T61 Max Ram?

Is it 4GB total or 4GB per slot? So 8GB is the upper bound? I use the origincal 1GB Hynix and 2GB from Crucial. Was is the benefit of going up to 4GB on W7X64? to 8GB any benefit? Not a gamer not a video person. But hard core Excel usage.

 

Intel says the maximum that the PM965 chipset can support is 4gb (total).
But many people have reported that 8gb works (6gb also confirmed).

So depending on your BIOS, your notebook could work with 8gb.
But if you want to be able to use more than 3.5gb you need to install a 64bit OS (win vista 64 bit or win7 64 bit are great, 64bit xp is not good).

I recommend 4gb, you will not notice the difference between that and 8gb.
Will you notice the difference going from 3gb to 4gb, no.

Not worth it unless you install a 64bit OS, even then you wouldn't notice it.

 

Just stick with your 3GB. I doubt you're maxing that out from your usage.

 

There has been new memory released that the T61p supports. The t61 currently supports 8 gigabytes of it. I do not know anything about proper bios support. I've had 64 bits OS's installed since they were offered but I have never installed more than 4 gigs of memory.
Renee

 

Officially, it is 4GB total. Unofficially, it is 4GB per slot. I installed 2x4GB last week, and all works great.
The extra memory is useful only if you use programs that will utilize it, like Photoshop, AutoCAD. I do not know if Excel can/will use that much memory.

 

Excel size will depend on the data file. I have a hard time imagining an excel file size in the gigabyte range.

Renee

 

T61 accepts 8GB fine, but most people would really not need it.

 

max memory in the PM965/GM965 is actually 16GB but 8GB DDR2 SODIMMs haven't been mass-produced yet (and may never be).   16GB has been tested in a handful of notebooks at intel according to a contact i have there.

i have 8GB in my X61s and it works fine.   i've tested my modules in a T61p and it worked fine, too.

however, it doesn't matter in BaldwinHillsTrojan's case.   excel 2003 and 2007 are both 32-bit applications and therefore limited to utilizing no more than 2GB.   so, even if you installed a 64-bit OS and 4GB, 6GB, or 8GB of memory, excel would still be limited to 2GB.   this won't change unless microsoft makes a 64-bit version of office 2010.   almost all 32-bit apps are limited to using 2GB per app due to how 32-bit application architecture works.   some, but very few, can use 3GB.

so, this discussion is essentially moot.

 

There is however a 64 bit version of Office 2010 coming. It's downloadable from microsoft.com in Beta form right now.

 

The T61 does accept 8GB but i heard it will physically be limited to about 6 or 7 because of BIOS

 

what you heard was incorrect.

 

tell me more, i.e, i'd like an explanation with that please.

 

Quite simply, there are several T61 users in this forum w/ 8GB installed and have reported that the 8GB is fully usable.

 

oh... ok, i just thought that it was only usable up to about 6GB.

 

no need for me to re-explain.   read my post on page 1 of this thread two posts above yours.   there's a lot of good info there that you probably missed.

 

I dont know about 8gb, but the difference between having 3GB and 4GB for my XP 32bit was 16MB of usable RAM

3GB - Task Manager reported 2892MB RAM
4GB - Task Manager reported 2908MB RAM

but I have other thoughts about why having 4GB in a 32 bit environment is much better than 3GB, and that has to deal with the extended video memory allocation (from 128MB internal to 512MB total)

 

Task manager is not the end-all be-all for reporting memory.

Windows XP 32-bit can address a full 4GB of RAM, as a number of us in the forum have stated a number of times. What it cannot do is allocate 4GB to applications (that is, user-mode processes). Windows XP can only allocate 2GB to any single application, 3GB if you use a special command-line switch as part of the startup process (though this can cause problems with some applications not coded to be aware of the switch).

RAM that 32-bit Windows cannot allocate to applications can be allocated to kernel-mode processes and drivers, which means that if you have more than 3GB of RAM, such processes can be allocated there, freeing up some RAM for applications.

For this reason, back in my gaming days, going from 3GB to 4GB on my desktop helped performance in Bethseda's Oblivion: The Elder Scrolls on 32-bit Windows XP, especially if I needed to pause and Alt+Tab out temporarily.

 

I have T61p 6459CTO with 8GB of RAM. Bios is 2.26-1.08. Here is what Windows 7 says (x64) - worked the same way in Vista x64.

 

"Windows XP 32-bit can address a full 4GB of RAM, as a number of us in the forum have stated a number of times. What it cannot do is allocate 4GB to applications (that is, user-mode processes). Windows XP can only allocate 2GB to any single application, 3GB if you use a special command-line switch as part of the startup process (though this can cause problems with some applications not coded to be aware of the switch).

RAM that 32-bit Windows cannot allocate to applications can be allocated to kernel-mode processes and drivers, which means that if you have more than 3GB of RAM, such processes can be allocated there, freeing up some RAM for applications."

Let's go over the WHY of this. The executive requires some of the memory space and space is allocated BUT all must be below 4 gigs with 32 bits of adressability.

Renee

 

Sure you can buy 4GB SODIMM sticks, but they are pricey (best price for 2x4GB sticks is around $300).

Unless you are running a bunch of apps in addition running Excel simultaneously, 4GB of RAM will be fine. You can keep your 2GB stick and replace the 1GB with another 2GB stick. I recall buying a 2GB DDR2 SODIMM for around $20 when I bought my netbook in May..
The only time I've ever needed over 4GB RAM is running VMs on Windows servers...
That and maybe if you do a lot of video editing (which in that case you should stick to a desktop anyway as a notebook won't cut the mustard for that).

In a 32-bit OS like you seem to state you have in your profile, you would only see an extra 512MB going from 3GB to 4GB. Personally if I were you, I'd ditch Vista entirely and stick with your Windows 7 install

 

doo u think i actually need eggstra RAM 4 my W7 setup? am speed freak. i really dont see excel being all that slow now. i think by broadband connection may be slow so i think my system is slow.

 

absolutely not.   going from 3GB to 4GB on a 32-bit OS will make no appreciable difference in your situation.

if you want a noticeable change in speed, buy an SSD.

 

If you really have excess money, send some to me

 

"going from 3GB to 4GB on a 32-bit OS will make no appreciable difference in your situation."

It could.....

Renee

 

OP: Not a gamer not a video person. But hard core Excel usage.

So no, pretty much no difference in his situation.