Need advice: Upgrade my T400 or buy a new T430?

I have a T400 that was shipped in August, 2009 (making it almost 4 years old). I love the machine and to be honest it’s the best computer I’ve ever owned, but I’ve been having some issues and am wondering if it’s coming time to upgrade to a T430 (I’ll wait until fall for Haswell).

Here are the machine specs:
Intel Core2 Duo T9600 @ 2.80 GHz
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3400 Series
Mobile Intel® 4 Series Express Chipset Family
AMD M82XT Hybrid 256MB
9 cell battery
Integrated Bluetooth PAN
Intel WiFi Link 5300
With camera
T400 WLAN/WWAN Antenna
14.1 WXGA+ TFT w/LED BL
Exp Card & Smart Card Slots
Integrated fingerprint reader
160GB drive, 7200 rpm
4 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 (2 DIMM)
Modem
DVD recordable
I also have 2 of the advanced mini-docks for it

Anyhow, the machine works OK for normal office work, however:

1) it overheats sometimes when I’m using high performance graphics, so I just keep it onb integrated graphics all the time

2) It overheats when playing videos to a TV via HDMI

3) I run computational fluid dynamics simulations, mostly on a high performance computing cluster, but occasionally run test cases on the laptop. These eventually cause the machine to overheat.

4) I once spilled a ton of water on it and it had a funky startup procedure for about 1 year (I forget the details). Then, miracously, that fixed itself one day, but everytime the machine boots there is still a screen saying “table mismatch” something or other.

So, I want to either fix this overheating problem and perhaps upgrade the disk (to solid state) and RAM, or wait until fall and buy a new T430. Does anyone have any suggestions? I’ve read the procedures online for replacing the thermal paste on the heatsink, and think I could do that myself. I would also be comfortable replacing RAM and the disk drive. However, I’m wondering if this is worth the time and expense given how old the machine is?

If anyone has any opinions, I’d really appreciate it! Thanks!

 

Well...I can't put a value on your own time, but re-pasting the CPU should take you no more than 1/2 hr.

8GB RAM for that machine...haven't bought any recently, but it shouldn't be *that* expensive.

A good SSD...$150 or thereabouts...for a 256GB...

Is it worth it? Yes and no.

Yes because you have a fairly high-end T400, and in upgraded form you could likely get away with using it for another year or two.

No because the prices of newer ThinkPads have gone down significantly...I always advise people to buy used, well-kept units preferably with warranty remaining...and $500-600 will buy you a lot of a ThinkPad nowadays...

My $0.02 only...

 

Can anyone recommend a brand and model of SSD and RAM? Also, where is the cheapest place to buy it? I have a 160 gb drive now and have enough space there, so I would be looking at 160 or 256 gb SSD. Also, is there a possibility of moving my existinghard drive to the DVD rom slot?

Thanks!

 

1. Samsung 840 Pro SSD. Regarding RAM, I've used Crucial, G.Skill, Mushkin, Kingston... Just one brand? G.Skill.

2. Try newegg.com.

3. You can move the stock HDD from the main bay to the UltraBay with the help of an UltraBay HDD caddy adapter. Check ebay.com.

 

Just to clarify, the ultra bay adapter you linked will work for a T400, correct? (It says t430 on the listing.)

Also, would the Samsung SSD also fit in a T430, in case I want to use it when I eventually but one?

Thanks!

 

Yes to both of your questions...

 

Thanks! Amazon has this drive for $229, wish I could find it local at for that price though. Would like to install it over the weekend!

 

Amazon is very good with returns should it not work out. I bought a keyboard recently that I decided to return. Amazon picked up the return shipping.

 

OK, an update.

I disassembled my T400 using the service manual and cleaned the old heat sink paste off of the CPU and GPU. The heat sink paste was in terrible condition - what looked like missing spots/bubbles on the CUP and GPU, and a bunch of excess paste oozed around the sides of these.

On (what I think was) the southbridge, there wasn't actually any paste, but instead a "layer" of heat sink material that looked like it had been applied as a single sheet. I was able to just peel the whole sheet off.

Question - Was I supposed to do peel that whole layer off? In retrospect, it seemed thicker than the heat sink paste that was on the CPU and GPU.

Anyhow, I then applied thin layers of Arctic Silver Ceramique to the CPU, GPU, and southbridge. I used a drop about the size of a piece of rice on each. It was tough to get it spread out, and to keep it even. I used a cut up credit card to do this. It was really stressful because I couldn't get it *perfect*, but I didn't want to screw it up! I ended getting a bit of paste on the edges, and I tried to clean it off but I didn't want to damage my job so I left a bit of this excess on there. Also, when I was doing the southbridge, I noticed that a big hair got in there, which I was able to remove but still it had me stressing. LOL

I reassembled the machine and it booted up perfectly. On maximum performance, I'm now idling at 46 C (was 57 C), and on adaptive I'm idling at 40 C (was 52). From what I read in the Arctic Silver instructions, this should drop by another 5 C or so as the paste cures. I'm not sure I did the best job possible, but it did bring me down at least 10 degrees (and hopefully 15 once it cures).

Thanks everyone for the advice and encouragement! :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

I'm going to order a 256 GB Samsung 840 Pro from Amazon for $229: Amazon.com: Samsung Electronics 840 Pro Series 2.5-Inch 256 GB SATA 6GB/s Solid State Drive MZ-7PD256BW: Computers & Accessories

Can anyone recommend some memory for me (2 x 4GB)? I'm kinda shocked, and a bit steamed, because last night this package was on sale for $49.99. I had added it to my cart and everything, but when I woke up this morning, it has returned to it's normal price of $67.99!!! Crucial Model CT2KIT51264BF1339 Laptop Memory - Newegg.com Is is normal for newegg sales to go on and off so quickly like that? Do they have these sales frequently - should I wait, or should I pay $68 for this one? If anyone can recommend some good memory at a good price, I'd really appreciate it!

 

Well, that's how they push the sales. The normal price looks "normal" to me. I would consider the G.Skill or the Mushkin.

 

Good job nambis :thumbsup:

I have tried both the credit card method and razor blade method for applying arctic silver thermal compound. I find that the razor blade is a bit easier and more precise in making a nice even and thin layer versus the credit card (in my case a grocery savers card) method. YMMV.

The next time you need to disassemble your T400 for anything it will be easier and soon you will be able to do it blindfolded

 

When the Samsung 840 Pro arrives, I will put it in my T400 and do a clean Windows 7 install. Can I just insert the 840 right into the T400 and begin the install, or do I need to somehow initialize the 840 first? If so, can anyone point me towards a guide or reference on how best to do that?

Thanks!

 

No need to initialize anything - plug & play.

And of course enjoy...