Upgrade to Merom: Need Anything Besides BIOS Update?

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wswartzendruber · #1 Post by **wswartzendruber** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 3:09 pm

Hey guys, I just updated my 1953-D6U's BIOS to v2.01. Is this all I need to put a Merom chip in there, or do I need something else?

claudeo · #2 Post by **claudeo** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 11:05 pm

Why bother?

wswartzendruber · #3 Post by **wswartzendruber** » Sun Oct 29, 2006 11:08 pm

claudeo wrote:Why bother?

Because I plan to recompile my Linux distro (Gentoo) for EM64T support.

kwhess · #4 Post by **kwhess** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 5:37 pm

The 2.x BIOS is indeed all you need. I upgraded a couple of weeks ago, with no problems so far.

cxls · #5 Post by **cxls** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 7:13 pm

Where do you buy standalone mobile Core 2's?

wswartzendruber · #6 Post by **wswartzendruber** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 7:46 pm

cxls wrote:Where do you buy standalone mobile Core 2's?

Newegg.com - Core 2 Duo (Merom)

young guy · #7 Post by **young guy** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 8:28 pm

Does it void your warranty?

#8 Post by **tomh009** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 8:36 pm

wswartzendruber wrote:
claudeo wrote:Why bother?
Because I plan to recompile my Linux distro (Gentoo) for EM64T support.

But the other question is ... will the Napa chipset support 64-bit operation (AMD64/EM64T/Intel 64)?

I would be interested in hearing the answer once you have the Merom chip installed!

wswartzendruber · #9 Post by **wswartzendruber** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 12:15 am

tomh009 wrote:
wswartzendruber wrote: Because I plan to recompile my Linux distro (Gentoo) for EM64T support.
But the other question is ... will the Napa chipset support 64-bit operation (AMD64/EM64T/Intel 64)?

I would be interested in hearing the answer once you have the Merom chip installed!

Eh, a lot of Gentoo users who have the Merom chip have their OS's compiled for 64-bit.

EDIT: More reading indicates that the Napa chipset's only limitation is that the Merom won't recognize more than 4 GB of RAM. For the ThinkPad, this is a non-issue.

sw-rick · #10 Post by **sw-rick** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 3:07 am

Strange that the 2.01 BIOS upgrade will give you this support, as it mentions nothing about instructions for the Core 2.

However, in the changelog Lenovo do write that in the 1.09 version they have "(New) Upgraded to latest microcode update for Intel Core processor".

Rick

#11 Post by **tomh009** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 7:15 am

wswartzendruber wrote:Eh, a lot of Gentoo users who have the Merom chip have their OS's compiled for 64-bit.

EDIT: More reading indicates that the Napa chipset's only limitation is that the Merom won't recognize more than 4 GB of RAM. For the ThinkPad, this is a non-issue.

That sounds very promising ... though would be nice to hear of someone doing it specifically on a ThinkPad T60 or X60, as there could be some differences in implementation ... so, please, do let us know!

dfumento · #12 Post by **dfumento** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 7:25 am

2 GHz (4 MB Cache) $300:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819111302

1.66 GHz(2 MB Cache) $200
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819111304

Entire processor list:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi ... tegory=343

You might be able to get the processor cheaper somewhere else.

But what this shows that for as little as $200 you can convert your 32-bit processor to a 64-bit processor if you upgrade the BIOS. Not bad.

kulivontot · #13 Post by **kulivontot** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 10:14 am

Yey 64-bit computing.
Boo hardware incompatibilities.
Since Microsoft basically gave up on XP 64-bit, I'm going to wait for Vista 64-bit before even considering an upgrade. If I ever used linux maybe I'd consider it, but that seems like a little too much work.

dfumento · #14 Post by **dfumento** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 10:42 am

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/64bit/default.mspx

If you read the newsgroup, there are apparently a lot of users using Win XP Pro 64. 90 day free trial so you can run it until Vista arrives.

freddy418 · #15 Post by **freddy418** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 5:20 pm

Just got my Core 2 Duo T7200 processor today that I ordered friday from newegg.com.

Popped it into my T60p and it booted up and recognized the Core 2 Duo immediately, I'm working with Bios 2.01 so it looks like the Core 2 Duos are already supported in there and everything's good to go in the thinkpad for those thinking about an upgrade.

Haven't run any benchmarks but given the web reviews comparing Core Duo to Core 2 Duo and given how easy it was to swap the processors. I give full encouragement to others thinking about upgrading their thinkpads.

-dan

#16 Post by **Kyocera** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 7:04 pm

wswartzendruber, welcome to the forum! Thanks to you, your family, and your brothers/sisters in arms for what you do for this country.

wswartzendruber · #17 Post by **wswartzendruber** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 7:11 pm

I'll be getting my Merom chip right on Thanksgiving, so I'm sure we'll know from someone else by then if EM64T works on Napa chipsets. But I'll post in this thread regardless.

Kyocera: I like this forum already.

freddy418 · #18 Post by **freddy418** » Thu Nov 02, 2006 11:49 pm

EM64T works.

Installed windows XP x64 Edition on a backup hard drive I had lying around and it works perfectly. Only problem of note is that all of the Lenovo/IBM software and drivers (important ones being the power manager, on-screen display, fingerprint, and presentation manager) are built for 32-bit, they don't work in Windows x64 edition, so 64-bit is kinda useless for now, this may not be an issue for users already on Linux.

-dan

#19 Post by **tomh009** » Fri Nov 03, 2006 9:33 am

freddy418 wrote:EM64T works.

Installed windows XP x64 Edition on a backup hard drive I had lying around and it works perfectly. Only problem of note is that all of the Lenovo/IBM software and drivers (important ones being the power manager, on-screen display, fingerprint, and presentation manager) are built for 32-bit, they don't work in Windows x64 edition, so 64-bit is kinda useless for now, this may not be an issue for users already on Linux.

Excellent -- thanks for the report. Hopefully Lenovo will be releasing 64-bit drivers and tools for Vista over the next six months or so. I'm not in a rush to run a 64-bit OS, but knowing that the ThinkPad has some extra futureproofing is a great thing.

pharao111 · #20 Post by **pharao111** » Sat Nov 04, 2006 7:53 am

Hi,
it seems to be possible to change the processor in the t60p's but is it also possible to change the processor's in the t60 one's? and is there a feelable change in the speed of processing compared with the core due 2ghz version?

HorstM · #21 Post by **HorstM** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 11:54 am

Hi!

Is it really that easy to replace the CPU?
What do I need beside a screwdriver, maybe new paste between cooler and CPU? Are there instruction somewhere in the web?

TIA
Chris

EOMtp · #22 Post by **EOMtp** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 1:04 pm

HorstM wrote:Is it really that easy to replace the CPU?
What do I need beside a screwdriver, maybe new paste between cooler and CPU? Are there instruction somewhere in the web?

Yes, it is that easy. You need nothing more than what you listed. Instructions are on Page 88 of Hardware Maintenance Manual: http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-62733 . Good Luck!

DAH · #23 Post by **DAH** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 2:08 pm

OK So let's say I am thinking about this, what are the limitations? Am I stuck with the same speed as what I have now, or can I get a faster one, and if I can how fast can I go? What about Intel new Quad-Core 2.66 GHz chips, or what about the Core 2 Extreme X6800 chip at 2.99 GHz? If I can change clock speeds what is involved in doing that? Is it simply dropping in a new chip, and it's done?

Thanks
DAH

christopher_wolf · #24 Post by **christopher_wolf** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 2:37 pm

No Quad Core in laptops at all right now, so you can't drop those in and the same goes for the Extremes as well the most you could put in is a Core 2 Duo. You can get a C2D at the speed you want and drop it in, but you have to make sure that the BIOS is flashed to support it.

wswartzendruber · #25 Post by **wswartzendruber** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 10:24 pm

christopher_wolf wrote:No Quad Core in laptops at all right now, so you can't drop those in and the same goes for the Extremes as well the most you could put in is a Core 2 Duo. You can get a C2D at the speed you want and drop it in, but you have to make sure that the BIOS is flashed to support it.

Yes, flash the BIOS before installing the chip.

wswartzendruber · #26 Post by **wswartzendruber** » Thu Nov 23, 2006 4:55 pm

The Core 2 Duo upgrade was a success.

whomung · #27 Post by **whomung** » Thu Dec 21, 2006 6:00 pm

Hi.... LATE QUESTION TO THE CONVERSATION

I've got a T60p w/ core duo at 2.16ghz..... And three (3) gigs of RAM

Will upgrading to the Core 2 Duo --at a faster clock speed than the current CPU -- cause me any problems with the RAM speed --with one gig, who cares... With three... It's another expense....

TIA

own6volvos · #28 Post by **own6volvos** » Thu Dec 21, 2006 6:22 pm

Both are on the same 667mhz FSB, so it shouldn't matter. On that point, anyone want to trade a T1300 for my T7400? I need something more power friendly.

stephenaron · #29 Post by **stephenaron** » Thu Dec 21, 2006 6:37 pm

Question to whomung:
You installed 3 gigs of RAM? Did you find a 5300 2gb stick? or are you running the slower 2 gb stick?

whomung · #30 Post by **whomung** » Fri Dec 22, 2006 2:24 am

# stephenaron

They are all "Lenovo" sticks. One came with the machine, and the 2 gig stick came as part of a "customer satisfaction" settlement a week or two later. I assume the are all the same bus speed, but honestly don't know....PC-DOC and SiSoft SANDRA won't give me that level of info.... Given I was one "very annoyed" customer --I would imagine I got matching bus speeds, but now maybe I'll open it up and look

The machine feels very solid right now, and I do fairly big CAD/Renderings/Photoshop stuff... So I'd love the core 2 boost, but I don't want to reinvest for the RAM, or destabilize the machine

Upgrade to Merom: Need Anything Besides BIOS Update?

Upgrade to Merom: Need Anything Besides BIOS Update?

processor update in T60 (2007 type)

Merom

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