Thinkpads Forum

So it's time to upgrade my 20077JU T60 and I have a few questions just to get some background, while they are probably a bit obvious any help would be much appreciated:

1. It currently has 1gig of memory - the information I have says it can take up to 4gig and the memory type is "PC2-5300 667MHz DDR2" I presume that it currently has one stick of 1gig, can I just add a stick of 2gig?
I'm also not sure what kind of memory I need to order - 200 or 240pin and i presume it has to be 677Mhz again?

2. I'd like to upgrade the hard drive and go to 500gig if possible. Is it okay to use a non Lenovo hard drive (they don't do 500gig)? Are any brands in particular recommended? and should I stay at SATA 5400RPM or can the speed be increased? Also, is there in particular I should make sure I have before replacing the hard drive (in terms of spares, tools etc)?

3. Can anyone recommend any good Thinkpad accessories stockists in the UK for the memory, I'm also looking for a Ultrabay Slim Hard Drive Bay Adapter as well?

Thanks for your help!

1. Chances are your T60 has 2x 512MB modules. This configuration was a lot more common than 1x 1GB. In this case, you will need to replace both modules in order to reach the maximum installable memory.

2. There should be no problem going to larger and faster hard disk drive. Some people have reported minor issues and there are workarounds for them. For example, on certain Seagate drives, it might be necessary to short the SATA150 jumpers.

In addition to msb0b's excellent information...

1) The maximum on the T60 is 3 GB of DDR2. This is not related to the 32-bit limit and will persist with a 64-bit OS. You need DDR2 SODIMM, which is 200 pin, and while the frequency doesn't matter much, 667 MHz will work. (So would 533 MHz and 800 MHz. In former case, you will be a bit slower, but the amount of RAM is much more important than the speed in most applications. In latter case, it will either run at 800 MHz or automatically downclock to 667 MHz -- I think but I'm not sure that it'll be the latter.)

2) Any brand is fine as long as you get a SATA drive. Make sure that the drive can be jumpered to SATA 150 if it isn't already, as T60 can't do SATA 300. I don't think notebook drives reached 500 GB 7200 rpm yet, but other than potential battery life considerations (not that major, several minutes to half an hour at most), you should be able to use anything you wish. Physically replacing the drive is trivial and involves undoing one screw to access the drive tray; depending on your needs you might wish to clone the contents of your own drive (in which case you'd need the ultrabay adapter or a USB harness) or reinstall the OS.

However, 4 GiB will run in symmetric dual channel, as opposed to asymmetric dual channel for 3 GiB. That's about a 10% memory bandwidth increase. For memory-bound applications, it may be slightly noticeable.

Oh, and you can't run a WD VelociRaptor, it's too thick.

In my humble opinion, the following newegg 5 eggs items are the ultimate for a T60:

the best RAM for a T60: (4GB)
(based on reliability)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820231154


the best hard drive for a T60:
(based on quietness & reliability)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822116160

both of these are plug & play, no special configuration, it is a no-brainer (but anytime you do a clean install in XP, switch to SATA compatibility mode in the BIOS until you have the AHCI drivers loaded, then switch back)

Many thanks for the tips, very useful, just a couple of clarifications:

running 4gb as opposed to 3gb wouldn't cause any problems in XP (I realise I might not see the full benefit in XP pro, but it might be useful if I change operating system later).

I'm guessing I'd be able to install the 640gb Scorpio Blue as I could jump it to 150 and it's 9.5mm (apparently uses less power than the 500gb as well), is that correct?

I seem to be having problems tracking down an ultrabay slim hard drive adapter in the UK - is this (Mfr Part #: 41N5661) the model I'm looking for? and if not any help finding a UK stockist is appreciated.

Many thanks, and hopefully I will get round to doing this before Christmas!

gcrames wrote:running 4gb as opposed to 3gb wouldn't cause any problems in XP (I realise I might not see the full benefit in XP pro, but it might be useful if I change operating system later).

XP will run without problem. But even if you change to a 64-bit OS, the maximum usable system memory on the T60 is still 3GB. See the sticky in the forum for the explanation.

gcrames wrote:I'm guessing I'd be able to install the 640gb Scorpio Blue as I could jump it to 150 and it's 9.5mm (apparently uses less power than the 500gb as well), is that correct?

Yes, but I would try it without jumper first. The host and devices should negotiate a speed automatically. Only when the negotiation doesn't work do you need to short the jumpers.

gcrames wrote:I seem to be having problems tracking down an ultrabay slim hard drive adapter in the UK - is this (Mfr Part #: 41N5661) the model I'm looking for? and if not any help finding a UK stockist is appreciated.

41N5661 appears to be for a PATA drive. If you need a SATA adapter, the part number is 40Y8725 and the FRU number is 26R9246. Sorry, can't help with tracking down stock.

gcrames wrote:Many thanks, and hopefully I will get round to doing this before Christmas!

Good luck!