PII Upgrades

[DNA_DAN]

On this intel page searching for mobile PII processors:

http://processorfinder.intel.com/

There are (3) 400mhz PII CPUs listed. Which one is the right one for a TP600? Model number is 2645-41U.

I thought 300 mhz was the max for the motherboard, but I read a thread on here were someone mentions they installed a 400 mhz successfully. Is this bogus information?

Many thanks!

[tfflivemb2]

I tried to use your links, but when I went to look at detailed specs it told me that the page was removed.

The long and short of it is that you might be able to put a 400mhz processor in your TP 600 (2645-41U). Some 600s work and some don't, there are threads in this forum regarding this.

The processor that you need has a MMC-1 interface, which was an after market item. Stock, the fastest TP 600 was only 300mhz.

[DNA_DAN]

I see, here are the 3 PII processors that are candidates.

SL3JW 400.00 MHz 66 MHz 0.25 micron mdxA0 256 KB Mini-Cartridge
SL3EM 400.00 MHz 66 MHz 0.18 micron mqbA1 256 KB BGA
SL3BW 400.00 MHz 66 MHz 0.18 micron mqpA1 256 KB Micro-PGA

the last word on each line, "Mini-cartridge, BGA, Micro-PGA" is the "packaging type". Do you know which one fits in a 2645-41U?

[pcnoob]

would this work?
http://cgi.ebay.com/Intel-400MHz-MMC-1- ... dZViewItem

[tfflivemb2]

pcnoob: that link is for a 400mhz Celeron chip, instead of an Intel, but yes, it should work.

DNA_DAN: I could "see" that. I was trying to click on each one and then choose the detailed spec link under the initial description.

If you are trying to locate a processor for it, search for MMC-1. eBay works, but if you want to go a more reputable route, then ask the business if the processor is MMC1. There are Celeron and regular Intel versions. The choice would be yours.

[LtTPfan]

would this work?
http://cgi.ebay.com/Intel-400MHz-MMC-1- ... dZViewItem

The ad says, "These Are Hard TO Find and Will Max Out the Speed Your MMC-1 Laptop Can Handle."

Funny, I am running a 500 MHz MMC-1 cpu in mine.

[Rob Mayercik]

would this work?
http://cgi.ebay.com/Intel-400MHz-MMC-1- ... dZViewItem

The ad says, "These Are Hard TO Find and Will Max Out the Speed Your MMC-1 Laptop Can Handle."

Funny, I am running a 500 MHz MMC-1 cpu in mine.

Ok, I'll bite - what was your machine originally? And where did you find a 500MHz MMC-1 processor? This is the first I have heard of anything over 400MHz in MMC-1.

Rob

[wireless4laptop]

For 600, another option is to exchange a 600E mainboard, not 600X, then you can upgrade CPU to PIII MMC2 450Mhz 500MHz, 750Mhz(650Mhz only).

[LtTPfan]

Ok, I'll bite - what was your machine originally? And where did you find a 500MHz MMC-1 processor? This is the first I have heard of anything over 400MHz in MMC-1.

Rob

770ED @266 MHz, eBay

[tfflivemb2]

Yeah, 500mhz MMC-1 is new to me.

Wireless4laptop is right, you could change out the motherboard for a 600E, since yours is a 13.3" LCD. You'd have to change the LCD sub card as well. They don't always come with the used motherboards.

By making it a 600E, there are options to extend it beyond the 400mhz standard max. Just read the sticky in this forum for more info.

[LtTPfan]

Yeah, 500mhz MMC-1 is new to me.

My bad. Although I don't remember changing it, setup info indicates my mainboard is a 9549-7AU, i.e. 770X.

[DNA_DAN]

So if I get ANY used 660E motherboard it should work? I am only reusing the Hard drive, LCD w/ speakers, battery? What else can I swap to the 600E motherboard?

In other words, besides the LCD card and the motherboard, are there any other guts that I need from the 600E to make this work?

I read the sticky, it was confusing to me. I will try reading it again. THanks

[tfflivemb2]

The keyboard will work as well....essentially, you can pick up a 600E base and sub card, and then just reuse your HD, keyboard, LCD

[pcnoob]

I am expecting a TP600 in the mail soon. It's from Ebay. It has a PII 233mhz processor, no ram, hd, ac, or battery.

I am thinking that if I can get it to work, I would probably put 256mb of ram in and install win2k on it. Do you think I should upgrade the CPU as well?

[tfflivemb2]

You could if you wanted. The 300mhz MMC1 processors are pretty cheap. The 400mhz (Non-Celeron) are $50-65. There is someone selling the Celeron 400Mhz for something like $29.99 plus shipping. Not too bad, but I was trying to upgrade a 300mhz, so a 400Mhz Celeron wasn't worth it, whereas a 400mhz (Intel) might have been worth it.

[DNA_DAN]

I think the highest you can go is 400mhz on the 600, but it's hard to find and it's only aftermarket. 300 was the highest IBM made them stock. There are lots of threads here that list the actual processors that are available.

For memory I would suggest you buy from IBM if it's still available. There is an issue with the 600 only seeing half the memory in the second socket if you use PC100 memory. You need to use PC66 if you want to see all the memory. Some people have mentioned that their computers feel "Snapier" with the branded memory as opposed to the generic kind. There are differing arguements both in favor and against branded memory, but I tend to only like the branded stuff. No worries, no hassle. It was meant to be in there.

[pcnoob]

I think the highest you can go is 400mhz on the 600, but it's hard to find and it's only aftermarket. 300 was the highest IBM made them stock. There are lots of threads here that list the actual processors that are available.

For memory I would suggest you buy from IBM if it's still available. There is an issue with the 600 only seeing half the memory in the second socket if you use PC100 memory. You need to use PC66 if you want to see all the memory. Some people have mentioned that their computers feel "Snapier" with the branded memory as opposed to the generic kind. There are differing arguements both in favor and against branded memory, but I tend to only like the branded stuff. No worries, no hassle. It was meant to be in there.

Celeron processors are made by Intel, so I don't see why it's not worth the money.

I read from somewhere that by disable the onboard 32mb sdram, it will recognize the whole 2 sticks of pc100 sdram. I am not sure of this, but once it sounds reasonable.

[tfflivemb2]

Celeron processors are made by Intel, but they are essentially the "light" versions of their more powerful Mobile Processors.

[pcnoob]

but it still beats a 300mhz PII moble, right?

[tfflivemb2]

Yes, it beats a 300mhz, but it might not run quite like a regular 400mhz.

Here is an excerpt from Howstuffworks.com, regarding the comparisons between P4 and Celeron, but it still helps with the explanation, even for the slower processors:

When you sort all this out and compare the two chips side by side, it turns out that a Celeron and a Pentium 4 chip running at the same speed are different beasts. The smaller L2 cache size and slower bus speeds can mean serious performance differences depending on what you want to do with your computer. If all you do is check e-mail and browse the Web, the Celeron is fine, and the price difference can save you a lot of money. If you want the fastest machine you can buy, then you need to go with the Pentium 4 to get the highest clock speeds and the fastest system bus.

I hope this helps.

Edit: pcnoob - what type number is the TP600 that you are getting?

[DNA_DAN]

SAAAWEEET! I just bought a 600E complete motherboard with base and a stock PII 400mhz for $55 on ebay. I am hoping all the 600 parts will swap over like you say. Are there differences in the shape of the plastic face where the CD rom sits?

I know I could probably go for the PIII later, but I don't really want to run into heat issues. My stock TP runs hot as it is stock. Since this is a 233 the 400 is quite an upgrade!

I should probably look for a HD too. This one is a pathetic 2 GB and win200pro takes up just a little over half of it!! lol

I'll keep you posted how it goes, anything I should be extra careful about?

[pcnoob]

Edit: pcnoob - what type number is the TP600 that you are getting?

I don't know. I didn't ask the seller. I will post it once I got it in the mail.

[shined]

For memory I would suggest you buy from IBM if it's still available. There is an issue with the 600 only seeing half the memory in the second socket if you use PC100 memory. You need to use PC66 if you want to see all the memory. Some people have mentioned that their computers feel "Snapier" with the branded memory as opposed to the generic kind. There are differing arguements both in favor and against branded memory, but I tend to only like the branded stuff. No worries, no hassle. It was meant to be in there.

I'm sorry to say this is wrong. Some TP600 can recognize only the half of the memory inserted into the second slot NO MATTER WHAT ITS SPEED IS. This is simply a matter of how many address lines are hooked up to the second slot. In such machines, ANY 256MB SODIMM put in the second slot is reduced to 128MB. You should have no problem if you insert a SODIMM smaller than 256MB.

I read from somewhere that by disable the onboard 32mb sdram, it will recognize the whole 2 sticks of pc100 sdram. I am not sure of this, but once it sounds reasonable.

Again this is wrong. One guy in this forum experimented that and made sure it does NOT work. No matter wheather the onboard 32MB memory is disabled or not, his machine recognized only the half.

If you encounter such a machine, the only solution I can think of is to hardwire the missing address line to the second slot. I'm not sure if this is even possible or not.

[DNA_DAN]

To clarify, I did not intend that the 600 would see ANY size memory module. I thought the largest they made for this laptop was a 128 SODIMM. I don't know what the largest is you can put inside it is. 128 SODIMM was the largest upgrade available at the time near the end of the lifecycle for this laptop.

I currently have a TP600 2645-41U with 32MB on board, and TWO 128 SODIMMs inserted and it sees the full 288MB. No problems.

If what shined posted is true, then this must be a limitation of the motherboard. Sorry for the misinformation.

BE CAREFUL purchasing the 256MB module on ebay. I see a lot of people list it for use with TP600. I don't think they are aware of this limitation on the motherboard.

[DNA_DAN]

Here are the memory options straight from IBM/Lenovo website.

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... WIK-3TLS8K

They list 128MB as the largest availble for the TP600 and 256MB as the largest for the 600E (Certain models only) and 600X (All models)

I am doing the 600->600E conversion and I can sell you my IBM branded 128MB memory when I am finished and all is working. That is, if you are interested. Fortunately for me, the 600E I purchased is listed in the 256MB category.

Now here's another question. I noticed on the IBM website that the 600E I just purchased came stock with 64MB. Is that ON THE BOARD? or is that just how it was shipped? I assume it is 32MB on the board and a 32MB in the first slot.

[tfflivemb2]

most likely, it was 32MB onboard and 32MB in the first slot. To my knowledge, all of the 600Es only had 32MB onboard, it wasn't until the 600X that they upped it to 64MB.

[skygodtj]

but it still beats a 300mhz PII moble, right?

You all are forgetting the 333 and 366MHz options. I've swapped out a LOT of 266MHz -41, and -51u cpu's with the 333/366's. They work great and were a lot less money than the 400's, which over the last two-three yrs were very expensive.

Stick in the 333/366's, max out the RAM and go with the fastest HD you can (5400/7200rpm). I even got the 266, 300, and 333 cpu's to work in 200/233MHz 770's with a POST bypass. Was a small price to pay for faster 770's.

TJ

[tfflivemb2]

Nope, didn't forget the 333mhz and 366mhz options. I believe he was trying to max out the TP600, but I could be wrong.

[pcnoob]

that's not bad, except that there aren't any of those on ebay. All I can find now is the 300mhz PII or the 400mhz Celeron.

[DNA_DAN]

that's not bad, except that there aren't any of those on ebay. All I can find now is the 300mhz PII or the 400mhz Celeron.

I am going to just convert my 600 to a 600E. If you do a search for "600E motherboard" you will see some that come with the whole bottom base and motherboard intact. This was suggested to me by some users on here. Try searching for "600 motherboard" same result but the same board you have now. It might cost a little more, but you will get the processor you want with a spare motherboard to boot. One would think since it's going on 10+ years now since TP was popular, these parts have got to be getting harder and harder to find. If you plan on keeping it as a junker, having a spare motherboard around can't hurt.

What hard drive would you recommend for the 600E? I don't care for anything super large, speed is more of a concern for me. Anything in the 5-20 Gb range is fine. The ones listed on the IBM site show fairly low speeds 4500? What is the fastest that the board can support?