Fastest CPU for X31? + more RAM + 7200rpm HDD?

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YukYukLee · #61 Post by **YukYukLee** » Thu Oct 06, 2005 7:39 pm

Don't you guys think 2Gb of ram is to much? i say just get a 1gb chip
if you have to much ram in a computer it might actually slow down your comp meaning the computer has to render thru all that ram just my thought ... i have 1gig in mine right now

bhtooefr · #62 Post by **bhtooefr** » Thu Oct 06, 2005 7:43 pm

Excess RAM isn't a problem at all, except on Intel chips with more than 3GB RAM. (AMD's 64-bit chips aren't a problem with more than 3GB)

Seeing as this is only 2GB RAM, it'll be fine.

YukYukLee · #63 Post by **YukYukLee** » Thu Oct 06, 2005 7:48 pm

Can you really see the diffrence between 1gig and 2gig mem?

@RT · #64 Post by **@RT** » Thu Oct 06, 2005 7:59 pm

with 2 gig RAM. the battery life will be shorter.

FRiC · #65 Post by **FRiC** » Thu Oct 06, 2005 9:38 pm

Like others have said, it all depends on what you do, but be careful about monitoring RAM with XP's task manager. XP's swapping and memory management is quite efficient, and it might not be obvious by using the task manager to see whether you need more RAM.

In my experience, upgrading from 512 MB to 1 GB yielded minimal speed increase. It's as if 512 MB is already plenty enough to handle everyday apps, while 1 GB still isn't enough for the memory intensive apps. However, when I went to 1.5 GB or 2 GB, there was a tremendous speed increase for the memory intensive apps. (My memory intensive apps are Photoshop CS2, Nikon Photo Capture, Simatic Step7/WinCC, and VMware.)

nolifer · #66 Post by **nolifer** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 12:17 am

I monitored with rambooster.

And now I have 2*512MB sticks.

domi · #67 Post by **domi** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 12:23 am

YukYukLee wrote:"no Bluetooth =("

Try this:
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=15986
Would probably work on the X31, and for $3.99, who cares if it does not?
-Dominique (X31 *with* Bluetooth)

AgenT · #68 Post by **AgenT** » Sat Oct 08, 2005 9:40 am

@RT wrote:with 2 gig RAM. the battery life will be shorter.

Why? Can you please elaborate? This sounds interesting. Also, by what amount does it increase?

bhtooefr · #69 Post by **bhtooefr** » Sat Oct 08, 2005 9:46 am

Theoretically, the battery life will be shorter.

The larger RAM chips have more transistors. Each transistor takes power. So, 2GB of RAM will be twice as many transistors as 1GB of RAM, and will use more (note that I did NOT say twice as much - IIRC, it doesn't scale linearly) power.

AgenT · #70 Post by **AgenT** » Sat Oct 08, 2005 11:36 am

Ok, but the power used by memory chips cannot be *that* much, can it? Would it even be noticable?

Also, notice that with more RAM you will use the HD less often, among other things. Although this may not apply to Windows (don't use it, so would not know).

Also, how much does dimming the LCD help? It just seems like it should help a lot, but there are users that seem to have tested it and say that it does not make that big of a difference (which seems odd to me).

bhtooefr · #71 Post by **bhtooefr** » Sat Oct 08, 2005 12:26 pm

Windows will *ALWAYS* use the HDD for swap, however, it swaps less with more RAM.

If you're slamming RAM with lots of Photoshop stuff, you'll DEFINITELY hit the HDD less with 2GB. RAM does take less than the HDD.

Also, the difference between 1GB and 2GB when less than 1GB is used would be a few minutes of battery, max.

YukYukLee · #72 Post by **YukYukLee** » Wed Oct 12, 2005 10:48 pm

Hey domi, I just ordered that Bluetooth Daughter Card.. I was just wondering wether i need something else with that card, or will it just work without any antenna's

domi · #73 Post by **domi** » Wed Oct 12, 2005 11:22 pm

YukYukLee wrote:Hey domi, I just ordered that Bluetooth Daughter Card.. I was just wondering wether i need something else with that card, or will it just work without any antenna's

I think it will work, but your Bluetooth devices (eg. mobile phone) will have to be closer to your TP than with the built-in antenna.
-Dominique

pphilipko · #74 Post by **pphilipko** » Wed Oct 12, 2005 11:56 pm

FRiC wrote:Like others have said, it all depends on what you do, but be careful about monitoring RAM with XP's task manager. XP's swapping and memory management is quite efficient, and it might not be obvious by using the task manager to see whether you need more RAM.

In my experience, upgrading from 512 MB to 1 GB yielded minimal speed increase. It's as if 512 MB is already plenty enough to handle everyday apps, while 1 GB still isn't enough for the memory intensive apps. However, when I went to 1.5 GB or 2 GB, there was a tremendous speed increase for the memory intensive apps. (My memory intensive apps are Photoshop CS2, Nikon Photo Capture, Simatic Step7/WinCC, and VMware.)

That doesn't seem to be true in my case. There was no "minimal" speed increase, rather a HUGE speed increase. When I upgraded from 512 to 1024, the entire system was noticeably snappier, and didn't slow down after two hours or more of use. Memory intensive apps, in my case, photoshop cs2, were much faster and efficient.

Of course, having 1.5GB would help even more, but the speed from 512 to 1024 is not nominal. It's the difference between day and night!

nolifer · #75 Post by **nolifer** » Thu Oct 13, 2005 1:00 am

Yesterday I was using PS CS2 and did some photo editing and I noticed that quite simple image (5MPix and couple layers) can take ~800MB memory. So 1GB isn't much.

1,5 to 2GB could be nice

pphilipko · #76 Post by **pphilipko** » Thu Oct 13, 2005 1:43 am

True, but the fact is that an upgrade from 512 to 1024 is a huge difference. We all know that the more memory there is, the better. I just want to clarify that the extra 512mb of memory DOES make a difference. Try using the same image you mentioned with only 512mb. Then try it with 1024. You'll notice a very, very, very, very big difference. I might as well say that that the difference from 1024 to 1536 is minimal...

YukYukLee · #77 Post by **YukYukLee** » Thu Oct 13, 2005 10:01 am

domi wrote:I think it will work, but your Bluetooth devices (eg. mobile phone) will have to be closer to your TP than with the built-in antenna.
-Dominique

Do you know where i can buy the antenna's and how to install it on my Thinkpad?

Fastest CPU for X31? + more RAM + 7200rpm HDD?

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