ThinkPad R61 1066mhz bus CPU mod?

[MBK181]

Hello,
Lately I've been looking to upgrade my ThinkPad R61. That's when I found out about the 1066mhz bus mod for the T61. I was wondering whether something similar would be possible for the R61.
Thank you for any replies

[kfzhu1229]

Hello,
Lately I've been looking to upgrade my ThinkPad R61. That's when I found out about the 1066mhz bus mod for the T61. I was wondering whether something similar would be possible for the R61.
Thank you for any replies

The same idea for T61 works fine on R61, and in fact, ANY 965GM/PM equipped laptop with Penryn CPU upgradability.
But you might wanna take note of the schematics on where the FS B / BSEL1 traces are located. The place where you'd need to desolder or cut may be different.

[unixed]

In principle you can, in practice you'll struggle unless you can modify the BIOS yourself. It's slightly harder for the 15.0" R61, also BIOS-related. At the least you have to inject the appropriate microcode. The 14.1" widescreen R61 that shares a BIOS (7L) with the T61 won't present any problem, just follow the process and BIOS choice as in the case for the T61.

[kfzhu1229]

In principle you can, in practice you'll struggle unless you can modify the BIOS yourself. It's slightly harder for the 15.0" R61, also BIOS-related. At the least you have to inject the appropriate microcode. The 14.1" widescreen R61 that shares a BIOS (7L) with the T61 won't present any problem, just follow the process and BIOS choice as in the case for the T61.

These things don't exactly use the same BIOS? That's interesting.
Well if you struggle to modify the BIOS to inject the right microcode for P series and T9400/T9550/T9600/T9800/T9900, you can always resort to buying a cheap T8100 or T6600 and run it at 2.8Ghz or 2.93Ghz instead. Sure this will run hotter than a P series chip, but you are getting significantly higher clock speeds than something like a P8800 and costs half as much as a P8800 (which is already cheap).
I have done this mod to at least 3 of each of T8100 and T6600 and all ran stable without overvolting, even on crappier GL960 equipped devices. I have no luck with T8300 running stable with the dynamic acceleration pushing past the 3.2Ghz barrier without overvolting though.

[MBK181]

Just so happens I have a 14.1 widescreen. I'm going to attempt to install the BIOS today, since that's the first step

[unixed]

Just so happens I have a 14.1 widescreen. I'm going to attempt to install the BIOS today, since that's the first step

You did notice the qualifier "The 14.1" widescreen R61 that shares a BIOS (7L) with the T61 won't present any problem"?
Check your current bios, it should be something like 7LETC7WW and must have the leading 7L.

Code: Select all

Support models     ThinkPad R61
                   - 14.1 inch widescreen models with IEEE 1394
                     Machine types and models:
                     7732-11x,12x,14x,1Ex,1Fx,4Rx,4Sx,4Tx,N4x,N5x,N8x,N9x,NAx,
                          NBx,NCx,NDx,NEx,P1x,X2x,X3x,X6x
                     7733-12x,13x,14x,15x,16x,17x,1Bx,1Cx,1Dx,1Ex,1Fx,1Mx,1Nx,
                          2Ax,2Dx,2Ex,2Fx,2Gx,2Jx,2Kx,2Lx,2Mx,2Nx,2Px,2Qx,2Rx,
                          2Sx,2Tx,3Ax,3Bx,3Cx,3Dx,3Ex,3Fx,3Gx,N5x,N6x,P1x,P2x,
                          P4x,PAx,PBx,XAx
                     7734-11x,12x,14x,15x,N3x
                     7735-12x,1Bx,1Cx,1Dx,1Ex,1Jx,XAx
                     7738-16x,17x,18x,19x,1Bx,1Cx,1Hx,1Mx,1Nx,1Px,1Rx,1Sx,1Tx,
                          1Ux,1Vx,21x,22x,P1x,P2x
                     7742-11x,12x,16x,NAx,NBx,NCx,X1x,X7x
                     7743-11x,12x,13x,14x,15x,17x,18x,19x,1Gx,1Hx,1Jx,1Kx,1Lx,
                          1Mx,2Ax,2Bx,2Cx,2Dx,2Ex,2Fx,2Gx,2Hx,2Jx,2Kx,3Bx,N3x,
                          N4x,N5x,N6x,P1x,P2x,P3x,P4x,P5x,P6x,P7x
                     7744-1Ax,P1x
                     7751-11x,12x,13x,1Gx,1Hx,1Jx
                     7753-2Xx
                     7754-2Xx
                     7755-11x,12x,13x,14x,15x,16x,17x,1Bx,1Dx,1Ex,1Fx,1Gx,1Hx,
                          P1x,P2x,P3x,P4x,P5x

                   ThinkPad R61i
                   - 14.1 inch widescreen models with IEEE 1394
                     Machine types and models:
                     7732-21x,22x,23x,24x,25x,26x,27x,28x,29x,2Ax,2Bx,2Cx,2Dx,
                          2Ex,2Fx,2Gx,2Hx,2Jx,2Kx,2Lx,2Mx,4Ax,4Bx,4Cx,4Gx,4Hx,
                          4Jx,4Kx,4Nx,6Ax,6Bx,6Cx,6Dx,6Ex,6Fx,6Gx,6Hx,6Kx,7Ax,
                          7Bx,7Cx,7Dx,7Ex,7Fx,7Gx,7Hx,7Jx,7Kx,7Lx,7Px,7Rx,8Ax,
                          8Bx,8Cx,8Dx,8Ex,8Fx,8Gx,8Hx,8Jx,8Kx,8Lx,8Mx,8Nx,8Px,
                          8Qx,8Rx,8Sx,8Tx,8Ux,8Vx,8Wx,8Yx,8Zx,9Ax,9Bx,9Cx,9Dx,
                          9Ex,B1x,B2x,B3x,B4x,B5x,B6x,B7x,B8x,B9x,BAx,BBx,BCx,
                          BDx,BEx,BFx,BGx,BHx,BJx,BKx,C1x,C2x,C3x,C4x,C5x,C6x,
                          C7x,C8x,C9x,CAx
                     7742-21x,22x,23x,24x,25x,26x,27x,28x,29x,4Lx,4Mx,7Mx,7Nx,
                          9Gx,9Hx,9Jx,9Kx,B1x,B2x,B3x,B4x,B5x,B6x,B7x,B8x,B9x,
                          BAx,BBx,BCx

                   ThinkPad T61, T61p

[MBK181]

Yes, I did realise about the 7L part

[MBK181]

Just to confirm, I booted with the BIOS no problem.

[MBK181]

Here to update the situation I have booted with an Intel t9400
The whole process was a little harder than expected though, because the 4gb RAM sticks I had where SPD locked.. I solved this by getting another RAM module and flashing the SPD onto that, then soldering the EEPROM device from that to one of my 4gb modules.

Also, a question- would it be possible to install a quad core in the R61 just like in the T61?

[kfzhu1229]

Here to update the situation I have booted with an Intel t9400
The whole process was a little harder than expected though, because the 4gb RAM sticks I had where SPD locked.. I solved this by getting another RAM module and flashing the SPD onto that, then soldering the EEPROM device from that to one of my 4gb modules.

Congrats on your success! I am curious did you get away with 880Mhz RAM speeds (667mhz profile) or do you have to lower it down to like 720Mhz for your iGPU to run stable?
That part seems to be a silicon lottery, where my HP Pavilion dv6700 did it just fine, so did my XPS M1330, but my HP Compaq 6910p and Inspiron 1420 would have GPU crashes, and GL960 chipsets just won't POST with 880Mhz RAM speeds.
Also, so you just flashed middleton and T9400 worked fine on Thinkpad? So I guess that means there are microcode supports for 1066mhz Penryn processors.
To fully utilise that gain, I'd usually equip it with a P8800, T9550, T9600, or overclocking the T6600 or T8100. Not overly expensive but very high in clock speeds.

[MBK181]

Nope, I got the modded BIOS that el-sahef posted in the T61 1066mhz CPU instructions.
I have not tried the 667mhz RAM profile yet, I have only tried 533.

But right now, I'm worrying about something else. So far, the BIOS says the T9400 is a 1.90Ghz CPU and I can't seem to get it above 1.90Ghz by trying to use throttlestop. Windows defaults the frequency to 1.20Ghz.
I also observed, that CPU-Z says my bus speed is 200mhz. I am sure that I have cut the correct wire (the layout of the schematics I checked was exactly the same as my R61's) so I doubt it's the wrong trace I cut. I don't think it could be an issue with the cable either.

[kfzhu1229]

Nope, I got the modded BIOS that el-sahef posted in the T61 1066mhz CPU instructions.
I have not tried the 667mhz RAM profile yet, I have only tried 533.

But right now, I'm worrying about something else. So far, the BIOS says the T9400 is a 1.90Ghz CPU and I can't seem to get it above 1.90Ghz by trying to use throttlestop. Windows defaults the frequency to 1.20Ghz.
I also observed, that CPU-Z says my bus speed is 200mhz. I am sure that I have cut the correct wire (the layout of the schematics I checked was exactly the same as my R61's) so I doubt it's the wrong trace I cut. I don't think it could be an issue with the cable either.

That means your laptop is still running on 800Mhz FSB. I suspect you didn't cut the trace all the way through and that the high signal from the wire to VCore is getting to your clock generator. You can try cutting it again, or you can try to desolder that resistor and then just hook a thru hole 1KOhm resistor to the same place (from the clock generator side to the VCore capacitor) instead.
Also, the BIOS will not update the correct clock speed after the mod, but CPU-Z will. If CPU-Z still shows FSB of 800mhz (BSEL 200Mhz) and 1.9Ghz that means your overclocking failed.

[MBK181]

I have literally dug into the motherboard at this point... But CPU-Z finally shows bus speed of 266mhz and core speed at 2530mhz (though BIOS still shows 1.90ghz and so does task manager in windows, any way to fix this?) So I think I'm good. Throttlestop now also shows the 2.5ghz frequency, but I still can't overclock. The multiplier won't go over 10 and that's what's I guess it's set to default.

[MBK181]

Okay so no issues running with RAM at 667mhz
Any idea if the Quad-Core mod would be possible?

[kfzhu1229]

I have literally dug into the motherboard at this point... But CPU-Z finally shows bus speed of 266mhz and core speed at 2530mhz (though BIOS still shows 1.90ghz and so does task manager in windows, any way to fix this?) So I think I'm good. Throttlestop now also shows the 2.5ghz frequency, but I still can't overclock. The multiplier won't go over 10 and that's what's I guess it's set to default.

You don't fix the problem where BIOS and windows thinks it's still running at the 1.9Ghz speed. I know sometimes overclocking a T6600 or T8100 would make Windows think it's running at 2.93Ghz or 2.8Ghz but not all the time.
Also you'd need a multiplier unlocked processor to do any overclocking via throttlestop, but since you've done the mod already you are also open to the X9100 which is slightly easier to find.

Okay so no issues running with RAM at 667mhz
Any idea if the Quad-Core mod would be possible?

By the way you can't just assume it's all stable after running memtest86. Most likely your RAM is stable at 880Mhz but if you try to run 3DMark03 on your iGPU then things start to crash.
But if it is perfectly stable at 880mhz then you get a healthy gain of iGPU performance, since RAM speed does play a big role in X3100 graphics' performance, and that getting 667mhz speed to work is easy on 965 chipset since you can just change the 667mhz profile into 533mhz with SPDTool and the motherboard will then use the 800mhz profile automatically but clock it down to 667mhz.
I don't do quad core mods at all and I don't think it is worth the severe modifications for me, as opposed to the minor mods you do for 1066mhz fsb mod, so can't help you with that one.

[MBK181]

I forgot to say- I already ran a few GPU benchmarks, and it seems to be running stably.

[MBK181]

Seems like pin "GTLREF_2" is missing on the underside of the motherboard, sI guess I'll have to create a new thread on the quad core mod.

[MBK181]

Just an update on the situation... So I had issues of the type sometimes running at 200mhz FSB, and sometimes not booting up. In the end, I realised that the resistor the BSEL trace lead to (now is cut) is just so small, that when there's the cable yhere I don't know what's touching it and what's not. So in the end, I removed that resistor, soldered a cable in it's place, and to both cables a 1kOhm 1/4W resistor I had. Now I'm getting no issues at all.

[kfzhu1229]

Just an update on the situation... So I had issues of the type sometimes running at 200mhz FSB, and sometimes not booting up. In the end, I realised that the resistor the BSEL trace lead to (now is cut) is just so small, that when there's the cable yhere I don't know what's touching it and what's not. So in the end, I removed that resistor, soldered a cable in it's place, and to both cables a 1kOhm 1/4W resistor I had. Now I'm getting no issues at all.

If this is what you end up doing then that's exactly what I proposed of doing as my preference: https://onedrive.live.com/?authkey=%21A ... 83&o=OneUp
Like that saves you the risk of accidentally cutting other traces and only requires a dollar store soldering iron to complete, but you do need a 1KOhm thru hole resistor like what you have.
With this mod though I highly recommend you reinforce the cable by attaching the cable to the motherboard with caulking glue at a few points (hot glue will do too but if your board gets too hot the glue softens). I didn't do that with even a thin 32awg wire on my HP Compaq 6910p and after 6 months of daily abuse the small solder joint on the pad for the resistor may crack and then you just don't get a POST anymore unless you fix that.
I do still think a Quad core like a Q9000 would be diminishing in performance though, when you compare 1.8Ghz cores to 3Ghz cores of an 1066mhz FSB overclocked Core 2 duo T6600. Sure the QX series are better but they are also hella expensive.

[MBK181]

Okay, also instead of soldering the resistor I have now straight to where the old one was, I instead soldered a wire to it then to the resistor. But I have now observed, that for some reason it won't run 3DMark03 stably with this resistor? I have no idea what's going on. I have some metalized 1KOhm 1/8W 1% resistors (as opposed to my 1/4W 5% not metalized) coming soon, maybe those will work better.

Also, regarding the quads, they're soooo cheap here
I already negotiated and managed to get a QX9300 for what converts to about 25€.

[MBK181]

I also accidentally scraped off the solder mask right next to where the original resistor was, and there was a "GND" pin there. That's the biggest reason of switching to this resistor since the GND pin was so close it was practically impossible to solder the wire without touching the GND pin. Also I might've burned that resistor (original one) with all my attempts... Too bad

[MBK181]

Also, I wouldn't recommend soldering the resistor straight to the old soldering pads. The way I did it (well, I had to, because of my clumsy work I literally removed both soldering pads ) there's the pin to where the pad is connected to, I soldered to that.
https://imgur.com/a/kcbz6l3
(By some miracle, the cable's not touching those other resistors... I checked with my multimeter.)

One more observation, the boot screen shows about 1-2 seconds later compared to before this resistor. Weird stuff.

[kfzhu1229]

Also, I wouldn't recommend soldering the resistor straight to the old soldering pads. The way I did it (well, I had to, because of my clumsy work I literally removed both soldering pads ) there's the pin to where the pad is connected to, I soldered to that.
https://imgur.com/a/kcbz6l3
(By some miracle, the cable's not touching those other resistors... I checked with my multimeter.)

Yeah my bad I meant you should solder a wire extending the resistor, the resistor itself may not even be long enough to reach anyway.
A thin solid core wire is much better at this job than your stranded cable, which greatly reduces the accuracy, but then again it's one pad to solder so not a big deal.
But yeah that should be what I have in mind.
After you verify everything works, you should solidify that area with glue or something so that the wire doesn't come out or short something else.

Okay, also instead of soldering the resistor I have now straight to where the old one was, I instead soldered a wire to it then to the resistor. But I have now observed, that for some reason it won't run 3DMark03 stably with this resistor? I have no idea what's going on. I have some metalized 1KOhm 1/8W 1% resistors (as opposed to my 1/4W 5% not metalized) coming soon, maybe those will work better.

Well if by that you are getting the GPU driver crashes and restarts, that means running the RAM at 667Mhz -> 880Mhz is too much for the iGPU. Lower the speed to 533Mhz in that case.
In some cases the silicon of the Northbridge might just be "boarderline" stable for such high memory speeds, in which case it might get more stable after a week or so. If not, revert to the lower speed.
I am surprised QX9300 is available to you for that cheap. If you made sure that chip actually works like intended and is not a fake, pretty sure you'd have dozens of interested forum members for your CPU just like how it is for me with 4GB DDR2 RAM sticks.

[MBK181]

When you said that people would be interested in the QX9300, do you mean to sell it?

[kfzhu1229]

When you said that people would be interested in the QX9300, do you mean to sell it?

Well if you can get ahold of extras then I am very sure there will be loads of interest from this forum. Considering the fact that even a T9300 typically costs more than your prices, you know.
I got some 50 4GB DDR2 sticks (SPD Unlocked) and redistributed to various forum members over here, giving fellow members a known good solution should they attempt FSB mods on their machines.

[kfzhu1229]

Since on R61 15.4 widescreen the mod is a fair bit different in place than the T61 standard screen models, I will put what I did here.
This is what I end up doing to my R61 widescreen to do the 1066mhz FSB mod: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AuILfFUnTy5chzLydAK ... i?e=HLs18R
There was a resistor in place where I soldered that blue wire, but instead of cutting the trace I desoldered that resistor and soldered the wire directly to the pad and the wire to extend my 1KOhm resistor that's a bit too short, the other end of the resistor go to Vcore rail from the capacitors, in my personal opinion this is a less riskier approach for people not as good in soldering or razor cutting skills.
What this does is to isolate and connect the FS B pin on the Northbridge to always high (VCore) so it would boot and think it's on 200Mhz BSEL (800Mhz FSB) no matter what the BSEL/FSB truly is.
So with this, if you use a 800mhz FSB CPU the CPU sets the FS B pin exactly as high as well and it performs stock like no mod is made, but as soon as a 1066Mhz FSB CPU comes in the Northbridge still thinks it's 800Mhz FSB and keeps the system running with the new CPU but you need the SPD modded RAM to keep RAM timings stable at the new clock of 667/800*1066=880Mhz.
If I am gonna use a T6xx0/T8100 and merely overclock its FSB then I'd need a jumper in the socket as well (or by the clock generator) to ground that FS B pin if I want to run that on 1066mhz FSB instead of 800.

[unixed]

If I am gonna use a T6xx0/T8100 and merely overclock its FSB then I'd need a jumper in the socket as well ..

This may not work, might lock on the lowest multiplier.

[kfzhu1229]

This may not work, might lock on the lowest multiplier.

If I blindly do just this then yes it will lock at the lowest multiplier if it were the GM45 chipset, and no POST in this case.
But what I meant was after the resistor mod that isolates and forces the FS B pin of the Northbridge to always high, then set the FS B pin on the socket to be low (and hence clock generator), the CPU should run at 2.8Ghz and require the SPD modded RAM sticks. I've done the equivalent on Acers that don't have any 1066mhz CPU's microcodes and works fine, though in some cases it could lock at the highest frequency and speedstep does not work.
Not gonna try this on my R61 anymore as my poor R61's heatsink is already on its last legs and T8100 at 2.8Ghz runs hot too, almost as hot as a T9600.

[MBK181]

Nope, I got the modded BIOS that el-sahef posted in the T61 1066mhz CPU instructions.
I have not tried the 667mhz RAM profile yet, I have only tried 533.

But right now, I'm worrying about something else. So far, the BIOS says the T9400 is a 1.90Ghz CPU and I can't seem to get it above 1.90Ghz by trying to use throttlestop. Windows defaults the frequency to 1.20Ghz.
I also observed, that CPU-Z says my bus speed is 200mhz. I am sure that I have cut the correct wire (the layout of the schematics I checked was exactly the same as my R61's) so I doubt it's the wrong trace I cut. I don't think it could be an issue with the cable either.

That means your laptop is still running on 800Mhz FSB. I suspect you didn't cut the trace all the way through and that the high signal from the wire to VCore is getting to your clock generator. You can try cutting it again, or you can try to desolder that resistor and then just hook a thru hole 1KOhm resistor to the same place (from the clock generator side to the VCore capacitor) instead.
Also, the BIOS will not update the correct clock speed after the mod, but CPU-Z will. If CPU-Z still shows FSB of 800mhz (BSEL 200Mhz) and 1.9Ghz that means your overclocking failed.

Hello,
So I'm back. This time I left my R61 for a bit since I'm scared of killing it because the amount of attempts it has already been put through. So I pulled out a few T61's I have. I attempted the same mod (because I'm still having issues with my R61) and same thing - stuck at 1.9GHZ but instead of showing 200mhz bus speed CPU-Z shows 800mhz. I have cut the trace in 4 places and isolated the pin on the CPU. Same result. Throttle stop won't let me overclock and I don't know what to do. I am counting on your guys help

[MBK181]

Bus speed 200mhz still*