Ram questions on T61P

Hey everyone,

I'm going to be buying a T61p and I was wondering if the move from 3gigs to 4gigs will make a huge difference in performance.

I will be using XP Pro

Thanks guys

 

Xp is a 32 bit OS, it cannot see the full 4 GB of Ram. Can see a max of something like 3.25 GB. If you wanted to be able to use the full 4 GB then you need a 64 bit OS like Vista x64.

 

thanks for the quick response.

so it's not worth buying the 4gigs instead of the 3gigs?

 

You can if you want, ram is really inexpensive nowadays. But as mentioned above, you'll need 64-bit OS.

 

Is it correct that there are no issues whatsoever besides simply NON USE of the extraneous amounts of RAM when running 2x 2gb sticks?

I have heard something about actual issues when a user is running more than the usable 3 gb of ram.

I (actually, my GF) just picked up a Z61T 14 incher and I want to get some more ram. I wouldnt have any issues if I picked up a nice matched pair of 2x 2gb and dropped them in, correct?

Thanks guys.

 

Anyone? Id appreciate it.

 

Yes, there are no issues. Go ahaead and buy 4 GB.

 

I've always been of the belief that installing RAM in matching pairs is the best option so in my opinion 2 x 2GB is better than 1 x 1GB and 1 X 2GB.

 

You're preferring to the Dual Channel I presume. That really doesn't make any difference at all, about ~2-3% performance increase compares to the other combination.

 

This is the answer I got from Lenovo on 4 gb of RAM on my T61 - I found it useful and hope you think so as well - btw I ordered with 4 gb anyway, and OpenSolaris should fully support this amount (haven’t tried it yet, though).

"Windows XP and Vista 32-bit
What is the supported memory?
Though we will install 4gb of RAM in the ThinkPad/ThinkCentre, Windows XP and Vista 32-bit will only recognize/address a maximum of 3gb.
This will never be resolved because it is a limitation of the 32-bit system.

Isn't there a Vista 32-bit patch?
No - the patch is only relevant to the 64-bit version of Vista

Why is 4gb on the Web site?
The first reason is for those customers who like to have the biggest and best configuration. Second,
though Windows will only recognize 3gb, the computer will recognize the fact that the system has the
memory installed on matching pairs (2 x 2gb DIMMS). You may recall that when memory is install on matching pairs,
it enables dual channel memory which greatly enhances the performance of the system.

I thought Windows would read 3gb, why is it showing less (ie. 2.7gb):
At times the system may see even less then 3gb in Windows. This may be caused by some of the hardware in the system. If the customer
has the Intel Graphics card, you may recall that it relies on system RAM for it's processing and will allocate some of the 3gb that shows up.

Summary:
Though Windows only sees 3gb, the system performance is still increasing because of the dual channel memory.

Vista 64-bit
Support?
Windows Vista 64-bit is the only version of Windows that can address more then 4gb. However this is only supported on certain chipsets
and will require some non-supported by Lenovo configurations of the system. More information regarding this can be found on the
following Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929605"

 

I appreciate the responses. Guys - thats just what i needed to hear.

I just picked up a z61t for my girlfriend.

It has a t5500
standard res screen so we can read font.
100gb 7200rpm drive
no finger print reader, no titanium cover, no camera
2x 512 ram (!!!)
DVD burder
7 cell battery
brand new sealed in box for 586 dollars total.

I am pumped.