Processor Upgrade

Message

atct86 · #1 Post by **atct86** » Thu Feb 10, 2005 4:06 pm

Has anyone upgraded the processor on there thinkpad?

I am trying to determine, if it is 1) possible, 2) easy to do and 3) if i will see a performance gain.

I have a 1.5 Banias now, and would like to put a Dothan of 1.7 or 18ghz.

Can I actually go to teh different chip with 2mb cahce, or would i need to stick to a faster Banias processor

#2 Post by **daeojkim** » Thu Feb 10, 2005 4:16 pm

The processor is definitely upgradable. From Banias to Dothan I am not sure, you will have to check the pin configuration.

I don't think you will see significant increase in performance going from 1.5 GHz to 1.7 / 1.8GHz.

What do you use your TP for? If you tell us then we would be able to tell you if it is even worth upgrading.

RoadHazard · #3 Post by **RoadHazard** » Thu Feb 10, 2005 5:12 pm

Some people have upgrade Banias to Dothan without a problem. However, I'm not about performance gain except what you get from speed increase.

Kenn · #4 Post by **Kenn** » Fri Feb 11, 2005 3:01 pm

Just to second what's already been said here:

Several people have done a Banais to Dothan swap, I think it's just plug and play.

You won't see too much of a speed bump between 1.5 to 1.7, or from going Banais to Dothan. The 2MB cache is great, but doesn't seem to add a whole lot for everyday computing.

#5 Post by **jdhurst** » Fri Feb 11, 2005 3:35 pm

I am in general agreement with all said here. I upgraded my T41 from a 1.4Ghz Banias to a 1.8GHz Dothan. The speed improvement was worth it to me, although the machine was wonderfully functional at 1.4GHz.

In terms of complexity, it is medium level. You have to take off the palm rest (simple) and either remove the keyboard bezel, or carefully slide the fan out and up to get it out. Remember to use fresh thermal compound and do not wimp out on that last step.

A better spend (if you haven't already done it) is change to a 7200-rpm drive. That, you *will* see in spades (at least I sure did).
... JD Hurst

kev009 · #6 Post by **kev009** » Fri Feb 11, 2005 4:26 pm

Just curious, do Sonomas share the same pin out, and will they run in Dothan machines at reduced clock speed? I know it means little now but in the future it will give us a path of upgrade.

Kenn · #7 Post by **Kenn** » Fri Feb 11, 2005 6:51 pm

kev009 wrote:Just curious, do Sonomas share the same pin out, and will they run in Dothan machines at reduced clock speed? I know it means little now but in the future it will give us a path of upgrade.

If the multiplier stayed the same (which it most likely does), what you'll end up with is paying for a 2.13Ghz Sonoma that will only run at 1.6Ghz (or 1.6Ghz Sonoma running at 1.2GHz) when paired to a 400MHz FSB.

wdub · #8 Post by **wdub** » Thu Feb 17, 2005 6:36 am

I consider to replace Banais 1,7 to Dothan 1,5 to save battery life.
I have 2337 T41p. Any suggestions? How much can I save?
My Thinkpad takes about 13W with 14" and 1.7 Banais, a R51 from my wife with 15" and Dothan 1,5 need only 10W !

jsfrank · #9 Post by **jsfrank** » Tue Feb 22, 2005 8:12 pm

hi... just to chime in, the banian and dothan are pin compatible, but to anyone doing the upgrade in a T series, two words of advice: THERMAL PASTE

...its tight inside the T40p and I had a lot of aggrevation with the faster processor and the fan blowing all the time.

thanks all!

sam

Kenn · #10 Post by **Kenn** » Tue Feb 22, 2005 8:38 pm

wdub wrote:I consider to replace Banais 1,7 to Dothan 1,5 to save battery life.
I have 2337 T41p. Any suggestions? How much can I save?
My Thinkpad takes about 13W with 14" and 1.7 Banais, a R51 from my wife with 15" and Dothan 1,5 need only 10W !

If you're really into saving battery life, you might want to consider one of the 1.4Ghz Low Voltage, or 1.0/1.1Ghz ULV Dothans

atct86 · #11 Post by **atct86** » Mon Feb 28, 2005 3:59 pm

So basically I have come to the understanding that if i buy a pentium m process or the same chipset, any speed, micron size or l2 chce level will work just plug and play?

Kenn · #12 Post by **Kenn** » Mon Feb 28, 2005 5:25 pm

atct86 wrote:So basically I have come to the understanding that if i buy a pentium m process or the same chipset, any speed, micron size or l2 chce level will work just plug and play?

Until we hear more, I'd say you should revise that to "if you buy a Dothan or Banais based P-M, you should be interchangable." Because Sonoma's FSB requirements are different (among other things), I don't think it would be practical to expect plug-and-play performance from that without a new system board.

anthean · #13 Post by **anthean** » Mon Feb 28, 2005 7:45 pm

wdub:

I think all Pentium-Ms downshift to 600 MHz on battery (although presumeably this can be changed in BIOS), so I don't think swapping in a processor with a slower max-speed will make any difference. (If I'm wrong here, somebody tell me !)

But as Kenn suggested, lower voltage should mean lower power consumption.

wdub · #14 Post by **wdub** » Tue Mar 01, 2005 5:50 am

Kenn wrote:
wdub wrote:I consider to replace Banais 1,7 to Dothan 1,5 to save battery life.
I have 2337 T41p. Any suggestions? How much can I save?
My Thinkpad takes about 13W with 14" and 1.7 Banais, a R51 from my wife with 15" and Dothan 1,5 need only 10W !
If you're really into saving battery life, you might want to consider one of the 1.4Ghz Low Voltage, or 1.0/1.1Ghz ULV Dothans

Good idea, but I think, an ULV processor, designed for chipset 915, can not work together witch my chipset 855.
Modern ULV processors are too expensive now to buy and try. Pity.
I can buy ULV only if somebody can definite say, that this art of upgrade is possible.

Shinchan · #15 Post by **Shinchan** » Thu Mar 03, 2005 9:18 am

if any of you have not done the swap.. Please do not give wrong Information.

I have successful upgrade my T40 2373 from 1.3 Banais to 1.8 Dothan. Its a simple plug N Play people. The System will recog the CPU correctly and step accordingly.... If you search this forum, u will find some instruction some one posted with pictures. Personally, I can take some pic of the CPU speed if you are not convience.

Before you upgrade, make sure u update the BIOS and controller to the newest version. THIS IS A MUST. Otherwise, you will get BSOD.

There is couple thing that u can do to speed up the T series. the most import is the HD... 7K60 is a must upgrade.

hydrostarr · #16 Post by **hydrostarr** » Fri Dec 23, 2005 2:23 pm

I'm following up this thread to ask: is there any new news/info on this topic?

I have a T41 2378DHU (which runs a 1.4GHz PentiumM with 1MB on-chip cache) and I want to upgrade it. I'm not sure where I learn about all the chip "code names" listed above; any specific references?

I'm looking to get something with more on-chip cache (2MB at least, probably can't get more economically, but I don't know), for I do a lot of processor-intensive builds and tests running many VMWare runs with proprietary software (from the software builds). I'm also hoping ot get something in the neighborhood of 2GHz clock speed.

For what it's worth, I've already managed taking apart my T41 to upgrade the under-the-keyboard memory and saw the replace-able processor, so the actual replacement procedure does not concern me.

-Matt

nirvana0001 · #17 Post by **nirvana0001** » Fri Dec 23, 2005 2:30 pm

dothan has 2MB but you can't use it.
Banias would be your only choice with 1 MB cache

hydrostarr · #18 Post by **hydrostarr** » Fri Dec 23, 2005 2:45 pm

nirvana0001 wrote:dothan has 2MB but you can't use it.

What does this mean, "I can't use it." Does this mean Dothan is incompatible with my machine? That my machine can not take advantage of the 2MB cache?

?

Thanks for any clarification,
-Matt

brentpresley · #19 Post by **brentpresley** » Fri Dec 23, 2005 4:45 pm

nirvana0001 wrote:dothan has 2MB but you can't use it.
Banias would be your only choice with 1 MB cache

You are SO WRONG.

This upgrade is not only possible, it is relatively easy.

Just make sure you update your BIOS and embedded controller to the most recent versions and you should have no problems with any 400MHz Dothan (2MB) or Banias (1MB) chip. These upgrades are critical, however, to the process because they contain the new CPU microcode that tells the computer what type of processor is installed and how to use it (and all the features it comes with - cache, SSE, MMX, etc.).

I just performed this upgrade yesterday on my T40. Took me 12 minutes flat to open the case, remove the old chip, install the new one, and close her back up.

Went from a 1.5GHz 1MB Banias to a 1.8GHz 2MB Dothan.

nirvana0001 · #20 Post by **nirvana0001** » Fri Dec 23, 2005 5:14 pm

brentpresley wrote:
nirvana0001 wrote:dothan has 2MB but you can't use it.
Banias would be your only choice with 1 MB cache
You are SO WRONG.

This upgrade is not only possible, it is relatively easy.

Just make sure you update your BIOS and embedded controller to the most recent versions and you should have no problems with any 400MHz Dothan (2MB) or Banias (1MB) chip. These upgrades are critical, however, to the process because they contain the new CPU microcode that tells the computer what type of processor is installed and how to use it (and all the features it comes with - cache, SSE, MMX, etc.).

I just performed this upgrade yesterday on my T40. Took me 12 minutes flat to open the case, remove the old chip, install the new one, and close her back up.

Went from a 1.5GHz 1MB Banias to a 1.8GHz 2MB Dothan.

they have different pin, did you replace the main board?

brentpresley · #21 Post by **brentpresley** » Fri Dec 23, 2005 5:17 pm

The pin outs on a Banias and a Dothan are identical. No board replacement.

All I did was remove the KB, remove the palmrest, remove the HSF, remove the processor, put in the 1.8 and reverse all the steps.

Nice little performance bump too.

StarTraveller · #22 Post by **StarTraveller** » Fri Dec 23, 2005 5:22 pm

Maybe the confusion is due to the fact that the Pentium M is available in different package types:

Intel Pentium M (400 MHz FSB)

brentpresley · #23 Post by **brentpresley** » Fri Dec 23, 2005 5:26 pm

StarTraveller wrote:Maybe the confusion is due to the fact that the Pentium M is available in different package types:

Intel Pentium M (400 MHz FSB)

Nice find. I went from a SL6F9 to a SL7EN.

smugiri · #24 Post by **smugiri** » Fri Dec 23, 2005 9:56 pm

@mattengland:

I have a T41 2378DHU (which runs a 1.4GHz PentiumM with 1MB on-chip cache) and I want to upgrade it. I'm not sure where I learn about all the chip "code names" listed above; any specific references?

You can learn about processor families here

hydrostarr · #25 Post by **hydrostarr** » Sat Dec 24, 2005 12:41 pm

[edit]

I talk about the Yonah/Intel-Core stuff here:

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=18610

I had originally posted the content from the above thread here, but decided it merited a separate thread in the T4x forum.

-Matt

thkpdfan · #26 Post by **thkpdfan** » Sun Dec 25, 2005 8:39 pm

I too am interested in upgrading the processor . And after viewing this topic i have a good understanding or how to do it.

The one topic that I am not sure about , and don't fully understand is the chipset..I belive it's there to support Graphics and hi definition audio.??

Been on the Intel sight and they make 915GM / 915GMS/855GM expess chipset. to name a few.

Question? when you upgrade your processor do you need to upgrade the chipset? ...Or is the chipset already built in to the processor? ..

Not sure about this subject....

brentpresley · #27 Post by **brentpresley** » Mon Dec 26, 2005 1:45 am

Chipsets are hard-wired onto the motherboard and are not upgradeable. What chipset you have on your motherboard will limit your processor upgrade options.

For example: 855 series chipsets are limited to only 400MHz Front Side Bus processors. 915 series chipsets can accepts both 400MHz and 533MHz FSB processors.

Gue · #28 Post by **Gue** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 7:16 am

Hello all!

I just did the same processor upgrade jdhurst described above. Everything works perfectly. I mainly work with audio, and I definitely see a performance increase in a real-world project scenario (using Ableton Live 5.0.3). I got the additional headroom for realtime processing I wished for.

Based on this, I can recommend the upgrade as well. It's as plug-and-play as it's said to be. Anyone wishing to boost a T4x like this, it really is worth it if you're mainly after pure math performance increase.

If one is even moderately comfortable with tinkering inside a laptop, the procedure is quite trivial, although there was one potential headache: the three small screws holding down the heatsink can be quite tight, and you really don't want to press down on them too hard when trying to reach enough torque without slipping. You need something that fits them perfectly, and as all of my small screwdrivers seemed to be too worn out for this particular job, I had to use a suitably shaped tip of a kitchen knife to first loosen the screws

Thanks for all the info, folks!

ttan98 · #29 Post by **ttan98** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 8:47 am

Looks like Bania can be updated to Dothan. Good news....

Just wait for 12-24 months 755 and 765 P Mobile CPU will be available at a very good prices because duo core CPU will be available in large quantities. Then one can upgrade 1.5G from T4X to 2.0/2.1G CPU relatively easily and cheaply and most importantly performance enhancement. Unless one is itchy to buy a new laptop!!!

currently 755 model is available from ebay at about US$200-$350... in 12 months price will drop to about $150-200.

osmanmaqsood · #30 Post by **osmanmaqsood** » Sun Jan 15, 2006 5:35 pm

Hi all,

I'm trying to upgrade the processor on my T41p. I currently have a 1.5 and bought these processors from ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 6836847455

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 6836248906

I've followed all the instructions and updated my BIOS and Embedded Controller to the latest. Fitting the processor was simple and I applied a bit of Thermal Compound as well.

However when my T41p starts up, all it seems to do is sit there and do nothing. Just a blank screen and the fan whirring away. No Hard Disk activity or anything!

The processors I tried to upgrade with were:

MOBILE INTEL 1.7GHZ PENTIUM 4 512 LAPTOP CPU SL6FG

Intel Pentium 4 Mobile 2ghz/512kb CPU Processor SL6FK

Am I doing something wrong or missunderstanding anything?

The only thing I've noticed is that part numbers on the processors I've bought is RH80532, whereas the part number on my 1.5 processor is RH80535. Don't know if this means anything.

Anyhelp would be appreciated.

Processor Upgrade

Processor Upgrade

battery life?

Pentium M dothan in Thinkpad t40p

Re: battery life?

battery life?

Re: battery life?

upgrade

Upgrading Processor on T41P

Who is online