T61 Intel GMA gaming

[huohuo]

Hello, I'm fairly new to thinkpads so excuse my eventual mistakes while writing this post.
So recently I purchased a T61, and I was pretty sure it would run source based games without a issue, but thanks to intel gma the best i can get is 7-8 fps on lowest settings.
I haven't swapped the 2Ghz cpu to the 2,6 one and i'm still waiting for 8GB ram sticks i bought.
Are there any programs i could use to boost my performance, or games will run better after i upgrade T61, or maybe i should swap the motherboard for R61 one with nvidia 140m?

[theterminator93]

These weren't particularly great at gaming, even when they were new. I had (have) a T61p with the top-tier GPU offering (Quadro FX 570m) and it could barely handle Command & Conquer 3.

There isn't anything that can be done aside from doing the 1066 FSB/QC mod to increase CPU speed and improve CPU performance 150-200% or so... though as you probably know the CPU is only a small fraction of what contributes to a given frame rate.

There are modded BIOSes to overclock and undervolt the nVidia GPU models, but I haven't seen anything like that for the Intel models.

[axur-delmeria]

Questions:

1. What OS are you running?
2. How much RAM do you currently have?
3. What resolution are you trying to play that game on?

[huohuo]

Win 10
4 GB
1440 x 900, i've tried changing it to 1280 x 800 though difference is noticable it isn't that great

[mikemex]

Quadro FX 570m

Isn't that the one that came with a defect? When nVidia screwed up with a thermal compound?

[axur-delmeria]

Quadro FX 570m

Isn't that the one that came with a defect? When nVidia screwed up with a thermal compound?

Not a thermal compound, but the one of the materials in the GPU package. IIRC it's supposed to be soft/flexible, but the one they put in ended up ripping out the solder joints after repeated thermal expansion and contraction.

[micrex22]

Hello, I'm fairly new to thinkpads so excuse my eventual mistakes while writing this post.
So recently I purchased a T61, and I was pretty sure it would run source based games without a issue, but thanks to intel gma the best i can get is 7-8 fps on lowest settings.
I haven't swapped the 2Ghz cpu to the 2,6 one and i'm still waiting for 8GB ram sticks i bought.
Are there any programs i could use to boost my performance, or games will run better after i upgrade T61, or maybe i should swap the motherboard for R61 one with nvidia 140m?

Yeah something's wrong with your installation. Maybe switch it to Windows 7?

It runs at normal FPS from this video here, and other applications I've ran on mine have never ran that slowly.
https://youtu.be/w7rrnlwjtQ0

[rs79]

Have yiu tried disabling the wifi? It can interfere sometimes IME.

[Gonzaleitor]

Win 10
4 GB
1440 x 900, i've tried changing it to 1280 x 800 though difference is noticable it isn't that great

I have one with a T9300 and I use XP. Consider downgrading your OS, Windows 10 slows you down quite a bit. It's a pretty old laptop, and even maxed is a slow system by today standards.

[micrex22]

Win 10
4 GB
1440 x 900, i've tried changing it to 1280 x 800 though difference is noticable it isn't that great

I have one with a T9300 and I use XP. Consider downgrading your OS, Windows 10 slows you down quite a bit. It's a pretty old laptop, and even maxed is a slow system by today standards.

It's not a problem with Windows 10 itself as I've ran Windows 10 on one and it never ran THAT poorly (although I suppose it depends 'what' version of Windows 10 we're talking about since every version is nearly a different OS in itself). Windows 7 is a far better choice than XP since you get TRIM support.

Although these days I run Vista on mine with some legacy software.

[TPFanatic]

I strongly recommend stay away from XP unless it will never connect to a network and will never store serious data. 7 in my unprofessional opinion can be viable, so long as you be vigilant, get it updated, use the latest TLS you can, use some real antivirus/antimalware (i like Kaspersky and the Malwarebytes scanner, there's plenty others), try to use an edition with Bitlocker support... but if this machine is going to be of any serious use, it's better to suck it up and use 10 / 11 / Linux. Although if it's not a FrankenPad I question trying to seriously use a T61. There's a much better 14" 8:5 ThinkPad called the T410.

[micrex22]

I strongly recommend stay away from XP unless it will never connect to a network and will never store serious data. 7 in my unprofessional opinion can be viable, so long as you be vigilant, get it updated, use the latest TLS you can, use some real antivirus/antimalware (i like Kaspersky and the Malwarebytes scanner, there's plenty others), try to use an edition with Bitlocker support... but if this machine is going to be of any serious use, it's better to suck it up and use 10 / 11 / Linux. Although if it's not a FrankenPad I question trying to seriously use a T61. There's a much better 14" 8:5 ThinkPad called the T410.

While there are security risks, you put yourself at risk the moment you install Windows as a whole so I think it's moot if we're talking about WAN-based exploits. It's so bad that this is why Windows 11 now requires VT-x for the sandbox virtualization.

I wouldn't recommend Kaspersky due to its alleged ties with the FSB.

[TPFanatic]

I agree windows is an insecure OS, simply the evolution of risk mitigations obviously performs a lot better the newer the NT version.