Thinkpads Forum

I currently own a T60 2GHz C2D with 2gb ram and discreet graphics (ATI Mobility, forget the number, maybe 1400?) and am considering upgrading to a W510 with either a 720 or 820 processor and at least 4gb ram, and am wondering just how much faster it will feel doing day to day computing tasks such surfing with multiple tabs/windows, ripping CD's, watching DVD's and videos (including HD content), and possibly some video editing as well. Back in '07 when I purchased the T60, I was happy with the build quality and ergonomics of the computer, but very underwhelmed by the performance, even after doing a clean install of Vista. From eveything I hear, Vista is largel to blame, and any computer with Windows 7 should be considerably faster than one with Vista. Still, I'm afraid that when I first use the W510, it will still seem slower than I want.

Is there any feedback you guys can give on just how mih a performance bump there is and how noticeable it will be under normal use? FYI I'm leaning towards the 820. Should be night and day between this and my old laptop, right?

quickbrownfox wrote:Should be night and day between this and my old laptop, right?

I guess it would depend on what you're doing. Office, Media and Internet are not very CPU intensive. The better CPU probably won't make a huge difference. Anything you do that's CPU intensive, like the video encoding, the newer machine will have a clear advantage, especially since they're quad core machines. Probably the biggest plus with the W510 for general usage is it can use a SSD, which offer much better latency and throughput. The T60 is a SATA I machine. Some drives like the Hitcahi 7k500 can hit 95MBps, which is getting close to SATA I limit of around 120MBps.

I use an intel X25-m (gen 1) 80gb SSD disk in my T60p. While it is limited to 150 mb/s sata 1 speeds, it certainly is a performance boost compared to any mechanical harddrive. With the same drive in my W700 I can get close to 200 mb/s but tbh I cannot feel this difference in everyday tasks.

For the tasks you described upgrade your harddrive to an intel X25-m drive and enjoy a much better performance for the things you do, than what simply upgrading to a w510 with ordinary harddisk would provide.

I have the W700 quad core as reference , and for everyday tasks there is little performance improvement to speak of. Media converting, photoshop work, music production and gaming - that is another story.

Uhh forgot - yes Windows 7 is another potential performance boost just waiting for you. I skipped Vista all together, but I am still baffled when I see what a "stock vista" installation does to even descent machines, rendering them virtually useles.

Like san said, upgrade to SSD and Windows 7. You can also upgrade to 4GB of RAM and replace your CPU with 64-bit Core2Duo. For surfing multiple tabs, consider blocking flash.

I'll second/third the SDD/Win7 combo.

I've upgraded my W500 from Vista64/4GB ram to a Crucial CT128M255 (a middle of the road performer) and the change has been epic. Probably more of a real-world difference than moving from my old T40P to the W500 last year. Next stop, doubling the ram

I'm afraid that when I first use the W510, it will still seem slower than I want.

Wouldn't that always be the case?

Utwig wrote:You can also upgrade to 4GB of RAM and replace your CPU with 64-bit Core2Duo.

T60 supports max. 3GB of RAM, even with a 64-bit CPU (which he already has BTW) and a 64-bit OS.