see I have one myself. The cpu alone probably cost me more then your whole laptop, and the system board cost over twice what the cpu costs. I built it because I enjoy it, but even I felt it was insane paying that kind of money when I could have purchased 3-4 similar laptops for the same price. As far as getting someone to install the chip for you, if a person can read and isn't to lazy to follow instructions then anyone who can use a screwdriver can change a cpu chip and if you do it yourself, you're going to gain knowledge that is far more valuable then the laptop your working on. If you insist on having someone else do it, then go to your local university or tech school and talk to a professor, ask him to recommend a student that could use some extra money and offer them $50. Supporting a college student is a much better way to spend money then giving $75 to a "tech" that doesn't even know how to look up a CPU to tell if your laptop will run it... something that he should have done immediately if he didn't know already.

That's my opinion, so you can a $9 cpu upgrade and get a big performance boost, a $45 upgrade and get a bit more, a $75 and get a bit more, or go with a $200+ cpu get even more and the bragging rights that come with it.

[miro_gt]

it doesnt matter if the chip was boiled, over roasted, soaked in water, smoked, or else. It either works or it doesnt. Of course try to find one that looks decent, i.e. not having parts chipped off or something.

if you end up getting a T7300 and somehow cant find the "big performance boost", feel free to blame it on Tuus, lol.

also dont go for X9000 unless you really really need fastest possible CPU without too much of modding. Those chips are overpriced and work little faster than a T9500, and do heat up a lot past 3.2GHz (i.e. reaching 100 deg C at max load).

also dont bother with changing the system board, almost all will work with penryn chips after you flash the bios. There are those weird cases however that people report having problems running a chip like that on their T61, but I dont know if they upgraded bios or did something wrong in the way of putting the new chip. Better change the whole laptop than change the main board on your current one, especially with your laptop experience as posted earlier.

here's website with charts to compare cpu performance:

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/

[laswyguy]

ok you guys sold me.. gonna get the t9300 ..seems like the 9300 costs alot less than the 9500..and will have a local shop drop it in and do the bios... i will let you all know how it goes.... ok next question.. is there anyway i can get my computer monitor to be more sharper resolution? .. like the new IPAD..??

[TuuS]

The T9300 has 410million transistors, and the idea that an abused/overclocked/overheated chip is of equal value then one that is properly cared for isn't one I subscribe to. These chips tend to develop micro-fractures over time have been known to develop thermal issues, hot spots, etc... This is the most important part in your computer and just because we can't see imperfections in a chip doesn't mean they don't exist.

I have several T61 systems with T7100, T7300, T7500, T7700 and others, and in reference to the four mentioned, the biggest "gap" in performance is in the T7100>T7300, simply because the L2 cache goes from 2mb to 4mb.

If someone wasn't concerned with cost and wanted to pay the stiff premiums to get an X9000 or similar CPU, then why not get the proper Penryn board that will support the advanced thermal properties instead of just suppressing the error with a bios hack.

To the OP, I think you made a good decision going with the T9300 and the middleton bios. That is one of my favorite chips and I'm sure you'll be happy with it.

[laswyguy]

ok so my tech installed the t9300 and did the middletons bios.. my computer is much faster.. but he mentioned that it would run even faster if I had upgraded windows 7 because of AHCI mode is that correct?

[Neil]

You can read up on AHCI here.

[miro_gt]

ok so my tech installed the t9300 and did the middletons bios.. my computer is much faster.. but he mentioned that it would run even faster if I had upgraded windows 7 because of AHCI mode is that correct?

I run AHCI in XP, so no you dont need W7 to use that, and there's very little (if any) difference with or without it, at least with HDDs.

I doubt that you'll see any difference even with SSD, but that could depend on the actual type of the SSD. Such as most if not all Intel SSDs required AHCI to be on.

P.S.
what you are missing with XP compared to W7 is the TRIM support, but that's very long topic to discuss, with pros and cons about whether it's actually needed. Again highly dependable on the SSD type/brand.

EDIT: now run your T9300 at 2.7GHz .. You do that with ThrottleStop - wonderful program.

[laswyguy]

I have a OCZ vertex 2.. does AHCI help me? my SSD is reading at around 125mbs...

[zemlin]

I just ordered a T9300 to replace my T7500.
I use my laptop with Photo Mechanic & Photoshop for culling/editing photos when I'm not at home. I've got 6GB installed, a 256GB SSD, and W7x64. Hoping the CPU will give a noticeable speed boost.

[ScottyBoy]

I just ordered a T9300 to replace my T7500.
I use my laptop with Photo Mechanic & Photoshop for culling/editing photos when I'm not at home. I've got 6GB installed, a 256GB SSD, and W7x64. Hoping the CPU will give a noticeable speed boost.

IMHO you should see a good boost in background performance, especially as the T9300 has the larger 6MB Cache present on it - I generally use the T9300 on TPs that need it for running various high processing software packages (i.e. VMware Workstation) and the T8100/T8300 on TPs that need it for basic tasks (i.e. office admin, internet browsing) due to the cooler running temperatures but that's just my tuppence worth!

BTW did you eventually install the Middleton BIOS onto your TP or did you stick with the stock one?