IBM T40 processor...

Hello, I´m new here so forgive me if this has already been covered in another thread, but I had a question about IBM T40 processor capability. I´ve had a T40 with a Centrino rated at 1.5 GHz for about a year. Recently, the motherboard took a dump, so I decided it would be cheaper to just buy a whole other unit and swap harddrives. The "new" T40 I got is a refurbished unit with a Pentium M also rated at 1.5 GHz but I´ve heard better stories about the Centrino. Now, I realise that the one with the Pentium is most likely an older model T40 so I don´t know what it can handle. Does anyone know if the older model would be able to take a Centrino or is it too much hassle? Should I just bite the bullet and get my Centrino equipped T40 fixed?

 

Umm... Centrino isn't a CPU, it's a platform including the wi-fi, the cpu, and the gpu. My guess is your old processor would be a Celeron, which as far as I know the pentium would beat or at least match.

 

Nifelheim, welcome to the forums!
You've fallen victim to one of the most common misconceptions about Centrino technology - it's not a processor.
Centrino is a brand name used by Intel when a notebook computer has:
- an Intel processor
- an Intel chipset
- and an Intel wireless card
The Intel processor used in the first-generation Centrino platform, such as your ThinkPad T40, is actually the Pentium M. Later generations used the Core and Core 2 processors.

If the refurbished unit has a Pentium M sticker and not a Centrino one, that's likely because it has the IBM wireless card in it instead of the Intel one. The processor should be identical.

 

heh pardon my ignorance. I´m still fairly new to notebooks. At any rate, I managed to get ahold of the place I got my original T40 from and it also has a Pentium M, just has the Centrino package. I thought I remembered it having a Core under my computer properties but I might be mistaken since the dealer has it on their records as having an M. Only way to tell now is to open up the case. If it is an M, no big deal then, I guess my replacement T40 is just as quick, just not quite as fancy. I´m actually happier with this new T40. It seems to have a beefier sound card. I guess I´ll keep my old one in case I ever need parts. I´d still like to know if it´d be possible to upgrade an older unit to a newer CPU such as a Core series or what? I´ve been told it might just be as simple as a bios update, and also been told I might encounter a lot of problems, if it´s even possible.

 

You cannot upgrade a Pentium m to a core based processor, it is impossible.

If you want to make your old T40 into a centrino system, all you need to add is a wireless and bluetooth card, and than it will have centrino technology.
You can upgrade the cpu on your old T40 or your new T40 up to the Pentium M 780 at 2.26Ghz, but that upgrade may be expensive and not worth doing if yours already has say a 750 in it.

K-TRON