Just installed it. And my main response is WOW! Previously I have upgraded the HDD to a faster Seagate model with larger cache and higher rpm, upgraded the RAM from 1GB to 3GB, and a larger battery. But the difference from the Celeron M 540 to this X9000 is extreme!!! Previously the laptop would have a flat spot when turning on and loading windows, they'd be a period were it was all too much for it to handle and you had to wait while it got itself together (possibly due to Vista) - this is gone, the boot up time is now about a third. Idle temperature is 5 - 10* LOWER (yes, the higher perforamcen CPU which I was worried about heat issues is running cooler). I havn't tried it with anything strenuious (spelling?), and don't plan on since all I do is use the laptop for the net and Word (for uni). I did refresh the Windows Experience Index, and during the CPU assessment is peaked at 65*C (only for a short second). Definately worth the $399.00 (yes, I bought an engineering sample). I have now spent more on upgrading this laptop than I did on purchasing it. Should have bought a T61 to begin with really... [URL=
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http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/2084/62042630xa6.65409149ea.jpg[/IMG][/URL] There is one downside - because I have an older Santa Rosa board, made for the Merom chips, they use an analogue thermal sensor, which the later P-whatever chips don't, they use digital, so I get an annoiying Thermal Sensor Error message on start up and have to hit ESC.
