X30: how much RAM can I plug in & what is the HDD speed?

[mgo]

I bought a used X30 and it seems to work quite well, but is slower than I prefer due to just 300 or so mb of RAM. What is the max RAM I can use on that machine and does anybody have any sticks for sale? It is running XP with no problems.

Also, what is the usual HDD spindle speed for this machine? 4200?

I wouldn't spend much time with a smaller slower machine like this but it came with a spare keyboard and the screen is bright and clear, so it does have some potential.

The dock works fine and the USB is just 1.1 but I use firewire for backups and imaging with it which is plenty fast enough.

Any help and comments are appreciated.

[ryengineer]

1. You can put up to 1GB (2 x 512 MB) of memory. Thinkpad X30 supports 144-pin PC133 (133MHz).

2. The default HDD installed by IBM was 4200 rpm.

[mgo]

1. You can put up to 1GB (2 x 512 MB) of memory. Thinkpad X30 supports 144-pin PC133 (133MHz).

2. The default HDD installed by IBM was 4200 rpm.

Sincere thanks. I'll ask around on this forum to see if anybody has some of that RAM for sale.

[godling]

1. You can put up to 1GB (2 x 512 MB) of memory. Thinkpad X30 supports 144-pin PC133 (133MHz).

2. The default HDD installed by IBM was 4200 rpm.

Sincere thanks. I'll ask around on this forum to see if anybody has some of that RAM for sale.

Quick question: the manual for the x31 (I know you've got an x30) says it only takes 1GB RAM, but actually takes 2GB. Does anyone know if the x30 will take 2GB?

The spindle speed is indeed 4200rpm, but upgraded drives are available relatively cheap for 7200rpm, and the performance boost is quite noticable.

I've got 1.5GB on my x31, up from 512, and that alone was enough to improve performance significantly.

-J

[jamiphar]

Quick question: the manual for the x31 (I know you've got an x30) says it only takes 1GB RAM, but actually takes 2GB. Does anyone know if the x30 will take 2GB?

The X30 uses a PIII-M and its motherboard can only support 1GB. The X31 and X32 use the newer P-M's and mobo, and they can have up to 2GB.

[rkawakami]

Also note that we are talking about two different and incompatible types of memory. The X30 requires PC133 (SDR) modules while the X31 uses PC2100 (DDR) modules.

[miketoro]

I just put a 1gb RAM in my X30 (up from 512mb) and a 100gb 7,200 RPM Seagate drive in place of the factory installed 40gb Hitachi. The difference is huge. The startup time slashed in half (yet oddly enough the shut down is still slow).

The USB 1 and the poor graphics accelerator are the only real drags. The former can be solved with a PCMICA. (But like yourself I use firewire for most things.) The later ... well, it's not a machine for video work ...

[mpcook]

I just put a 1gb RAM in my X30 (up from 512mb) and a 100gb 7,200 RPM Seagate drive in place of the factory installed 40gb Hitachi. The difference is huge. The startup time slashed in half (yet oddly enough the shut down is still slow).

I had a 1GB 7200 X30 for a while, and it would run at a pretty good clip. Probably faster than my X32 does now, which is all bogged down with software anymore.

Mike