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

One-click T42 Overclock

T40/T41/T42/T43 Series
Post Reply
Message
Author
dr. zoidberg
Freshman Member
Posts: 56
Joined: Fri May 13, 2005 8:35 pm
Location: kitchener

One-click T42 Overclock

#1 Post by dr. zoidberg » Sun Jun 17, 2007 7:55 pm

For anyone that is interested in overclocking their T42, I've successfully managed to achieve a stable 200Mhz OC. It's not a whole lot but it's better than nothing.

Note that all of these procedures are specifically tailored to my needs and system. If you want to use it on your's you will probably need to modify it a bit

Summary
By using the AccessIBM button, I made some batch files that will overclock/reset my FSB, increase/reset the fan speed and increase/reset the CPU voltage. I got a 200mhz overclock (fsb=112) with a maximum temperature of 69deg after 1 hour of running orthos. The CPU could go, and indeed went more but the PCI bus couldn't take it (audio was flaky)


Software required:
SetFSB
ADMIN NOTE: As of 10-Jun-2012, a couple of online virus scanners are indicating that this .ZIP file is infected with a Trojan. Please proceed at your own risk!
NHC Pro PR6 (yes, this procedure requires the pro version for profile switching unfortunately)
Thinkpad Fan Control
Thinkpad Button Customizer
Windows XP

For simple overclocking, you can just use SetFSB but I wanted to do a bit more. I wanted to be able to overclock and un overclock using a single click or button press while simultaneously adjusting fan speeds and voltages. I normally run under volted with CPU dynamic switching using Notebook Hardware Control so what I needed to do was
1. Change CPU profile to Max performance (necessary so SetFSB won't crash)
2. Increase the voltage to the CPU
3. Increase the fan speed to max to ensure the most cooling possible

Step 0 - Find max FSB speed
(a) Use the Thinkpad Fan Control utility to set the fan to the fastest speed.
(b) Use SetFSB to find the fastest speed the CPU will run at by using a stress test like Orthos/Prime95 (keep an eye on the temperature: in my tests it reached around 85, which is still below the recommended maximum). On my computer, I have to overclock the FSB to at least 110Mhz or else it will hard lock. I was able to reach an FSB of 116mhz however this was too fast for the PCI bus which caused my soundcard to stop working. At FSB=112Mhz, everything was OK.
(c)Use NHC to dial down the voltage of the OC'ed CPU to keep the temperature more sane (stays less than 70 for me)


Step 1
(a)Install the NHCIBM ACPI. I used this to control the fan speed but you can use the Thinkpad Fan control If you want to.
(b)Create a new profile (I called it "Max performance - for oc") that you will use when the CPU is OC'ed. In this profile, set the CPU to max performance and force the voltage value from Step 0. In the ACPI configuration, set the fan speed to max

Step 2 - install batch files
Copy these batch files to some directory on your local drive Don't forget to edit the batch files and replace all the paths and NHC profile names with your own names!.

Step 3 - Access IBM button
open the Thinkpad button customizer and select an application to launch: "C:\windows\system32\cmd.exe" For the parameters put "/c <setoc.cmd>" where "<setoc.cmd>" is the FULL path and file name of wherever you copied the batch files.

Step 4 - Enjoy
If everything works, the folllowing should happen:
If the CPU is NOT OC'ed (i.e. fancontrol is not running) the batch file should change the profile to your OC profile, fancontrol.exe should start and setfsb will run and change the fsb.
If the CPU IS OC'ed, fancontrol.exe will be stopped, setfsb will reset the fsb and the profile will be switched to whatever profile you defined.

Its complicated and convoluted I know, but I find it quite useful so I thought I'd share it. Some may find the benefits too little to be worth the trouble but for those looking to eke out every las mhz on these ageing lappys this is for them :D

Feel free to give comments and / or suggestions!
IBM T42 2373-3uu
Dothan 1.7Ghz @ 1.9GHz
120Gb Samsung HM121HC 5400rpm
1.5GB DDR333
14.1" SXGA+
Radeon 9600 64mb

KristianJ
Moderator Emeritus
Moderator Emeritus
Posts: 1074
Joined: Fri Apr 07, 2006 5:45 am
Location: Penrith, Australia

#2 Post by KristianJ » Sun Jun 17, 2007 9:29 pm

I tried SetFSB a couple of weeks ago and got a stable overclock of 200MHz on my T40, but couldn't figure out how to have it operating from startup. Do you have the program running from startup and if so, how did you set it up to do so? :)
X220 4291-46M
HP Pavilion dv7-2109tx


agarza
ThinkPadder
ThinkPadder
Posts: 1538
Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 10:31 am
Location: Guadalajara, Jalisco MEXICO

#3 Post by agarza » Mon Jun 18, 2007 12:02 am

Interesting.

I dl'ed SetFSB, but tell me what I'm doing wrong:
http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/7316/wrongbc8.png
After that, the program exits.

Do I have to install first prime95 or link that software to SetFSB ?
Current
T440p:
Core i7-4710MQ|16GB RAM|Intel 200GB SSD| 14.1" AUO IPS FHD|Win 7 Pro|T450 Trackpad|Backlit keyboard|2nd Caddy

T460p:
Core i5-6300HQ|16GB RAM|lPNY 256GB SSD| 14.1" Panasonic IPS WQHD|Win 7 Pro
Past: T420 HD+, X61s XGA, T61 14" SXGA+, T42p 14.1 SXGA+, T30, A22e

KristianJ
Moderator Emeritus
Moderator Emeritus
Posts: 1074
Joined: Fri Apr 07, 2006 5:45 am
Location: Penrith, Australia

#4 Post by KristianJ » Mon Jun 18, 2007 12:56 am

I'll get back to you on that - I recall reading on another thread around here of some issues with some T4x machines, but can't remember what it was. In any case it's probably not to do with prime95 (since SetFSB works on its own)
X220 4291-46M
HP Pavilion dv7-2109tx


FTC
Junior Member
Junior Member
Posts: 343
Joined: Wed Apr 13, 2005 10:02 am
Location: Barcelona, Spain

#5 Post by FTC » Mon Jun 18, 2007 2:04 am

...some issues with some T4x machines,..."
That is right. The problem is... not all the T4x use the same PLL (clock generator chip) Some are programmable PLLs, others are not. So, for instance my T40 (2373-7BU) can be succesfully overclocked wirh Setfsb, but my T42 (2373-L77) can not.
So, in summary, if you try SETFSB and it does not work, chances are your machine has a non programmable PLL, thus can not be overclocked.
760CD -> 770X -> 600E -> T23 -> T40 -> T42 -> T400 -> T430
Thinkpad T430 i5 3320M 320GB HD, 8GB Mem

dr. zoidberg
Freshman Member
Posts: 56
Joined: Fri May 13, 2005 8:35 pm
Location: kitchener

#6 Post by dr. zoidberg » Mon Jun 18, 2007 8:33 am

KristianJ wrote:I tried SetFSB a couple of weeks ago and got a stable overclock of 200MHz on my T40, but couldn't figure out how to have it operating from startup. Do you have the program running from startup and if so, how did you set it up to do so? :)
I don't have it running from startup because I want to be able to switch it on and off on the fly. If you want it on startup, just add setfsb to your startup folder with the following switches:

Code: Select all

SetFSBu_ThinkPad-X31.exe -s112 -w5
This tells it to set the FSB to 112MHz after a 5 second delay
That is right. The problem is... not all the T4x use the same PLL (clock generator chip) Some are programmable PLLs, others are not. So, for instance my T40 (2373-7BU) can be succesfully overclocked wirh Setfsb, but my T42 (2373-L77) can not.
So, in summary, if you try SETFSB and it does not work, chances are your machine has a non programmable PLL, thus can not be overclocked.
Yes, like I said, this is for my specific laptop. At first I though my T42 wasn't overclocable because SetFSB would lock up the computer when I changed the FSB. Then I found out I had to increase the FSB to at least 110 Mhz before it would work.

Is there a list of which T4x are overclocable? If not, it may be a good time as any to start one!
IBM T42 2373-3uu
Dothan 1.7Ghz @ 1.9GHz
120Gb Samsung HM121HC 5400rpm
1.5GB DDR333
14.1" SXGA+
Radeon 9600 64mb

T400plus
Junior Member
Junior Member
Posts: 262
Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2009 7:20 am
Location: Mumbai, India

Re: One-click T42 Overclock

#7 Post by T400plus » Sat Mar 07, 2009 5:20 am

something along similar lines for a aged but still alive T41 with a 1.6 GHZ pentium M cpu ?

aaa
ThinkPadder
ThinkPadder
Posts: 1063
Joined: Fri Jun 08, 2007 2:36 pm

Re: One-click T42 Overclock

#8 Post by aaa » Sat Mar 07, 2009 8:18 pm

Did you try it? It should be mostly, if not exactly, the same procedure.

T400plus
Junior Member
Junior Member
Posts: 262
Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2009 7:20 am
Location: Mumbai, India

Re: One-click T42 Overclock

#9 Post by T400plus » Fri Mar 13, 2009 9:15 am

I want to try but where do i get the programs from?.

T41 1.6 GHz pentium M (banias)...

aaa
ThinkPadder
ThinkPadder
Posts: 1063
Joined: Fri Jun 08, 2007 2:36 pm

Re: One-click T42 Overclock

#10 Post by aaa » Fri Mar 13, 2009 11:33 am

Well the link for SetFSB is right there. That is what does the overclocking.

You can get tpfancontrol here:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/tp4xfancontrol/

You don't need all of the programs mentioned.

yak
ThinkPadder
ThinkPadder
Posts: 1256
Joined: Thu Dec 06, 2007 3:17 pm
Location: NRW, Germany

Re: One-click T42 Overclock

#11 Post by yak » Fri Mar 13, 2009 11:50 am

I just downloaded SetFSB from the link provided in the first post and Avira AntiVir tells me there's a TR/Killwin.C.16 trojan in the exe.
ThinkPad™ X201 / AFFS-120
i5-560M 2.67Ghz, 8GB RAM, Samsung 840 Pro 256GB SSD, Win 8 Pro 64-bit, UltraBase X200, ThinkPad Compact USB Keyboard,
Dell U2713HM (2560x1440, IPS), ExpressCard USB 3.0 (2 ports, flush), Nexus 7+10

T400plus
Junior Member
Junior Member
Posts: 262
Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2009 7:20 am
Location: Mumbai, India

Re: One-click T42 Overclock

#12 Post by T400plus » Sun Mar 15, 2009 2:59 am

I tried setFsb to get the following
intel 855 PM/GM(E)
model 2672CAJ
PLL Error
SMBUS Address :1880
byte count 7
pll Data
d3 ce 7f c1 07 00 b1 .....lot of zeroes

I presume i got a special version of the PLL. :?

Harryc
Moderator Emeritus
Moderator Emeritus
Posts: 13228
Joined: Thu Apr 12, 2007 8:23 am
Location: Upstate New York

Re: One-click T42 Overclock

#13 Post by Harryc » Sun Mar 15, 2009 3:05 am

Can one of the Mods/Admins check the setfsb download for a trojan please? I am running Linux so I cannot.

richk
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 2913
Joined: Sun Jan 01, 2006 3:29 pm
Location: San Francisco, CA

Re: One-click T42 Overclock

#14 Post by richk » Sun Mar 15, 2009 12:38 pm

I scanned it with the latest symantec anti-virus definitions and didn't find anything.

Harryc
Moderator Emeritus
Moderator Emeritus
Posts: 13228
Joined: Thu Apr 12, 2007 8:23 am
Location: Upstate New York

Re: One-click T42 Overclock

#15 Post by Harryc » Sun Mar 15, 2009 12:47 pm

Thanks Richk.

clovisfc
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Aug 31, 2010 4:10 pm
Location: Paris, France

Re: One-click T42 Overclock

#16 Post by clovisfc » Tue Aug 31, 2010 4:37 pm

Definitely has a virus!

Mike Blake
Junior Member
Junior Member
Posts: 252
Joined: Sun Mar 30, 2008 4:28 pm
Location: East Providence, Rhode Island

Re: One-click T42 Overclock

#17 Post by Mike Blake » Tue Aug 31, 2010 5:02 pm

clovisfc wrote:Definitely has a virus!
When I checked it with Symantec it showed a trojan too.
--Mike Blake T430s - L540 - T450s

T400plus
Junior Member
Junior Member
Posts: 262
Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2009 7:20 am
Location: Mumbai, India

Re: One-click T42 Overclock

#18 Post by T400plus » Mon Nov 01, 2010 5:19 am

and danger in running setfsb?
AND HOW DO I CHECK IF THE OVERCLOCK HAS BEEN SET?
t41 2374 - 7fu ,1.7 pentium 735 ,windows 7

Vonfeffer
Freshman Member
Posts: 84
Joined: Wed Feb 09, 2011 5:22 pm
Location: São Paulo, Brazil

Re: One-click T42 Overclock

#19 Post by Vonfeffer » Sun Sep 18, 2011 12:22 pm

Hi guys, is there a setFSB for the T43? What about the SL410???

thanks

Von Feffer
You can´t change the past but you can create a better future if you change the present.

IBM
T41 2373-311 - 2GB Ram, 2Ghz
T43 2668-J29 - 2GB Ram, 2Ghz
T420 4178-ABP - 8GB Ram, i5 2520m
W510 - 16GB Ram, i7 720QM, SSD

systemBuilder
Sophomore Member
Posts: 216
Joined: Sun Jun 26, 2005 5:11 am
Location: Palo Alto, CA

Re: One-click T42 Overclock

#20 Post by systemBuilder » Thu Mar 08, 2012 4:12 pm

It's not very worthwhile to overclock anything less than 1.8 Ghz.
The 1.7 Ghz and slower laptops have a smaller L1 cache and the cache size is a large bottleneck, overclocking won't help much if the problem is the cache. It's better to try to overclock a low-end 1.8 Ghz machine because it has a 3 MB L1 cache, not a 2 MB L1 cache from the 1.7 Ghz and slower machines. The speed bump from 1.7 Ghz to 1.8 Ghz is like night and day.
=======================
Lots of thinkpads (10+) but I would never be so stupid as to list them all because that would spam everybody's searches and people who *do* try to list them all would be jerks.

ajkula66
SuperUserGeorge
SuperUserGeorge
Posts: 17303
Joined: Sun Feb 25, 2007 11:28 am
Location: Belgrade, Serbia

Re: One-click T42 Overclock

#21 Post by ajkula66 » Thu Mar 08, 2012 4:31 pm

Huh...none of the CPUs used in T4x/R5x machines had more than 2MB L2 cache.

Dothan-cored ones (all with 2MB) begin with 1.5 (PM 705).
...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.

systemBuilder
Sophomore Member
Posts: 216
Joined: Sun Jun 26, 2005 5:11 am
Location: Palo Alto, CA

Re: One-click T42 Overclock

#22 Post by systemBuilder » Sun Jun 10, 2012 10:46 pm

ajkula66 wrote:Huh...none of the CPUs used in T4x/R5x machines had more than 2MB L2 cache.

Dothan-cored ones (all with 2MB) begin with 1.5 (PM 705).
I am pretty certain that all 1.7 Ghz machines and below are Banias cores, i.e. with a 1 MB L2 cache.
=======================
Lots of thinkpads (10+) but I would never be so stupid as to list them all because that would spam everybody's searches and people who *do* try to list them all would be jerks.

ajkula66
SuperUserGeorge
SuperUserGeorge
Posts: 17303
Joined: Sun Feb 25, 2007 11:28 am
Location: Belgrade, Serbia

Re: One-click T42 Overclock

#23 Post by ajkula66 » Sun Jun 10, 2012 11:14 pm

systemBuilder wrote: I am pretty certain that all 1.7 Ghz machines and below are Banias cores, i.e. with a 1 MB L2 cache.
Wrong you are on this one.

http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Intel_Pentium_M_(Dothan)
...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.

Adda
Senior Member
Senior Member
Posts: 685
Joined: Fri Dec 04, 2009 1:49 pm
Location: Nørresundby, Denmark

Re: One-click T42 Overclock

#24 Post by Adda » Mon Jun 11, 2012 8:22 am

1MB Cache = Banias
2MB Cache = Dothan

Fixed link:
http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Intel_Pen ... 8Dothan%29

ThinkPad A30
Pentium III-M 933MHz
Crucial 2x256MB 133MHz CL2
Mobility Radeon 16MB
15" UXGA FlexView
Zheino Classic A 32GB
Samsung SpinPoint M5S 160GB
NEC DVD+-RW ND-6650A
Broadcom MiniPCI BCM43222 802.11n Dual Band
AKE BC168 USB 2.0
26P8287 203 "Malaysia"
46L4697
02K6898
02K6753

Post Reply
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post

Return to “ThinkPad T40/T41/T42/T43 Series”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Bing [Bot] and 75 guests