Got free A31...need advice.

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Excalibur418 · #1 Post by **Excalibur418** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 4:58 pm

I got an A31 from a friend who said the screen was dead. Yep...sure was, so I got a good deal on a used one for $60. Took the laptop apart and installed the screen....BAM! Came up like a charm with no dead pixels. My question is, this has a 1.6g cpu in it and I want to install a 2.4g. Would it be better to install the IBM heatsink material on it or just use some Artic Silver? By the way, this thing has a CD-RW, 60g drive, and the screen I put in had wifi leads already on it. I might send the dead one to have a CFL put in it.

Ex

#2 Post by **schen** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 6:20 pm

Sounds like you got a good deal and all you really need is to add a few things and you'll have a very nice working machine. IMHO, for anything above 2.0, I'd want the best heat conductor you can get. Which is to say, I'd go with Artic Silver or something like it. The P4-Ms run pretty hot anyway and the 2.4 is one of the faster clocked versions of that line of CPUs, so you can pretty much draw your own conclusions on that.

I've had A30/31 and it's cousin the T30 around the house for a number of years now and they've been outstanding machines. Plenty fast enough for daily use and very stable. We have at least a Gig of RAM in them and running them with 7200rpm HDDs. They also take the regular generic 12.7mm optical drives, so they are easy to modify with lots of things you can pick up. I've also had the fast Atheros chipped MPCI WiFi cards in them and they've performed flawlessly.

There are a number of members on this forum who are experts on them, so you can find out a lot by doing a search on the model.

ajkula66 · #3 Post by **ajkula66** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 6:46 pm

You'll also need a different fan if you're going to go above 1.8 Ghz, otherwise you'll melt the board very fast. Even with a fan from a 2.0 machine, 2.4 CPU will still run pretty hot.

BIOS hack will most likely be required if you're intent on upgrading to a "g" wireless card.

You'll need at least 1Gb of RAM to run XP properly, my recommendation is 2Gb.

Faster (at least 5400 rpm) HDD is a must.

That's it for a sound start. Good luck with your new ThinkPad.

Excalibur418 · #4 Post by **Excalibur418** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 7:39 pm

Well, I guess I can do a 1.9g cpu in it. What do I need to look for in so far as a heatsink and fan? I guess I have to do the BIOS hack to run an Atheros in it.

Ex

#5 Post by **underclocker** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 7:56 pm

Very nice deal on a fine ThinkPad.

You should run the better fan with the faster CPU's. I upgraded my A31 from a 1.6 to a 2.0 with the stronger fan and it runs pretty quick (much faster than the 1.6). The heat and noise are reasonable. I agree you need at least a 5400rpm drive to get it to boot fast and feel snappy. I also added 1GB of RAM. I swapped lids for an internal wireless model, then added a non-IBM Intel b/g adapter - the hack was not required! Later I swapped the XGA for an SXGA+ LCD, it's a pretty sweet media server connected to an LCD TV for now.

proaudioguy · #6 Post by **proaudioguy** » Fri Jul 25, 2008 12:39 am

underclocker wrote:Very nice deal on a fine ThinkPad.

You should run the better fan with the faster CPU's.

How cool do you really need it? I upgraded from a 1.6 to a 2.2 using the stock fan and AS5, and it idles at 39C and I don't think it's ever gone over 55C since then.

sarbin · #7 Post by **sarbin** » Fri Jul 25, 2008 12:43 am

ajkula66 wrote:You'll also need a different fan if you're going to go above 1.8 Ghz, otherwise you'll melt the board very fast. Even with a fan from a 2.0 machine, 2.4 CPU will still run pretty hot.

interesting! what fru fan should be used?

i replaced the 1.8 in my n5u with a 2.4 about 3yrs ago and just used the same fan with some nice arctic silver5. i've not noticed any overheating issues, but now i'm feeling some paranoia.

tia!

proaudioguy · #8 Post by **proaudioguy** » Fri Jul 25, 2008 12:44 am

sarbin wrote:
ajkula66 wrote:You'll also need a different fan if you're going to go above 1.8 Ghz, otherwise you'll melt the board very fast. Even with a fan from a 2.0 machine, 2.4 CPU will still run pretty hot.
interesting! what fru fan should be used?

i replaced the 1.8 in my n5u with a 2.4 about 3yrs ago and just used the same fan with some nice arctic silver5. i've not noticed any overheating issues, but now i'm feeling some paranoia.

tia!

I think you already have the best fan! I believe 1.8, 1.9 and 2.0 all used the same fan. 1.6 and 1.7 used a different fan.

sarbin · #9 Post by **sarbin** » Fri Jul 25, 2008 12:48 am

thx!

and... doh! for me.

i've got the hmm so i should do a little reading...

fasterbybike · #10 Post by **fasterbybike** » Fri Jul 25, 2008 3:35 am

You'll be looking for FRU 62P4092 for the higher performance fan.

Got free A31...need advice.

Got free A31...need advice.

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