Input on Lenovo T61 Thinkpad for College

[996GT2]

Hmmm the Corsair comes with free shipping, so I'd go with that...$30 for 2 GB+$0 for 1 GB from Lenovo is still about $40 less than what Lenovo charges for 3 GB from the factory.

 

[dfdave12]

Thanks again guys, you're really giving me alot of options here!

To be honest I've only worked on computers in my Computer Systems Technology (CISCO related) class at school, so doing all this is still relatively new to me.

If I get the 1GB from Lenovo when I purchase the laptop, there would be no hardware related problems if I get a whole different type of RAM brand for the other 2GB, correct? I just need to make sure everything is the same number of pins?

 

[996GT2]

As long as you buy 200 pin DDR2 SO-DIMMs, it will work with your laptop. I would stick with DDR2-667 since that's what is originally installed (that 1 GB you get from the factory). Other than that, any brand and capacity will work, but I would stick with one of the bigger names like Corsair, Crucial, or OCZ because their warranties (lifetime) are excellent in case you ever have problems.

 

[soydios]

I have a Thinkpad X61t for college, which is great. I bought it during the end-of-summer back-to-school sale timeframe last year. The small and light part is great, but I have a desktop, so no need for a large powerful notebook.

IBM still provides service for Thinkpads, and they did an awesome job when my LCD went screwy (it's a tablet, thus it twists a lot, so I forgave the error). Overnight shipping and a quick repair got my tablet back to me after 4 business days at a cost of $0.00.

Finally, I just spilled about a pint of water onto the keyboard a half an hour ago, and it just drained right through. I quickly unplugged everything and took off the keyboard and palmrest to check for water drops on the motherboard (there were none, it all drained through the keyboard drainage holes or around it). Booted up just fine once I put it back together.

 

[WackyDan]

Originally posted by: corkyg

Originally posted by: dfdave12
Should I just get 4GB of RAM instead?

4 GB will be seen by Vista x86 w/SP1, but only 3 will be used. To use 4 GB you would need 64 bit Vista.

Forget Turbo Memory - get the Ultrabay HDD adapter - about $45 as I recall. It is extremely useful.

Myth.

4gig will be used by both Vista 32 and XP 32. It's a reporting bug that doesn't report the reserved memory that is taken up by hardware and OS. Vista SP1 fixes the reporting bug.

On slightly older systems - pre Santa Rosa, it was indeed a chipset limitation that limited you to 3gig.... that no longer applies to both curent gen desktop and laptop chipsets.

 

[masteraleph]

Originally posted by: WackyDan
Myth.

4gig will be used by both Vista 32 and XP 32. It's a reporting bug that doesn't report the reserved memory that is taken up by hardware and OS. Vista SP1 fixes the reporting bug.

On slightly older systems - pre Santa Rosa, it was indeed a chipset limitation that limited you to 3gig.... that no longer applies to both curent gen desktop and laptop chipsets.

This is completely incorrect. Vista x32 will now report 4GB of ram, but still will only use 4GB total of address space- that is, less than 4GB of ram. The "chipset limitation" isn't anything of the sort- the limitation is that MS has decided to not enable PAE for XP sp2 or Vista, because of potential driver incompatibilities. Server 2003 will allow you to enable PAE, but woe betide you if you run into an incompatible driver. x64 versions will work as normal, with no PAE.

 

[Lord Banshee]

Originally posted by: WackyDan

Originally posted by: corkyg

Originally posted by: dfdave12
Should I just get 4GB of RAM instead?

4 GB will be seen by Vista x86 w/SP1, but only 3 will be used. To use 4 GB you would need 64 bit Vista.

Forget Turbo Memory - get the Ultrabay HDD adapter - about $45 as I recall. It is extremely useful.

Myth.

4gig will be used by both Vista 32 and XP 32. It's a reporting bug that doesn't report the reserved memory that is taken up by hardware and OS. Vista SP1 fixes the reporting bug.

On slightly older systems - pre Santa Rosa, it was indeed a chipset limitation that limited you to 3gig.... that no longer applies to both curent gen desktop and laptop chipsets.

umm all 32-bit os will only use ~3GB of RAM, this is a problem of having only 32-bit address space. I am not sure what you are trying to say? This problem was not fixed, (i do not see how one could fix this without different hardware or 64-bit os), if you have proof i would like to see it.

 

[dfdave12]

This might be a bit off topic here....996 or Lord Banshee.. are you going to get/ do you have an external hard drive in mind for college to go along with your laptop? And if so what size what do you recommend getting in relation to the internal HDD?

Not quite sure if I want a pocket sized one, or one of the bigger enclosures that sit top a desk...

 

[996GT2]

Originally posted by: dfdave12
This might be a bit off topic here....996 or Lord Banshee.. are you going to get/ do you have an external hard drive in mind for college to go along with your laptop? And if so what size what do you recommend getting in relation to the internal HDD?

Not quite sure if I want a pocket sized one, or one of the bigger enclosures that sit top a desk...

Well, in my desktop system right now I have two 120GB hard drives, and neither are filled up yet. I have one for the OS and applications (80GB free), and another for movies, music, etc (30 GB free). So I think that the 160GB HDD in a Thinkpad should be sufficient unless you have a lot of music or videos to tote around. I plan to get a 500 GB external drive to put multimedia files on, since that seems to be a good balance of price vs. capacity. I bought a 500GB Buffalo Drivestation for my parents on Black Friday, and it was only $80 with no rebates.

 

[dfdave12]

Alright here's what I've decided to do.

My major and the college recommend Vista Business, so I'm gonna go the extra step and get the 64 bit for the same price. I'm going to get the 1GB 1 DIMM memory at 0$, and then get 2x2GB corsair memory from Newegg to make 4GB at a much cheaper price then buying through lenovo.

Also, is there a big difference between the T8300 (2.4GHz 800MHz 3MBL2) processor, and the T9300 (2.5GHz 800MHz 6MBL2) processor? I'd just like your opinions because 65$ seems an awful lot for just .1Ghz of an upgrade, but I probably have no idea what I'm talking about.

 

[996GT2]

I would shell out the $65. Yes, it's just 100 MHz, but the T9300 also has double the cache, which will add about 5-10+ % performance depending on application. If you're going to be keeping this laptop for a while, $65 is not that much to spend on the most important part of a computer (CPU).

 

[Lord Banshee]

i agree with 996GT2 about the CPU, double cache + 100MHz should be noticeable if you are using any performance apps.

About external HD,
Well i don't use an external HD, i also have a desktop that stores more of my files (~700GB of total space). But i do own an 8GB flash drive for backup and transferring of files.

 

[ra990]

Originally posted by: 996GT2
dfdave, I was planning to buy a Thinkpad T61 for college when I found out about the 25% off + 15% CPP discounts a few weeks ago, but decided to wait until the summer Thinkpad refreshes before getting one for college. The reason is that the T series has pretty bad battery life even with the 9 cell, recording only about 3 hours of use with balanced settings or about 4 hours max with everything set to low. I've seen this both from responses on the Lenovo subforums at notebookreview.com and from a friend who has a T61 with integrated graphics...he says he can't get more than 3.5 hours out of his 7 cell battery no matter how low things are turned down.

I have a T61 with intel onboard graphics and the 9 cell battery. I threw in the 3 cell ultra bay battery as well. I get about 9 hours of battery life with wireless on. I don't think thats bad at all. Without the ultra bay battery, I get 7 hours on the 9 cell.

 

[996GT2]

Originally posted by: ra990

Originally posted by: 996GT2
dfdave, I was planning to buy a Thinkpad T61 for college when I found out about the 25% off + 15% CPP discounts a few weeks ago, but decided to wait until the summer Thinkpad refreshes before getting one for college. The reason is that the T series has pretty bad battery life even with the 9 cell, recording only about 3 hours of use with balanced settings or about 4 hours max with everything set to low. I've seen this both from responses on the Lenovo subforums at notebookreview.com and from a friend who has a T61 with integrated graphics...he says he can't get more than 3.5 hours out of his 7 cell battery no matter how low things are turned down.

I have a T61 with intel onboard graphics and the 9 cell battery. I threw in the 3 cell ultra bay battery as well. I get about 9 hours of battery life with wireless on. I don't think thats bad at all. Without the ultra bay battery, I get 7 hours on the 9 cell.

No offense, but that's a pretty BS claim to say your T61 gets 7 hours with wifi on on the 9 cell battery and 9 hours with the ultrabay...numerous T61 owners on Notebookreview.com can barely get 5 hours of use on an integrated graphics system with the WiFi OFF and screen dimmed, and you somehow manage an extra 2 hours with the WiFi ON?

UNLESS you somehow have a magical battery, it's simply not possible in real life even with integrated graphics. The T61 uses standard voltage Core 2 Duo processors, not ULV or LV versions such as those used in the X series ultraportables. Even an X61s with the high capacity 8 cell and low-voltage processor can barely squeeze 6-7 hours with WiFi off and everything turned to low...

So unless you have pics or other proof of your particular T61 actually getting those battery life numbers, I'm calling shens on this one.

 

[WackyDan]

Originally posted by: masteraleph

Originally posted by: WackyDan
Myth.

4gig will be used by both Vista 32 and XP 32. It's a reporting bug that doesn't report the reserved memory that is taken up by hardware and OS. Vista SP1 fixes the reporting bug.

On slightly older systems - pre Santa Rosa, it was indeed a chipset limitation that limited you to 3gig.... that no longer applies to both curent gen desktop and laptop chipsets.

This is completely incorrect. Vista x32 will now report 4GB of ram, but still will only use 4GB total of address space- that is, less than 4GB of ram. The "chipset limitation" isn't anything of the sort- the limitation is that MS has decided to not enable PAE for XP sp2 or Vista, because of potential driver incompatibilities. Server 2003 will allow you to enable PAE, but woe betide you if you run into an incompatible driver. x64 versions will work as normal, with no PAE.

No... It is correct.

First. Prior chipsets were indeed limited on what physical ram they could see/use. Look it up. That has since been resolved with Santa Rosa on Mobile and I believe the 945 desktop from Intel off the top of my head.

2nd, the 32 bit os limitation applies to only what an individual app can use. That indeed is 2gig, and that is also where the /3Gb switch can come into play but as others may mention, can cause issues.

A better description and a good read is here: http://www.dansdata.com/askdan00015.htm

So... The better description is a fuzzy one, but the reality is, on a technical level, the system does indeed use the 4gig of ram, much of which is reserved for hardware addresses.

It is far too simple to say a 32 bit OS only supports 3gig, now isn't it?

 

[justlnluck]

Lenovo is releasing a new model in June. I would wait until then.

 

[Lord Banshee]

justInLuck,

But what will this new Thinkpad T series include? There will not be any new intel cpus from here to now (only speed grades) and the t61 already includes the 45nm intel cpu. So my guess is maybe a new graphics card 9600gt and/or the quadro version of that GPU, but i do not think there is a quadro version of any 9xxx cards yet so i am doubt full. So whats left, it could be more peripherals, better LCD (LED back light would be nice add on), fix issues they have with the T series now (which so far i not run into one but there are there).

I am not trying to cut down on your post or anything because i want to make my self feel better as i just a T61p , but serious what exactly could they add?

 

[996GT2]

Originally posted by: Lord Banshee
justInLuck,

But what will this new Thinkpad T series include? There will not be any new intel cpus from here to now (only speed grades) and the t61 already includes the 45nm intel cpu. So my guess is maybe a new graphics card 9600gt and/or the quadro version of that GPU, but i do not think there is a quadro version of any 9xxx cards yet so i am doubt full. So whats left, it could be more peripherals, better LCD (LED back light would be nice add on), fix issues they have with the T series now (which so far i not run into one but there are there).

I am not trying to cut down on your post or anything because i want to make my self feel better as i just a T61p , but serious what exactly could they add?

Intel is releasing its new Montevina (Centrino 2/Centrino 2 V Pro) platform in early June, so the new parts should find their way into retail laptops later in the summer. Montevina includes faster CPUs with slightly lower TDP, integrated WiMAX support, GMA X4500 IGP, support for DDR2 AND DDR3, among other notable things (so it's more of an evolution of the Centrino platform rather than a simple speed grade). Lenovo is planning to release several new models in the summer, such as an X200 and new W series (http://forum.thinkpads.com/vie...d697edfd3e1c607f37230), but no word is out on whether they will update the T series with things such as LED backlight. That's why I'm personally waiting until the summer to buy, even if I have to pay a tad more after the current sales are over.

 

[masteraleph]

Originally posted by: WackyDan

Originally posted by: masteraleph

Originally posted by: WackyDan
Myth.

4gig will be used by both Vista 32 and XP 32. It's a reporting bug that doesn't report the reserved memory that is taken up by hardware and OS. Vista SP1 fixes the reporting bug.

On slightly older systems - pre Santa Rosa, it was indeed a chipset limitation that limited you to 3gig.... that no longer applies to both curent gen desktop and laptop chipsets.

This is completely incorrect. Vista x32 will now report 4GB of ram, but still will only use 4GB total of address space- that is, less than 4GB of ram. The "chipset limitation" isn't anything of the sort- the limitation is that MS has decided to not enable PAE for XP sp2 or Vista, because of potential driver incompatibilities. Server 2003 will allow you to enable PAE, but woe betide you if you run into an incompatible driver. x64 versions will work as normal, with no PAE.

No... It is correct.

First. Prior chipsets were indeed limited on what physical ram they could see/use. Look it up. That has since been resolved with Santa Rosa on Mobile and I believe the 945 desktop from Intel off the top of my head.

2nd, the 32 bit os limitation applies to only what an individual app can use. That indeed is 2gig, and that is also where the /3Gb switch can come into play but as others may mention, can cause issues.

A better description and a good read is here: http://www.dansdata.com/askdan00015.htm

So... The better description is a fuzzy one, but the reality is, on a technical level, the system does indeed use the 4gig of ram, much of which is reserved for hardware addresses.

It is far too simple to say a 32 bit OS only supports 3gig, now isn't it?

You have just agreed with me, though what I was saying was overly simplified. The fact is, the system cannot use all 4GB of RAM unless the OS is willing to use it all. Since Vixtax86 is a 32-bit OS, it can only deal with 4GB of address space (4GB of RAM - whatever is being used by other hardware). That can be circumvented by using PAE, but MS has intentionally disabled that ability on their OS.

To use all 4GB of RAM, AND additionally have other address space, you must either: use a 32-bit OS with PAE enabled, or use a 64-bit OS. Since Vista does not allow PAE, it still will not use all 4GB of RAM in its x86 incarnation.

It should be noted that pre-SP1, Vista x86 would report the amount of useable RAM (4GB - otherwise used address space). Post SP1, it will report up to 4GB of RAM, but still will not use it.