So I just got an R61. Upgrades?

[Kogey]

As the title says, I got an R61 today for a decent price, it has a Celeron 540 1.8ghz CPU, 1gb of ram, and an 80gb hard drive. This model doesn't have a trackpad (Plan on getting one on Ebay with the old IBM Thinkpad logo)

I'm not sure if there's a list or so of compatible parts I can get for this as upgrades (CPU mainly, can it be upgraded to a Core 2 Duo?)

I plan on making this my every day work laptop so I just need some pointers :3

I'd hate to retire my T40 so I've made it my docked desk mate.

(Ignore terrible quality, taken on a crappy cellphone, lol)

[ajkula66]

Is this R61, R61i or R61e?

If it's one of the latter two, chances are that there's no touchpad connector on the motherboard.

upgrades - in the order I would do them:

a) Middleton BIOS - free

b) CPU - inexpensive enough - get a T8100 for $20 or so

c) RAM - at least 3GB total

d) SSD

Happy upgrading.

[Radioguy]

George is quick.

It does sound like an R61e (or R61i). Does it have a docking port on the base?

T9500 seems like the max on C2D, although T9300 is more reasonable if you want to go as far as possible on the CPU. An Ultrabay Blu-ray burner should also be possible.

I had forgotten that 15.4" palm rests existed without Touchpads. I wonder if they're compatible with a similar width T61...and if they had an FPR option.

[Kogey]

Yeah there is a docking port on the bottom, does that mean I can add a touchpad?

On the bottom it claims to be a TYPE 8935

And thanks again for the help! I'll be sure to get my hands on a T8100 C2D as well as upgrade the bios.

Also I saw this on ebay and it seems to be the same (Shape wise) as the current one on the machine, and I love how it has the classic IBM logo on it

http://www.ebay.com/itm/IBM-Lenovo-Thin ... 257645e5fc

[Radioguy]

Yeah there is a docking port on the bottom, does that mean I can add a touchpad?

On the bottom it claims to be a TYPE 8935

Wanted to know about the port to rule out the R61e (Can't dock, IIRC).

Here's some (limited) specs:
http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Category:R61i

This thread may help too:
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=104106

[Kogey]

Thanks for all the info, much appreciated!
I'm going to go ahead and upgrade the ram first (Most likely to 4gbs) and the CPU, I'll hold off on the Middleton bios until I can save enough money for the SSD as I won't really be needing to flash them until then (That and bios flashing frankly scares me a bit)

[Kogey]

Okay so an update. I've taken it apart and there IS a port for a touchpad on the motherboard, which is nice.
I've upgraded the ram to 4gbs in total, maxing it out (A bit useless in Win XP as it can only see 3, but I plan on changing OSes soon.
Upgraded the processor from the stock Celeron to a Core 2 Duo T7500 (A bit lower end but I got a good deal on it)

Even though I cant afford the SSD at the moment or the ultrabay for it, the thing still runs smooth as butter. Money well spent on this laptop! (Originally this laptop would have probably collected dust if I didn't buy it, good thing my boss knows I'm a thinkpad lover, lol)



Again, thanks for the help!

[Radioguy]

Congrats.

I hope you went with one 4GB stick. If, and when, you decide to upgrade to a 64-bit OS (like Win7 x64), it will be easy to add another. Otherwise, you'll have some 2GB modules left over.

I had forgotten that 15.4" palm rests existed without Touchpads. I wonder if they're compatible with a similar width T61...and if they had an FPR option.

Still curious about this. Anyone know if it's the case?

[Kogey]

Congrats.

I hope you went with one 4GB stick. If, and when, you decide to upgrade to a 64-bit OS (like Win7 x64), it will be easy to add another. Otherwise, you'll have some 2GB modules left over.

Still curious about this. Anyone know if it's the case?

I went with 2 2GB sticks (As it's all we had at the PC store I work at) Also according to what I've read, the max this laptop can handle was 4gb. Not sure if that's bypassable through middleton and whatnot.

And as for the palm rest without the touchpad, I might stay without the touchpad, personally I've gotten so used to the trackpoint that I don't even need it. Plus it looks more sleek and old school without it. Seems like it was uncommon though to not come with a touchpad, whenever I search up R61's (Even celeron models) I always see pics with a touchpad.

[RealBlackStuff]

All T61/R61/X61 models take up to 2x4GB RAM.
When these machines first came out, only 2GB RAM modules were available, hence the 4GB limit.
4GB modules came later and do fit.
If 8GB modules ever come out, who knows...

[Kogey]

All T61/R61/X61 models take up to 2x4GB RAM.
When these machines first came out, only 2GB RAM modules were available, hence the 4GB limit.
4GB modules came later and do fit.
If 8GB modules ever come out, who knows...

Good to know, when the time comes I'll upgrade even farther. Thanks for the info!