CF-51 CPU upgrading

The processors in the CF-51s are definitely upgradeable. I recently upgraded one of my CF-51 MK3s to a T7500 processor. I will give more details later. I am in the process of going back home and moving from one state to another.

 

Would your MK3 be a T2300 @1.66GHz ? Sounds like a good idea but you must get the 2.2 cpu at a good price. i know Buybest (12,13,14 or 15) on fleabay has them sometimes for under $100.00 for the 2.2 . I paid under $50.00 for my T2300 1.66 DUO .It runs W7 great and I have upped the memory to 4GB / 160GB HDD.....sweet

UPDATE: PLEASE READ THIS FIRST

THE T7500 WILL NOT WORK. NO 800MHz FSB WILL WORK IN THE CF-51MK3 OR MK3LL.
The T7200 , T7400 and the T7600 will work, These all have 667MHz FSB which supports the 51 MK3 / MK3LL motherboard / chipset

 

No, actually it started out as a T2500 2.0GHz one. I got the CPU at a super price (FREE). Where this CF-51 started out as a CoreDuo, it is now a Core2Duo. 64bit vs. 32bit.

 

Well I guess I am going to have to look at mine and see what board I have and see if it can take the faster cpu.

 

So what I have found out without looking at the mother board is if I am right it should work in mine to, at least the sockets are the same.
This was from the Intel site
Intel® Core™ Duo Processor T2300 @1.66
Intel® Core? Duo Processor T2300 (2M Cache, 1.66 GHz, 667 MHz FSB) with SPEC Code(s) SL8VR, SL8VV, SL9JL, SL9JY

Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor T7500 @2.2
Intel® Core?2 Duo Processor T7500 (4M Cache, 2.20 GHz, 800 MHz FSB) with SPEC Code(s) SLA3N, SLA44, SLADM, SLAF8

Sockets Supported PBGA479, PPGA478

 

wait the 51 I got rid of(2.0 duo 2GB ram) can take 2 duo? Guess I just put this 72 on pause again. Back on search for another 51.

 

First thing to do is grab a copy of CPU-Z and look at the motherboard chipset that you have. Next, research on the web to find what processors that chipset will support. I don't remember all the specifics that led me to determine my CF-51 would in fact support the T7500. After my research I tried the T7500 and let me tell you, mine SCREAMS now. Your research will turn up very little about upgrading the CPU on Panasonics but you will find much more on doing this on Dells and HPs.

Once I get all my stuff from Iraq and finish my move, I can post more info on this.

 

Welcome home from Iraq.
Thanks from all of us for your service.

Bob

 

Back 2 months ago I was picking up these on flesbay for $40.00-$60.00 (Duo) but now I see they are in the $100.00-$125.00 range with no caddy.

 

I got my 51 @ $160 but had to replace keyboard. Came with all except wifi.

 

Yes I got one with a bad keyboard too BUT in the end the keyboard was ok....it was the mother board and it was a Duo . So now I am waiting to pick up one with a smashed screen cheap

 

got a federal model cf-51 QG4DEBM no wifi and do believe it has no board to mount a wireless card to it. sounds like something federal, decisions made without the benefit of the constitution. it's all apart and now I'm looking to find a "slot, sled" part to put in to load the wifi card to. I like the sound of upgrading cpu to a core2duo. Will do my thing, thanks to TB and THE TOMCAT on info sent so I can do reconstructive surgery. who was it, NTTD, that called his frankenbook or was it GORK! anyways went to ZZ Tops and Tom Petty concert at walnut creek last nite, what did you say? I can't hear youuuuuuu!.....Driller if I ever get it off the table I'll call mine a FRAKKENBOOK, how bout that mnementh?

 

I have a federal model too and all I had to do was pull the top off add the wifi card , there should be a spot on the motherboard for it. It even had the antennas.

 

I can see a connector for it but doesn't look like anything that the intel 2915 abg card would fit to, searched and on ebay is an intel 1/2 size mini card that has the hook up that matches the connector on MB, but no hook retainer nor anything that would anchor it securely to MB, still searching diagrams and service manuals for clues,........Driller

 

looking forward to more info on this cpu upgrade, welcome back, be safe.......Driller

 

How's this picture

Also here is a link to the Intel site. Might give you an idea if or what we can upgrade to and not burn it up in the process . Makes me wonder if the heat sink can handle all that extra heat but I will soon find out, no room to put a bigger one in .

 

Link? What link????

 

This one Intel® Core?2 Duo Processor T7500 (4M Cache, 2.20 GHz, 800 MHz FSB) with SPEC Code(s) SLA3N, SLA44, SLADM, SLAF8 .......sorry

 

My Vaio was sitting on the floor of my Van when a US Forestry Vehicle pulled out in front of me and I struck him broadside at 60 mph. It survived with a broken Screen, dvd door doesn't work and the multi flash port. but otherwise fine. But after fixing the Vaio and opening the TB to change the ccfl, im sold. now i know why the cost so much new. I'm sure it would have survived unscathed

 

looks like mine on the MB as well, got the 2.2 T7500 core 2 duo cpu and just finished getting that in, waiting on the wifi cards to arrive before I reassemble it all. the wifi card is 3945 intel I believe and sure hope it works , waiting on battery as well, will let you know..............Driller

 

On your mother board does your socket say "PGA479M" ?

 

just got the heatsink off and checked, yes that is the number, got another parts cf-51 that seller said wouldn't boot and was stripped, obviously was damaged by seler when they disassembled it as I could see pc card ejector was pryed off the MB,and was damaged ,it had a core duo 1.66 cpu, probably got fried, same number on the socket.......Driller

 

Yeah sometimes for parts are a gold mine or fools gold. Been on both ends of the spectrum. luckily all 3 of my toughbooks were the good end. The 72 was a blind crap shot.

 

if you go to the 2 intel links I posted and click on "Compatible Products" on the left the T2300E is compatible with
T2300E Compatible Chipsets
Mobile Intel 945GM Express Chipset
Mobile Intel 945GME Express Chipset
Mobile Intel 945PM Express Chipset

T7500 Compatible Chipsets
Mobile Intel® GME965 Express Chipset

Going by this its not compatible but as we know most companys don't want us to know what really works . All the T2000 CPU's use the same chipset so we could upgrade to the T2700 2.33MHz but the price for them is more that the T7500. I do hope that Rusty gets back to us and how he found out it will work. I just don't want to fry a very good working toughbook

Update
Something I just noticed is the chipset on my dell

T7200 2.0MHz
Mobile Intel® 945PM Express Chipset with 82801GBM I/O Controller Hub (ICH7M)

and the CF-51
Mobile Intel® 945GM Express Chipset with 82801GBM I/O Controller Hub (ICH7M)

This is the only CPU in the T7000's that use this chipset . The rest use the GME965 Express Chipset.
So who knows what the PM and GM stand for :confused2:

 

With no offense intended (to Azrial) even a blind sow finds an acorn once in a while.
From "Tom's Guide".

Jeff

 

Thanks Jeff, That's what I wanted to hear. Now to find one. Was one on fleabay for $27.99 shipped but gone now .

 

Just for the heck of it, I put the T7500 core2duo in, either I chickened out and didn't wait long enough for it to come on, the cpu may not be good. I put the original 2.0 core duo in and it booted up and went to OS Vista. Then I replaced that one with the 1.66 core duo that came off the butchered parts laptop and it went to bios and acted like it works. I may try later with the core 2 duoT7500 later tonite and see if I wait a little longer if it will come up to bios. You said something above about graphics and running cpuz to get the chipset number for compatibility. can you tell me anymore here. At least Ifoundout it boots to original cpu and the 1.66 core duo works as well on this MB............Driller

 

did re install the core 2 duo 2.2 and waited a bit longer, no go. however the wifi card came in and I installed it and got that working now, so the cf-51 core duo 2.0 now has wireless capability. still seems slow compared to core 2 duo on my 3 year old gutway. anyhow it is working and am charging up the battery for it as well. I still think the core 2 duo can work here. but for now only Rusty Knows!........now to tinker with a cf-29etp20km that looks to be in pristeen condition with a bit of a cleanup....Driller

 

Thanks for the try.I am going to try my T7200 this week. Just got the service manual for the Dull. So I plan on pulling the T7200 out and try it in the 51

 

Still waiting on my stuff to come in from Iraq. As soon as I get it I will post more info. Sorry to keep you guys waiting. Fedex has lost 6 toughboxes full of stuff to include 16 toughbooks.

 

who? fedexecute? naaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!! boxes ,boxes? naaaahhhhh, we don't need no stinkin' boxes,,, welcome back man, hope your entourage gets back intact and dustfree from the sandbox, AKA testing ground for toughbooks. hopefully you didn't have to earn any purple hearts. glad to have you back......Driller

 

Well I pulled the T7200 Core 2 Duo out of my dell which was ....it's no toughbook for sure. Anyways I put it in my 51 which has the bad keyboard connector and nothing. So I said crap, that bites so I started to put it together......well as I was putting it together it hit me, I pulled the memory sticks out :laugh: so I took it apart again and dropped the Duo in it again .....BINGO, check out the pic

 

Blair

Was the memory faulty or the memory needs to be clocked faster with the updated processor



Alex

 

Nope same memory DDR2 5300
What it was I did not want to use the 51 that works A1 so I used the one I am going to use as parts (keyboard connector bad) and I forgot I had pulled the memory out of it . It's been sitting on the shelf for a few months and I just forgot. I don't think I will try to go any higher than the T7200, heat is a killer. Now to find one.......cheap .Miss a few on fleebay $25.-$33 but wanted to be sure.

 

I'm not sure what the ram was in the cf-51 core duo that I tried the T7500 out in, it was 2GB of ram but I think it may have been 4200, can't wait to check it out, may even need to use a faster ddr2 because the FSB on the CPU is 800. anyway I'll check it out hopefully today,.......Driller

 

I noticed the bios in toughasnails was version V3.50L10 & the embedded controller was V3.50L12, mine that had the core duoT7500 is bios V3.00L29 and the embedded controller is V.300L12, but did'nt have the laptop in my hand to see what the ram is as for specifications. might there be a way if had to to upgrade bios to newer version?, but I'll try the mechanical efforts first to see if that makes the grade.......Driller I meant the core duo with the T2500 2.0 cpu, in my excitement as for hopes here I put in the other T7500 in its place

 

Driller, something I noticed is our 51's are not the same.Both are MK3's but mine is a MK3 LL. What is the difference, I am not sure

The working 51 at my other house has two "Crucial 2GB PC2 5300 DDR2 200 - pin" in it. But that should not matter what you use (4300 or 5300) I used these because of the price $30.00 This is from Crucial web site

My understanding is the 5300 will run at 533Mhz

 

I may slip in the crucial ram it is the 5300 but is 2gb each, and see if there is any change. but that MB is same design as the damaged one with the larger heat sink. it ran both the core duo 1.6 ghz and 2.0 ghz with the 4200 ram. the model number LL may mean something here, mine is a QG4DEBM. I remember the picture you sent with the wireless card and it looked very similar to mine.......Driller what chipset does your board have when you run cpu-z?

 

It has the i945GM
Check this link out , I have some pic's on Toughbooktalk and what I/we have done so far http://www.toughbooktalk.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=749

 

Mine is the i945PM, just swapped in 2gb crucial X2 5300 667 and the T7500 cpu and no worky. swapped back in the T2500 and is quicker because of the ram but may just need to get my hands on a T7200 C2D. Unless someone knows a trick or 2.....Driller

 

Now I want to try. No way I'm gonna get a 30 for another year or so. Maybe after the 72 is complete I can justify a 4th Toughbook. No point in having multiple projects.

Speaking of are this one of the possible swaps? Too soon to guess?

http://cgi.ebay.com/lot-INTEL-T5800...828?pt=CPUs&hash=item3cb0ab8e2c#ht_2098wt_690

 

I took apart the trashed MB and the number on it was CF 51Mk3 DFUP1493ZD that was the 1.66 core duo looked on the underside to see what the graphics chipset was, as I assume this is what it is just down from ZIF and MB mounted and soldered contacts, but letters way too small and will have to get greater magnification to read it, when I find out I'll try and see for sure if the other cf-51 core duo is same part number as the trashed one. will hopefully find out if there is a difference here, if I got a bad cpu or if T7500 just won't work on this MB with it's 800 FSB. do you know what the part number on your MB is that the T7200 worked on? thanks...Driller

 

I would say no but not really sure. The T5800 socket supported "PPGA478" and what's in mine and Driller is a PGA479M

 

So has this changed since the BST C2D thread posted?

 

Only reason I am looking to buy a T7200 is I know it will boot my 51 , Do not want to chance a T7500 since Driller's would not boot.

 

OK cool gonna add that to my own notes then. Good thing this forum is here or we would just be blindly ordering and reselling CPUs.

 

You have a PM

 

I got my Core 2 Duo T7200 cpu today and put it in my CF-51 MK3LL and it works great :yes: .It does run faster for sure.....sweet . It only took about 15 minutes to do this, very easy mod. Just snap off the speaker cover, take the keyboard and flip it over on top of the palm rest, take the screws out of the metal shield with speakers in it (9 screws) and turn it sideways and the 4 screws on the heat sink and pop the cpu out. That's it .
I picked up my T7200 on fleabay for $50.00 which was a good price but if you are lucky they have had them for $35.00 but they go fast at that price.

 

did you happen to see what the MB part number was? I picked up a cf-51 RC4 which has biometric fingerprint scanner on it , has the same bios version numbers as yours and the L12 instead of the L10 of the embedded controller. swapped the hard drive and caddy into the new one to update all the software and see what the temps were running. its a cf-51 MK3L, not the LL, but have been trying to get my hands on a T7200 to see if that would work but haven't picked one up yet.....Driller

 

just took the cf-51 RC4 apart and tried the T7500 in it , no worky. don't know for sure if just isn't going to work or I just have a bad cpu. well, for now I'm looking for a T7200., or 2. I'll check with one of my buddies and see if they have a laptop that it might fit in to see if it is DOA. I ain't giving up just yet. Hoping the calvary comes in with the solution and see if there is anyway a T7500 will ever work in a cf-51, I feel like it could do the job somehow.......Driller