Help speeding up a Lenovo R61i

Hey guys, I'm pretty comfortable with desktops, but have never really messed around too much with laptops, so I'm looking for some help from the more knowledgeable.

The culprit is my daughter's Lenovo R61i, with an Intel processor 1.5GHz @ 667FSB (Socket P Menron), VISTA (just junk that and that will eliminate 90% of my troubles, right?) and at the moment, 1GB of ram (another 1GB module has been acquired, but not yet installed).

This thing is slow as molasses while doing everything. Slow, slow, slow to BOOT, just as slow to Shut Down and equally slow in between. Apps take forever to open...well, you get the picture. To put things in perspective, I've got an old Toshiba, running Windows ME and a 750MHz processor that is quicker than the Lenovo.

I'm got several options that I know of, and perhaps some of you guys can even offer me others. Anyway, here goes:

The first option is to do what ever I can, while keeping my extended warranty still intact (maybe a year or so left). Suggestions fitting within this category would be most appreciated, as this would be my preference.

The second is to forget the warranty and replace whatever I need to to make this lappy perform within reason (and cost).

The next option is an "in-between". I have another drive that I could use and could install a copy of Win7, add the ram and maybe replace the processor. Then in the event that I need to have warranty work (like a bad screen), I could swap the parts back to original.

Anyways, any and all suggestions would be appreciated.

Edit: Some additional thoughts / questions - If I upgrade the processor, at what point will the cooling requirements of the upgraded processor exceed those of the current processor, or should the stock HS be adequate? Also, is a SSD's a viable option? How is their performance on laptops, relative to a 7200 RPM SATA drive? What about CPU pin mods, in lieu of another processor?

 

Installing Windows 7 will not help a great deal with the performance of the laptop, if it will help at all. Replacing the processor would likely be helpful, but if you combine this with other "upgrades", buying an entirely new laptop starts to become more economical.

Nevertheless, my advice is to install the other GB of RAM (the difference between 1 GB and 2GB with Vista is significant) and an SSD. That ought to breathe some life into the system.

EDIT: A clean install of the OS is also probably advisable.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I had heard about Vista being a ram hog and that is why I picked up that extra gig.

I was editing my post, as you responded, and it so happened that I added a question about an SSD, so your reply was timely. If I replace the HD, I'm going to have to re-install an OS and since I have a copy of Win7 available, wouldn't that be the way to go? I read an article a while back that indicated that Win7 was easier on battery life, but even if not, I really don't care too much for Vista.

 

The "slowness" is due to Vista doing paging to disk. disk is the *slowest* storage on a system. An extra 1G RAM will make a significant improvement so no longer requires such heavy paging. An extra 2GB would assist even further.

Once you have the extra RAM, still have some other performance upgrade options:

* R61 modded bios
* A SSD or a HDD/SSD hybrid like a Momentus XT
* Upgrade to Win7

EDIT: You beat me to it.

 

Yes, I'd recommend you install Windows 7 on the SSD. It's a much improved OS over Vista.

EDIT: As to your question about the performance benefits of SSDs vis a vis 7200 RPM HDDs, the answer is simple: massive. I just installed an SSD today, replacing my 7200 RPM HDD (Seagate Momentus), and it's almost as if I'm using a new system. SSDs may be expensive, but they're bloody worth it.

 

nando4,

What else to speak of, if anything, will the modded BIOS will do for me besides enable SATA II?

Morgan Everett,

Sounds like a SSD should be high on my list of upgrades. Maybe there will be some deals come BlackFriday and I can snag one (or more) for the lappy, as well as a desktop or two. I haven't used one myself, but a good bud of mine just raves about his SSD settup. He likes his as much as you do yours.

 

Morgan Everett,

With regards to your quote below:

You are absolutely right that if I get too carried away, I might as well spring for a new laptop. The ram is already purchased (the gig cost me $3 or so after MIR), as is a new drive. If I go the SSD route, then that will set me back in the range of $100 or so unless I can snag a good BF deal. I already have the Win7 OS.

I have found used replacement processors ranging from $30 to $80 so when all said and done, I might get by on $200 or so.

I inquired in my first post about pin mods, is this an option at all for me, like going from 667 to 800 FSB? That will yield some add'l processing power, right?

 

If the system 3 years or older, anything else would be a waste.

An SSD would be your single greatest upgrade if you want to increase speed, but again make sure your system is advanced enough to make the best of it.

 

Be careful putting any $$ into your old machine.

You will very quickly get into the price of a nice new, coreI laptop with gobs of ram, faster graphics, better display, new battery, etc, etc.

Be sure that you what the cost of a NEW machine (with 1-3 years of warranty) will cost you before you spend a cent upgrading a 5 year old machine. Factor in whatever you might be able to sell the old IBM for too.

 

R61 schematic shows a ICS954309 PLL is being used, datasheet here. So could disconnect FS_A PLL pin 58 from the rest of the circuit and set it GND take the FSB up to 200Mhz. You'd get your T5250 1.5->1.8Ghz overclock for the effort.

Could even try an advanced 266Mhz overclock by GNDing FS_B pin. That would certainly need BSEL voltmods and slowed RAM timings. It would be very unlikely that your CPU would have the headroom to do this. If it did, you'd get a 2.4Ghz overclock.

More details in http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...verclocking-methods-examples.html#post4998927

 

Thanks for that lead...the overclocker in me just loves this kinda stuff (1.5 to 1.8 = 20% increase for free). My only issue is that I need to double check just when my extended warranty expires, after that, all bets are off!

Looks like I've got some new reading material...

 

Krane and newsposter,

I totally understand where you guys are coming from, however, while I don't plan on dumping a ton of money into this project, I also don't plan on replacing the laptop anytime soon, because other than the fact it is slow as granny, it is capable of doing most of what is asked of it (provided I go get a cup of coffee while it boots). Not used for gaming, so graphics aren't an issue. If I could just speed it up somewhat (say to as fast as my old Toshiba), I would be happy with it.

 

Your best cost-effective to performance increase scenario while still enjoying the rest of your warranty is:

Make sure you have the latest BIOS/firmware available installed for all the hardware in your current, running system.

Install the additional RAM module and test overnight with multiple instances of memtest - if no errors - continue below.

Exchange the original HD with the new one you have available and do a clean, custom Win7 install with the minimum partition size you need for the C: drive. This is also called short stroking. A good size would be around 40 or 50GB for C: (we'll use the rest for your data).

The above steps give you the option to 'put things back to original' in case of warranty concerns but more importantly here, will give you a significant bump in performance over Vista (even with 2GB installed).

What HD does the computer have now and what do you have available to use?

 

The types of upgrades that would cost you too much money would have to be pretty extreme.

This does not necessarily coincide with the specifc components. For example, you could spend 50$ on 4gb of ram, like 100$ or so on 8gb, alternatively you probably get a 2ghz+ core 2 duo for 30-50$, 2.4 at 100$.

Since your CPU is so slow a cheap 2ghz would probably be cost effective. After reformatting of course.
I think a CPU upgrade may technically void your warranty, you just have to be careful and have the original parts around.

Almost all SSDs are still pretty pricey and would cost more than that.

 

There is a thread over at Anandtech with links to several SSDs in the $100 to $110 range. They aren't huge drives, but probably sufficient. Remember that this isn't a main rig, it is just to have access to a PC when traveling, or at home, but not at the desk. Here's one of those $100 units (Kingston 64GB).

Newegg.com - Kingston SSDNow V Series SNV425-S2BD/64GB 2.5" Desktop Bundle 64GB SATA II Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

My current HD is a 120GB @5400 RPM. Next time I get a chance I'll dig up the specifics. I have available a 160 GB Seagate Momentous which I think is 7200 RPM, but if not, I have another Seagate that is 7200 RPM. Based on what I've read so far and the comments that I've received, it seems that it would be silly to use anything but a SSD on this thing. I can always use that drive (a new SSD) in a desktop if I choose to replace the laptop down the road, so it wouldn't be a complete waste of money.

Back to the cooling question, I would appreciate feedback as to whether an upgrade to the cpu might lead to overheating issues with the stock cooler? On desktops, the cooler on a lower end processor is usually the same across the model line, with the exception sometimes with an "Extreme" processor. Is that the same with laptops, or does cooling change with increases in processor speeds?

BTW, my processor is a T5250 so just about anything would be an upgrade.

Edited to correct some obvious spelling errors.

 

The computer may be fast with a SSD but are you fast enough to keep up?
Even on Harddisk if I am not doing large file writes Windows 7 Cache data aggressive to reduce read/writes to disk so it is not noticeable for general usage.
Does it bring value added improvements for such an expensive upgrade?

IMO just 2GB + Clean Install Win7/Vista ought to fix it.

 

You wouldn't do it, huh? Even if I can pick up a good BF deal?

 

I'm sorry, but I don't understand these sentences.

Certainly, adding the additional RAM and performing a clean install of Vista or Windows 7 will improve performance. Nevertheless, buying a small SSD would be a sensible investment: as I say, expensive, but definitely worth it.

 

Guys, I appreciate all the good input.

I would like to ask again about cooling, if I was to either upgrade the processor, or overclock it with a pin mod, should I have any concerns, or would the heat output be manageable using the stock HSF?

If not, are there options, just like there are on desktop systems? If yes, are they affordable in the context of what I'm trying to do here?

 

Unless there are options for the model, then no, not really. Just about all notebook heatsinks are pretty much customized for the model; while some notebooks are designed with multiple heatsinks for different CPUs (an example being the HP 8740w, which has different heatsinks for dual-core Arrandales and quad-core Clarksfield), others were designed just as an all in one situation. I suspect the R61i is one of these latter, so you'll probably have to be a little careful, but most 35watt TDP processors should probably be usable. There are several google results for "lenovo R61 CPU upgrade", although most of those seem to be for the R61e as opposed to the R61i. I don't know enough about the R61 to know the difference between the 2 models.

 

Thank you for the feedback on the cooling question.

I figured that there wouldn't be a lot, if any, cooling options but since I don't have the background / experience with laptops, it couldn't hurt to ask.

Laptops are so much more proprietary than the desktop world that I normally live in.

 

I want to once again thank everyone that took the time to offer their advice and opinions.

It is very much appreciated and now I've got a better idea of what is possible / feasible with respect to upgrading this laptop.

I just want to be able to beat that old Toshiba in a "time required to BOOT" drag race and I'll be happy.