T42 upgrades

[tim S]

Now that it’s a little on the old side, parts are pretty cheap and with some fortitude there are many upgrades that can be done for a song.
So just how far can one go in upgrading a T42?
My original was a 2374-JU4
Original description: Based 2374-4WU: P M 735, 512MB RAM, 40GB 5400rpm HDD, 14.1 XGA(1024x768) TFT LCD, 32MB ATI Radeon 7500, 24x24x24x/8x CD-RW/DVD, Intel 802.11b/g wireless, Modem, 1Gb Ether, UltraNav, Sec Chip, 6 cell Li-Ion Batt, Win2000

What I‘ve done so far in an 18 month span:
1.8Mhz Centrino. ($36.00, 18 months ago).
Bluetooth ($25.00 with LED plates, a year ago).
1 more 512MB stick. (I forget how much, maybe $20.00).
SXGA Screen. (Complete lid $109.00 with wifi and BT, 8 months ago).
Motherboard from 2373 L4U with 64Meg video ram and fingerprint reader ($75.00, recently)
Palmrest with FPR (9.00, recently).
Long fan. (Came with L4U board).

Interestingly this board appears to have two tiny drops of
red glue(?), on each side of the GPU. No doubt a new(er) process to stop the GPU issues they were having.

Anyway I guess I’ve gone as far as I can with this one, with the exception of a 2.0 or 2.1Mhz cpu but I figure doubtful gains for a lot more heat.
Maybe 1.5 or 2G of ram…..

Was it worth it? To me yes, I love these ‘last of the true IBM’ machines. Price-wise I could get a T42P for around the total I’ve spent to date. But then again I’ve pretty much made myself a T42P!

Tim S

[RealBlackStuff]

2x1GB RAM PC2700 is as far as you can go.
Hard disk: 320GB/5400RPM, e.g. WD Scorpio Blue
DVD/RW Multi burner
802.11N wifi card
If you really want to go 'overboard': get a 15" case + keyboard, transfer the T42 innards and put in a UXGA IPS Flexview LCD (1600x1200). Sell the SXGA+ 14" LCD towards the cost.
And that's your T42 souped up the the (current) max.

[tim S]

I forgot to add that I have a 7200 rpm Hitachi hard drive in there already.
I don't really want the 15" chassis for size and weight reasons. The FlexView screen is nice though!
The DVD burner is a thought, as is the N wifi.

Thanks

Tim S

[RealBlackStuff]

Unfortunately there is no 14.1" (UXGA or other resolution) Flexview available...

[Paul Pennington]

I didn't realize there was a "n" Wi-fi mini-PCI card available for T42's. FRU please? Any problems with installation? The T42 BIOS is really picky about which cards it will support.

[ajkula66]

No FRU there - these are all non-approved cards that require a BIOS hack.