Wow, that sucked...but the results are great!

Was browsing Craigslist this morning and saw:

"Intel Dual Core CPU -$100"

I clicked just for fun; retail Intel Core 2 Duo T9600...whoa.

Eight hours later, I'm taking my T400 apart. Note: Dells are easy to upgrade CPUs; Thinkpads are a pain in the . That, and losing that one heatsink screw on the floor for about ten minutes kinda sucked.

All back together, though, and my P8600<->T9600 upgrade is complete.

 

So, how is it now? Heat & performance wise. Better or the same?

 

Performance is better, but it depends on what you do. Windows Experience only goes from 6.0 to 6.4, but I don't think it's stressing the CPU, certainly not enough to show a difference from the cache doubling. I haven't done heavy testing where it would make a difference.

System runs cool, despite the extra 10w TDP. Some of that is Speedstep; if I'm not stressing the system, it clocks down.

Will I stress it? Not constantly. But I also knew that 100 bucks was a good price for the chip, and couldn't pass it up. When I do actually encode video, play Torchlight, or do some Photoshop work, it will provide a nice boost.

P.S. For surfing, Microsoft Office, and the basics, it isn't necessary. And for me, some of the satisfaction comes from being able to do the upgrade and make something better.

Anybody want to buy a P8600?

 

Congrats—though please post a useful thread title next time…

 

Sounds to me like you got that upgrade at a steal !

Congrats !

 

it costs more than 100 dollars to upgrade the CPU from P8600 to T9600 when you buy the laptop from Lenovo. You can still sell the P8600 CPU for at least $60 dollars, so it is a bargain anyway you look at it.

 

I didn't get this thread... what's so amazing about Core2Duo CPU that's performance-wise roughly equal to entry level i3 330m?

 

the OP got a CPU at bargain price.... that is what is amazing.

 

I just checked and the price is the same for i3 330m on eBay... which I know requires a different motherboard... but still hardly amazing. I don't know... It's OK I guess.. and it would make it more worthwhile if I can really sell his for $60.

Btw WEI = crap in terms of benchmarking.

 

I think you answered your own question. In order to use a i series CPU in the T400 you would need a new motherboard, but there is no motherboard for the T400 that can utilise the i series CPU.

So for people whom want more performance, but don't want to sell their P8xxx CPU equipped T400, T500, W500, R400, R500 laptops, they have to purchase the T9xxx CPU, as an interim performance upgrade. Just like the i7 CPU would be more valuable to people whom uses the i3 CPU equipped laptop, if the next generation Intel CPU don't use the same socket format (just an example).

This is what makes these CPU valuable.

I think it is important to keep in mind that not everyone is budgeted or allowed to upgrade their laptop every time a refresh model comes out (usually 1.5 years to 2 years for a Thinkpad), lot of people uses their laptop for around 3 years and some people keep it for 4 to 5 years or more. So for these people a 100 dollars upgrade is worthwhile contribution to a performance boost, until it ties them over to the next laptop purchase.

 

Umm, where did you get your numbers from? Those Considering T9600 being on par with i3-330M?

Edit. Nevermind, re-checkced notebookcheck cpu list and its right there, +- on par with whole i3 mobile family.

 

Oh, I usually use this page: PassMark Software - CPU Benchmark Charts as a rough guideline.

 

First, to Bink --sorry about the title. I was enjoying a nice, heavy porter, and was rather tired --which combined, yielded the results.

Not only is Lead's above post quite correct, but I'm really not sure I want a laptop with nVidia graphics for awhile either, even if I was going to spend the money. I'm happy with my T400, and would have kept it regardless of this find --but the CPU was a bonus.

NewEgg is selling the T9600 for an insane $339, and they go for $150 and up on Fleabay. I've already got 4GB of RAM and a Scorpio Black 500GB in this system, and it has most of the toys a T400 could have. $100 was doable, and I like the (mild-to-moderate) challenge of the upgrade. A new Core i3 or i5 T410 with similar features would be $1,200, even with the Contractor program; that I'm not in the market for.

 

Whats the bus speed on the x201 mobo? Is it 1066 or 1333? I know the CPU is 1066

ie could you pop a 820qm into an x201? Im guessing its prob not a great idea thermally-speaking?

 

the memory bus is now controlled by the processor and not the northbridge.   most current X201 processors can handle a max memory speed of 1066MHz and some only 800MHz.   faster modules can be installed but will downclock.

check intel.com for processor specs as memory speeds may change with newer processors.

X201 processors are permanently soldered onto the system planar and are not replaceable or upgradeable.   an i7-820QM would not fit anyway and would run too hot for the X201's thermal design.

 

ah boo hoo, but thanks for your reply
do the 720qm and 920xm share the same mobo? the reason i ask is because on the lenovo website, if you configure a w510 with a 720qm, to upgrade to a 920xm is ANOTHER 1,131 pounds.... $2,000 (just for the cpu upgrade)...... yet the 920xm is on ebay for $400 ??

 

the ones on eBay are qualification samples

a OEM one will run $1200

 

whats that?

 

engineering samples are provided to OEMs to test function in their systems.   they are not supposed to be sold to the general public but always seem to wind up on ebay.

ES processors are not covered by intel warranty.   these units are supposed to be returned to intel or destroyed.

 

They're typically pre-production test samples made to test a particular batch of processors for potential problems, if I remember correctly. They will still work, but the quality and stability of the processor may or may not be equal to an original OEM CPU.

That said, most of the engineering sample CPUs will come from China. If you're in the US or Europe, most 'local' CPU offerings I've seen on eBay are spare parts or working pulls from broken laptops, and therefore are OEM CPUs.

Edit: That also said, I had an ES X9000 for my old Dell XPS M1730. It handled an overclock to 3.4Ghz with a pretty decent undervolt and had absolutely no stability issues(from a 12-hour Orthos test), but the only reason I bought it was that I knew the exact ES batch was a preproduction sample and proven to be as stable as the OEM part. If you do your homework you can get a good bargain, but you really have to know your stuff.

 

Yep. Engineering samples are kind of luck-of-the-draw. On one hand, they may be unlocked allowing one to play around with overclocking, if that's your bag. On the other hand, unless they're final-revision, they may have errata that gets fixed before final-revision or production-version chips.

Engineering samples usually go cheaper on Ebay than OEM or retail-spec because they're kind of a wild-card.

 

Ah i get it now,

Although as a UK user with an option between 200 pounds ES and 1,200 pound 720qm -> 920xm upgrade i know where i would place my money!

 

What's so amazing is that you are another person who Intel has successfully slotted into their target market....

 

Their target market being "buy each successive new generation as it arrives, even if that's once every year", right?

 

Perhaps. It depends on the machine being used, I think. Honestly, after thinking about it for this long I don't see why the Calpella architecture is worth the jump from Montevina; the current ThinkPad i3 and i5 offerings run not much faster than the faster Penryn C2Ds, and even the P8xxx and earlier Penryn processors can still handle some serious number crunching if need be.

That said, I'm going to wait to see what Sandy Bridge is going to bring to the T-series lineup. If it's not really anything fantastically more capable than what I've currently got in my T400(I'd love a discrete GPU capable of pulling a 6-7K 3DMark06 score as well as Optimus switching), I'll prolly put a P9700 or T9900 in the T400 and keep it until at least Ivy Bridge. I don't particularly use gobs of CPU power, but I do have some 3D modeling apps and video stuff I use from time to time that would appreciate a faster CPU.

 

You happen to know of another CPU manufacturer who sells mobile high-performance CPUs ?

C2D is hardly "new generation"...

 

If you knew what Intel was doing then you probably wouldn't look at the them in the same way. Google their recent lawsuits.

 

Oh wow, I admit I didn't know that, until I just googled it. I mean I didn't feel they are particularly "good" or "consumer-friendly" company... my opinion is that they do have kind of a monopoly on the market right now (in recent years even Apple went from PowerPC to Intel too). In terms of the actual CPU technology (from ULV CPUs to high-end quad-core i7 920qm...) it's pretty good. But as a company... eh....

 

Intel and Apple duopoly... AMD is doing a great job with the limited R&D funds they have... i don't particularly like the way Intel operates in the market and how they deal with competitions.