CF-51 CPU upgrading

ain't it fun to work on these machines. quick and easy for a good performing inexpensive laptop. I like these a lot especially the mk3's. wish some of the other models had this capability in toughbook land. maybe one day.....(dreams of finding a cf-52 or cf-74 you could do that on)..Driller

 

Sorry I been AWOL, just found this model and Google lead me back here to verify I have the right model for C2D.

 

Hey man...welcome back . I see the T7200 have dropped in price ($29.99) since I got mine . Not sure how far you read but I will post this again.

 

From the quote I posted to this page. Going in an hr to see it.

 

Got it!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

apparently these were supposed to be a little higher ended laptops, not that there's a lot of difference here other than graphics card with some of ram used in addition for a little more umphh! anyway I see the 160gb hdd probably a samsung as there have been issues with these, so be aware. still looking for other quirky upgradeable laptops in the TB family. seems like it's the main one for CD-C2D upgrade. ...Driller

 

So far I have been lucky with the 160gb Samsung hdd but mine are at least a year old

 

I've been using Western Digital Scorpio Blue hard drives with no problem. I'm in the middle of an MK3LL upgrade right now. Wireless Intel 6230, CD to C2D T7600, and 80GB Western Digital Scorpio Blue. I've done two others, one a MK3 and one a MK3LL, and so far they are cranking right along

 

Hey all newbie with my first post here... I'm slowling working my way through this thread... there is a ton of information and it seems this model has many variations. As I'm working my way through, I was hoping for some recommendations...

First off, I'm not experienced with upgrading or tearing apart computers but I'm trying to learn. I've got a 5 year old CF 51 (Model number CF51PFVDEBM) with a busted LCD screen. FIrst I've got to find a place for a replacement screen but since I'm doing some work, I was hoping to be able to upgrade it as well... both the memory and the processor. Judging by the "UPDATE" on page one it looks like the fastest it will support is the Intel Core Duo T7600?? Again this is all new to me, but the sticker on the front of my machine says "Centrino Duo"... does that make any difference as to what PCU I can replace it with? I can't really run BIO since the screen is busted, but suppose I could remote it to an external monitor?

Anyway, for all of you loving your CF51's and me having a stock 51... what should I upgrade and where can I find most of it... including the screen? I've found a couple places that have them, but thought maybe someone here that might know a secret handshake or an obscure sight to find some of this stuff. Thanks in advance... now back to reading!

 

Welcome to the Toughbook forum
To get the best bang for your buck go with the T7200 , almost as fast as the T7600 but a lot cheaper and the fan runs a lot less. Most of us get all the parts on ebay...best to just buy a parts machine. Good luck , you got a great little laptop

 

Thanks... thats what I've read so far... think I'm on page 7. I'm having a hard time tracking down a replacement UXGA replacement screen... finding some XGA... not really sure what the real difference is. Thanks again!

 

These are great machines. My son and me both have one each. Yours has the ATI X1300 video card. They offer a 128 mb model like you have and a 256 mb model. From research on this model of video card the 256mb model has a little more kick to it. I know it has a few more of the streaming pipe lines open but haven't run the machines side by side to compare. I have yet to up grade the CPU In ours yet and they still perform well. Video card drivers with xp is no problem. If you want windows 7 you will have a problem with ATI catalyst controls. I just usually fully extract the driver and load it manually with out control center. Best performing one is the omega driver. on swapping screens the ATI card models have a higher resolution screen than the regular models.

 

Thanks... I contacted someone over on TOUGHBOOK FORUM that I'm willing to spend a little more to get it running as a "primary" computer... This machine has history with me and has sentimental value as cheesy as that sounds. I guess I need to start working up a list of components I need to pick up... that being said, is there anything on this system to upgrade that a layman with some advice from this forum couldn't complete? I view it a bit like an older jeep (not those newer "cars" with a jeep logo on it)... not really pretty look at, but hearty and anyone can do basic work on it.

 

I would recommend getting a good set of screwdrivers. I got an anti-static WIHA brand set. I'm sure someone else will chime in with other suggestions. It's amazing how much easier it is to work on the laptop with quality tools Other than that I'm a fan of Silver Arctic 5 thermal paste for the heatsink CPU interface. I can't think of anything else off the top of my head right now. Good luck and welcome!

 

You can swap the UXGA and XGA but you need to swap the cable also. There are several different cables. I have a post somewhere about swapping the different resolutions.
Look for the numbers on the back of the LCD itself and search for that instead of one specifically from a cf51. Various mfgs used the same lcd. There are a lot more stinkpads and dulls being sold for parts.

 

Personally I would just get your screen you need and any other issues it had sorted out first, then decide what OS you want to use. Go with 4gb of ram. Even if you only use a 32 bit os and can't use all of it , you can use most of it. Next I would decide what kind of hard drive I wanted. The last thing I would do is upgrade the CPU. As recommended before by twocents use good thermal paste on it.

 

Thanks Guys... already picked up some Artic Silver 5 and the cleaning kit. I'm going to pry the screen out tomorrow and see what I'm working with... as far as tools, I've got a "big box" store close to my work... would they have any decent tools or would I need to go to a NO SH!T computer parts store? Thanks.

 

ALright, I've been able to tear everything down with success... Found the screen that I needed for a fair price, along with a PCU and RAM. Any recommendations on a HDD? I think I've got an 80GB in there now, and I'd like to go to at least 200GB or so?

Also, I was told to "note" the 128 VRAM... is that good, bad, high, low and should I consider moving up there too?

 

I got my screwdrivers from fleabay, I think they ran $35ish shipped. Probably any name brand screwdriver set from a big box store would do. My personal philosophy with regards to tools is get the best unless the price is really outrageous. Thus my Toughbook collection ;P As far as hard drives go, SSD for speed, hybrid drive for a little more speed and lots of storage, or WD Scorpio Blue for value. With the SSD I recommend Intel, but be sure it will be compatible with your model CF-51. Not any choice of manfacturers of hybrid drives and they seem to be a love it/hate it thing. The Samsung drive that was being recommended apparently has bios compatibility issues with newer models. As far as the VRAM, I don't think you're likely to need more as long as you tweak your OS properly, things like the virtual memory, etc. I do think that swapping the VRAM with long term success requires some pretty pricey equipment and practice on said equipment. Good luck!

 

Caution - CF-51 requires the older IDE type drive. (aka Parallel ATA = PATA) Most SSDs and hybrid drives are Serial ATA = SATA thus not compatible wth CF-51.

 

Thanks for the tip

 

Hit a bit of a wall and can't really find a youtube video to walk me through it... How do I get my old CPU out? I've opened the latch that I thought should free it from the base, but nothing... it won't budge? Anything stupid I'm overlooking?? Thanks in advance.

 

nevermind... backtracked 3 pages and found it.

 

I have a MK3LL and installed a T7600 last night. I also installed 2 -1GB 5300 RAM.The CF-51 is not faster now. I changed nothing in Bios, or XP-SP3. CPU-Z indicates a FSB speed of 167mhz, I'm assuming that I need to increase that and can go up to 667mhz , is that correct. Any suggestions on a good program to use through Windows XP or DOS?
Thanks

 

Not sure what's going on but it should say 667mhz. I would say you got some bad memory or cpu maybe. I would try changing them and see what happens.

 

Processors Information from the T7600 in MK3LL w/ 2-1gb 5300 RAM

Processor 1 ID = 0
Number of cores 2 (max 2)
Number of threads 2 (max 2)
Name Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo T7600
Codename Merom
Specification Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU T7600 @ 2.33GHz
Package (platform ID) Socket 479 mPGA (0x5)
CPUID 6.F.6
Extended CPUID 6.F
Core Stepping B2
Technology 65 nm
Core Speed 997.5 MHz
Multiplier x FSB 6.0 x 166.3 MHz
Rated Bus speed 665.0 MHz
Stock frequency 2333 MHz
Instructions sets MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, EM64T, VT-x
L1 Data cache 2 x 32 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L1 Instruction cache 2 x 32 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L2 cache 4096 KBytes, 16-way set associative, 64-byte line size
FID/VID Control yes
FID range 6.0x - 14.0x
Max VID 1.175 V

I removed the T7600 from the MK3LL and installed a T7200. Much cooler and quieter.One of many speed checks (NovaBench) showed a dramatic speed increase, but that was a fluke. I can't figure why the inconsistency exists. I changed out the RAM (5300) and even tried putting the original Pany RAM(4200) back in, to no avail.

I installed the T7600 in a MK3 which runs marginally faster than the T2500. I must be doing something wrong.

Again, both CF-51s have Windows XP SP3 32 bit installs. Both PCs were bought used, but have functioned well for years. The MK3 has always been much faster than the MK3LL.

Thanks for any and all suggestions

 

You are right about one thing is that the T7200 does run cooler and quieter...that is why I stayed with it and took out the T7600 . I can not see what the problem is unless you have a mother board problem. I have one of each of the MK3's but really never sat down to see which one ran faster. The MK3LL is the one I used all the time untill I got my 52 and now I use it in my shop.

 

"it won't budge" makes me wonder how hard you may have tried...

Socket connection (and processor connection on fully-ruggeds) to board is BGA soldered as most people here will know.

Over time solder tends to oxidise and smaller solder joints tend to become critically affected before larger ones - each joint of a ball grid array is miniscule.

The copper solder lands/tracks on the board - and the through-board connections - are also tiny and fragile as you might expect when you consider the pin spacing of the processor. Bending the board even slightly or putting just a little too much pressure on the socket can easily sever connections to a device having such a large footprint. On reassembly the broken tracks may connect intermittently for a time.

Ask me how I know

Or else a poor thermal connection to the heatsink maybe?

Oops, sorry. Didn't notice was replying to Snow-Ape's post not toughresolute's.

 

Both CF-51s are working now and are faster!! I guess that I had to cycle through some start and shut downs for windows to catch up. I got my T7600 from a used Dell 820 Latitude. Also had 2 1gb RAM boards and other items to harvest for less than $80. Thanks for the suggestions.and inspiration to attack this.

 

So you didn't reload a fresh install of windows when you did this?

 

No, I didn't. Would a reinstall optimize for the faster CPU and RAM ? If it would, is there another way around this? Would a later version of windows (7 or 8) give an improvement is speed and functions?
Thanks

 

I just said that as some times it does take a few cycling to get everything going properly. A re-install isn't need. I don't see a need to go with windows 8 on this model as 8 is geared more toward touch screens and this model doesn't have that. I have 4 of these units. They all still run the core duo 2.0. One currently has xp/ubuntu the other one 7. Both run fine, but I doing a LOT of tweaking with my OS before I start using it daily. If you get the tweak just right you can tell a big difference.

 

No, I didn't. Would a reinstall optimize for the faster CPU and RAM ? If it would, is there another way around this? Would a later version of windows (7 or 8) give an improvement in speed and functions?
Thanks

 

There is no need to resinstall as long as your system was fine prior to upgrading the CPU. Now as to moving up to Windows 7 or 8, 7 is a great upgrade but I personally recommend staying away from Windows 8.

 

No, I did not reinstall windows XP on either CF-51.
I have the original Panasonic XP install disc for the MK3LL, but its Sp1 or Sp2, so it takes awhile to get the install updated. This is the machine that I use daily and it has a Samsung 160GB drive in it.
The MK3 which has the great graphics processor and screen is my "shop" PC and doesn't get used as much.That has a standard version of XP installed, again SP1 or SP2, so I again would need to spend time updating and installing the Pany drivers. I'd love to use it more but it has a slight problem. It will run off AC, it will run off a charged battery, but it won't charge the battery through the AC cord? I changed out a small board towards the front of the machine that was somehow(2 years ago, so I don't remember exactly) connected with the AC and battery circuits, but no joy.
The MK3 with the T7600 will heat up to close to 60C when asked to do a lot of processing(CAD/CAM). The fan gets noticeably loud too. But, it quickly quiets down and the temp drops to about 40C.
The MK3LL is whisper quiet with very little fan noise and temps never even approach 50C and are normally in the mid 30s.
Thanks again for all of the help.

 

I have notice a few pc's I have worked on in this age group have thermal paste problems. Where the thermal paste has got hard and doesn't work good any more or thermal pad has started to deteriorate. Putting fresh paste or a new pad fixed the heat problem.

It may be some type of on-board fuse that is your units problem. If you don't already have one they make a charger that plugs directly into the battery to charge it.

 

This was the same problem that I had with the T7600...my temps were running between 55 to 80 and the fan was running all the time on high (very load with new thermal paste ) but with the T7200 the temp was 30 to 50 and the fan was running very low.

 

Crap, should of looked at the post closer T7600 not the original cpu. Sorry. Disregard my last post and go with what Toughasnails said.

 

This is going to take alot of reading to get from 1-24. But need the info so guess what I'll be doing this weekend. This one and the same in the other forum as well.

 

If you have a 51 MK3 then you need to read every page

 

I have one sitting in front of me right now with the T7600 and UXGA screen with that charging problem,the cure is the factory big brick charger and not the cheap aftermarket one I'm using. I'm going to need to spring for one.

 

Hey Safn, I'll check when I get home. Might have one or more of the BIG bricks. I do have a box full of them.

 

Right after I wrote that I found one and it started charging. Ran into that on a wuxga CF-52 before.

 

Well just thought I'd offer. I need to find homes for these things as it is.

 

Hey safn 1949 what's the model # of that brick? Not an after market # but the OEM one.

 

CF-AA1653A 15.6 V 5A

 

Bummer. I'll keep looking. This one says CF-AA1683A MA
But it reads as 15.6 volts 8.0A
And you wanted
CF-AA1653A 15.6 V 5A

 

CF-AA1683A MA 15.6 volt 8.0A
That power brick is is usually used on the CF52's, but it should work fine on other models. Many people substitute the 5A version. The 5A version will work but not as well as the correct 8.0A one...I only use 8.0A ones on my CF52.

 

Well I'll be going thru my box upstairs and compiling a list. Man it's tricky keeping up with two topics on same subject in two different forums. Really wish I could share some of my ThinkPad and Dell stuff with other people. But they require 100 posts and 3 months ect to do that in those areas. Ah well in due time.

 

Bill....make one over on TBT just for Dell. It should be no problem.