Just got a Z61M with titanium lid-best upgrades?

[bobcardone]

Hi all,

I just scored a Z61M titanium lid ThinkPad that is in excellent condition.
The plastics are nice, and the lid is the nicest one I've seen (no discoloration or scratches).
I've always admired these machines and finally I have a nice one.

Unfortunately, it seems to be the "economy" model with Intel graphics, T2300e 1.66Ghz CPU and WXGA screen.
It does not have Bluetooth or a camera but it does have the fingerprint reader.
I'd really like to "punch it out" to the highest performance I can get out of it.
I've already updated the BIOS to v2.27, installed 4Gb DDR2-5300 ram and installed an Intel 120 Gb SSD.
I've perused the forum and come up with these factoids:

CPU can be upgraded to a T7200, T7400 or T7600 CPU- I've ordered a T7200 already.
I'd love to upgrade the mobo to one with better graphics.
From what I understand, there are four types available for this model.
One with Intel GMA 950 (The one currently in the machine)
One with Radeon Mobility X1300
One with Radeon Mobility X1400
One with Radeon Mobility FireGL V5200 (listed for Z61P)
The big question is the IBM manual lists two types of all of these boards... the only difference is some are listed as "OA2" types.
Does anyone know what the difference between the OA2 and non-OA2 boards?
What would you recommend as the best board- the X1300 and X1400 boards are cheap and plentiful on the Bay but the FireGL V5200 board is rare and pricey.

Other upgrades planned are:
New screen- probably an LG WSXGA+ 1680 x 1050
Bluetooth (looks easy- just plug it in)
Atheros N wifi module (no-1802)
I'd love to add the camera, but it looks like only certain Radeon motherboards support this.
Any way to identify which ones?
I also understand I'll need the camera (duh) and the proper bezel.
Will I need a different LCD cable also?

Any other suggestions on improvements?
This will be more or less a showpiece, as I use my X61 Tablet as my daily driver.

Thanks, and I look forward to any comments.
RobertC

[axur-delmeria]

Grab a copy of the Hardware Maintenance Manual (HMM). There's a link at the top of the page that has a list of HMMs available in this site.

Installing a webcam requires a different LCD cable, FRU 91P7007.

I don't think that webcams only work on certain Radeon-equipped boards, though I admit I don't have any proof.

Regarding the wifi card, take note that Thinkpads have a BIOS whitelist, and you need to flash a modified BIOS in order to use non-approved cards. The No-1802 hack only works for Thinkpads older than the T43, R52, and X41.

There's a WUXGA (1920x1200) screen for the Z61 series, and I believe it's compatible to (if not the same as) the T61p and T500.

[bobcardone]

Thanks!
I've got the manual printed out an am making notes as I go along.
The wifi I'm thinking of using is an IBM Atheros AR5BXB72 ar5008 42t0825, which I understand is on the whitelist.
I thought seriously of the WUXGA screen, but my old eyes would have a hard time with it.
A compromise is the WSXGA+ screen.
Adding the camera is looking to be the most difficult task.
Deciding on a motherboard is probably the next step.
Would it be worth the extra $$$ to go for a Z61P board with the FireGL V5200 video, or is the X1400 sufficient?

[ajkula66]

Would it be worth the extra $$$ to go for a Z61P board with the FireGL V5200 video, or is the X1400 sufficient?

Do bear in mind that the Z61p board does not support the camera. And generates more heat.

[bobcardone]

Hi all,
How is the heat and power comparison between the X1400 and the FireGL?
I understand that the X1300 and X1400 are virtually the same, the only difference being the clock speed.
Both have 4/2 cores, the X1300 is clocked at 350 Mhz and the X1400 at 445 Mhz.
I think the FireGL 5200 is really a X1600 with BIOS optimization for CAD and video editing.
If so, it has 12/5 cores clocked at 450 Mhz.

I'll be running Win 7, with no gaming- just surfing and media use.
I'm leaning towards a X1300 board (44C3882) that is $16.
The cheapest X1400 boards are $25 for a 41W1292 and $30 for a 42W7749, which is the OA2 version.
Does anyone know what the OA2 means? I've searched high and low and found nothing.

When I first got the machine with 1G RAM and a 80Gb 5400 RPM drive, I threw on Win 7 just to "shake down" the system.
Epic slow.
If you like to watch the spinny circle cursor, this is the way to go.
I yanked out the HD and put in a Intel 120 Gb SSD and bumped the ram to 4Gb.
Wow. I cannot overemphasize how much of a difference an SSD makes.
As it sits now, it is a relatively quick machine. It stutters a little on hidef youtube videos and VLC movies, but otherwise is very usable.
Here's what I've ordered so far:

T7200 CPU
15.4" Matte WSXGA+ LG LP154W02 (TL)(06) Screen
Atheros AR5BXB72 ar5008 (42t0825) Wifi N card
Bluetooth BDC-2 2.0 (39T0497) Module
Only thing left to order is the motherboard.

BTW, the machine has been named.
All the family uses X61 tablets, and the overall consensus among them was "Nice....Huge...Titanic...Tank...".
So, Titanic it is.
I'll just have to steer clear of icebergs while surfing...

Thanks,
RobertC

[Shredder11]

I have three Z61p (see my signature below) and temps for the CPU most of the time stay below 60°C and rise to high seventies under load. The GPU when playing YouTube videos at 720p / 1080p usually ends up around 80°C +. I use good quality thermal paste on the CPU and the GPU pad is fine, plus fans are all operating normally. 1080p is slightly stuttery on YouTube but plays smoothly with H.264 based video files etc from the hard drive. Just a shame I cannot get my Broadcom BCM70015 video decoding PCI-e card to work in the Z61p in the WWAN slot; it works fine in the same slot in my Thinkpad X61 and uses hardly any CPU when playing video.

[bobcardone]

Hi all,
Well, I lucked out and got a FireGL board (44C3882) that crosses to (41W1294) which in the manual shows as a FireGL 5200 non-OA2 type.
There are four more on the Bay listed as new for $7.95 plus $8.00 shipping, if anyone's interested (Search the 44C3882 number).

So, it looks like I'll have to deal with the heat and power issues, but at least I know I have the most advanced graphics chip of the series.
Shredder11, those temps are in chip specs, but I bet it makes a dandy lap warmer!

ajkula66, you are right. The camera addition is out, but oh well. I've got a cheap USB clip on if I ever need to use it.
The only other improvement I plan to make is bumping the CPU up to a T7600 when I find one reasonably priced.
Sure, it's only a little over 12% faster, but every bit counts.

I have two more questions...
I know that 3 Gb is the max supported ram for this machine. Is this dual channel?
I've got two matching 2 Gb sticks in there now. Is the extra 1 Gb wasted?
Is it better to have one 2 GB and one 1Gb or two 2 Gb (or does it even matter).

The Atheros wifi card I purchased has provisions for three antennas, whereas the Z61 has only two.
Is there a way I can add a third antenna, maybe by snaking it safely around the bottom case?
Would there be any real benefit?

Again, thanks for all the comments.
I'll be doing a photo shoot and will post some shots soon.
I have to admit, for all it's delicacy, that titanium lid sure is purty.
Reminds me of jet engine parts.

[ajkula66]

I have two more questions...
I know that 3 Gb is the max supported ram for this machine. Is this dual channel?

Yes. Asymmetric, though.

I've got two matching 2 Gb sticks in there now. Is the extra 1 Gb wasted?

Pretty much so.

Is it better to have one 2 GB and one 1Gb or two 2 Gb (or does it even matter).

It doesn't matter in my experience.

The Atheros wifi card I purchased has provisions for three antennas, whereas the Z61 has only two.
Is there a way I can add a third antenna, maybe by snaking it safely around the bottom case?

Yes, but it's likely more trouble than it's worth.

Would there be any real benefit?

In a majority of cases - IMO - no.

[bobcardone]

Hi all,
Well, I got all the assorted bits together and working.
Fast CPU, nice screen, bluetooth, wifi N all work fine.
It's nice EXCEPT the terrible FireGL V5200 performance.
Severe stuttering on youtube and VLC.
I've scoured the internet (and this forum) for Win 7 ( or even Vista) drivers that may work better, with no success.
Everything I found either doesn't work at all or performs worse.
I've tried the Lenovo drivers and the drivers that Windows installs, along with a bunch of others.
Surprisingly, the old GMA 950 board I originally had plays media and youtube better.
Heck, I have a Z60m with a mobility X600 that does better.
I understand the V5200 is an orphan chip only used on the T60p and the Z61p.
Is there any way to get it to perform any better?
Or am I stuck with a pretty doorstop......

What are the options?
Thanks...

[bobcardone]

Well, instead of questions, here are some solutions that seem to work.

Ditched the V5200 mobo and put back in the GMA 950.
Ditched the modem, trackpad and FP reader (used the palmrest from a Z61e, it doesn't have a trackpad or FP reader).
Used the T7200, the Atheros N wifi, the WSXGA+ screen, the SSD and the bluetooth module.
Installed a distro of win7 that is modded for performance.
Installed a modded GMA950 driver (9XX Soldiers sans frontiers Alpha 1)

With a stock win7 install and stock GMA950 drivers, youtube (1080p) stutter was very evident but VLC 1080p played fine.
WEI showed 5.1, 5.1, 3.0, 3.1, 7.2

With the modded win7 and GMA drivers, MUCH better! youtube (1080p) barely stutters now, and VLC 1080p is still fine.
WEI now shows 5.1,5.1, 3.7, 3.3, 7.2

Some other thoughts...
I use Chrome, and a search for "Chrome youtube stutter" reveals that this is a endemic issue.
There are lots of suggested fixes, I tried most but found that turning off hardware acceleration in advanced settings made the most improvement.
Running youtube in Internet Explorer seemed better, but upon further examination setting the playback to "HD" set it at 720p with no option for 1080p.
Also, flash seems to be a problem all across the board, but this is a separate issue.

I would have really liked to utilize the potential hardware advantages of the V5200 mobo, but the more I dug into it the more nightmarish it became.
Now with the modded GMA drivers, it just works.
I also gain the advantage of a much cooler system without that ATI chip as a space heater (as well as better power efficiency).

I have the V5200 mobo set up in another Z61m, and will continue to play with it to try and get it to perform better.

But for now, I'm happy

[axur-delmeria]

I suggest using a different media player.
Try Combined Community Codec Pack (which uses MPC-HC + LAV codecs), or MPV.