Take a look at our
ThinkPads.com HOME PAGE
For those who might want to contribute to the blog, start here: Editors Alley Topic
Then contact Bill with a Private Message
ThinkPads.com HOME PAGE
For those who might want to contribute to the blog, start here: Editors Alley Topic
Then contact Bill with a Private Message
CPU upgrade on a T400?
-
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Mon Jan 24, 2011 11:04 am
- Location: Memphis, TN, USA
CPU upgrade on a T400?
I was wondering if anyone has actually done a CPU upgrade on a T400? I have a Lenovo Thinkpad T400 Type 2764-CTO with a P8400 in it that I'd like to swap out for a P9500 or P9600 ( ), if it can be done.
Anyone with experience in this would be great because I really don't want to pull it apart just to find that the CPU is soldered in. I have a lot of desktop DIY/repair (I was in IT for >15 years), but I'm not as comfortable with laptops as the space in them is TIGHT. I've worked on them before, but I had trouble with my mother-in-law's Toshiba and don't want to get started, run into some surprises, and THEN find out I can't do it anyway.
Thanks, in advance, for your help.
Best regards,
Scott
Anyone with experience in this would be great because I really don't want to pull it apart just to find that the CPU is soldered in. I have a lot of desktop DIY/repair (I was in IT for >15 years), but I'm not as comfortable with laptops as the space in them is TIGHT. I've worked on them before, but I had trouble with my mother-in-law's Toshiba and don't want to get started, run into some surprises, and THEN find out I can't do it anyway.
Thanks, in advance, for your help.
Best regards,
Scott
Re: CPU upgrade on a T400?
It's doable and not that hard. The CPU is not socketed, but unless you've got a specific to push the CPU frequently, perhaps you do, the CPU upgrade offers little marginal value and is probably not worth the effort or cash. Typical notebook usage is not very CPU intensive. T9500 won't work either. It's the wrong socket. You'd need either the T9400 or T9600.
ThinkPad L14 - 2.1GHz Ryzen 4650U | 16GB | 256GB | 14" FHD | Win11P
ProBook 470 G5 - 1.6GHz Core i5 | 16GB | 2.2TB | 17" FHD | Mint
ProBook 470 G5 - 1.6GHz Core i5 | 16GB | 2.2TB | 17" FHD | Mint
Re: CPU upgrade on a T400?
I have a spare E8235 (processor from a MAC) that has the same performance specs as a T9600. I used it for 6 months in a T400 with no problems. (swapped by the original owner). The "E" processors run a little hotter than the "T" or "P" ones, but I am not a game player, so it was fine for me. The reason I took it out was that I changed to a W500 and before I got rid of the T400, I swapped in the processor it was supposed to have. If you are interested in the E8235, send me a PM
-
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Mon Jan 24, 2011 11:04 am
- Location: Memphis, TN, USA
Re: CPU upgrade on a T400?
I wasn't planning on putting in the T-series of CPU's because they use more power at the same speed (generally 35w for the T-series vs. 25w for the P-series). I am using my T400 for video encoding more and more now as the desktop I was using died and I'm looking at spending 3-4 times as much to put upgraded components into it (it was 5-6 years old anyway and it was getting more and more difficult to find drivers) as buying an upgraded processor (P9600) for the T400 would run ($265).
I basically run Adobe Premiere CS5 and do other encoding using Handbrake (amongst other programs) for MP4 (re)encoding of various source files.
In addition to a 15-20% speed improvement, the P9600 has a 6MB cache vs the 3MB cache on the P8400.
P8400:
http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=35 ... processor)
P9600:
http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=37 ... processor)
Finally, I cannot find any information on Intel's web site for the E8235 processor. Could you point me to a spec page?
Thanks everyone for your time and help!
Best regards,
Scott
I basically run Adobe Premiere CS5 and do other encoding using Handbrake (amongst other programs) for MP4 (re)encoding of various source files.
In addition to a 15-20% speed improvement, the P9600 has a 6MB cache vs the 3MB cache on the P8400.
P8400:
http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=35 ... processor)
P9600:
http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=37 ... processor)
Finally, I cannot find any information on Intel's web site for the E8235 processor. Could you point me to a spec page?
Thanks everyone for your time and help!
Best regards,
Scott
-
- Posts: 38
- Joined: Fri Oct 08, 2010 1:30 pm
- Location: Jeffersonville, Indiana
- Contact:
Re: CPU upgrade on a T400?
If it's any cheaper, the T9400 I have is nice.
http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=35562
It goes to 2.66 in Performance Mode.
If you could splurge a bit, a T-P9800 is nice
http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=35562
It goes to 2.66 in Performance Mode.
If you could splurge a bit, a T-P9800 is nice
Just a GURU from the LENOVO Forum ~ MrPeter1985 | T500_2055-2CU | upgraded to 4g of RAM and 7200rpm HDD
-
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Thu Dec 08, 2011 12:24 am
- Location: Castleford, UK
Re: CPU upgrade on a T400?
Just to add in for other people finding this thread while researching the feasability of upgrading a T400 cpu, I've recently upgraded a T400 (model 2767) to a Core2 Duo T9900...
http://ark.intel.com/products/39312/Int ... 6-MHz-FSB).
I'm yet to test the difference it has made on the battery life but it's running absolutely fine using version 3.22 of the BIOS. My main concern was heat but I've been keeping a close eye on the core temps and they report ~45 degrees celsius under light load (10%) and 75-80 under 100% load. Hope that helps anybody looking to upgrade!
http://ark.intel.com/products/39312/Int ... 6-MHz-FSB).
I'm yet to test the difference it has made on the battery life but it's running absolutely fine using version 3.22 of the BIOS. My main concern was heat but I've been keeping a close eye on the core temps and they report ~45 degrees celsius under light load (10%) and 75-80 under 100% load. Hope that helps anybody looking to upgrade!
Re: CPU upgrade on a T400?
webmonstah - your temps, even with new cpu are great, same as my i7 in T410.
I have swapped few cpus in thinkpads, in T61, R61 and now T410 (from i5 to i7) and it's been great, no problems.
Question is, how much more performance can you gain upgrading that cpu. I have seen very cheap T410 on ebay. You would get more performance difference upgrading to i5 than core 2 duo to core 2 duo I'm afraid.
I have replaced T7300 to T9300 in my old T61 and there has been a nice boost in performance (RAW images conversion to jpg etc) but not as much as the diference between T9300 and i5 520m - it was a revolution in my opinion when I first compared those 2 thinkpads!:)
Its very easy process to swap CPU once you know how to open your thinkpad.
Last time I swapped i5 to i7 (2 core) it took me 20 minues only)
Good luck!
I have swapped few cpus in thinkpads, in T61, R61 and now T410 (from i5 to i7) and it's been great, no problems.
Question is, how much more performance can you gain upgrading that cpu. I have seen very cheap T410 on ebay. You would get more performance difference upgrading to i5 than core 2 duo to core 2 duo I'm afraid.
I have replaced T7300 to T9300 in my old T61 and there has been a nice boost in performance (RAW images conversion to jpg etc) but not as much as the diference between T9300 and i5 520m - it was a revolution in my opinion when I first compared those 2 thinkpads!:)
Its very easy process to swap CPU once you know how to open your thinkpad.
Last time I swapped i5 to i7 (2 core) it took me 20 minues only)
Good luck!
-
- Posts: 14
- Joined: Thu Aug 19, 2010 9:13 am
- Location: nyc | berlin | rome
Re: CPU upgrade on a T400?
richk wrote:I have a spare E8235 (processor from a MAC) that has the same performance specs as a T9600. I used it for 6 months in a T400 with no problems. (swapped by the original owner). The "E" processors run a little hotter than the "T" or "P" ones, but I am not a game player, so it was fine for me. The reason I took it out was that I changed to a W500 and before I got rid of the T400, I swapped in the processor it was supposed to have. If you are interested in the E8235, send me a PM
sounds interesting. did you had any doubts regarding the stability whilst running the machine
since the E8235 runs with 44 W (??? V) instead of 35 W as the official offerd T9xxx (1.050–1.162 V) or even instead of 25 W (1.00–1.250 V) as the P8xxx and P9xxx? did you made any test under heavy load etc.?
because of the heat development I assume lenovo didn`t offered officially the use of the T9800 - T9900 pu`s
thnx for sharing in advance!
T500 | 15.4"| P8600 | Radeon 3650 | 4GB |
T60p | 14.1"| T2600 | V5250 | 2GB |
history:
T60p | 15.4"| T7600 | V5250 | 3GB | Seagate 7200.4 320 GB | Fan Mod |
T43p | 14.1"| M780 | V3200 | 1GB |
T42 | 14.1"| M745 | Radeon 9000 | 1GB |
-
- Posts: 38
- Joined: Wed Feb 01, 2012 12:53 pm
- Location: Minneapolis, MN
Re: CPU upgrade on a T400?
I too just upgraded (2 days ago) my T400 to a T9900. I haven't gotten a chance to really look at how well it's cooling, but I can say that so far I haven't seen a problem.webmonstah wrote:Just to add in for other people finding this thread while researching the feasability of upgrading a T400 cpu, I've recently upgraded a T400 (model 2767) to a Core2 Duo T9900...
http://ark.intel.com/products/39312/Int ... 6-MHz-FSB).
I'm yet to test the difference it has made on the battery life but it's running absolutely fine using version 3.22 of the BIOS. My main concern was heat but I've been keeping a close eye on the core temps and they report ~45 degrees celsius under light load (10%) and 75-80 under 100% load. Hope that helps anybody looking to upgrade!
I'm sure I'll have more to say when my system upgrade is complete. I also upgraded my memory from 2gb to 8gb, am upgrading from Vista Home to Win 7 Ultimate, and am planning to upgrade the hdd as well. I'm debating swapping the CDRW with either a battery or a DVDRW. My objective is to turn what was originally a school issued laptop into a system I can use for high MP RAW photo editing, other graphics manipulation, and maybe even video and audio editing.
-
- Posts: 14
- Joined: Thu Aug 19, 2010 9:13 am
- Location: nyc | berlin | rome
Re: CPU upgrade on a T400?
MartinBrice wrote: I too just upgraded (2 days ago) my T400 to a T9900. I haven't gotten a chance to really look at how well it's cooling, but I can say that so far I haven't seen a problem.
sounds cool & would be very interesting if you could post some temperature results or even a report of a stress test under heavy load ... but of course don`t flame your T400!
T500 | 15.4"| P8600 | Radeon 3650 | 4GB |
T60p | 14.1"| T2600 | V5250 | 2GB |
history:
T60p | 15.4"| T7600 | V5250 | 3GB | Seagate 7200.4 320 GB | Fan Mod |
T43p | 14.1"| M780 | V3200 | 1GB |
T42 | 14.1"| M745 | Radeon 9000 | 1GB |
-
- Similar Topics
- Replies
- Views
- Last post
-
-
Thinkpad 770 Bios mod for cpu upgrade
by franjimo24 » Sun Dec 10, 2023 8:14 am » in ThinkPad Legacy Hardware - 6 Replies
- 5301 Views
-
Last post by solidpro
Tue Jan 23, 2024 4:02 pm
-
-
-
T420 - Quad Core CPU and BIOS upgrade (or downgrade)
by ojciec » Fri Dec 15, 2023 4:49 pm » in ThinkPad T400/T410/T420 and T500/T510/T520 Series - 3 Replies
- 6277 Views
-
Last post by axur-delmeria
Mon Dec 18, 2023 12:04 am
-
-
-
Thinkpad T400 Audio issues
by Flameboi420 » Thu Oct 19, 2023 12:59 am » in ThinkPad T400/T410/T420 and T500/T510/T520 Series - 3 Replies
- 2356 Views
-
Last post by RealBlackStuff
Thu Nov 02, 2023 7:10 am
-
-
-
T400 Not booting, lights flickering
by hellfire103 » Wed Jan 24, 2024 6:18 am » in ThinkPad T400/T410/T420 and T500/T510/T520 Series - 2 Replies
- 1125 Views
-
Last post by Gonzaleitor
Sat Jan 27, 2024 6:54 pm
-
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 18 guests