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    Upgrading my x61 and I have a few?'s

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by ash211, Mar 12, 2011.

  1. ash211

    ash211 Notebook Geek

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    I love my x61 (core 2 Duo T7300 @ 2.0 Ghz)...I added a 500gb 7200 rpm drive, updated to win7, and I have 4gb's of Ram...if I install 64 bit Win 7 will my x61 be able to handle 8gb of Ram or no? Is there anything else you guys can think of to upgrade it? Thanks...
     
    ash211, Mar 12, 2011
    #1
  2. Tsunade_Hime

    Tsunade_Hime such bacon. wow

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    Theoretically GM/PM965 will support 8 GB sticks as Intel released the chipset before 4 GB sticks came out. I don't know whether or not Lenovo put a BIOS restriction for 4 GB sticks. I know Dell did for my Vostro 1500, it doesn't POST with a 4 GB stick but the Vostro 1700/Inspiron 1720 does support at least 6 GB.

    You also gotta ask yourself do you really need 8 GB RAM?
     
    Tsunade_Hime, Mar 12, 2011
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  3. ash211

    ash211 Notebook Geek

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    "You also gotta ask yourself do you really need 8 GB RAM?"

    Tim the Toolman says more power is always better.
     
    ash211, Mar 12, 2011
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  4. Tsunade_Hime

    Tsunade_Hime such bacon. wow

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    I'm just saying, even putting 8 GB of RAM won't give you 9999 FPS in Solitaire. Yes if you are using PS or are rendering, more RAM will benefit. It never hurts having more RAM except $$$ and having a 32 bit OS/a BIOS that won't use all of the RAM.

    I don't know whether or not Lenovo whitelists CPU in the BIOS, GM/PM965 should handle any 800 FSB Core 2 Duo.
     
    Tsunade_Hime, Mar 12, 2011
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  5. k2001

    k2001 Notebook Deity

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    I would not recommend more than 4gb if you are not running virtual machine or editing huge ps files.
     
    k2001, Mar 12, 2011
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  6. ash211

    ash211 Notebook Geek

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    Will updating to 64 bit Win 7 allow me to use all 4gb of ram...I'm using 32 bit now and it only shows 2.99 gb of ram.
     
    ash211, Mar 12, 2011
    #6
  7. filmbuff

    filmbuff Notebook Consultant

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    yes, using a 64bit OS will let you use the full 4gb.

    and to answer the OP's question, yes the x61 can take 2x4gb chips

     
    filmbuff, Mar 12, 2011
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  8. lead_org

    lead_org Purveyor of Truth

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    X61 can handle 8 gigs of ram, and the CPU is soldered to the motherboard, so no CPU upgrade without having to swap the motherboard.
     
    lead_org, Mar 12, 2011
    #8
  9. User Retired 2

    User Retired 2 Notebook Nobel Laureate NBR Reviewer

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    A dual-IDA bios would give you another 200Mhz CPU speed. A DIY ViDock would give a significant gpu performance boost. See sig for details.
     
    User Retired 2, Mar 12, 2011
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  10. lead_org

    lead_org Purveyor of Truth

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    DIY vidock won't work on the X61 since it has only the cardbus/pcmcia slot.
     
    lead_org, Mar 12, 2011
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  11. User Retired 2

    User Retired 2 Notebook Nobel Laureate NBR Reviewer

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    It can be done via the mPCIe wifi slot. See Collaris112's X61t DIY ViDock experience for a confirmed working example.
     
    User Retired 2, Mar 12, 2011
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  12. lead_org

    lead_org Purveyor of Truth

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    but that means you would have no palmrest since the mPCIe card slot is under the palmrest. Basically with this setup, you can't use the laptop itself.
     
    lead_org, Mar 12, 2011
    #12
  13. ThinkRob

    ThinkRob Notebook Deity

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    He may, but computers aren't power tools.

    Unless you're regularly running into swap, there is really no reason to upgrade to 8GB of RAM.
     
    ThinkRob, Mar 13, 2011
    #13
  14. miro_gt

    miro_gt Notebook Deity

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    also, 4GB DDR2 ram sticks are significantly more expensive than those should be.
     
    miro_gt, Mar 14, 2011
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  15. ym1

    ym1 Notebook Consultant

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    Hey dont forget the sata 2 bios hack if you add a SSD drive at some point.
     
    ym1, Mar 15, 2011
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  16. Thaenatos

    Thaenatos Zero Cool

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    RAM upgrades do absolutely nothing for a system unless youre thrashing on the system. Until then the ammount of RAM means nothing. Now getting faster or lower latency well then you might see a slight increase.
     
    Thaenatos, Mar 15, 2011
    #16