Thinkpads Forum

I would like to add more memory to my newly received T-60 as well as my old T-42. My questions are:

1) The T-60 shipped with a 1GB 533 stick. I believe the 667 will work but does the 667 need to go in the slot under the keyboard or does order not matter. Is it OK to mix the two spped???

2) The T-42 shipped with 256 and I added 512 (2.5 years ago). I now want to add 1GB 2700 series and have the same question. Should the 1 GB go under the keyboard or is installing it in the back slot ok??? SHould I also change out the 512 for a full 2 GB of ram or will the differance not be noticable???? I realize this is an older unit but I believe it still has value.

You can always use faster memory (as long as it's of the same type) -- it will simply just run at the speed the ThinkPad is designed for. So the 667 memory will happily run at 533, and if the 667 is less expensive than 533, it's fine to use it.

You can install either memory in either slot. If both slots are populated, then it doesn't matter what size module each one has.

Noticable differance if I upgrade the 512 to 1 GB in the T-42?

With regards to the T42, do you have 512 MB total now or 768 MB? And are you thinking of upgrading to 1.3 GB (256 MB + 1 GB) or 1.5 GB (512 MB + 1 GB)?

It really depends on what you do. If you are running XP, 512 MB is fine for basic use. If you use heavy applications like Photoshop, 1 GB is much better. And if you are planning to run Vista, the 1.5 GB configuration will enable you to take advantage of the SuperFetch caching for improved performance.

The T-42 now has 1.5GB. I upgraded from 256+512 (kept the 512 and added 1GB). I have no plans to go to Vista with that unit. I don't think it would run it anyway.

So your question then is whether you should bump the T42 from 1.5 GB to 2 GB? Based on your answers, I don't think it's great value for your money.