Thinkpads Forum

hello there,

I don't have my t60p yet, but I am pondering getting the advanced dock with it. I do know it has a full 16x PCIe slot which can accept another video card. I don't really know much about PCIe so maybe someone can help me with these questions...

1) when I put a PCIe card in the dock and plug my DVI LCD to it, will it override the t60p's internal video card and become the primary one, or will it be a secondary card, or can I chose?

My reasoning is, that I can buy a more powerful video card in the future, maybe one that supports DX10, or one that is faster than the internal t60p one and use it as primary card for 3D apps, games, etc. and thus extend the life of my notebook when used as desktop replacement.

2) What is dual link and how does it relate to the t60p? Would I be able to use it with a PCIe card in the advanced dock? What are the advantages?

thanks for your help

1. You can set, in BIOS, whether the add-in card is primary or secondary.
2. Dual-link is a feature of the card itself. It means that there's a second transmitter on the DVI connection that lets you drive resolutions much higher than normal single-link DVI. As a general rule, pretty much all resolutions over 1920x1200 require dual-link DVI, including the new 30" LCD monitors.

ah cool! thanks for answering.