Is turbo memory 2Gb worth it with 4Gb

I was wondering if I should choose the Intel Turbo Memory 2G with my new T400?
Knowing that I will get 4Bg of RAM is it going to be an improvement?

 

I don't really think Turbo Memory will offer much of an improvement. I don't think you will be able to noticeably tell with 4GB of ram in your laptop. How much is 2GB of Turbo Memory?
Tim

 

There will be no improvement. The Intel Turbo Memory technology hasn't matured yet. Save your money.

 

Personally, I don't think so. Some claim they get slightly faster boot time, but I doubt it's enough to justify the price. I also read it causes some problems as well. By itself, 4GB is already a lot of RAM.

 

Turbomemory makes my computer fly, using the power of lies.

Its best you purchase real memory.

 

You'll never notice a speed drop with 2Gb, let alone 4Gb of RAM. Spend that money on some rice. That's more value for money. =)

 

But, if u have a P8600, that is (I supose) much slower than a T9400, a 200 gb at 5200 rpm HDD, and 3 gb of RAM, the turbomemory wouldn't help?

I ask this because i'm thinking of buying a T400 and I don't know either if I must buy a turbomemory or buy more ram, or buy a fater HDD (I don't have money to all the stuffs together)

By the way, did you see that u can't buy a Turbomemory if u have a 200 gb/7200 rpm HDD? Check it out.

 

Well, with 3Gb of RAM, the benefit of having turbo memory will be close to minimal because the system uses your hardware RAM first. And it's very rare that you'll be able to use 3Gb of RAM to capacity, let alone start using the Turbo Memory.

Like sgogeta4 said, the technology isn't mature yet, as well. You don't need more RAM, since 3 is plenty. And your HD is plenty big and the fastest. So, you don't really *need* to buy anything more. The only exception is for a larger capacity HD.

 

The P8600 is not slow at all, and having 3 GB of RAM is better than having TM.

TM is designed for slower HDD with less RAM.

And I'm not sure if this is Turbo Memory version 1 or 2, if it's 1, don't even bother with it.

 

turbomemory of 2gb, by the way.

so P is faster than t?

EDIT: I read T instead of TM. Sorry!

 

I know it's 2 GB, but there are TM 1 and TM 2, and I don't even know if TM 2 is out yet or not.

Yes, P is the newer CPU on the Montevina platform, it has a faster bus speed and can support faster RAM than the T series on Santa Rosa.

 

Ahh, everything seems more clear now. So P8600 is cheaper and better. I like it.

thanks stewie

 

Turbomemory, in your case, is like this. Your car, called the 3Gb-mobile, can already travel at top speeds of 250mph or about 400km/h, which is already WAY above the local speed limit in the first place. Buying Turbomemory is like tweaking your engine so it can reach a new top of 255mph(410km/h). It's still above the speed limit, and only gives your 5mph more.

That's what I'd feel, of course. It's your money. If you feel that you want the Turbomemory, then get it.

 

I'm seriously wanting to save the more money that I can in the configuration. So, if the turbomemory doesn't make any better noticeable, i won't buy it. I prefer to pay for more RAM I think.

thanks.

 

***EDITE***

Please see last post.

 

You're welcome!

 

Ok, one more question. Which one is better: 160 gb 7200 RPM or 250 gb 5400 rpm HDD? I need a lot of space, but I need it to be fast.

 

Out of the two, go for the 250 GB 5400, since it has similar performance or may be even faster than the smaller 7200 rpm HDDs due to the higher density. But of course, if you compare the same capacity, then 7200 drives are faster in general.

 

7200rpm drives are significantly faster.

The hard drive is, by far, the slowest component of any modern day computer. Get the fastest one you can.

 

While they'll be close, it's possible the 160/7200 will be slightly faster than the 250/5400.

Since you need lots of space and you need it to be fast, the best choice is order the system with the 80GB/5400rpm drive option and order a 320GB/7200 SATA drive from Newegg.

 

I like this idea too.

 

Only trick here is if your 160/7200 is a single platter and your 250/5400 is a dual-platter (two 125G platters), then the 160 will likely be faster since it wins both on RPM and on bit density.

 

Since you need more capacity, then just go for the 250Gb. You could do what they suggest and order from newegg, and sell your other HD off for a little cash.

 

Thanks all!.

Is it hard to install a new HDD?

 

Nope. Simply just turn off the computer, undo the screw for the HD, slide that out, slide the new one in, do the screw, and you're done.

There's more detailed instructions on the Lenovo website on this stuff. Always be sure to be careful, and ground yourself fully. Static is a real killer in these thing.

Oh, when buying the HD, be sure it matches your laptop's dimensions.

 

Yes, in that case, you're correct. But iirc, the 160 GB 7200 HDD offered by Lenovo is also dual-platter though, if that's the case, then the 250 GB will have a higher density.

Not at all, it's fairly easy. The only long part is reinstalling the OS and software. But you can also do an image of the old HDD and clone it to the new one. But personal I'd do a fresh install without all the bloatware.

 

Or I pay here 20$ to the lenovo tecnical here, and make all the job.

Thanks all

 

fuanacho,

By the way, I made a mistake earlier about the T CPUs. I just noticed the T9400 is also using the newer Montevina platform with 1066 MHz. I guess these are the latest generation of the T. Sorry for the mistake. Anyway, your P8600 has plenty of power like I said before.

 

Don't worry. I wpouldn't pay the 425$ extra for the T9400. Waaaaaaaaaay to expensive.

hanks again

 

What are you basing that on? The only benchmarks I've seen were when turbo memory first came out and I havn't seen anything since then. That meant they were based on the initial driver version with the initial 1 gig version of the memory on Vista before SP1. There is a chance the 2 gig memory that is used now is faster, the driver is improved, and the changes made in SP1 also could improve the performance.

I hate making assumptions off really old data.

If you plan to go to 4 gigs of ram make sure you use the 64 bit version of the OS

 

That's actually my question. I can't find any review talking about TM 2.
Last year I bought a T61, without TM because I was convinced by reviews and members here that it sucked.

But now, I have no clue Did someone find a good reliable source talking about TM improvements?

 

Where do you guys see a 4 gig RAM option for the T400? By me it maxes out at 3 gig.

 

click the option in windows: windows bussiness 64 bit. u can't see the 4 gb ram option if ur windows is not 64 bit. (I learn it here)

 

So many people asking about 4 GB of RAM... why? I'm guessing most of you would be more than fine with just 2 GB, but whatever, keep supporting these companies so the rest of us can get good deals

 

Maybe some are planning on running some type of virtualization?? 4GB would definitely be worth it (and needed) in that case...

 

Yea but what's the probability... I'm guessing a lot--if not most--people are wasting money on extra performance they'll never really utilize.

 

Probably true, just my "techie" mind thinking and knowing that's what I'm using it for.... I should know not to assume, I know what it gets me.

 

I'm happy for you really, if you think you're getting good deals because others buy 4gb.

Have you even tried 4gb?
Where did you get that 'most' people here don't need 4Gb BTW?
Because I did, I have 2 T61's, one with 2Gb (my gielfirend's) and the other with 4Gb. And there IS a noticeable difference in performance from booting to using even the most common applications on Windows Vista Business 64bit.

I'd recommend anyone to have at least 3Gb. Definetely not only 2Gb.

When you try you will see....

 

Unless you are running short on ram in everyday usage you do not gain the sort of absolute performance from 2gigs to 4gigs....Your comparison is sort of unfair as you were using 64bit and your gf's computer might have been booting with a bunch of extraneous programs or had a fragged disc, or a bunch of fonts...., etc, etc. 2gig is definitely a min. for any power user, though. Now if you do any graphic work or any other intensive programs that need to buffer a lot...then 4gigs is great (or 3 if you're using 32bit.)

Also if you did not want your system to use the harddrive to page file...then having 3-4gigs is helpful in this regard as well.

 

Yea, I work on fixing about 5-10 laptops per day, all with various operating systems and memory amounts. For XP and Vista, 2 GB is fine, and for normal office/school stuff I don't notice a difference between 2 and more than 2 GB.