Uncommon Upgrade

I have a Fujitsu T5010 covertible laptop that back in 2009 had processing power head and shoulders above any available tablet. It's not main stream but it has a digitizer and will run an ATT connection.

Its starting to get a bit long in the tooth, but I figure a hardware uptgrade could help me get a year or two more out of it. It currently runs a GM45 Express chipset, T9600 core 2 processor, 250 gb 5400 rpm spinner, 4gb RAM and W7-32.

First would be the hard drive. Drivers seem readily available on the Fujitsu website and a 64 gb SSD was a OE upgrade option, so I was thinking to go to a Sammy EVO 250gb w/ W7-64 or even W8.1 and double my RAM. The only problem is there is no AHCI preload driver shown on the Fujitsu site. Is there a GM45 AHCI preload driver from Intel that I can safely use?

Second is the CPU. I know the 35w T9600 at 2.8 Ghz is no slouch, Would it be better to stick with the 35w tdp and replace it with the 3.06 ghz T9900, or up the tdp 10w and use either of the two Extreme Core 2 QX9300, the X9100, or run the Core 2 Quad q9100.

Anyone care to jump in?

 

Unless you're using XP, you don't need to provide an AHCI driver... Vista and 7 both have then included.

Typically the higher-wattage quads and extremes won't work in a given laptop unless it originally shipped with them. Given that, I don't think either of the two faster 35W Penryns are a worthwhile upgrade with the T9800 being 5% faster and the T9900 being 9% faster.

 

I've seen that the generic AHCI drivers dont give SSD's the same speed as the latest intel drivers. Have you seen otherwise?

And then there is the issue of this model laptop running SATA1. Someone on another thread said that Fujitsu specs show that even though the ICH9M chipset that comes with it supports SATA2 the US and EU version came wtih SATA1 but the APAC version came with SATA2. Worst case I would saturate, but I wonder if there is any way to check the SATA version before performing the upgrade?

On the CPU's, I just presumed that a 1066 fsb would work since the chipset was compatible...When you say it wont work, what would happen, no boot to Bios?

So I just ran the specs on the factory install hard drive with Belarc. It pulls up as pn # HTS543225L9A300 with a SATA2 (300 Mb/s). Not that it means much but the drive at least has SATA2.

In any case an EVO would most likely saturate the 300 Mb/s interface, but it would surely be faster than the 5400rpm spinner. I supose the only way I could know for sure would be to bench it after install.

Anyone have an idea?

 

The 840 will saturate SATA II in sequential read/write, but probably not in random I/O. Either way, the practical difference between using the drive in SATA II and SATA III won't be too much. And yes, it'll definitely be way, way faster than the mechanical HDD no matter how you look at it.

And yeah, when I say "won't work" wrt to the CPU I mean that it probably won't POST. The failure behavior may vary from OEM to OEM, though.

 

Hmmm,

How 'bout a hypotetical question. If the thing would post, which of the three Q & X chips would you choose? Another consideration is the heat sink. Does that look like it would support 45w?

 

As far as raw CPU power goes, the Q9100 (or even Q9000, which is really cheap) is probably the best value... in the same regard, a stock QX9300 is the absolute most compute power you can get in Socket P, but I think there's a big price gap between it and the Q9100. The X9100 is not an upgrade over the T9900 unless you can take advantage of the unlocked multiplier... in which case you should only get it if you're looking for the best single-threaded performance.

As for the heatsink... it really depends. If you're pushing a crapton of air through it and you're willing to live with pretty high load temps, it might be enough, might not be enough...

 

Sometimes older Vista discs and I've seen some Window 7 discs need an AHCI driver, quite rare though. Q9200 is pretty cheap these days, Q9000 performance is quite low.

 

The quads pull a lot of power and generate a lot of heat. I would say to stay away. The 2.8 is fine, you would not get that much more from 3.06 and trying an xtreme CPU will just be a power monger. The SSD is the best upgrade and if you are presently being RAM limited than going to 8gb is a plus as well.

The big perceivable difference in SSD over HDD performance is 4k and other small file access. SATA I will still allow you to see a huge difference in system performance. Since though you are limited to SATA I or II don't bother paying and going for super high end performance. Unless you are really pressing the ram and swap file the 8GB may be a bit disappointing...............

 

The primary reason for the OS upgrade is to get RAM. On many occasions I have a ton of Explorer windows open at the same time and that kills the recource for everything else.

Q9200's are running under $100 these days, I suppose worst case it wont run or run too hot and I have to ebay it. But I'll set a temp baseline with the T9600 first.

Maybe this evening I'll jump over to the intel site and see what RST drivers are available for the GM45

 

I'd verify *for a fact* that the BIOS supports a quad core CPU before spending any money, and by that I mean finding someone who has actually performed the said upgrade.

Personally, I'd stick with your current CPU, max out the RAM, get an SSD and call it a day but to each his/hers own.

Happy upgrading.

 

Did some homework, first off AHCI is supported in the BIOS. I suppose that was the first thing to check. Intel does support a ICH9-M ACHI f6 driver after and including RST v10.8. So I wont be stuck with the dated generic W7 AHCI driver.

I also dropped the coretemp wiget on to the desktop of my T5010. Either Fujitsu did a terrible job with the thermal compound or the factory cooler is NG. I am idleing with a T9600 at 61c.

Seems a bit high, yes?

But I've found nothing on the web written by anyone who has tried to upgrade this lappy to a quat core.

 

I still have a T5010. The best recommendation I can give you is to change the HDD to an SSD.

Redo the paste yourself and check if the fan is working. You shouldn't be seeing such high temps.

The P8600 that's in my current T5010 idles at around 30 degrees C when the room temp is around 26 degrees C.

 

Must be bad paste, the fan runs no worries.

As cheap as the Q9100 is I'm tempted to give it a shot.

 

Hi

I just upgraded from T4400 to Q9100 in a HP Compaq CQ61 with PM45 (?). It boots very well, in safe mode works perfect, but when I try to load W7 32b it freeze. I tried to mod the cooler, but not yet succeeded.
After reading a lot about this, I think I have to do the Bus freq mod, because the laptop is working at 800 Mhz and the CPU at 1066 Mhz.
PS: The speed of reaction it`s years faster the before!

 

Pentium T4400 to Quad Q9100 is quite a kick in the pants! But wait, isnt the CQ61 AMD based dkbkl? Odd...

I could see how you are having a chipset issue as it's likely you don't have a PM45 chipset. If you were you wouldnt need to think about a bus frequency mod (???) since the PM45 supports a 1066fsb.

My guess would be you have a GL40 or GS40. That appears to be the Pentium chipset for the 800fsb T4xxx CPU. You may have done this already but try downloading CPUz in safe mode with networking and it would tell you your chipset. Once you know what chipset you have, do a search in wikipedia on "list of intel chipsets" so you can see what CPU and memory you can support. Modding a bus frequency? I am suprised that a mainstream HP/Compaq laptop's BIOS allows that.

That said, while you're at it try to download and run coretemp while in safe mode too. Heat doesnt usually become an issue unless under load or if thermal paste isnt working. That's what my current heat issue most likely is, at least based on the numerous posts by everyone running the T5010.

This weekend I'll be doing the T5010 teardown, install the SSD and new OS, and have a look see at the paste. And if it looks like the Q9100 wont run for you, maybe I'll get it from you. PM me if you want.

 

Keep the page file on the SSD, ram issue solved (a little bit).

Consider you have 4GB DDR2 now, anything more would be a "major" investment.

 

It's not obligatory for Quads to run on G/PM45. There are special hardware requirements (detecting circuity, some resistors and some more) in order the Quad to be detected and run properly. Hence so many failed attempts to upgrade to Quad in systems that weren't meant to run one. Feel free to try it, but don't hold your breath

 

So it is PM45, I`ve done some cooler modding (adding some aluminum bars to extend the surface), but it is not working. It booted once, now when I press power it lights once and then nothing. It`s dead. Any ideas?

 

Your best bet is to get the X9100 E0 stepping. Then mod your cooling and bump it up to 3.5ghz +. The quad is VERY unlikely to work! If you get it to those kind of speeds it certainly is no slouch.

 

Crap, Wifey just hijacked me, no T5010 teardown for me this weekend.

KoI, Could you elaborate a bit on "mod your cooling" Do you mean faster fan, laptop cooler, what?

 

E0 x9100's are like hens teeth any more. Now from the listing below if he will sell you a SLGE7 then it is a E0, the others are C0. I still think the temps are too high for overclocking a x9100 with the 63c you have now.

Intel Extreme X9100 3 06G Socket P 1066 SLB48 SLGE7 SLG8M CPU Processor | eBay

 

I doubt that he has SLGE7. Even if he sells one, it could very well be remarked QS, ES or even crappy ES (with lacking temp sensors, BGA processor with added pins and etc.). I'm just warning you before you pull the trigger. QHBQ is RARE (QS X9100 E0) and SLGE7 (OEM X9100 E0) is like Holy Grail. Good luck.

 

I mean be prepared to do anything to improve your cooling. Cutting into your chassis, adding new heatsinks, heatpipes. Mount fans on the bottom. Whatever it takes When laptops get beyond a certain age it doesn't matter anymore. Ask triturbo or myself, you think he was able to achieve 3.6ghz in his acer with stock awful cooling by doing nothing! Likewise I can push to about the same across all cores using a voltmod and still keep temps under the critical 95C in Prime 95 on the 920xm. 4ghz on single core The beauty behind modding the cooling is you can achieve OCs that are real and that you can use 24/7.

 

Hello again, I just re-opened the laptop, refitted everything and now safe mode works very well. CPUID show me 37 C inside, with 5-8 C less then before. It is a Intel Q9100 E0 and it is crashing every time when I try to install W8 or boot normal mode W7-32. What can I do to install w8 from safe mode?
PS: The source is on a USB stick, when I try to upgrade keeps telling me that the windows version is different. It is bootable, it starts well, but then the BSOD appears.

 

So, after 10 days of trying different things on cooling, modifying the case and other things, I quit! It is starting very well, but then it freezes. I am returning to my old T4400 for now.