32 bit vs 64 bit Windows 7 on t410

[msteudel]

Hey All,

Was wondering what the recommendations are on whether to go 32 or 64 bit when I upgrade to a t410?

I mainly work with Flash and Photoshop.

We also have some old printers and scanners I'm hoping to continue working with. Is there anyway to get 32bit drivers to work on a 64bit system?

MS

[spuddog]

It depends on how old the scanners/printers are. If you can find 64bit drivers you are ok. You definitely cannot use 32bit printer/scanner drivers with a 64bit Win7.

I have a perfectly good printer that works fine with my XP machines, but will not work with my Win7 64bit machine. But, I do like the fact you can use more that 3gb of ram, plus everything is moving towards 64bit. Keep in mind that if you install 32bit now and wish to move to 64bit later it will require a clean install from scratch.

Scott

[dsvochak]

old printers and scanners

Another question is whether there are 32bit drivers for your older equipment. I suggest you run the Windows 7 upgrade advisor on your current machine:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/window ... visor.aspx

If the scanners/printers are connected, you’ll get a pretty good idea what equipment (and/or software) will be problematic in either 32 or 64 bit Windows 7.

[archer6]

Another question is whether there are 32bit drivers for your older equipment. I suggest you run the Windows 7 upgrade advisor on your current machine:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/window ... visor.aspx

If the scanners/printers are connected, you’ll get a pretty good idea what equipment (and/or software) will be problematic in either 32 or 64 bit Windows 7.

This is an excellent suggestion. I've used this tool to check all my ThinkPads & found it to be very useful!
.
As I'm sure some of you have noticed, Lenovo is promoting their "EE" experience as offered on the new ThinkPads with Win 7 pre-loaded and highly optimized for Speed and Stability, as well as other benefits. After doing some research on this I decided to buy a new T510. It shipped yesterday so I expect to see it around mid week. It is configured with an i7 processor, 4GB ram (which I plan to upgrade to 8GB) and a 7200 rpm hard drive (which I plan to upgrade to the fastest available SSD). So it ought to be an interesting & fun project.
.
Cheers...

[msteudel]

Is upgrading to a SSD very difficult to do or is it like upgrading a regular laptop hd?

Also if I wanted to get more than 4gb should I just get the 2gb 1 dim option and then order a 4b stick from newegg or someplace?

[visionviper]

Is upgrading to a SSD very difficult to do or is it like upgrading a regular laptop hd?

Also if I wanted to get more than 4gb should I just get the 2gb 1 dim option and then order a 4b stick from newegg or someplace?

It's no different than replacing a normal hard drive. If you want 6gb of ram, then yes.

[archer6]

Is upgrading to a SSD very difficult to do or is it like upgrading a regular laptop hd?

Also if I wanted to get more than 4gb should I just get the 2gb 1 dim option and then order a 4b stick from newegg or someplace?

I installed two SSD's in my W500, the speed increase is amazing. As far as upgrading your memory, I would suggest you use your new ThinkPad for a month or so before you add memory. This will ensure that should any failure occur, you know its not due to the new memory you have installed. Problems caused by memory modules often are not obvious or easy to diagnose, that's why I follow the suggestion I've given here.
.
Enjoy!

[eecon]

I installed two SSD's in my W500, the speed increase is amazing. As far as upgrading your memory, I would suggest you use your new ThinkPad for a month or so before you add memory. This will ensure that should any failure occur, you know its not due to the new memory you have installed. Problems caused by memory modules often are not obvious or easy to diagnose, that's why I follow the suggestion I've given here.
.
Enjoy!

A quick followup question on memory modules pairing for Windows 7 64-bit .... I have a matched pair of lenovo supplied 2GB modules in my T61p T9300 WinXP 32-bit units (4GB total in each, of which about 3GB is actually utilized as expected) . CPU-Z correctly reports these modules to be running in dual channel symmetric mode under WinXP Pro 32 bit.

Does Windows 7 64-bit benfit much from matched size memory modules running in dual channel symmetric mode, or is the performance difference small as previously discussed here many times in other forum threads specifically regarding WinXP and Vista (32-bit vs 64-bit)?