T42 overhaul

[BallistaBuffalo]

I'm set on breathing new life into an old T42 with the current specs:

(IBM 2373-6UU)
Intel Pentium M (Dothan) @ 1.7 GHz
768 MB DDR333 PC2700 RAM
40 GB Hitachi PATA 5400 RPM HDD
ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 with 32MB
2 x USB 2.0
14.1" TFT XGA 1024x768
Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit

This machine will most likely be my main one in a year or so, therefore my target update is to these specs:

(IBM 2373-6UU)
Intel Pentium M (Dothan) @ 1.7 GHz
2 GB DDR333 PC2700 RAM
Larger 7200 RPM PATA drive (probably Hitachi travelstar)
Any SATA SSD (in Ultrabay)
ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 with 32MB
4 x USB 2.0 (with PCMCIA card)
14.1" TFT SXGA+ 1440x1000
Debian or Arch Linux

I just wanted to ask some questions and get some opinions on this upgrade from some experienced T4x owners.

1. What is the largest PATA drive I can put in the original caddy? (I've heard 160GB)

2. What kind of performance boost can I expect with a lightweight linux distro installed on a SATA SSD in the ultrabay?

3. How likely is the SXGA+ assembly going to function properly with a radeon 7500?

Keep in mind I'm not hellbent on upgrading all of these components. Thanks in advance, and sorry for the large post.

[RealBlackStuff]

Welcome to the forum.

1) WD Scorpio Blue, 320GB, PATA.
2) Limited, as the SATA signal needs to be converted to PATA first. T4x is older hardware.
3) As long as you also get an SXGA+ LCD-cable, no problem. They use the same inverter.

BUT: for the same or less money, you can get a decent T60 with 14.1" SXGA+, which has native SATA.
SSDs are still rather expensive. A fast SATA hard drive will last you a few years yet.

[BallistaBuffalo]

Welcome to the forum.

1) WD Scorpio Blue, 320GB, PATA.
2) Limited, as the SATA signal needs to be converted to PATA first. T4x is older hardware.
3) As long as you also get an SXGA+ LCD-cable, no problem. They use the same inverter.

BUT: for the same or less money, you can get a decent T60 with 14.1" SXGA+, which has native SATA.
SSDs are still rather expensive. A fast SATA hard drive will last you a few years yet.

Thanks for the quick reply. I definitely would like to keep this particular Thinkpad and I believe I can perform enough upgrades to keep it usable at an affordable rate. RAM is a must, and I would definitely opt for the higher rez SXGA+ LCD as well. As for storage, I may end up just buying an Ultrabay SATA caddy and rip out a standard drive out of something else. All of this appears do-able at around $100. When you say "as long as you also get an SXGA+ LCD-cable", is the cable you mentioned included in full assemblies on ebay? I was just going to purchase an entire lid off of a T43/p. I am also a little unsure about the new LCD displaying at the correct resolution in linux however, but I guess I can cross that bridge when I come to it. Thanks again.

[RealBlackStuff]

If you buy the whole lid, the inverter and the matching LCD cable will be included.
Remember, 14.1" and 15" LCDs/lids can not be interchanged!
Linux should have no problem displaying at the correct resolution.

[Thinkpad Lover]

PM sent. Check your new messages at the top of this page.

Daniel.

[BallistaBuffalo]

One more thing. The seller I found on ebay listed his T43p lid as just SXGA without the plus, but I'm assuming that is an SXGA+ due to the fact that SXGA (1280x1024) were never made in 14.1 inch panels as far as I can tell. Can anyone correct me here?

[ajkula66]

You're correct.

Plain SXGA was never an option, only XGA and SXGA+...

[Tim82]

I'm set on breathing new life into an old T42 with the current specs:

The largest PATA notebook HDD is the aforementioned WD Scorpio Blue 320 GB. If you look for the exact specs, here is the link to the manufacturer's site: http://www.wdc.com/global/products/spec ... language=1.

This is also the fastest PATA HDD you can get. (I think, forum member sjthinkpadder had a topic of comparative researches and results of PATA notebook HDDs, SSDs somewhere in the forum, it's worth to look at it.)

I got this path last year with a nice Flexview-screen T42, again thanks to ajkula66, which was passed recently to a friend's wife (who utilizes the IPS screen better than me, because of picture-editing), only without the SATA-SSD-in-Ultrabay-caddy option. I purchased 2 gigs of RAM, I had a 320 GB WD Scorpio Blue PATA HDD, etc. I used Windows 7 (32 bit), which runs nicely on that setup.

However, if I could start again (maybe with an even nicer T42p with UXGA Flexview screen, who knows ), I would take a different path. I like the Ultrabay slot with optical disk drive (I occasionally use the ODD, but I cannot say I can rid of the optical disks yet), and there's an option for internally using a micro-SATA 1.8" SSD with an IDE-to-micro-SATA converter and a specially designed caddy. There is a topic about this, it's worth reading: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... 2&start=60 As I read, even TRIM command is supported with the right OS (if you choose an SSD, which is capable of it), which is a huge advantage of contemporary SATA SSDs. (PATA SSDs seem not capable of TRIM, but OWC has PATA SSDs in the market, which have something similar method, thanks to the Sandforce controller inside. http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/SSD/OWC/ ... Legacy_Pro - For me, the OWC SSDs are out of question, I cannot see on their site any option of shipping to Hungary.)

In my opinion, the cost of the micro-SATA SSD + caddy is probably equal or less of the cost of the largest PATA HDD + SATA 2.5" SSD in Ultrabay or a decent sized PATA SSD. And even when it's time to depart from the T42, you can use your SATA SSD in another notebook (even if it's 1.8" sized, with a proper caddy & converter, which are cheap). But I prefer to use docking stations at home (with large SATA 2.5" HDDs & Ultrabay caddys inside) and SSDs and external HDDs "on the road" and probably my habits will not meet your intentions.

(As always, sorry for my bad English, it is not my native language.)