Upgrading my ThinkPad X61

[@sebtroop23]

"Probably doesn't look too complicated" It looks complicated, is amazing the lenghts the community can go to achieve that extra performance on a laptop that is already not really ideal for much, but I LOVE IT That is what passion is, not doing it because is gonna be a great financial decision but because it is possible and fun.

[@rzrr]

It's unbeliavable how that little C2D holds up, I didn't even think KZbin would work, but 720p works perfectly!

[@bibasik7]

I watched this video on a C2D MacBook Pro. Still a usable laptop in 2022.

[@mistrotech8894]

I use a 1.6GHz Core 2 Duo T5470. For 720p 60 it's great, and even 1080p 30. Zoom calls and Google Meet works fine, and it does everything I need it to do as a laptop.

[@thatMattW]

You put in a lot of work on this! Great job!

[@dmytrosuprun8048]

Wow, this kicks ass of any over clocking I’ve ever seen; nicely done !

[@东北斯文人]

不懂英文，我靠着中文自动翻译字幕把影片看完，我08年购买的X61真心喜欢这个机型，一直舍不得丢掉，太感谢你制作的这个视频了！真不知道这个机型还可以安装8G的内存条！

[@guaiqueritech]

I think it only accepts 4gb x 2 modules.

[@inventorOz84]

A very underrated video! Well done!

[@dosgos]

I have C2D MacBook Pro. For cooling, I drilled 2 big holes on the bottom and placed some screen fiberglass for some protection (it is window screen material). The MBP is sealed for audio purposes, so had terrible cooling. Now it runs cool but the speakers sound lousy. It has the rotten nvidia GPUs with "packaging issues" (e.g. lousy no-lead soldier). Maybe 9800GT but can't remember. This GPU is just a bit too old to run modern videos efficiently so is not ideal. Great video.

[@SegaSaturn94]

(your hand are beautifull..) good video

[@monochrome_linux]

Now that you mentioned it, it's true. Indeed very beautiful hands lol

[@potluckcookin]

Wow! Amazing work.

[@benediction2734]

What Linux Mint theme/version is used on the laptop to the right at 3:15?

[@dekksherton6824]

If you use your X61 for text only, PDA replacement its still easily usable.

[@elrus0o]

OMFGGG! amazing work

[@KaiserTheAdversary]

Shame we don't have Coreboot on the x61. If we did, I'd happily trade in my x60.

[@oggilein1]

with this much effort put in, you really deseve to get one of the X61s reserve edition thinkpads

[@incinerate5401]

absolutely insane)

[@mistrotech8894]

What about a pin mod overclock on the stock CPU? How does one go about that?

[@andingxiang2477]

Can I upgrade my T61 T7500 with P9500 with your modded Bios

[@nbzwt]

The BIOS I modded would only work for X61. However the same process could be applied on the T61's BIOS as well so you could make your own modded BIOS for T61. I have also seen modded BIOS for T61 somewhere online.

[@ColemakDH]

If I wanted to do this myself, would this work on an x60 motherboard? or would I need to use an x61 Also your article link doesn't seem to work

[@Max_Mustermann]

Interesting project. Most regular users would probably just pick a model with a socketed CPU instead of going through all that effort.

[@rizanyt]

Just found you, great video!

[@guaiqueritech]

Great video… I draw the line at upgrading the storage and the RAM, tough 😂

[@lukemarvin]

Very impressive!

[@longcu9426]

Damn you're talented

[@saramaeks9826]

will this also work for an x60s? That's the model I have, I'm looking to upgrade it but don't even know where to begin. Yours is by far the coolest tutorial I've seen on this subject, I would love to apply some of this to my x60s if possible

[@nbzwt]

Unfortunately not much: RAM on X60/X60s is limited to 3GB, SATA SSD is limited to Gen1 1.5Gbps, X60s/X61s uses a thinner lid and different screen cable so IPS/AFFS mod is much much harder (if it could be done at all...), CPU upgrade is possible, but also limited to ones supported by 945 chipset (some 65nm merom ones).

[@saramaeks9826]

@@nbzwt thank you SO much for the response, I truly appreciate the help/info :) even if the answer is kind of sad for me, lmao. Do you think if I replace the motherboard with one from an x61 that more upgrades will be possible?

[@nbzwt]

@@saramaeks9826 Yes, IIRC X60/X60s/X60t/X61/X61s/X61t motherboard are mostly compatible, but keep in mind: 1. X60s/X61s chassis are designed to fit a smaller fan. So you are limited to use the stock fan for the new motherboard. X61 (non-s)'s CPU is probably going to dissipate too much heat for that fan. 2. Some X61 features a 2nd fan under the palm-rest, it would interfere with the finger print reader on X60/X60s (if your model has it) so it needs to be removed. If it's removed then you would get a FAN ERROR (skippable) on every boot. In that case you would need a modified BIOS to get rid of that. 3. Obviously changing the motherboard won't affect the LCD/ top lid situation.

[@saramaeks9826]

@@nbzwt thank you so much, I can’t tell you enough how much I appreciate your descriptive and specific comments, it is so so helpful as a newbie to computer modding/old thinkpads. Probably picked the wrong computer for a first-time modder but oh well. As for size… maybe I can use CAD to design a new bottom casing to hold the x61 board + fan? I have a 3d printer, so that could be a fun thing to try… oh no… the project… all my free time… it’s taking over!!! Lol. Thank you so much for your help, I truly do appreciate it :) the thinkpad community is such a kind one.

[@Vicfereira]

Respect

[@chjadam]

Right on the points. Cool!

[@aruncs3438]

wow nice , great work i should upgrade my ccfl screen to led too but the ccfl is too nice in dark rooms my laptop supports ddr2 upto 2gb only it is a disappoiment

[@guaiqueritech]

Have you checked the maximum amount of ram the processor can work with? Sometimes the motherboard manufacturer states a lower amount for various reasons (higher capacity modules were not being produced at the time, for example) but the processor and chipset are capable of working with them. It happened to me with an MSI laptop: the MSI website stated the laptop could only hold up to 4Gb; as the CPU was a 1st gen i5,I checked Intel’s website and found out the processor was rated up tu 8GB in 2 x 4GB configuration…I installed the RAM and, lo and behold, I had a laptop running twice as much memory as the manufacturer claimed it could support

[@aruncs3438]

@@guaiqueritech update . it can handle 3gb ram and iam going to try 4gb too , soon . like you said . Also sometimes the limitation is the bios thing

[@luyu-wu]

hello from china!! this is really too cool

[@Setupthemabomb]

I've just got my x61 with T7300 last week, installing windows 10 on SSD and then debloat it makes a snappy laptop, I want to max the RAM to 8gb, but, DDR2 4gb modules are rare and cost more than the laptop itself, those C2D are still usable today, but yeah, they got hot fast.

[@rahvavaenlane]

I love my X61s as much as any sane person would. But not that much...

[@akshaypratap3366]

Great work ✨

[@claudiourrutiaaranguiz9281]

Excellent video.

[@icebear2017]

Could you share your wallpaper ?

[@ANG-MO-KOW]

wow this is amazing :)

[@TheWretchedWorld]

I was lucky enough to find one with a t9300

[@vladimirwu]

Amazing!

[@คัมภีร์ฉิมพลีปักษ์]

My laptop X61 has a problem with the BIOS password. how to fix

[@ghostytriickster6047]

remove external battery, open up computer, remove cmos battery, the bios should reset

[@thrnwggrs]

My mom still daily drives an x61 with a hhd... But on linux mint

[@elegantpower]

you should at least slap an ssd in there, best upgrade you can make. The Middleton bios will also unlock faster speeds on the ssd as well as better WiFi cards

[@valentinrieuf9983]

VERY nice

[@Veg-Power]

P8xxx processors are much better than P9xxx in my experience. way better to undervolt but also to overclock and somehow uses less wattage in reality.

[@taro-mt3cb]

こういうの夢がある。

[@seraphin_creates]

good stuff

[@Sebastian-cn8lh]

i was looking for a laptop that run windows 98 SE native.... but this blow my mind X_X

[@pakhari3128]

impressive...

[@kingofsalmon3307]

跪了~~

[@brutusthebuttress1476]

would you build me one for 750 dollars if I send you all the parts?

[@MrXardasya]

Average /tpg user

[@RonnyOlufsen]

Good job!

[@TheEleventeen]

⚜️x🤘🏻x⚜️

[@cristianooliveiraamaroferr4522]

Greetings! My name is Cristiano Oliveira. I'm from "Brasília" Brazil. The peace of Christ Jesus! Very nice video. I have a ThinkPad X61. Indeed, I would like to purchase a more advanced motherboard that is capable of supporting two coolers (fans), an i9 processor, and DDR5 memory RAM with a maximum capacity of 64 GB for my retro ThinkPad X61 Laptop. If you could recommend a place where I can purchase a high-quality motherboard that meets all these criteria for my x61 chassis, I would greatly appreciate it a lot. Thank you very much for your kind attention. Stay with God!

[@foget_3136]

What is this??

[@ergouyu761]

我的x61在17年卖了一百五十块

[@atobellini]

我在2007年買x61 花了HKD8000

[@ergouyu761]

@@atobellini 我买的更早更贵，后面实在是啥都跑不动了

[@ergouyu761]

@@atobellini 好像也是0708

[@oussama4629]

i see adam's apple, moustache but long hair with girl's hands: WTF what are you ?

[@ramardoautistin]

unnecessary comment...

[@lancheloth]

Human like the rest of us....

[@zxttgg]

Why not just redesign a motherboard with ARM processor??? Even Raspberry pi will have better performance per watt.

[@xala770]

there are diys x62, x63 from 51NB, but they are really expensive and hard to buy

[@smorrow]

Pi-tops actually have similar battery life to laptops due to all the discrete components such as the HDMI-to-eDP converter. So I'm told. To me, the best path forward for new motherboards is to use Computers-on-Modules. These are an industry standard, exist in great variety including different ISAs, and all you have to do is design the carrier board. Possible downside: these are industrial computers, so might-well not support suspend and resume which you kind of need for laptops.

[@zxttgg]

@@smorrow The Pi Zero 2W + well designed HDMI to eDP converter will only draw about 5 watts, plus the LCD panel would be up to 15 watt max. this is at max TDP. So with 72 watt hour battery, we are looking at 5 hours battery life minium. in contrast, the old 45nm processor in this x61 it self draw 6 watt at idle and 35 watt in full ultilization.

[@zxttgg]

@@smorrow I had designed a HDMI to eDP driver to drive a 10.1 inch 720p IPS panel take only 8 watt in full brightness (400 nit).

[@nickthaskater]

Have you designed a new ARM motherboard for this yet?

[@brutusthebuttress1476]

marry me :D

[@pot3to444]

wtf dude

[@brutusthebuttress1476]

@@pot3to444 >:(

[@wowitsshit9734]

Yikes, too much work for me to ever do!

[@jonatan_leandoer96]

Don't do it then