My venerable X61 is going to be used a bit more regularly and I thought I would treat it to some new kit. AS 120GB SSDs are in the sub £25 range, I was going to pop one in to give it a boost; on reflection I wonder if it's going to make much difference over a hard drive, as the X61 is SATA 2, but BIOS locked to SATA 1 speeds.... I know there is a well known unofficial BIOS update for this range of Thinkpads that unlocks SATA 2 speeds and opens up the choice of WiFi cards. It may be OK, but I'm slightly reluctant to do it. Is it worth a go? Secondly, the 8 cell battery it came with is now well dead, and the laptop will only run off the charger. There seems to be a profusion of batteries form £10 upwards on ebay - feedback is mixed as ever. Any recommendations? I don't think it warrants an official battery at this late date.
I don't think you've really lost anything but moving to a SSD. If anything the battery benefits can be helpful!
You'll still get a decent boost as access times are much reduced and zero spin up time vs a platter. Also, improved battery life with an SSD as there's no motor to constantly spin. IMO: Still worth it, but don't spend on the latest and greatest SSD.
Good thinking guys, that makes a lot of sense thanks! Ironically, new seems as good value as any - it's a no brainer at £22-£23 for a branded 120GB SDD then
If I'm servicing older laptops for friends or family, I'll always upgrade to an SSD regardless of SATA limitations as it really gives you a noticeable improvement in battery life and general snappiness. If you're confident enough, give it a strip down and clean whilst you're in there and apply some fresh, high quality TIM. It'll give it a new lease of life.
Good call thank you, Sentinel. I've had the T61 apart, but have never stripped the X61 down. I'm sure that a re TIM and CPU fan clean would be a real benefit to this old friend. It's funny, I really like the X61, but the T61 doesn't have the same charm for me, even though it's the same family & construction. I was at a friend's the other night and he showed me his i5 X220, which he picked up for £50 with the docking station; that was nice too. Next stop, battery shopping - dice out and roll...
If you're going to keep it for the rest of its serviceable life, get some Kryonaut on there. Of all the pastes I've used over the years, this one stays in paste form the longest. I've stripped down two year old applications of Kryonaut and it still hadn't dried out. Less is more with this stuff though, so if you do decide to grab some, use the applicator to spread a thin layer. The grain of rice method isn't great with this stuff as it's quite viscous and gloopy.
Ahhh yes, Kryonaut... I bought some a few months ago but haven't broken it out yet. Thank you particularly for the heads up on spreading it and not relying on the grain of rice method.
