ThinkPad T61 7664-1KU - cpu upgrade T7500 to T9500 - possible? [ Edited ]

[THEJAJO]

HeLLo there.

I'm wondering if there is possibilty to upgrade my T61 cpu from T7500 to T9500.

On this site: http://ark.intel.com/ProductCollection.aspx?familyId=26548 we can find all information about those CPUs.

Both have the same FSB 800 MHz but T7500 is a Merom and T9500 is a Penryn. I'm wondering if there will be no problem with the upgrade?

I have upgraded my RAM to Kingston HyperX 2x2GB PC2-5300 CL4 and everything works fine. In the future I plan to upgrade a HDD to SDD because now the price is to high for me.

THX for all help and tips.

Moderator Note; s/n removed for members own protection

[lead_org Microsoft MVP Contributor]

some motherboard is not penryn cpu ready, and it would chuck an error when you put in the T8xxx or T9xxx CPU. But this problem can be resolved by the modified bios posted by middleton.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/lenovo-ibm/459591-t61-x61-sata-ii-1-5-gb-s-cap-willing-pay-solution....

[THEJAJO]

Thx for fast answer.

Can You tell me how can I check if my MB is Penryn ready ?

[lead_org Microsoft MVP Contributor]

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/product.do?doctypeind=10&template=/partslookup/partsLooku...

check your motherboard FRU and post the number here.

[THEJAJO]

42W3784 41W1489 PLANAR ASSEMBLY FRU

[lead_org Microsoft MVP Contributor]

no it doesn't directly support penryn cpu, you would need to install the modified bios from the link that i provided earlier.

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?p=456189

[THEJAJO]

What about T7800 cpu? Is this worth upgrading?

[lead_org Microsoft MVP Contributor]

T7500 to T7800 upgrade is a waste of money. If you are serious about upgrade get the T8xxx or T9xxx CPU, it would yield better battery life and run cooler.

[THEJAJO]

Ok, I will think about it.

But the moded BIOS also swap FN-CTRL key. Is there a way to don't do that?

[AndrewTo]

barcode lable: TYPE 7663-13U  S/N L3-G3??2 07/09  (question mark used to replace numerical numbers)

I tried every possibilities on the link but lenovo keeps "apologizing"   "Auto-Detect Warranty" neither in IE9 with lowest security settings and ActiveX enabled

My system was Vista Business, C2D T7500, 1G 667 MHz, NVS 140M (14.1" 1440x900)

(currently upgraded to 64bitWin7 + 4GB DDR800 + 60G Vertex2 SSD)

(P.S I guess there still no official BIOS update to unleash SATA2 ability?)