What to do...64MB 1680x1040 vs. 128MB 1280x800

[SatDoug]

Hi All:
With the current Z60m promotion of $200 rebate from Lenova, I think I am ready to take the plunge. Everything else being equal, I can get the the 2529 E8U for $1328 before rebate, and the 2529 R3U for $75 more. The R3U offers a 128 MB video with lower resolution. Many reviews I have read state the 1680x1040 is fanastic, which according to the Lenova site is the default for the E8U .I would think that the 128MB of the R3U could handle the larger resolution, but according to the Lenova site, it is 1280x800. I may do "some" gaming, so I am torn. Wouldn't the 128 MB be more "Vista ready" because of the extra memory? Any advice is appreciated!

[christopher_wolf]

If you do some gaming and higher resolution for everything else is a higher priority, then go with the 64MB; higher on-board memory doesn't always guarantee better performance in a game, that usually comes about because of bus improvements and extra pipelines. It is a good thing to have more physical VRAM, but with ATI's HyperMemory, you will get a good dose of performance rom it (256MB listed as VRAM for the 64MB, mainly optimized system memory on top of the 64 physical VRAM; so it would be better to get a large amount of memory and then the 64MB ATI if you so choose).

My T43 supports Vista and the Aero glass interface just fine with 64MB, as well. Vista states that you need a "128MB video card" to run the Aero glass interfacel I suspect, though, that is just a standard benchmarking they did on a system that didn't have either a really fast processor or 1GB of memory, most of those specs are met and exceeded by most systems nowadays, including the Thinkpads. It is more about how well the system acts as a whole rather than depending on one or two stats to determine whether or not you are "Vista ready."

HTH

[SatDoug]

GREAT advice...thank you so much...you really cleared up some of my questions. Now, if I may...one more quick question (as I fell as if I found a pro)...when it does come time to go to Vista, I'm assuming of course I will loose the IBM ThinkPad utilities, etc. that are accessed via the 'Think' button when the hard drive has to be formatted for a clean install of Vista. Would IBM (Lenova) offer a way (or is there currently a way) to get those apps back. As I (think) they are on a special part of the drive, how would one get that back when installing (any) version of Windows? Many thanks!