help with my big T60 makeover/upgrade

[polar_foxx]

Hello!

It's been 2 years since I bought my T60 and I think it's high time for some serious upgrading. Can anyone please tell me if these upgrades are at all possible?


- Screen
I have a standard 14" screen and my screen resolution is 1400x1050. The main problem for me is screen brightness. I can barely see what's on the screen when I use my laptop outdoors.
Have newer, brighter screens been developed for the T60 over the past 2 years? Is it possible for me to replace it on my own?


- Graphics Card
The one I have is ATI X1300 with 64MB of memory. I knew it wasn't much when I was buying my laptop, but now I'm really starting to feel the limitations.

Is it a good idea to overclock this card?
Durability and stability are much more important to me than squeezing the card's performance beyond what's recommended. But if people have made good experiences with overclocking this card, I don't see why I shouldn't follow their example .

Or would it be easy to upgrade to a better graphics card?


- Cleaning my fan
Can anyone direct me to good, T60 -oriented HOWTOs on this subject?
Perhaps if i succeed in overclocking or upgrading my graphics card, it would make sense to get a new cooling system altogether? Any thoughts on this subject?

- Costs
Can anyone give any indications as to how much the above modifications will cost me?


- Other
Apart from all these big projects, I'm definitely gong to get more RAM, a new battery and two white racing stripes on my lid (to hide some minor scratches) .





I'm sorry, I'm probably asking really difficult questions and I'm not giving you enough inputs.
But I'd really like to know what you guys have to say about all these upgrades.

Thanks!!

[RealBlackStuff]

Welcome to our forum.

- Screen
You already have the best possible screen for your model.
Only the 15" versions have a higher resolution possible, and a MUCH better screen, the UXGA Flexview screen at 1600x1200.
However, these screens are lo longer available (only used).
You can't put a 15" screen on a 14" laptop.
So your first answer is NO.

- Graphics Card
Only by swapping out the motherboard for one with 128MB ATI X1400).
You can do so yourself, but the mobo will set you back anywhere from $150-350
So your second answer is YES
I don't know if it's possible to overclock, but that laptop generates already enough heat as it is, NOT advisable at all!

- Cleaning the fan.
Not much to it. If you take it out (using the HMM below), you also need to clean up and refresh the thermal paste between cooler and CPU.
So your third answer is also YES.

Go download the Hardware Maintenance Manual for your T60 via
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=55603

Shows you how to take it apart in all detail.

[polar_foxx]

Wow, thanks for the fantastic reply!!

This absolutely takes care of my questions.


I decided I won't be upgrading the motherboard because then I just might as well buy a new computer, but I'll give a shot to cleaning my fan.
... Unless, of course, that's covered free of charge by the warranty.

Is it?

[RealBlackStuff]

No.

As an afterthought, you could buy a docking station and put in a more powerful graphics card in there. You'd need to use an external monitor as well. That may work out cheaper if you buy the parts from a reliable source on e.g. eBay.

[polar_foxx]

a-ha!
I knew there had to be a use for docking stations.

I've seen a few of them around, but I have no idea how they work or what exactly they do.

Do they normally come with graphics cards or is it something that I could relatively painlessly upgrade them with?

[RealBlackStuff]

The dock is a bare unit. You buy extras as per your wishes or budget.
Lot of info about docks + gfx cards here:
http://forum.lenovo.com/lnv/board/messa ... read.id=41

[polar_foxx]

thanks for the great link!

the idea of upgrading my laptop externally is very appealing since I'll be needing the better graphics mainly for playing games from the comfort of my home. I'll ask ask around for more info about this in the shops..

Thanks for the help!