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T41p motherboard upgrade

T40/T41/T42/T43 Series
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Lumen
Posts: 12
Joined: Mon Sep 05, 2011 12:24 pm
Location: Athens, GR

T41p motherboard upgrade

#1 Post by Lumen » Wed Jan 28, 2015 6:29 pm

Hi everyone,

I am thinking of reviving my old T41p which has all sorts of problems including a broken gpu. Since I cannot resolder the gpu chip I will be buying a new t41p motherboard from ebay. I had read somewhere that the motherboard in all t41p/t42p/t43p are almost the same and if you put a 533mhz cpu and memory in the t41p board you basically have a t43p. Is that correct or does the cpu and memory have to be 400mhz?

Thanks

brchan
ThinkPadder
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Re: t41p motherboard upgrade

#2 Post by brchan » Wed Jan 28, 2015 6:34 pm

All motherboards from the T4x range are interchangeable, so I would get a T43/p motherboard instead. These motherboards are far less prone to the gpu issue and support faster processors.
Current Thinkpads: W530 (functional classic keyboard mod), X301, T61, T60, T43, A31p, T23, 600X, 770
Other: mk5 Toughbook cf-19, mk1 Toughbook cf-53

Lumen
Posts: 12
Joined: Mon Sep 05, 2011 12:24 pm
Location: Athens, GR

Re: t41p motherboard upgrade

#3 Post by Lumen » Wed Jan 28, 2015 6:40 pm

brchan wrote:All motherboards from the T4x range are interchangeable, so I would get a T43/p motherboard instead. These motherboards are far less prone to the gpu issue and support faster processors.
They are a lot more expensive on ebay too, unfortunately. If I end up buying a T41p motherboard will I be able to fit a 533mhz cpu and memory and have them run ok?

ajkula66
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Re: t41p motherboard upgrade

#4 Post by ajkula66 » Wed Jan 28, 2015 7:02 pm

Lumen wrote:If I end up buying a T41p motherboard will I be able to fit a 533mhz cpu and memory and have them run ok?
Not natively. You need a pinmod for the CPU and will have to stay with DDR RAM.
Last edited by ajkula66 on Wed Jan 28, 2015 8:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
...Knowledge is a deadly friend when no one sets the rules...(King Crimson)

Cheers,

George (your grouchy retired FlexView farmer)

One FlexView to rule them all: A31p

Abused daily: T520, X200s


PMs requesting personal tech support will be ignored.

RealBlackStuff
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Re: t41p motherboard upgrade

#5 Post by RealBlackStuff » Wed Jan 28, 2015 8:03 pm

Hold it!
T43/R52 motherboards use different CPU, RAM and PCMCIA cage from all other T4x/R5x!
You can NOT swap out just the motherboard, even though it will fit!
Lovely day for a Guinness! (The Real Black Stuff)
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brchan
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Re: t41p motherboard upgrade

#6 Post by brchan » Wed Jan 28, 2015 8:54 pm

Not sure about the prices where you live, but have you considered buying a working t43 with a broken screen or cracked lid/plastics and then swapping the good parts into your existing t41?
Current Thinkpads: W530 (functional classic keyboard mod), X301, T61, T60, T43, A31p, T23, 600X, 770
Other: mk5 Toughbook cf-19, mk1 Toughbook cf-53

Lumen
Posts: 12
Joined: Mon Sep 05, 2011 12:24 pm
Location: Athens, GR

Re: t41p motherboard upgrade

#7 Post by Lumen » Thu Jan 29, 2015 1:01 pm

RealBlackStuff wrote:Hold it!
T43/R52 motherboards use different CPU, RAM and PCMCIA cage from all other T4x/R5x!
You can NOT swap out just the motherboard, even though it will fit!
Yeah, I am also considering upgrading the CPU and RAM, to ones that will be compatible with the t43p motherboard.
brchan wrote:Not sure about the prices where you live, but have you considered buying a working t43 with a broken screen or cracked lid/plastics and then swapping the good parts into your existing t41?
Not really. Since I already have this dead t41p lying around, I thought it would be a lot cheaper buying a motherboard, cpu and memory for it.
I have searched on ebay for a used t43p or one that is being sold for parts, but haven't found anything decent/cheap.

I think I will stick with a t41p/t42p motherboard and new processor and memory...

ajkula66
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Location: Belgrade, Serbia

Re: t41p motherboard upgrade

#8 Post by ajkula66 » Thu Jan 29, 2015 1:11 pm

Lumen wrote:I think I will stick with a t41p/t42p motherboard and new processor and memory...
You might end up spending a lot of money on reviving that T41p...they were great machines a decade ago, but nowadays you may want to consider moving on to a newer system altogether.
...Knowledge is a deadly friend when no one sets the rules...(King Crimson)

Cheers,

George (your grouchy retired FlexView farmer)

One FlexView to rule them all: A31p

Abused daily: T520, X200s


PMs requesting personal tech support will be ignored.

Lumen
Posts: 12
Joined: Mon Sep 05, 2011 12:24 pm
Location: Athens, GR

Re: t41p motherboard upgrade

#9 Post by Lumen » Thu Jan 29, 2015 7:22 pm

ajkula66 wrote:You might end up spending a lot of money on reviving that T41p...they were great machines a decade ago, but nowadays you may want to consider moving on to a newer system altogether.
That's true... I'll think about it. Thanks everyone!

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