Thinkpads Forum

Hi, I'd appreciate if someone knows any of the answers to the following questions for my new T400 :

1. Do T400s support PC8500 running in dual channel mode ? Mine come with 2GB (single dimm) so if I add a second one .. will I see a jump in performance ?

2. Somebody tried with NHC or other program to see temps and / or undervolt the processor ? which one works ?

3. Anyone knows which is the PLL for the clock ? (to see if setfsb or clockgen.. work). I know it's not recommended, but knowing how cool this notebook runs, it *may* have some headroom.

4. Lenovo System update.. any experience with automatic updates and T400s ? does it work OK for this series ?

5. Anyone knows if the VGA output has TV support also ? (there are some adapter cables that cheaply will allow s-video connection if this support exists).

Regards

1. Do T400s support PC8500 running in dual channel mode ? Mine come with 2GB (single dimm) so if I add a second one .. will I see a jump in performance ?

Yes. And no: my understanding is that dual channel does not significantly increase performance.

2. Somebody tried with NHC or other program to see temps and / or undervolt the processor ? which one works ?

Well, I'm using Linux, where linux-PHC works with my P8400 (but reports funny values for the vids). I'd imagine that RMClock would work ok under Windows. And for temps and fan speed control: TPFanControl.

4. Lenovo System update.. any experience with automatic updates and T400s ? does it work OK for this series ?

I guess you didn't hear: TVSU is defunct. It may be replaced with something better in May...

Sorry I can't help with your other two questions.

FTC wrote:Hi, I'd appreciate if someone knows any of the answers to the following questions for my new T400 :

1. Do T400s support PC8500 running in dual channel mode ? Mine come with 2GB (single dimm) so if I add a second one .. will I see a jump in performance ?

Yes dual channel is supported. To make it work you must install a second memory module that matches the first one exactly, in terms of specs. Both must be the same speed, size etc. Brand is not important. You will indeed notice quite an improvement in speed by doing this. The only exception would be if you're only doing the most basic of tasks in which case you would not need that much total ram. Anything that taxes the system will run much faster on dual channel. Its a very worthwhile upgrade, especially with ram prices being so low presently.
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Cheers
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Ad (1): If you are going to use Vista or Win 7, adding another 2 GB may noticeably improve system performance. Not due to the dual channel, but rather to the raw amount of available system memory. With Vista and, subsequently, it´s not anymore the free memory in the task manager that counts but the cached one. Vista (and Win 7) just like to cache lots of stuff, they use memory much more effectively than XP. For example, if you burn CDs/DVDs with Nero or you copy files on the same HD or from one HD to another HD, all these files are too cached into memory during the operation (as far as there is free caching memory).

Cheers,

Marin

Thanks for the replies guys, I just ordered some additional memory.. once it arrives I will post some benchmark comparisions here so that we have an idea of the improvement.

As for the dual channel: best case 8-10% faster in memory intensive tasks compared to non-dual channel. As for improvements from pure memory amount, I´m not aware of any utility that would capture any effects from this in a reasonable manner. Keep us updated

Marin85 wrote:For example, if you burn CDs/DVDs with Nero or you copy files on the same HD or from one HD to another HD, all these files are too cached into memory during the operation (as far as there is free caching memory)

This is a very good point which I had overlooked, especially as you cited with Nero, an app I use a lot. So in this particular scenario (one of many actually) the benefit of more memory is quite advantageous.

Cheers...

I have never used other burning software than Nero (tried once Sonic that came preinstalled on my ThinkPad, was a complete disaster...), so I can´t really comment on how it would use system memory in Vista and Win 7, but as far as I know, Nero implements some specific buffer technology (forgot the exact name) that seems to team well with Vista caching in general. The latest versions of Nero 8 (haven´t upgraded to 9 yet, actually I don´t see any reason to) burn DVDs quite fast (8x is max theoretical for my ThinkPad). Now, here is a tricky observation: scenario is burning bigger files (like 500-1500 MB, for instance movies) as data on a DVD, UDF format; if you try to burn all of them at once, the time it will take to accomplish this would be longer than if you burn them in parts, i.e. open a multi-session and burn the files one by one. I guess that´s because in this way one makes sure there is always enough free caching memory, so it´s easier to reach ~ max theoretical burn speed. When burning all files at once, the buffer doesn´t seem to cope well enough with the whole size (say around 4.2 GB), it constantly has to recache parts of data, and at this times one could observe drops in the actual burning speed. But that´s just a guess

Cheers,

Marin

Odd because I put my laptop's specs into the Crucial Memory Finder tool and it came back with some answers saying that the T400 doesn't support dual-channel. It's very tempting to buy an extra 2GB module and place it inline. Is there any way to tell how many DIMM slots are being used without removing the keyboard?

I've also seen with DDR3 memory sometimes things say triple-channel, could somebody please explain this to me? Thanks.

Dead1nside wrote:Odd because I put my laptop's specs into the Crucial Memory Finder tool and it came back with some answers saying that the T400 doesn't support dual-channel. It's very tempting to buy an extra 2GB module and place it inline. Is there any way to tell how many DIMM slots are being used without removing the keyboard?

I've also seen with DDR3 memory sometimes things say triple-channel, could somebody please explain this to me? Thanks.

In reverse order: Intel's new Quad Core i7 processor for desktops uses triple channel memory. It's HT technology provides 8 threads.
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As far as Crucial goes, while I've used their memory exclusively for years, somewhat recently there has been a shift, and they are no longer as reliable in their accuracy of information provided. The finder tool on the site is no longer reliable. When calling in they are less concerned about the customer, and more focused on selling what they have in stock. So I say buyer beware from first hand experience. Know your machines memory specs and forget using the finder tool. Where once if they made a mistake they would happily issue an RMA & send out the correct ram, now they throw up road blocks and excuses.
And yes it certainly supports dual channel
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The only way to determine how many slots are being used is when you first configure the computer in the "customize & buy" pages of Lenovos
site. Or to look at the build list that comes with the computer upon unpacking it.
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Cheers...

Thanks archer6 for answering my questions.

In addition to what archer6 already mentioned:

1) I have recently seen several threads in the forum that indicate that Crucial Memory finder as well as other similar "finders" don´t work properly for the newer platforms (and not sure if they do for the older platforms either...). In any case I wouldn´t trust them, particularly not for buying decisions.

2) There are many utilities that can tell you how many memory slots have been already occupied. I think the most simple, free utility is CPU-Z, just check out the SPD tab -> Memory Slot selection.

Cheers,

Marin

Hi,

Just to provide some feedback. I got finally my additional DDR3 PC8500 2GB SODIMM and the system is now successfully running in Dual Channel, symmetric mode. Since it is win XP 32 bits, only 3GB are being used (this was already expected), and regarding performance, the sandra memory throughput score test went from 5615 to 7278, and specially for graphics tests the gains have been noticeable, for instance, 3DMark 2001 went from 6.3K points to 7.78K (26.4% improvement), and 3DMark 2003 went from 2180 to 2511 points (15% improvement). Other intensive tasks such as Super_pi 1M just decreased from taking 21 to 20 seconds (around 5%). All in all, I think it is a fair improvement given how cheap these dimms are nowadays.

Is there actually any way to run Super PI in 2 (or more threads)? I´ve got the impression that it can run only in one thread, which means it always uses only one of the cores of my cpu...

Is there actually any way to run Super PI in 2 (or more threads)?

Not that I know of... you are right. SuperPI is monothread.. you can always start the program twice though... if all you want to see is how the run time can be almost mantained by two instances due to the two cores...