Thinkpads Forum

I've been looking around and I only get to see the lcd resolution but I can't seem to find specs such as graphics memory, discrete or shared for the Intel and nVidia. I am also interested in knowing the specs resolution available with and without panning for both the laptop lcd and external monitor.

I'm into photography and I cancelled my t60 WSXGA. I didn't want to let go but decided that I buy an external monitor to make-up for the loss in resolution.

I'm not PC gamer and play mostly consoles. I'd like to play games on a PC maybe MMORPGs but it can easily take a backseat behind Photography. What would you recommend?

Welcome to the forums.

Detailed info on thinkpad models and graphics cards can be found in the tabook:
ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/pc/pcinstitu ... tabook.pdf

gator wrote:Welcome to the forums.

Detailed info on thinkpad models and graphics cards can be found in the tabook:
ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/pc/pcinstitu ... tabook.pdf

Thanks Gator, I have been clicking on that link since noon and I always get a 404 MSIE and Firefox. I think I might need to restart, Acrobat did an auto update when I woke up this morning.

pass me your email id, I'll mail it.

gator wrote:pass me your email id, I'll mail it.

PMed. Is the FTP link working on your side?

Yes it works.

gator wrote:Yes it works.

Thanks Gator, I got it. Funny the link doesn't work on my computer, even after a restart.

Anyway, I read the PDF and found out 128MB for the nVidia but I can't seem to find the memory for Intel nor the resolutions supported for external monitors.

Sri,

Can't seem to find any T61 model on the linked tabook.pdf. Possible that its not yet updated?

The two GPUs shown on the new T61 models in the Tabbook as of a few moments ago are:

Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 (GMA X3100), integrated in GM965, DVI pass-through support to optional Advanced Mini Dock or Advanced Dock

NVIDIA® Quadro® NVS 140M, PCI Express x16, 128MB memory, TurboCache, DVI pass-through support to optional Advanced Mini Dock or Advanced Dock

In general, lower config models get the GMA, higher config models get the NVIDIA.

vcuares wrote:I can't seem to find the memory for Intel nor the resolutions supported for external monitors.

Quite possibly because its not there.

Cheers,

Bill B.

NVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M is available in 256MB too, but lenovo opted for 128MB.

That NVS, although its current gen, is pretty lousy, imho...it really is not that much better than the new integrated graphics. I sure hope it is actually significantly better, would be sad if the high end was worse than the low end (which is possible since the x3100 is a nice card).

jjesusfreak01 wrote:That NVS, although its current gen, is pretty lousy, imho...it really is not that much better than the new integrated graphics. I sure hope it is actually significantly better, would be sad if the high end was worse than the low end (which is possible since the x3100 is a nice card).

I doubt that the X3100 is better than the NVS, even with it's stupid 64-bit memory interface... that's the test of a card's worth.

Even though both graphics options are a good step in the right direction, we're yet to see what offering will be included on the T61p - hopefully an "8800" based card, even if underclocked.

Would like to see an 8600M-GT option on Thinkpads.

Maybe you all have seen this already, but the X3100 doesn't sound too bad. It supports all of Aero and HDMI up to 1080p.

I didn't say it was, but at the end of the day, it's still not a serious option. It's the one you pick if you want power reduction. It runs everything fine, it's not DirectX 10 to my knowledge.

It's a great option if you would have previously chosen the Intel Integrated, I applaud Intel for finally doing something about it, after all they do have the largest share in the graphics pie, it's just all integrated that's the problem.

From what I have heard, it is DX10. The 3100 is not, but the X3100 is.

Having a quick read on Wikipedia, it uses the unified pipeline architecture that is required for DirectX 10 but at present the drivers do not support this, nor Shader Model 3.0.

It's quite impressive that Intel has made a push in this area, are they any good at releasing drivers?

To me it looks very capable of being quite competent to a degree in games, but that all depends on how many staff they stick on their driver team.

EDIT: A lot of conflicting information on this, a lot of people saying it doesn't support it. DirectX 10 support can't be done in software (drivers) it has to be in the hardware.

Intel Engineers wrote:The X3100 is a highly programmable engine. the graphics hardware supports DX10, but the graphics driver supporting dx10 is expected to be released later

There you have it, I suppose we are both right. Its DX10, but not yet...

This quote is from the Intel chat session today.

brrmax wrote:Maybe you all have seen this already, but the X3100 doesn't sound too bad. It supports all of Aero and HDMI up to 1080p.

Yeah, I've seen it but how much of those listed features goes to the the T61?

The T61 might support 1080p but for sure HDMI is out of the list. Again, I am still not sure what am I exactly getting on the X3100 from Lenovo.

How good is 200nits?

What do Dells have 300nits? Just trying to get a feel for the new screen's brightness.