Thinkpads Forum

say someone has a t60, uses it for internet surfing, email, light/medium-weight games, youtube, music


what do you think is the minimum ram he would need? i ask because i see a lot of units for sale with just 1 or 2 gb of ram in them.

For "medium" weight games I would say 2 GB. Everything else could probably get by with 1 GB.
Keep in mind that on a 60-series Thinkpad you've got the BIOS limiting you to 3 GB and probably a 32-bit CPU meaning you couldn't get much use out of more than 3 GB anyway without special software.
(Might be able to get by with a bit less if using XP rather than Vista/7 but not really much reason to; 2 GB should not be expensive compared to 1.)

I my opinion, 2GB should be more than good enough. I have that amount in several machines. I hardly ever touch swap with normal use.

As far as the T60 and the 3GB limit, is it bios or operating system? I get different answers from various sources. Mine looks to be able to run a Core2Duo. With a 64bit proc it should be able to access more ram. Or, run a pae kernel.

From: Detailed specifications - ThinkPad T60, T60p
http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/detail. ... MIGR-62722

•PC2-5300 Non-Parity (NP) Double Data Rate Two (DDR2) Technology
◦The use of 667 MHz SO DIMM memory is recommended for this system.
•256 MB, 512 MB, 1 GB, or 2GB memory
•Supports up to 4GB maximum memory
Note: Only 64-bit operating systems support more than 3GB of system memory (RAM). Intel Chipsets 945GM and 945PM do not support more than 3GB system memory (RAM), even when a 64-bit operating system is installed. ◦Recommended for memory expansion are 2 GB PC2-4200 DDR2 SDRAM 533 MHz SO DIMM or 256 MB, 512 MB, and 1 GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM 667 MHz SO DIMM.

Summary: With XP, min is 1GB, better at 2GB.

Here is my experience with my low RAM laptops
- 768KB: Dell C400 with 768KB.
With NOTHING running but the startup programs and PerfMon (to monitor available RAM) and after it has settled down, the Dell is down to about 460MB of available RAM. This laptop was slow with 512MB of RAM, and REALLY slow (virtually unusable) with only 384MB of RAM.
- 1GB: T23 with 1GB.
With NOTHING running but the startup programs and PerfMon (to monitor available RAM) and after it has settled down, the T23 is down to about 580MB of available RAM.
- 2GB: G40 with 2GB seems better able to handle general use.
With NOTHING running but the startup programs and PerfMon (to monitor available RAM) and after it has settled down, the G40 has about 1,400MB of available RAM. Enough that I did not bother shutting down startup programs to free RAM for applications.

Note, on the 768KB and 1GB laptops, I had to go through the programs that were starting up and shut down/change programs to give me as much usable RAM as I could get, w/o being too aggressive in shutting things down. If you go into TaskManager, then Processes tab, then sort by 'Mem Usage,' you will see the heavy memory users at the top. And some program use RAM like you had LOTS of it. Here are some of the memory users on my laptop:
- Antivirus programs. Norton was a very heavy RAM user, I changed the Dell to the MS AV program, and might change the T23 also.
- - ccvchst.exe (Norton update) started running on the T23, using up to 400MB of RAM and driving available RAM down to 0.
- - MsMpEng (MS Security Essentials - AntiVirus ) = 63MB
- explorer.exe 55MB
- Apple 50MB = iTunes 23MB + AppleMobileDevice 17MB + iPodService 10MB

- I shut down almost all the auto-update programs, even the ones that just check for updates. These resident update programs were using up RAM.
WindowsUpdate uses 90MB at idle, and about 140MB when running.

Running programs
- FireFox starts at 75MB and goes up as you open tabs and windows. I have had FF use up to 370MB of RAM with multiple windows and tab open.
- InternetExplorer starts up about the same as FF.
- Chrome is worse for RAM, it starts with 2 processes (47MB and 32MB total 79MB), then when I went to http://www.hp.com it fired off another process (total 3processes = 107MB = 47+44+16)
- iTunes = 109MB
- WORD, empty sheet = 33MB
- OUTLOOK = 48MB

I have no idea of the memory requirements of games.

So...IMHO, 2GB is a better minimum RAM for general use with XP, you don't have to squeeze the RAM like I had to. And the pagefile won't get used as much, so performance will not suffer.

Personally, I would max out the usable RAM on the laptop. The reason is, if you increase the RAM later, you have to remove one or both of the RAM modules in the computer, and that is lost $. That is what happened with my G40, I put 1GB = 2 x 512KB, then later I upgraded to 2GB = 2 x 1GB. So my two 512KB RAM modules are now sitting on my desk. So I would max out the T60 with 3GB of RAM.

2GB for XP.

3GB for Vista/W7. You cant put more than 3 anyways.

halfcard1 wrote:say someone has a t60, uses it for internet surfing, email, light/medium-weight games, youtube, music

what do you think is the minimum ram he would need? i ask because i see a lot of units for sale with just 1 or 2 gb of ram in them.

We've got three ThinkPads based on this chipset running in this household, 24/7/365 and I'll share some of my observations...

a) Z61m with T7200 CPU, 3GB RAM, X1400 GPU running 15.4" WSXGA+ LCD (1680x1050), W7 Pro 32; My wife's pride and joy...

W7 calls for more RAM, as does the fact that this particular machine is used for all the serious work around here. Streaming is OK, no one really uses it for gaming. One capable desktop replacement even for today's standards.

While I had 2GB in there with the same OS setup, I did experience occasional freezing with 30 or so browser tabs open. An extra gig cured that for good.

b) T60 with T7400 CPU, 3GB RAM, X1400 GPU running 14" SXGA+ LCD (1400x1050), XP Pro 32; My daughter's weapon of choice.

Even when pushed hard, never gets to use up all the RAM, thanks to XP. While X1400 is an outdated card by all standards, it still performs reasonably well for recreational gaming. Youtube is fine, streaming non-HD content is doable as well. This one gets pretty warm when heavily loaded...

c) R60F with T2500 CPU, 2GB RAM, Intel 950 integrated graphics running 15" SXGA+ IPS LCD (1400x1050), XP Pro 32; A FrankenPad toy for my twin boys.

Great for office work, OK for youtube, no gaming on this unit. The coolest-running one of them all.

I'm a big RAMMER. Since upgrading all my machines to Win 7, 4 GB min on any machine that takes it. Those that don't get sold or sent to charity.

cool, thanks for replies.

I wouldn't reccomend anything less then 4GB when running vista 7 or 8.
XP is marginal with 1GB

I would say thzt 768MB should suffice for XP while 1GB would be the minimum for Vista/7. My T21 runs xp and Lubuntu well enough with only 256MB.Of course, if you play games or run resource-hungry software, then 2gb should be the min.

halfcard1 wrote:i ask because i see a lot of units for sale with just 1 or 2 gb of ram in them.

Don't worry about that. It's very easy and cheap to upgrade from 1GB to 2GB or 3GB.

In my experience, 1GB is tolerable even for 64bit Vista -- that's what I had on my Dell Latitude E4200 for a while -- but 2GB does give a noticeable improvement.

halfcard1 wrote:say someone has a t60, uses it for internet surfing, email, light/medium-weight games, youtube, music


what do you think is the minimum ram he would need?

I suppose at least 3 GB. I'm using a T61 with chipset graphics, Vista x86 and 2 GB, and if i have a few programs open, 2 GB isn't enough. Whenever i switch between programs, there is a disturbing delay when the disk swaps memory.

For T60 and T61, finding 2GB of RAM is easy and dirt cheap, just 2x 1GB sticks can be found very cheap on ebay. It's quite nice. 3GB is also fairly easy to get. 4GB works, but you lose a fraction of one of the sticks on the T60s on the chip limitation. I'd only go with 4GB and above on the T61s.

1GB is the ABSOLUTE minimum with Vista/7 and 8. Any lower than that and the OS itself will struggle, because Vista/7 caches itself in the RAM.

2GB gives your plenty of working room, so 2GB is a good idea if you're doing any sort of gaming or creative work(Photoshop, animation, CAD, 3D)

1.5GB(1 GB stick, 512MB stick) is a good compromise if you're looking for a tiny bit more working room. I got a T60 with a 512MB stick in it, and I put a 1GB stick in it(that's about the only time you'll come across this configuration).

If you're insistent on XP, then I'd go with at least 1GB regardless.

Also, if one likes to use Chrome as the browser and open more than a couple of tabs - I strongly advise 2GB+.

^^^^ That, x10.

I have 3GB in my T61. No more looking at "do I cross the 2GB line??"

My W520 came with 8GB, which is fine for the moment.

If you just want to add 1GB you might look at used modules. They are probably dirt cheap. Perhaps 3 post stamps + shipping or something.

At the moment I think anything above 8GB of RAM is a bit overkill... unless you do anything super-memory intensive, server or enterprise-related, or work with poorly written software.

All my PCs run Windows 7 with 4GB and no problems. My R60e runs Linux with 3GB and it does fine.

I just upgraded my T60 8744-5RU from 3GB to 4GB after I successfully used that $40 upgrade to 64bit Windows 8 PRO. the BIOS sees 4GB but Win8 can only use 3GB !@#$%^&*. Win8 does run very well and yes it truly is 64bit Windows 8. The trick is to register your upgrade in XP in 32 bit but sign on and download on a 64bit OS machine. My T410 with Windows 7 64 did the trick. What you get is a Win8 Pro 64bit install DVD not an upgrade.
Does any body know any trick to get Win8 to see all 4GB ?

gordor wrote:I just upgraded my T60 8744-5RU from 3GB to 4GB after I successfully used that $40 upgrade to 64bit Windows 8 PRO. the BIOS sees 4GB but Win8 can only use 3GB !@#$%^&*. Win8 does run very well and yes it truly is 64bit Windows 8. The trick is to register your upgrade in XP in 32 bit but sign on and download on a 64bit OS machine. My T410 with Windows 7 64 did the trick. What you get is a Win8 Pro 64bit install DVD not an upgrade.
Does any body know any trick to get Win8 to see all 4GB ?

Welcome to the forum!

T60 has a chipset limitation of 3GB RAM, and while the BIOS "sees" 4GB the last GB remains unusable regardless of OS used.

I've had a few occasions where I've maxed out the 8GB I have and had to turn off Aero.

Radioguy wrote:I've had a few occasions where I've maxed out the 8GB I have and had to turn off Aero.

One is really not supposed to navigate a space shuttle program from a T61, you know...

Radioguy wrote:I've had a few occasions where I've maxed out the 8GB I have and had to turn off Aero.

wow how did you do that ?

By running VMs.

On a T61 with mechanical HDD you probably should have at least 4GB assuming you run a 64bit OS. 8GB would be better.

It all depends on how fast you want to go, the utility you want from your T61 (given its a few years old and thus has a slower CPU). Some people aren't satisfied with a Porsche. Some can drive fast with a smaller engine car.