T9300/T9500 upgrade from T7700 worth it?

Hey, i was thinking of getting a T9300 or T9500 (depending on prices) from eBay, most T9300's i see for sale are between 200 and 300 dollars Canadian, i was thinking of this upgrade mostly for lower peak temperatures, and i am aware that performance is not the main reason why i'd like to upgrade.

I know that my PM965 chipset accepts a T9xxx CPU already, my question is if this "upgrade" is worth it simply for lower temps and the lower operating voltage?

I would be undervolting this CPU as well as applying AS5 to the CPU and GPU and seeing as i will be playing GTA IV occasionally, i'd like to get the lowest temps possible, is this enough of a reason to get it?

 

In your case, I would say definitely no. The TDP of both chips is the same. Unless your existing chip was very low end (e.g. single core), or this can be had for very little, the existing CPU is defective, or has a signficantly higher TDP and you want longer battery life, I would say these sorts of upgrades are definitely not worth the money. Neither of these situations apply to you.

Notebooks almost never include functionality to overclock and are designed to allow adequate heat dispersion (they always are). Assuming you are providing it sufficient ventilation, heat won't be a problem and you don't need to worry about it.

 

dondadah88 has a really good deal on Marketplace! be sure to check it out
T7700 is hot! even when undervolted..

in my system undervolted T7700 went max 67 C,
while T9300 went 47 C ! (I'm running Orthos right now --6 minutes-- LOL )

and to add, wPrime 32M difference is 3-4 seconds

 

47C!!!!????? Wow, that's a pretty dramatic temp change, my the T7700 in my sig is undervolted and i get a max temp of 72 running orthos, ahahaha. I think i deffinitely will buy a T9300, seeing as decreased CPU temp will also help with GPU temp as they both share the same heatsink on mine.

 

I just updated my sig (well bcause I just got the T9300 today LOL )
idles @ 1.2Ghz = 26C ..
Your T7700 temps are good, since I have intel GMA and yours a dedicated

with T9300 it will be cooler! Good luck!

 

try intel burn test and see how high it could reach, my P8600 could hit 88C.

http://majorgeeks.com/download5987.html?2009-12-22

 

I'll post the result in a minute..
what do you use for seeing the temperature of the P8600? Thx

 

here you go:

the max temp of undervolted T9300
for Standard stress level and 5 times run is 52 C !
test completed in 326.56 sec

 

Thanks for the information, wow, 26, my T7700 idles a 1.2GHz clock at 39-43C! I'm still pretty happy with the max temps i get, like playing Dirt 2 with all high and some ultra high settings, at 1366x900 res, max GPU temp is 75, which is pretty good to me considering all the eye candy in that fairly recent game, i get 20-30FPS, 20 being one of the lowest. The T61p had one of the best cooling systems for a medium sized laptop, much better than the Dell XPS 1530 with the 8600M GT.

 

Everest Ultimate: http://majorgeeks.com/EVEREST_Ultimate_Edition_d4876.html

 

I see different temp readings between Everest ultimate and the others.
Rmclock, HWMonitor and i8kfanGUI temp readings are the same,
while Everest shows 4-5 degree higher.

With everest the highest temperature I've seen is 56 C.

 

T9300 is worth it.. double cache... newer instructions , cooler etc.. and faster... In my opinion T9500 is not worth the extra price... just for 0.2GHz...

 

not 0.2, it's really a 0.1GHz difference so I agree.
but if you find a T9500 with a T9300 price range , I'd say go for it without doubt!
just because the T9500's OEM price is higher than T9300, so you'll really making profit.

 

the accuracy of temperature measurement is really questionable with current software. we might never know the truth. it seems not right that the high end T series CPU is even over 20C cooler than mid end of P series in max workload.

 

well in my system:
- I've cleaned the heatsink and fan
- the thermal paste seems good
- I've checked the heat coming from vent, and it's really cool
* note that I had a > 80C T5270 before I cleaned up my vostro,
so I know the difference between the heat and the cool

 

Here are a few reasons why it's a waste of time:
1: Similar TDP and performance....maybe if you had a 1.83 ghz C2D it would make a difference, but it wont be noticeable in most applications.

2: Read this:

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=59815

When Lenovo refreshed the T61/T61p with Penryn processors, they updated the thermal sensor, so if you upgrade to a 45nm processor, unless you want to overcome BIOS red tape/errors, you would have to upgrade the mainboard.

 

IMHO,
1. the TDP is the same, but I have use both, in same system and same thermal paste. stock temperature without undervolt for T7700 max=75 C, T9300 max=55 C.

2. nice finding! I never tought the same model of Thinkpad have different mobo. But if it's confirmed a compatible mobo, I'd say not a waste of time.

 

BTW, ah no Skeete, the temp sensor is still analogue FYI, i think you are referring to the Extreme X7xxx and X9xxx in which the sensor is digital, as some T61/p's did come with T9300's and T9500's late in production, and no change was made in the motherboard. I was never really looking to upgrade for performance increases, i was mainly concerned with temperature decreases, please read my post before making an assumption.

 

i guess penryn series have different sensors as i have several T4200 laptops which shows core temperature at 25-28C all the time no matter what software i use and no matter what workload they have. i don't believe T9300 could keep this cool for max workload.

 

but it does in mine
I still trust my hand reading though (hand over the vent) LOL

 

ThinkPads can use TPfancontrol... another exclusivity!

 

I think other brand can use speedfan
and I use I8kfanGUI in my dell

 

Thought I'd share my T9300 undervolt process
of course it could be different in different machine,
and the temps could be different also

before undervolt:


After undervolt:


My stable setting:



if you want, I can give T7700 screenshot also.
now I think I know why Everest is 4-5 degree higher, I think it's getting the ACPI temps

 

You know we already have a damn guide for undervolting... Jesus.

 

of course I already knew that.
Just wanna post some temperature screenshots of T9300,
since that is the topic right ??

 

Sorry... I am really into these temps, extremely low IMO, very low, i'm deffinitely getting a T9300...

 

That's what i do too... lol... used to get hot all the time... now only hot during gaming... GPU goes to 85C...