Upgrade Z61?

[dwilsonfl]

One of the laptops I have accumulated is a Z61 9442-EC1 that has a 1.83 cpu. I like the size, the titanium lid, and want to use it more so I was thinking about an SSD and CPU upgrade.

Which can I use in this unit?

Thanks,

David

[ZaZ]

The Z61 can take up to a T7600 CPU, but I'd do the SSD first. Any 9.5mm SSD should work fine and is more likely to make your Z61 seem faster than the CPU.

[ganon11000]

SSD are the biggest upgrade (unless you are at 90%+ CPU all the time) eg.. Better for internet, files, multimedia etc...

[ajkula66]

That's a nicely spec'd unit...

Based on 9442-EAU: T2400(1.83GHz), 512MB RAM, 60GB 5400rpm HD, 14.1in 1280x768 LCD, Intel 950, CDRW/DVD, Intel 802.11abg wireless, Bluetooth/Modem, 1Gb Ethernet, UltraNav, Secure chip, IEEE 1394, Camera, 4c Li-Ion batt, WinXP Pro

The only two downsides - which are not applicable to everyone's needs - are the screen resolution and the lack of DVI through dock.

SSD is the way to go, and T7200 CPUs are getting inexpensive nowadays...that would be my upgrade path, but it's your ThinkPad...I'd also upgrade the wireless card while I'm at it....

[3h]

I came across this helpful thread while looking for info on upgrading my wife's z61t (9440-ADU w. T2400 @ 1.83GHz and 2 GB RAM). My impression is that upgrading the CPU would probably not make that much of a difference and would probably not be worth the hassle and expense, but switching to SSD could make a significant difference and might be worth it. My only remaining question is whether upgrading the RAM to 3 GB would be worth it. Would it make a significant difference performance-wise?

[RealBlackStuff]

If you put in a Core 2 Duo CPU like these:
T5500 1.66 2 MB
T5600 1.83 2 MB
T7200 2.00 4 MB
T7400 2.16 4 MB
T7600 2.33 4 MB
You could then put in a 64-bit OS, but unfortunately your machine is still limited to 3GB RAM out of the max. 4GB that you could put in.
3GB RAM plus an SSD would be perfect to run W7 32-bit.
Don't even think of W8 or W8.1.

[Cigarguy]

A 64 bit OS is just a resource hog without enough benefits IMO. I have Win 7 on all my T60 and I'm very happy with it. All have T7200, 3 GB RAM and a SSD.

[dr_st]

A 64 bit OS is just a resource hog without enough benefits IMO.

While the difference in memory usage is there, it's never been significant enough to justify calling it a "resource hog".

With that said, on machines limited to 3GB anyways, there is no advantage I can think of to running a 64-bit OS, unless you need a very particular, 64-bit-optimized application.

[Sandstorm83]

One reason I would suggest to use the x64 version is that 64-bit versions of Windows are a little more secure than 32-bit.

http://www.howtogeek.com/165535/why-the ... re-secure/

[schen]

I have the ATI GPU'd, WSXGA version of that machine and liked it a lot. I went the exact same upgrade route as well. Put in an SSD, 4Gb of RAM (because that's what I had), and added a T7200 CPU. It turned out to be a pretty snappy machine with decent performance.

I'd still be using it now if I hadn't of "fallen into" a T60p, so everything has just gotten transferred over to it, with the exception of the T7200 which is still waiting to move over. I will say this though; something about the T60's keyboard is better than the one in my Z61m though. All-in-all, it's still a very viable machine on routine tasks for most people.

[jronald]

I have the Z61t with the 7200 and a IBM factory SSD. I consider it brutally fast for everyday usage. Im never waiting for it to open, or starting. With wide screen Im 99.9% happy. Wife and child have the same thing on the Z61m's with the exception of 7200 RPM HDDs and they are totally satisfied.

Ron