Thinkpads Forum

I've X61 (7676-A13) with Core 2 Duo T7500. I'm currently using XP but thinking about moving to Vista X64. I do have the following question regarding this

1) Is it possible to add Intel Turbo Memory to my machine? Are there any lenovo part number for Intel Turbo Memory and instruction for adding Turbo Memory?

2) I know that Intel Turbo Memory has cause many problem for XP. But how about Vista X64. Are there any benefit of Turbo Memory under Vista?

3) My X61 has the maximum RAM @ 4GB? I learn that Vista x64 can handle much more memory than that. So my question is that the current maximum ram on X61 is limited to design or availabity of larger RAM? If there were 4GB stick available, does it mean I can expand the Ram to 8GB?

Thank you all for your info.

I believe it is possible to add the Turbo Memory as long as you do not have a WWAN card. The part number for the Turbo Memory for X61 is 42T0907 according to http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... R-62906#15. The cost of the part is $79.36.

There is a benefit of Turbo Memory under Vista; Vista can use it for ReadyBoost, a system which caches disk content for faster access. You can read more about it at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/produc ... boost.mspx.

The X61 has maximum RAM of 4GB; there are no 4GB memory modules available for laptops.

kookatt wrote:...I'm currently using XP but thinking about moving to Vista X64....
1) Is it possible to add Intel Turbo Memory to my machine?

Probably Torbo Memory and Vista 64 work equally well (or bad) together as with Vista 32. I don't think it makes sense, though:
Turbo Memory was designed to overcome limited memory situations. E.g. an old system with "only" 1GB of RAM, but with a free USB port could be made a bit faster with the help of a memory stick.
Now the only real advantage of Vista 64 is support of more than ca. 3.5 GB memory, which is anything but a limited memory situation. To the best of my knowledge you wouldn't see anything at all in terms of speed boost in such a system if you add turbo memory.

Regards, Martin

tinue wrote: I don't think it makes sense, though:
Turbo Memory was designed to overcome limited memory situations. E.g. an old system with "only" 1GB of RAM, but with a free USB port could be made a bit faster with the help of a memory stick.
Now the only real advantage of Vista 64 is support of more than ca. 3.5 GB memory, which is anything but a limited memory situation. To the best of my knowledge you wouldn't see anything at all in terms of speed boost in such a system if you add turbo memory.

I think there are some misconceptions about turbo memory and its uses. Turbo memory can be designated for 1GB of Readyboost, 1GB Readydrive, or 512MB for each. I think the Turbo memory also gets used at boot (through Readyboot - no "s"), which provides a cache of regularly used files.

This webpage has one of the most thorough descriptions of the various features Vista added for performance:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/maga ... 62480.aspx

This page has one of the best analyses of the features:
http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=3009&p=2

As far as flash-based memory goes, you'll find nothing faster than the Turbo Memory card (except an ssd drive). The fastest random read speed I got was 57626 KB/sec and the fastest sequential write speed I got was 13295 KB/sec.

Readydrive absolutely benefits the computer's battery life when you're not engaged in harddrive intensive tasks and the drive can spin down for longer.

Readyboost still improves performance slightly, but not as much as if you had 512MB of RAM and added 1GB of turbo memory. But, until the data you need is cached in system memory, Readyboost's amazing random read performance should speed up initial load time.

Readyboot should also benefit from turbo memory, speeding up boot times slightly. The system can draw data from wherever it's most conveniently located.

Plus, if all these things don't sell you on TM, you can turn it into a 1GB drive. Once its being used for readyboost, you can assign it a drive letter, disable or reduce the readyboost cache, and then use it for other cache files or whatever you want. I use it for partial readyboost and to store my OneNote cache file (OneNote will constantly spin-up the harddrive if the cache is on HD, and you can't put its cache on a removable drive).

kookatt wrote:1) Is it possible to add Intel Turbo Memory to my machine? Are there any lenovo part number for Intel Turbo Memory and instruction for adding Turbo Memory?

You should probably check to see if you have an actual slot to put the card in. In the past, Lenovo didn't necessarily install a second slot on the board if you didn't order something that went in the slot. You can get the hardware manual, remove the keyboard and plastic cover, and see if there is another slot next to your wireless card.

If you do have an empty slot, you might be able to get the card cheaper than $80:
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?s ... caid=17902

I just don't know if it will be accepted by the BIOS or not. I would doubt they would be as restrictive about a turbo memory card as they are about wireless devices. Who knows.