Miscellaneous laptop discussions : Thinkpad CPU: Which one to buy?

by Nando67 - 4/9/05 7:06 AM

Total posts: 6

Back to Miscellaneous laptop discussions forum

Track this thread

Post 1 of 6

Thinkpad CPU: Which one to buy?

by Nando67 - 4/9/05 7:06 AM

I've built and worked on many PCs but working with laptops is a new area for me. I own a Thinkpad T21 and I want to change the CPU. How do I even BEGIN to choose and buy the right CPU? Help!!!

Also, how do I fix dead pixels (I have a permanent straight green line going down the side of the side) on my LCD screen?

Permalink

Report offensive post

Post 2 of 6

You can't fix LCD pixels --any upgrades in laptops limited

by KenSanramon - 4/9/05 9:50 AM In reply to: Thinkpad CPU: Which one to buy? by Nando67

As you will soon find out in a notebook, you need to buy what you need up front (outside of memory but you only have 2 slots you you have to buy 1 memory stick upfront if you want to add your own RAM later to the 2nd slot -- many desktops have 4 RAM slots).

Notebook motherboards are proprietary (while many desktops have relatively generic motherboards and you can even replace motherboards in many cases on a desktop -- not on a notebook).

So, you need to get a notebook with a dedicated video card if you want one upfront while on a desktop you can easily add one with an open expansion slot.

LCD monitors are an array of fixed pixels (which is why you have only 1 native resolution unlike adjustable resolution on CRT monitors which is why many gamers still have huge 21" CRT's. If you have dead pixels you normally can't do anything about that.
A CRT uses an engine to shine the display through an invar shadow mask or other technologies but LCD's are fixed independent pixels so if one is bad it is bad and that is it.

For cpus you are limited to what the manufacturer motherboard and notebook bios supports only. So, if you have a Centrino Pentium M system you could upgrde from a Pentium M 1.4 to a Pentium M 2.0 but not to something else. However, depending on the age of your notebook you might need a bios update to accomodate a new processor. Also, for instance, early Centrinos had PC2100 memory and then PC2700 memory and new models are faster than that. There were bios and chipset changes to achieve that (and now the Centrino bus speed has gone from 400mhz to 533mhz) so you can do nothing to upgrade that.

So, on a notebook, outside of RAM and hard drive or minipci card upgrades (and that can be limited by bios as well) get what you want upfront in order to last you for 2-3 years of productive use.

Permalink

Report offensive post

Post 3 of 6

thanks

by Nando67 - 4/9/05 9:19 PM In reply to: You can't fix LCD pixels --any upgrades in laptops limited by KenSanramon

Thanks for this highly informative post!

Permalink

Report offensive post

Post 4 of 6

Perfectly Correct

by Fouad Bakht - 4/9/05 11:01 PM In reply to: You can't fix LCD pixels --any upgrades in laptops limited by KenSanramon

I agree with all the posts. Just to add a few more words, I'd say that if at all you want to get a new notebook, get one with enough juice to sustain next 2-3 years easily. Upgrading your present notebook will cost you almost the same if not more and yet you remain in the same technology platform without a substantive jump. But still, you may want to to keep the existing notebook with a Memory Upgrade for second-line duties and have a new one too.

Permalink

Report offensive post

Post 5 of 6

I'd recommend a new laptop

by wicker_man - 4/9/05 5:31 PM In reply to: Thinkpad CPU: Which one to buy? by Nando67

I currently own a Thinkpad T20 (P3 700mhz, WinXP).
I have upgraded it pretty much to its maxiumum- 512mb RAM and 40gb HDD with 200GB USB external and USB DVDRW but it is still starting to show its age.

Pentium 3 processors are fairly slow and cannot cope with todays applications except basic web and word processing. The 8mb S3 Savage video card is lacking in the 3D department too.

Also, i had some dead pixels, then my whole screen stopped working and had to be replaced. It is now working fine.

I am in the process of selling my laptop as i need more power (gaming and video editing). I am looking at AMD64 processors.

My advice would be to purchase a new laptop. It would be costly to upgrade the processor and maybe other components (RAM, HDD etc) and choice would be very limited (P3s max out at around 1GHz i think).

Permalink

Report offensive post

Post 6 of 6