T30 or T40

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phoenix_one · #1 Post by **phoenix_one** » Sat May 28, 2005 9:09 pm

I just acquired a T30 2366-66U for my wife and I am extremely satisfied with it.

I am thinking of getting a ThinkPad for me and I am debating wether to get another T30 (2.0GHz or higher) or go with a lower speed T40.

There both Pentium 4m. The only main difference as far as I know is the Centrino Technology, USB 2.0 and wireless capability.

For example for the price of a T30 2.0Ghz , I can get a T40 1.5 or 1.6Ghz roughly same features.

Thank You for your thoughts.

#2 Post by **K. Eng** » Sat May 28, 2005 9:20 pm

The T30 and T40 actually use different processors. The T30 uses a Pentium 4-M, which is a low power version of the desktop Pentium 4. The T40 uses a Pentium M, which is a completely different processor more related to the Pentium III-M.

A Pentium M at 1.6 GHz will generally perform as well as a Pentium 4-M at 2.4 GHz.

I'd say get the T40. It's much lighter to carry around.

Thinker · #3 Post by **Thinker** » Sat May 28, 2005 9:24 pm

If a T30 has higher Mhz rating than a T40, my guess is that the T30 is a P4 M, and not a Pentium M.

The Pentium M (T40) should perform noticeably better. There used to be a time when laptops were doomed to be slower than desktops (with the same clock frequency), however the Pentium M changed that. I have read in different places that a Pentium M with 1.7 GHz would in average perform as well as a Pentium 4 with a 2 Ghz CPU or faster.

The T40 will have better resale value as well (make sure you take care of it).Also, the T40 is much slimmer than the T30 (I don't own a T30 but I own a T23, and they seem to have approximately the same profile).

To tell you the truth, I would never get a T30. If you are satisfied with the performance of the T30, then get a refurbished T23 (buy directly from IBM Certified Used stock, you can send it back within 7 days if you are not satisfied, you just pay for the shipping). If you want more performance, go for the T40.

I hope that helped you.

Edit: I had the Pentium M confused with the Pentium 4 M, and the Pentium 4 M confused with the Pentium 4

JHaislet · #4 Post by **JHaislet** » Sat May 28, 2005 9:34 pm

I have a friend with a Dell X300 that has a PM 1.4ghz w/2MB L2 cache, and that thing runs circles around his P4 2.8ghz desktop. The L2 cache makes all the difference in the world.

Almost all of the standard P4 cpu's up until recently, with the Extreme Editions, only had 512k L2 cache. The LGA775 socket intro'd P4's with 1MB L2 cache, but that still hinders performance.

And to think how far we've come from the Celeron's with their 128k L2 cache!

phoenix_one · #5 Post by **phoenix_one** » Sat May 28, 2005 10:28 pm

OK.. I guess I got my processors confused....I am glad that is cleared up.

Well for what is worth the T30 is going to be used mainly for some light Desktop Plublishing, Word Processing and Internet.

Then I will start looking for a T40 then.

#6 Post by **K. Eng** » Sun May 29, 2005 8:42 am

It's not so much the size of the cache, but the speed of the cache that makes the difference. I can't remember the exact numbers, but the latency in nanoseconds for the Pentium M's L2 cache is much much lower than in the Prescott Pentium 4.

JHaislet wrote: Almost all of the standard P4 cpu's up until recently, with the Extreme Editions, only had 512k L2 cache. The LGA775 socket intro'd P4's with 1MB L2 cache, but that still hinders performance.

#7 Post by **jdhurst** » Sun May 29, 2005 9:37 am

I had a T30 with a P4 (M) 2.0 GHz processor and 768 Mb of ram. I changed to a T41 with a PM 1.4 GHz processor and 768 Mb of ram. I asked the same question about speed over a year ago, made the change, and found the 1.4 GHz PM faster than the P4 (M). Now the T41 is a 1.8 GHz Dothan and it is very fast. I think you will be please with the T40.
... JD Hurst

RS_003 · #8 Post by **RS_003** » Sun May 29, 2005 10:48 am

There where no dothans in the T41's?? right? I tought they where only used in T42's ?

#9 Post by **K. Eng** » Sun May 29, 2005 10:56 am

As far as I know, that is correct. What some people have done is purchased aftermarket boxed processors from Newegg or other online retailers and upgraded their ThinkPads.

RS_003 wrote:There where no dothans in the T41's?? right?

#10 Post by **jdhurst** » Sun May 29, 2005 1:06 pm

I purchased the Dothan from a member here and did the upgrade myself. Very pleased with the results. ... JD Hurst

benplaut · #11 Post by **benplaut** » Sun May 29, 2005 5:44 pm

jdhurst wrote:I purchased the Dothan from a member here and did the upgrade myself. Very pleased with the results. ... JD Hurst

is it difficult? and does it have to be the chip from IBM, or any dothan chip?

(T40 2373-7CU here)

#12 Post by **jdhurst** » Sun May 29, 2005 7:58 pm

The job is picky (lots of stuff to remove, need for heat sink compound and so on) but not unduly difficult. I used the IBM part. Such a change voids the warranty, but I talked with my vendor first. If there is an apparent system board issue, I will just put the old one back. ... JD Hurst

T30 or T40

T30 or T40

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