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    T61 : Trying to figure out max CPU upgrade

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by .nox, Aug 24, 2009.

  1. .nox

    .nox Notebook Consultant

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    Hi guys,

    I'd like to upgrade to a Penryn chip from my T7100 1.80ghz CPU. I'm unsure if my board supports them and if so, up to which processor it can handle.

    So far this is what I've gathered about the machine :

    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]


    Regards


    EDIT :

    Smooth sailing

    [​IMG]
     
    .nox, Aug 24, 2009
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  2. .nox

    .nox Notebook Consultant

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    It seems the maximum supported chip would be a 1st gen Penryn T8300.
     
    .nox, Aug 24, 2009
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  3. zephir

    zephir Notebook Deity

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    You can go up to T9300.
     
    zephir, Aug 25, 2009
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  4. aadadams

    aadadams Notebook Deity

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    Was it disproved that we could use the P9500/P9600?
     
    aadadams, Aug 25, 2009
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  5. zephir

    zephir Notebook Deity

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    Somebody tried it but it didn't work. The socket is still socket P for those CPUs though.
     
    zephir, Aug 25, 2009
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  6. miner

    miner Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Wont work, the 965 chipset used in the T61 does not support the 1066Mhz bus processors. Also, from what I have seen on the web lenovo seems to have used two diffferent motherboards for the T61 one that supports the T8 and T9 800Mhz Penryns and older ones which had the Merom cpu's. Check this thread on thinkpad forums for the error message when a penryn cpu is used in a merom based T61(this error can be bypassed).
    http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=59815
     
    miner, Aug 25, 2009
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  7. aadadams

    aadadams Notebook Deity

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    Thanks!
    Need more characters to...
     
    aadadams, Aug 25, 2009
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  8. .nox

    .nox Notebook Consultant

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    Thanks alot for the input guys,

    However I'm still trying to figure out if I could upgrade to, say, a T9300 without an error message at boot since my planar seems kind of old.

    I have a SXGA+ (4:3) T61 with the following planar : 42W7648

    Regards
     
    .nox, Aug 26, 2009
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  9. zephir

    zephir Notebook Deity

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    I believe that Lenovo released a BIOS that supports Penryn CPUs for old T61 a while back, but I'm not 100% sure. Maybe someone else can chime in on that.
     
    zephir, Aug 26, 2009
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  10. .nox

    .nox Notebook Consultant

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    I'm not sure, but I think you might be referring to this thread. In which case, it would seem possible.


    I upgraded my BIOS to the latest current version of 2.26, but I'm still searching for an official stance on this. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
     
    .nox, Aug 26, 2009
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  11. .nox

    .nox Notebook Consultant

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    I figured it wasn't worth wasting my money on a possibly incompatible CPU, so I ordered a T7800 2.6ghz 4MB L2. It should serve me well..
     
    .nox, Aug 26, 2009
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  12. miro_gt

    miro_gt Notebook Deity

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    ^ how much did you pay for it, and where did you order from ?
     
    miro_gt, Aug 29, 2009
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  13. .nox

    .nox Notebook Consultant

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    Ebay.

    Wasn't the best place but hey, it's not a ES and it should be good. I paid 270CAD with shipping. Kinda pricey but oh well..
     
    .nox, Aug 31, 2009
    #13