G40, any good?

[Medessec]

lol. Yeah, I kinda can picture the T-series wearing a monocle, the G-series just wears the wrinkled collared shirt. I do agree the chunkier plastic may not be as classy as the textured stuff you see on the other Thinkpads, but it's functional.

I kinda think the way it looks just gives it more of the "brutus" flair to it. It doesn't look tame or subtle, like the other Thinkpads do. I do like the visual style of all Thinkpads... but, put it this way: The G-series is to Thinkpads, as Thinkpads are to all laptops. The G-series is different and unique, but it's all to serve a purpose.

[ajkula66]

Just got the word that my old G41 will be coming up for sale...if anyone is interested in a *mint* top-end G4x, this would be the one to have...won't come at a bargain basement price, though.

Now, if I can only persuade its current owner to wipe the hard drive instead of shredding it... ...we'd be in luck...

[Medessec]

Oh nice. Yours is probably in better shape than mine... in the couple of times I've taken my G41 to class, the lid's gotten a bit scuffed up from my notebook. Blech.

I'm holding onto mine for now though-it's really interesting to use. Some G-series fan will definitely want yours though... is it equipped with an SXGA+ IPS?

[ajkula66]

Oh nice. Yours is probably in better shape than mine... in the couple of times I've taken my G41 to class, the lid's gotten a bit scuffed up from my notebook. Blech.

I'm holding onto mine for now though-it's really interesting to use. Some G-series fan will definitely want yours though... is it equipped with an SXGA+ IPS?

No IPS, it's dead stock apart from the hard drive, which most likely won't be a part of the equation. But it is equipped with a 15" SXGA+ panel.

Once it's back in my house, I'll take pictures...

[Medessec]

I might have to post some pics of mine to compare. It'll be interesting seeing another mint G41 as well, If there's any Thinkpad I've barely seen units of in very good condition or better- it's G-series.

[ajkula66]

I might have to post some pics of mine to compare. It'll be interesting seeing another mint G41 as well, If there's any Thinkpad I've barely seen units of in very good condition or better- it's G-series.

Well, don't expect the "unboxed" condition...it is a 7-year-old machine, but it's been *very* well-kept...

[Shredder11]

Since I last replied in this thread I have bought a second G40 2388-4SG for £9 (approx $14), which appears to have a USA keyboard (I'm in the UK). I got this initially for spares but it turns out to be a fully functioning machine in good overall condition, apart from the keyboard which is very worn indeed! Anyway I plan on replacing the keyboard, once I find one that does not cost as much as a whole G40 laptop!

One other reason I have posted again here is to ask about CPU upgrades. Do I have to be very precise about the CPU I buy, or can I just grab any socket 478 desktop variant, even if it has hyperthreading or a higher clock or bus speed? For example would this one work? http://www.cpu-world.com/CPUs/Pentium_4 ... 0831M.html

I have a CPU cooling assembly that is designed to work with the faster CPUs like my 2.8GHz. Yes I realise the upgrade may provide a small increase but I have decided I want to do it anyway, especially since I have upgraded the RAM to 2GB and the hard drive to 60GB 7200rpm.

[Norway Pad]

If I remember the details correctly from when I was upgrading my G40's CPU, I'm sure the limit is 3.0GHz, non-hyperthreading. I went with the 2.8GHz CPU at the time, as I have the heatsink for the lower grade CPUs, and the extra 200GHz wasn't worth the cost of the new heatsink. But as you only have to buy the CPU itself, this might be a fun and cheap project for you.

I have a P4 3.2GHz HT CPU that I originally bought for my old P4 desktop, so I always wished that would work in the G40.

[packman274]

I'm running a 3 GHz processor + 2 GB RAM in my G40 (2388MU2).
No problem at all with CPU or memory lugging.
Judicious use of the "msconfig" utility in XP Pro and the subsequent pulling of some resource hogging weeds from the start-up program roster made things even faster but you have to know what you're doing.
Don't exclude a program from starting with windows that is essential like your anti-virus program.
On the other hand the Adobe program updater doesn't need to run every time windows starts and I disabled it in the start-up menu. I'll run the Adobe updater manually when I feel it is needed.
Haven't been to a website yet where the G40s graphics were noticeably challenged and then again a 10 year old laptop isn't a gaming machine by a long shot.
A little common sense in regards to expectations is in order.

[Shredder11]

Could you possibly run CPU-Z CPUID and show the exact 3 GHz processor you are running? I'd like to try and find one to buy for my G40 laptop.

http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html

http://www.cpuid.com/downloads/cpu-z/1. ... tup-en.exe


http://www.cpuid.com/medias/images/en/s ... s-cpuz.jpg

[Shredder11]

Hoping for a little advice on upgrading a Thinkpad G41 2881-36U machine I have just bought for £9 (approx $14) the same price as my last G40. Again this has a US keyboard and the laptop is in very good condition regarding the hardware and screen etc, although not as good cosmetically due to the scratched lid and missing hard drive caddy + cover and RAM memory cover. I plan on maybe using the parts from the other two G40 laptops and making one perfect G41 UK model.


So the plan is to maybe place the G41 motherboard inside the best G40 casing, which would also mean it had a 15" screen rather than a 14.1". That G40 case is in almost mint condition and has everything complete, e.g. all covers, screws, HDD caddy etc. I would like to upgrade the CPU to the best I can find, so which do I look out for and which do I avoid, e.g. does the bus speed matter if it was 800MHz for example and does the size of cache matter if 1MB? Or do I have to stick to 533MHz and smaller cache? Do I have to avoid any with Hyper-Threading and stick with a true single core CPU? The other thing I would like to upgrade is the graphics GPU, from the integrated Intel to the Nvidia GeForce FX Go5200 model; hopefully this is a simple plug in board like pictured below:

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTAwMFg3NDY=/ ... 9/$_57.JPG
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTAwMFg3NDY=/ ... E/$_57.JPG

MOD edit: pictures too big, tags removed! Please read the Forum Rules, especially Section 5!

[ajkula66]

So the plan is to maybe place the G41 motherboard inside the best G40 casing, which would also mean it had a 15" screen rather than a 14.1".

If you go with nVidia board that will not work. You need a G41 chassis.

Do I have to avoid any with Hyper-Threading and stick with a true single core CPU?

Nope, with a G41 planar you can go into HT CPUs, and I know I would. 533MHz only though.

The other thing I would like to upgrade is the graphics GPU, from the integrated Intel to the Nvidia GeForce FX Go5200 model; hopefully this is a simple plug in board like pictured below

I'm reasonably certain that the GPU on these is proprietary, and that you'll only be able to use a Lenovo-issued card.

[Shredder11]

Fair enough I will stick with the G41 chassis case and just add the missing RAM and HDD covers.

Ahh 533MHz CPU bus speed....they are harder to find in the higher clock speeds! So 800MHz will plain not work eh

The Nvidia board product listing I got the photos from says it is for the Thinkpad G41; it does not mention any other brand or computer so hopefully it is a genuine one. I'll get a better idea of things once I open the G41 up and look more closely. I only received the G41 earlier today and so far I have only upgraded the BIOS, and installed Win XP Pro; everything seems to be working fine apart from the battery, due to the green / amber flashing icon light underneath the screen. So far the screen looks very nice and bright indeed.

Thanks for the advice. I started out on the whole G40 and G41 thing, because I figured they might be good candidates for a retro gaming laptop, due to the internal floppy drive (USB do not work properly for retro emulators and games). I also thought the 4:3 ratio or whatever it is screen would look more correct for retro games.

[ac12]

Shredder
Watch the prices of the CPU. When I upgraded the CPU in my G40, I put in a 2.8GHz P4. I did not put a 3GHz CPU into my G40, because the price difference between the 2.8GHz and 3.0GHz CPUs was just not worth it for only a 7% greater clock speed. And I'm happy with the 2.8GHz P4.

The gating item on the upgraded G40 is probably the HD. A 7,000 rpm HD or better yet a decent SSD should take care of that problem.
I'm thinking hard about which PC gets the SSD, my T23 or the G40.

[Shredder11]

Well regarding my recent G41 purchase, I have since replaced the Celeron D with a Pentium 4 3.46GHz HT (SL7NC) and used Arctic MX-4 thermal paste, plus I upgraded the BIOS to the most current version. I have replaced the dead battery with one from Ebay, which claims to be 8800mAh but time will tell. I've got 2GB of PC2700 RAM on the way, along with a RAM cover and hard drive caddy and cover. I then need to replace the worn out USA keyboard with a new UK version. I've also thoroughly cleaned and vacuumed the insides, including the motherboard and the various fan ducts / fins etc.

So once the RAM has arrived and been install an hopefully working, I can then begin to set this computer up as a retro gaming machine, mainly 1980s 8-bit home micros and a few other things like Atari ST, Amiga etc. I may even put MAME back on after ten years since I last used it.

Regarding my other G40 laptops, I already have Pentium 4 2.8GHz and 2.6GHz and 2GB and 1GB RAM respectively in those. So I am not sure what I will do with them at the moment if anything.