New T400 - RAM Upgrade and XP Pro Questions

Hello,

I am the owner of a new thinkpad T400. I am pretty excited to get it up and running, but I want to do a few things to get the system situated to my liking.

I have been trying my best to search for threads already related to my questions as I know repeated questions can be annoying. I wasn't able to find related threads, so I'm hoping to get some insight from experienced folks already in tune with the Thinkpad as the T400 is my first thinkpad experience - and I don't want to get off to a bad start .

RAM Upgrade

I bought my T400 from Lenovo with 1 GB RAM with the intention of upgrading to 2 2GB chips = 4 GM RAM. I have tried to do some research regarding the best RAM manufacturers, and I've gotten differing opinions depending on who you talk to. I know the specifications required for the RAM I need to get (1066 MHz, 204-pin, DDR3, etc), but as it relates to performance I've found that CAS latency seems to be one of the bigger points of judgement. Some of the brands I've looked at include MICRON, Crucial, G.Skill, Kingston, Corsair, and Patriot. What is the general consensus from people who've done RAM upgrades about what works best with thinkpads, and T400 to be specific? What latency have most people who upgraded gone with? It seems 5 is not as easy to find, with the most common being 7 or 8. I'm sure many will say the difference between manufacturers is negligible, but I really am trying to get the best performance and value (much like my decision to get the T400).

Aside from these RAM manufacturers, Lenovo has 2 2GB RAM chips that look identical (one is a topseller?) for sale on their website, both claimed to have a latency of 5, and both are said to be manufactured by Lenovo. Lenovo obviously recommends these for Thinkpads. Can anyone vouch for the performance of these chips as compared with the others I mentioned above, even confirming that they do actually have a latency of 5? The price does not seem to align with the capability (usually latency = 5 is higher in price than these). There are no reviews online for these Lenovo chips that I have been able to find to date. The model numbers are 43R2046 and 43R1988.

XP Pro Downgrade from Visa Home Basic

I have decided to go with the Windows XP Pro OS. My system has come pre-loaded with Visa Home Basic - I'm sure with a lot of pre-installed software I don't want. I've seen a couple of threads related to reverting to a factory installation, and others it seems like mentioned reverting back to a Custom Factory installation, or something along those lines.

Essentially what I'd like to do is get rid of Vista and the pre-installed software I don't want, install a fresh version of Windows XP Pro without any pre-installed software. I'd like to keep all Lenovo recovery tools and any other Lenovo components important to system recovery and maintenance (like the functionality associated with the one-button system restore), but the commercial software that comes with computers these days I am not interested in keeping. Does anyone have information or tutorials on how to go about this most efficiently?

I have read threads where people who have done such an exercise talk about Devices in the Device Manager being unrecognized by the system after their new OS installation - I'd like to avoid any such complications if possible. Else, if this is inevitable, I'm looking to get some information on the best way to go about addressing any such potential issues as they arise.

Sorry this turned out to be a long post, but as you can see I am axious to get started with my machine and want to make sure I do what I can to ensure smooth and optimal performance.

Thanks in advance for any help from the group. Cheers!

 

Anybody..? Nobody has gone through this?

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

Personally, for RAM, I just get whatever is cheapest with lifetime warranty. IMO, the speed performance is negligible. I went with 2GBx2GB Kingston. It's been great so far. And don't buy RAM from Lenovo, it's most likely overpriced. Look somewhere like NewEgg.com.

For a complete guide to a clean install of Windows XP, you can take a look at the guide in my signature. Works best if your system does not have switchable graphics, but either way, it should be easy.

 

Arkit3kt, thanks a lot for the response. I'm thinking the RAM differences are negligble also, so I'll just have to make a decision and roll with it.

Regarding the XP Pro downgrade, thanks for that guide. I actually came across that thread 2 days ago, and the only thing that kept me from going through all of it was that it grew to 101 pages! Ha.

Two quick things: 1) Were there updates/changes through those 101 pages such that I should read the entire thread before doing the downgrade? Or are your original set of instructions sufficient? 2) My T400 does have the switchable graphics option. Will my downgrade be more difficult or different from the directions in your guide? Just wondering since you mentioned this explicitly what I should be prepared for.

Hope you can help out and thanks in advance.

 

No problem at all, that's what we're here for.

This thread should help with your RAM decision. These guys know much more than I do about RAM.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=121363

For the clean install, I believe the driver for the switchable graphics is actually just one driver package. At least according to this it is,

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=298467

That thread and this one should help.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=294974

I recommend referring to both along with the one in my sig. The guide in my signature is as updated as it could be (I'm the author). I updated using each reply, so it should be all set. If you have any more questions, you can post in that thread or here.

Good luck!

 

Arkit3kt - thanks a lot, your willingness to help is great.

One quick question...after doing the fresh XP install, did you, or anyone else who you have heard of, experience any performance issues with the keyboard and touchpad post XP-install on the T400?

I'm wondering because someone else I talked to said he was having some inconsistent performance/behavior from his keyboard and touchpad after the XP install, and we were curious if maybe this had anything to do with the fresh XP install on the T400, or if it might have been just a one-off in his case.

Let me know and thanks in advance.

 

The T400 uses DDR3 memory. The fastest latency for DDR3 on notebooks right now is 7. 8 or 9 are other latencies. The latency on my Lenovo supplied memory is 7.

DDR2 has latency of 4, 5, or 6.

P.S. DDR3 memory is expensive everywhere. You might want to wait awhile for prices to drop if possible.