[SOLVED] Thkinpad r61i (7650) Cpu Upgrade

[ahmetulusoy3858]

Hi everyone;

I bought a thinkpad r61i last week, I know it is an old machine but I love old thinkpad series. I want to upgrade my device a little bit, I bought a ssd and now I am thinking an upgrade from core duo t5550 to t9300, but is it worth it? Because I have 3 gb ram right now and I can go to 4 gb. Should I upgrade my cpu first or add another 1 gb ram.

My laptop's specs;
Cpu: T5550
Vga: x3100 GMA
Ram:3gb
Os: Windows 10

 

[richiestang_78]

It should work, and looking on eBay you can get them fairly cheap around 20USD, and if you can find one cheaper even better.


As far as RAM, having 2x2GB for a total of 4GB probably will do more then the CPU upgrade. But unless you are on a very strict budget, both these upgrades should cost more then 30 or 40 bucks.

 

[ahmetulusoy3858]

It should work, and looking on eBay you can get them fairly cheap around 20USD, and if you can find one cheaper even better.


As far as RAM, having 2x2GB for a total of 4GB probably will do more then the CPU upgrade. But unless you are on a very strict budget, both these upgrades should cost more then 30 or 40 bucks.

Thanks for reply, I gave a shot what you said, I bought rams and cpu for about 13 usd. It cost cheaper than I expected. Now I am really pleased performance of machine.

 

[richiestang_78]

Thanks for reply, I gave a shot what you said, I bought rams and cpu for about 13 usd. It cost cheaper than I expected. Now I am really pleased performance of machine.

How so? The upgrades wont be massive my any means but should help with everyday use. Its an old machine so keep you expectations realistic to its capabilities.

 

[ahmetulusoy3858]

How so? The upgrades wont be massive my any means but should help with everyday use. Its an old machine so keep you expectations realistic to its capabilities.

Of course ,You're right I was using a desktop pc with i7 4790k before this one, I know I'cant play games with this machine but before upgrades I couldn't even watch 1080p or 720p60 videos on youtube, It was laggy, also windows . After especially cpu upgrade finally I can watch these kind of videos without lag and windows is working smoothly.

 

[richiestang_78]

Of course ,You're right I was using a desktop pc with i7 4790k before this one, I know I'cant play games with this machine but before upgrades I couldn't even watch 1080p or 720p60 videos on youtube, It was laggy, also windows . After especially cpu upgrade finally I can watch these kind of videos without lag and windows is working smoothly.

Another thing that can massively help with laptops is replacing the HDD with an SSD. New 250-500GB SSDs are fairly cheap (Crucial MX500 is excellent) and if you look on ebay for a used SSD its even cheaper. All you will need is a 2.5 inch SATA SSD. You dont even have to reinstall Windows, you can use free cloning software like Macrium Reflect https://www.macrium.com/reflectfree, then buy a cheap USB to SATA adapter like this https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-SATA-USB-Cable-USB3S2SAT3CB/dp/B00HJZJI84, plug in the SSD to the SATA end and the USB into your laptop and run the cloning software.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LClr3FPg4_4



After that just open up the laptop and swap the HDD for the SSD and it should boot up with no issue.