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    T60 RAM Special: 1 vs 1.5 vs 2 GB?

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by Quest, Nov 29, 2006.

  1. Quest

    Quest Notebook Guru

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    I am going to purchase a T60, but I'm not certain how much RAM to get.

    2 GB would be $170 more than 1 GB, so that is out of the question.

    However, an additional 512 MB is free of charge. But I have been told that matching two sticks of unequal sized RAM is not optimal. Something like it only works to the potential of the lowest common denominator. I may be mistaken. Or is this nothing to worry about? To clarify things, is the 1.5 GB option composed of two 768 MB sticks or a 1 GB and a 512 MB stick?

    Should I just go with the 1 GB option and upgrade another 1 GB later should I find the need? Or go ahead with the 1.5 GB option?

    Thanks.
     
    Quest, Nov 29, 2006
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  2. marlinspike

    marlinspike Notebook Deity

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    The 1.5gb option is 1 1gb stick and 1 512mb stick. The work to the potential of the lowest common denomitor refers to ram speed, not ram size. Unequal ram size does mean you won't see the benefits of dual channel abilities of the laptop, BUT you don't see those with just 1 stick either, so better 1.5gb than 1gb.
     
    marlinspike, Nov 29, 2006
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  3. Quest

    Quest Notebook Guru

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    What benefit, if any, does the extra 512 stick provide then?
     
    Quest, Nov 29, 2006
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  4. derelict1987

    derelict1987 Notebook Consultant

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    More ram... It is always a good thing to have more ram if you are using ram intensive applications.
     
    derelict1987, Nov 29, 2006
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  5. lbjazz

    lbjazz Notebook Consultant

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    You'll loose dual channel, but that's not a huge deal anyway and the extra ram will offer a bigger performance boost anyway. Also, if you want to run vista you'll need that extra 512.

    If the same deal is offered on the T60W I'm going to do it and wait until ram prices fall again next year to replace that 512 with a 1 gig. That'll save me money in the long and short term.
     
    lbjazz, Nov 29, 2006
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  6. marlinspike

    marlinspike Notebook Deity

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    Or using several applications that are not ram intensive. To be honest, .Thinkpads come with a lot of stuff running in the background, which eats up a lot of your ram. I typically disable almost all background applications, but I've found the ones that come on a thinkpad are actually good, so instead I just ordered another stick of ram. 1 gb would be just enough to do everything I do, but with the stuff my college makes me run in the background, it's about 30mb shy of doing everything I want to do (does like 90% of what I want to do), so I recommend getting the 1.5gb
     
    marlinspike, Nov 29, 2006
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