Upgrading My T400; What should I purchase?

Hey guys I recently purchased a second hand Lenovo T400 with the following stats:
Lenovo ThinkPad T400 Notebook - Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 2.4GHz - 14.1`` WXGA+ - 1GB DDR3 SDRAM - 80GB HDD - Combo Drive (CD-RW/DVD-ROM) - Gigabit Ethernet Wi-Fi Bluetooth - Windows Vista Business

I also have a 320gb external hd which doesnt allow for system speed up.

I want to upgrade it so that it can operate more efficiently, with regards to browsing, and opening programs etc.

Was wondering how much ram, and what kind to purchase from new egg you guys would recomend, and what difference this would make to my computer, as mine only has 1gb.

Also, does adding hdd improve my perfomance of my laptop? I dont really need storage as i have an external, but if this will improve performance i will look to purchase more internal.


Also it runs on 32 bit windows vista business standard, anyone have any ideas on how/if its worth getting a 64 bit OS on it if i just use it for internet browsing and word documents heavily, and if so, what changes will upgrading to 32 bit windows vista ultimate instead?

Cheers, Nick

 

Upgrade the OS to the 64 bit of Win 7 Home Premium or Business.

Then fill out the 2 slots of RAM with 2 gig of DDR3 each: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220338

Then get this Hitachi HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145275
or the slightly cheaper WD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136314

Once the OS, RAM and HDD upgraded, you can just sit back and enjoy. You don't need a new computer based on the needs you listed. Good luck.

 

@Nick...out of curiosity, how much did you buy the machine for with the config that you posted?

 

1st choice: upgrade to 4GB RAM (2x2G)
2st choice: upgrade to a SSD
3st choice: upgrade to a bigger HDD (Hitachi Travelstar 7k500, e.g), if you need more hard-disk capacity

these upgrade will gain most performance/advantages for money you spend

 

newer machine won't be much faster for browsing, the problem you are experiencing is due to poor optimisation of the laptop, or have too many background processes running at the same time.

 

I purchased it for 250$ off my father

I dont run many background applications at once also, but id like a decent laptop for what i want it for.

So what is a SSD?
And would you just get 4 gb ram instead of 6, would there be much diffrerence?

thanks for all the help
Btw im located in sydney, australia.

 

4GB of RAM is usually more than enough for most users. If, as you say, you "don't run many background processes at once," 3GB should be plenty. Just add another 2GB stick into your T400 along with the existing 1GB stick.

An SSD is a solid state drive, which serves the purpose of the hard drive, but instead of relying on spinning magnetic platters, it uses fast flash memory tied together by a controller. It provides much faster access speeds than conventional HDDs, provides faster data transfer than conventional HDDs, and is more shock-resistant. With an SSD, your computer will boot faster and programs will launch faster. The downside is that SSDs are quite expensive at the moment, and cannot match a HDD's storage space.

 

Great deal you got there from your father. Just hop in another 2 gig of RAM and do a clean install then.

 

you can buy the parts from MSY, which is the cheapest in Australia. Go to MSY.com

1 gig of ram is not enough, and you should also consider at least 320 gig of hdd space or a nice SSD.

This should get you moving.

You can do all the upgrades (larger platter hdd (500 gig) and 4 gigs of DDR3 ram for around $200). SSD will cost around 300 dollars for a basic one.

But, for simple word processing, movie watching and web surfing, standard platter hdd is more than enough.

 

@ Nick...thanks. As cn_habs says, you got a very good deal from your father!

 

Thanks for all the help, i think im going to the MSY shop in sydney central and get them to help me out.

THANKS FOR ALL THE ADVICE PPL Ill let u know how i go

Looks like im getting a 500 Gb or so internal hdd and a 4gb ram in my comp, and windows 7, possibly the 64 bit one, depending on the further advice im given.
havent read much good stuff on sd worth spending the money on,

 

please inform us how you went when you finished.

 

Hi Everyone,

I'm interested in this thread too as I've just got a T400 with 2gb ram and the basic 160gb 5400rpm hard drive.

I've installed Windows 7 64 bit and it's running fine - so I'm not sure it's worth upgrading the memory to 4gb. Can anyone show me anything to demonstrate how much of a performance gain I (or the OP) would really get from going to 4gb ram?

To be honest I've never seen loads of benefit from more ram. I'm running 8gb on my desktop (also with Windows 7 64bit) and I'm not sure it has given me enormous benefit for running Microsoft Office/web surfing (which is what I spend most of my time on).

Thanks for any info.

I agree on the hard drive/ssd stuff though - if you need the storage. I'm going to fill up my 160gb drive first.

thanks

Scottie P

 

it really depends on how much programs you have open at the same time. Just look at your system resources, if your laptop is constantly using the hdd as way to fill you for the lack of ram, then you know it is time to upgrade the ram.

If your ram usage is only 80% max then you would not need to consider the ram upgrade option.

 

We seem to have some conflicting opinions here, so I might as well jump in with mine

I wouldn't bother to do everything at once. Just buy an additional 2GB memory in a single stick and install it in the open slot in your T400. This should be easy to do and and cheap. Then see if the machine is fast enough for you. If so, great! You're done. If not, then move on to more costly options as already discussed here.

 

Ok just got Windows 7 Ultimate 64 Bit going onto my comp now, still with the 1gb ram.

Wondering if i should go just 1 2gb RAM as an upgrade and go back to 32 bit win 7 or go for the 4 gig and stay with the windows 7 64 bit, which im fine with.

Also looking for a hard drive , 500gb internal similar to the newegg ones i was reffered to, but cant get cause im in australia haha. But yeah looking into getting both of those, im so excited haha installation of win 7 should be done within the next 15 or so

 

I'm running Windows 7 Home 64 bit on 2gbs and it seems fine - but if you're going to upgrade I'd make the leap to 4gb and stick with Win 7 64 bit. I think most people will agree.

 

Just add a 2gb of ram, which gives you 3gb (assuming that the 1gb is on 1 dim).
Anything over 3gb is overkill, unless you run virtual machine or use program that use alot of memory. If that still not fast enough get a ssd. Just do a clean install of the vista.

 

Turns out my comp reads now thati have 2gb internal?
?

anyways it runs so quick and its on 64 bit mode also.

So now the questionlies

If i get a new internal hd, say a 500gb, how do i go about reinstalling windows 7 on the new hd? is it a hard process?

And yeahim loooking at getting a 500gb western digital,theres one in aus for 88$, should i go this or a 100$ 500 gb external?

cheers.

p.s is it bad running 64 bit on 2 gb ram? it runs fine btw.

 

I'm running my T400 with Windows 7 64 bit with 2gb ram and it runs perfectly. I have no plans to add more ram.

Can't speak about the harddrive you mentioned ... there is a hitachi one which I would choose at 500gb (7200rpm and 16mb cache) but I think the Western Digital ones are pretty good too - a 160gb came standard in my T400 and whilst it seems a bit slow - it's still a good drive. I'm going to fill it up before I consider upgrading the drive ... that will take a while! Without itunes and photos on it.

 

is the win 7 from Lenovo or aftermarket? if it is aftermarket, then you should have an installation cd, which you can use.

2 gig should be okay for light surfing, but it is advisable that you go with 3 or 4 gigs, this will give some headroom.

Also, this is a very cheap performance upgrade.

 

Yeah i have an aftermarket one. I dont mind reinstalling etc, i got all the program files from when i recently did this all.


So can anyone provide me with an easy runthrough as to how i would install the new hard drive with the win 7 cd?

btw purchasing hte 5400 rpm wd, i got it for 88$ and picking up on friday.

Just for storage yes, i will get another external later dwn the track.

But yeah do you guys think i should just get 1 x 2gb ram, will this run well, or do i have to go with 2 new 2gb rams?

cheers

Nick

 

And im also runninga 4gb flash on ready boost too

god it works wonders.

 

Personally i recommend 2 x 2 gigs for 64 bit OS.

 

Ok so u think just by 1 2gig ram to accompany the existing one? ill do it in time

can anyoneinstruct how to change my hd?

 

Wait i know where hdd is, so thats simple, but do i just replace it and then run the win 7 cd on startup? like if i dontmind a fresh restart?

 

3GB should work fine. As far replacing the HDD goes. Consult the maintainance manual...
http://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/pc/pccbbs/mobiles_pdf/43y6629_04.pdf

Pg 86. Remove the rubber rails. remove the 4 screws attaching the HDD to the caddy. Slip in the new one, put the screws back in and slip it back in the same way you took it out.

Yes.

 

the price difference for a 1 gig and 2 gig ddr3 is only 15 dollars or so at MSY, given that you already have a 1 x 2 gig modules. This won't be wasted since you have 64 bit os.

 

Thanks, yeah cause i havent managed to get the screws off my underneath of the laptop to get the ram out, which i havent got yet.

But yeah, not sure what ram to get, because most stores have higher than 1066 ram, any characteristics i need to look for when ordering/purchasing ram?

But yeah found where the HD is, can i just take theold one out, put the new one in, then run the win 7 cd through on boot? will this work?

 

At MSY, i was told theyd be 70$ a stick, for 2 gb ram which is 1300 speed, will this work in my RAM Bay? Im fine with purchasing 4 gb, just not sure atm if its worth spending all that money on something im not sure will be 100% compatible.


Ive gone and ordered a 500 gb WD hard drive (Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD5000BEVT 500GB 5400 RPM 8MB Cache 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Notebook Hard Drive -Bare Drive), for 88$. Im getting it tomorrow. I can also get the 2 sticks of ram while im there from MSY, but am unsure of which ones to get. Could you browse the MSY site and let me know which items i can get that will be compatible? If thats not too much.

regards, Nick

 

you can use the faster ram in your T400, it doesn't really matter. I remember you said you have 1 gig module already when you first got the laptop, so you could just use 3 gigs right now.

 

No, my memory with vista said i had 1gb, now on 7 it says i have 2? i dont get it. So are there any stats i should look at before getting ram, besides knowing its ddr3?

 

download GPU-Z it should tell you the exact ram setup.

Don't worry the ddr3 sodimm for laptops sold by MSY is compatible with your T400.

 

This shows my graphics card, which section tells me the ram set up?

 

He meant CPU-Z

 

Ok yeah i used that

it says my comp is dual channel

does that mean there should be 4 slots to fill with ram?

or does that mean that i have to replace the 2 slots under the mousepad with 2 new 2gb ram cards?

 

I suggest you take screen shots of every tab so we can see for ourselves.

Alt+PrtSc takes only a screenshot of your active window btw, might save you some time.

 

I think i understand it all now

so basically i can get any ram, as long as its 1066, ddr3 in a set of 2x2gb

 

Thats my memory readings, had to post 1 more to be able to url post

 

Also since its dual, what i meant was does that mean there is 2 slots for ram only? and i can put 2 gb in each of those, same brand, so voltage is the same?

 

Yep 2x2gb will be your best bet.

edit: yes you only have 2 slots

 

you can get higher speed ram, they will just downclock to 1066 mhz.

 

Ok this makes so much more sense now hey, i read a bunch of stuff online so now i know what to get. Thanks heaps guys, ill most likely be getting the ram tomorrow when i pick up my new webcam and internal hard drive. Also what was the extra memory card that goes into the front left hand panel on the computer? What does that do and is it worth getting?

Cheers , Nick

 

I mean with the expresscard/54, is there a thing i can buy for that to improve just processing performance? or what other things can i get to go in there to boost certain types of performance?

 

If you have have the SD card slot, then the slot on the top is for PCMCIA.

You could get an pcmcia ssd drive. But the upgrade you are planning for your T400 with the 4 gig or 3 gig ram and 500 gig hdd is more than enough performance for you what you need. Anything else like these pcmcia ssd slot is more of a case of diminishing return.

 

Got the 500gb and 4gb ram now


it runs soo well

installing programs now

install times are so quick

 

see everything worked fine at the end, enjoy the upgrade.

 

Glad to hear it's gone well - enjoy!

 

Dear lord, my eyes.

 

Hahha yeah all is good, after transferring alot of stuff to my hard drive, imstill investing in an external 500 gb