Comments on: How to upgrade CPU on IBM ThinkPad T41p laptop

By: ChrisL

ChrisL — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 04:54:46 +0000

I want to upgrade my cpu. Is there a maximum L2 cache a MOBO will support or doesn’t it matter how high I go on L2 cache?

By: b_skittles

b_skittles — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 10:32:40 +0000

i have a t41p which i’ve upgraded. currently i’m running dothan 2.1ghz, 2gb ram, 120gb SSD, 128mb mobility FireGL t2 video, windows xp. i’m looking to upgrade the OS to win7 and hope i can find video drivers for my card. psych, try using the omega radeon drivers.. they work great on xp(not sure how they are on win7).

By: Psychopav

Psychopav — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 00:13:33 +0000

Hi Chris
I have a T41 type 2372 im running 2gb Ram and have a Samsung 160b hard drive, Im running Windows 7 32bit.. and my machine fliesim well happy with my upgrades. Only thing im upset about is the video card in compatibity (ATI RADION 7500 only has 32mb memory) so can run windows media centre, Whch would of given me the icing on the top of my cake!! wish there was away of it working my fooling windows or something as i believe the video card is built onto the motherboard…
Regards
P

By: Chris

Chris — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 16:56:45 +0000

Hi Laptop Tech, I now own a T41, type 2373 which is running a 1.6ghz cpu at present, was wondering about doing CPU and Hard drive upgrades and was hoping you can tell me what the maximum cpu speed will be and max hard drive size would be. A cpu model number would be great.
Many thanks in advanced,
Chris.

By: J

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 23:38:51 +0000

T41 can be equipped with a large 2.5″ SATA disk (I use 500 GB) by using a bay adapter, that is placed instead of the CD/DVD drive.

By: Tim

Tim — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 00:01:16 +0000

Hi Laptop Tech,

I was careful to take both of those steps, and again, just to be sure, I ran through the whole exercise twice.

The eBay seller has agreed to send me another CPU, hopefully this one will work out!

Thanks for the reply.

By: Laptop Tech

Laptop Tech — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 21:52:13 +0000

Tim,

I just received an M735 that I bought on eBay ($18 shipped!) and installed it in my T41 (2373-7FU) – with no luck! Computer powered on, but screen stayed blank. No beeps, nothing. Holding down the power key for just a second or so turned it back off. I put my old CPU back in and everything worked fine again.

Is it safe to assume the M735 I got (SL7EP) is a dud?

I assume the new CPU was installed correctly and you locked the socket before turning it on, correct?
Yes, it does sound like you got a bad one.

By: Tim

Tim — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 21:44:45 +0000

Hi there,

I just received an M735 that I bought on eBay ($18 shipped!) and installed it in my T41 (2373-7FU) – with no luck! Computer powered on, but screen stayed blank. No beeps, nothing. Holding down the power key for just a second or so turned it back off. I put my old CPU back in and everything worked fine again.

Is it safe to assume the M735 I got (SL7EP) is a dud?

I bought this T41 on eBay a while ago because I love the old ThinkPads and have since added a bigger battery, maxed out the RAM and replaced the WiFi with 802.11g (it had b), and am looking forward to swapping out the drive for an SSD soon when prices come down a little more. I KNOW I could have a faster, newer computer for the money I’ve spent so far (~$350), but pimping my T41 is fun!

By: mynamehear

mynamehear — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:00:21 +0000

You can only replace your internal with an ATA6 drive (IDE). Newegg has a 320 gig’r for $90 (old tech here). Honestly folks, even moving to a M755 (should you be able to find one) will net you a relatively small jump in performance as this processor is at least 5 year old technology. I agree with the OP’s original point in that this would be a fairly difficult hassle. Much easier just to ebay the t41 now and get $100 and apply it to a newer model for sub $500 will get you a huge leap in performance.

Sorry to be a killjoy

On the other hand if your nerd juices are really flowing, rip that bad boy a new one!

By: Laptop Tech

Laptop Tech — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 06:26:03 +0000

James,

I have a T41p…Was looking to put in a 500gb, but will something prevent me from doing so? Perhaps a 500 gb portable drive would be a better idea?

I’m not sure if your laptop can handle such a large drive. Also, I believe you have an IDE drive inside your laptop and I really doubt that you can find a 500GB laptop drive with IDE connector.