W700 QX9300 swap...

So since QX9300 prices have come way down, it was time to upgrade from my T9600. I got a good (non-ES) one on eBay. As far as the research I did, the CPU's and MXM GPU's in W700's should just swap right in and out no problems, provided it was offered originally. Laptop will POST but no BIOS and nothing on display. CPU seems to be working because the heatsink does get warm. Initially on a cold boot it will power up for a couple seconds, turn off, then restart and just sit there. I've updated the BIOS to latest, tried without RAM and switching RAM DIMM's around, without HDD, without battery, with battery only, reset CMOS. It's an SLBJ5 and AFAIK there is no other version of the QX9300 that I could have gotten confused with. The motherboard should support this simple upgrade no problem. No bent pins, I didn't damage it in any way. Starts fine with original T9600.

I couldn't seem to find any real data from someone who had done this upgrade, only speculation and talk which is useless. Searched for a long time and found nothing definitive on CPU compatibility with these. One of the earlier BIOS revisions adds support for quad core CPU's, I don't see what the hell is wrong. I've narrowed it down to a defective CPU.

If it's some stupid whitelist crap, I did notice during the BIOS update that you can use it to update your model number. Could I just use a model number that came with a QX9300, could that be the only thing holding it back? Hopefully there are some experts here that can isolate that the mentioned conditions only occur during "such and such" conditions so I can isolate the problem. Also forgot to mention no error beeps.

Thanks

 

A couple of things here...

The planar that originally carried a dual-core CPU will not support a quad-core in W700 series.

While the BIOS *seems* to offer the option of changing the model number, it can't be done. You need a Maintenance Disk in order to actually change it.

 

Really? But other people have went from dual to quad no problem with Socket P laptops. Someone even got a QX9300 to work in a W500. I'm pretty sure there aren't separate FRU's for the quad and dual core W700's.

 

Not on ThinkPads.

Not without a *major* BIOS hack they didn't. I'd like to see a link to a successful upgrade.

Stock BIOS on W500 will not allow the machine to boot with a quad core, period.

 

Well if you're sure i'll just get a X9100 then. Where is the problem? Different boards or BIOS? I have a hard time believing they won't work. I'll exchange my CPU for another one first and see if I got a bad one. That's a big off if I can't use this one.

You're saying these W700's are all hardwired from the factory to use either a quad or a dual?

 

That's a safe bet, if you don't mind the extra heat.

Well, I'm pretty sure that you could instal a dual core in a planar that had originally shipped with a quad but not the other way around.

BIOS appears to be the same for both, so the likely culprit is the planar.

Lenovo usually offers different revisions of the same motherboard during the model's life cycle. I can't say for a fact whether that's the issue you're dealing with.

Since you've got nothing to lose by exchanging the CPU, go for it. I wouldn't mind being proven wrong on this one.

Good luck.

 

Will do. Thanks.

 

Are you sure it isn't a BIOS whitelist issue? Lenovo is notorious for doing that with WLAN cards.

 

I don't really have the knowledge to find out if it is a whitelist issue. Could I unpack the BIOS EEPROM file and go through that to find that out? If it's a whitelist issue though wouldn't there at least be something on the display or error codes? I'm hoping for a bad CPU but the fact that it gets warm tells me it's fine. A bad CPU won't flow any current at all right, so no heat? Also from what I've read, a CPU that fits in the socket but is physically incompatible with the board (like ajkula said) has a good chance of damaging the board and CPU. T9600 works fine.

I do have an old T7700 laying around, i'll pop that in and see if it works.

Also what does the number on the pin side of the CPU mean? It's on one of the corners between the pins and controllers and stuff. The T9600 and T7700 have 002 and the quad is 001.

 

No.

No.

A bad CPU will have the machine behave as it's completely dead with no signs of life whatsoever, at least in my experience.

I wouldn't bother, but it's your machine...

 

Well either way I don't mind paying someone a few bucks to get it to work if it's a soft issue... I just want it to work. I like computers but my trade is automotive... I'd rather not deal with anything more complex that this is turning out to be.

 

I've experienced the same behaviour that you're seeing on *60 series with a BIOS too old to support a Core 2 Duo CPU. Once the BIOS was updated with the old CPU re-installed, the new CPU was recognized...

But since you already have the latest BIOS my best guess is that you need some type of a BIOS hack.

If that turns out to be the case, just stick with a dual core and call it a day. That's what I would do anyway.

Good luck.

 

Got it working... last time I unplugged the CMOS I unplugged it before installing the QX9300. This time installed the QX9300 then unplugged the CMOS. Sure enough it reboots a couple times and does all the TPM reverification stuff (I call it a relearn). Working fine with the QX now!

Edit: Ok. Seems I didn't get it fully working... First Windows startup after the changeover I got the new devices ready thing for the processor, which required a restart. So I did that and it will boot up like normal, and run normally for about the same amount of time until it completely locks up. No keyboard inputs work, nothing. Just freezes. Is this an OS problem now? Should I try a clean reinstall? I have TPFancontrol and RM Clock and temps are fine with the quad. Happens in all Safe Modes, so I don't think it's a third party program problem, it must be within the Windows structure itself. Doesn't freeze in BIOS, CPU is recognized fine. It's a real problem because this is the only PC I have right now so I have to keep swapping CPU's to be able to get information to help me out... I didn't time the time it takes for it to freeze but it's the same consecutive time every bootup, only in the Windows environment, regardless of if I log in or just keep it on the login screen. In task manager it is recognized as a quad, same with device manager.

For BIOS settings it's all default until I experienced the freezing, then I tried disabling Speedstep, Virtualization etc.

All the threads I've found about any of the problems are all desktop custom builds... where they either don't know what CPU's will work with their mobo or they didn't update the BIOS or have inadequate power.

 

Could it be the AC adapter upgrading from a dual core to a Core 2 Quad Extreme, on top of the Quadro GPU? I think the W700 uses a 170W AC adapter?

 

For once I am glad I was wrong.

Enjoy the upgraded beast and may it serve you well.

 

I'm going to try a clean install with the QX9300 installed, then the CPU will be recognized by the OS at the install as the original CPU.

 

Okay posting from the W700, on 18 minutes of runtime so far, need to make this short. It completely freezes randomly now, last freeze was at 10 minutes of runtime. Memory maybe? I'm afraid to install drivers or anything that requires a restart.Could it be temp on the chip to the right of the CPU? I thought it was that because this sort of mirrors overheating, so i applied thermal paste and took off the mushy pad that comes on it from factory.

I've thought about reflashing the BIOS once again because when i updated it to latest it had to be with the T9600, but the risk is too high to do that, as it will freeze in boot and windows startup...

Update: Installed GPU driver, restarted and on 20 minutes of runtime so far. I think it was an overheating (northbridge? memory controller?) either way it's the chip right of the CPU that uses the same heatsink. So far no freezes with QX9300.

Further update: Well after putting the system through all it's power states, many restarts, cold boot, etc no freezes at all. Not holding my breath, but it may have been a simple thermal paste issue... As when i went back in to reapply thermal paste on the other chip, i noticed the gold ribbon around the quad, and i remember someone mentioning that the QX9300 was just "two T9400's stapled together" so i figured this is some sort of link and that power runs through it. Noticing that it had some excess thermal paste covering it i wiped it off. This may have been the problem all along... There's too many variables for me to say why it hasn't crashed and why it was before. If anyone can disect my reportings and tell me what was wrong, let me know. Will run the system for a few hours before i install any games back on it. Anxious to try GTA 4 now though. Going to put all my screws back in and go from there.

Update: Ran stress test program, runs fine, no freezes. Got temp up to about 85C max. No further problems and boots up like normal. Discovered the freezing problem was related to me moving the machine a certain way and probably grounding something out or something, because i had it in a state where i could hot swap the CPU's so i didn't have to put screws in and out again. I had the HDD drives cover off and i was able to get it to freeze if i moved or tapped it a certain way, even in BIOS i could get it to freeze. So i tightened everything up and no problems.


This upgrade is like pulling teeth... now whenever shut down for any extended period of time, the BIOS seems to reset and i get the same crap as before, turns on for a few seconds, shuts off, turns on again and sits there with nothing. Seems i have to keep resetting BIOS by pulling the CMOS to get it to boot... Otherwise no problems at all, runs stress tests fine, GTA 4 runs great. Should i reflash now that it is stable?

 

Going from a 35w cpu to a 45w is a big risk with a lot of laptops from that era then there were other odd issues. Under volt or reduce its clockspeed with throttlestop then see how stable it is.