Merom processors in IBM Thinkpads

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Saml01 · #1 Post by **Saml01** » Sun Jul 23, 2006 10:24 pm

I ordered an X60s last friday using my Deutsche Bank corporate perks system with the back to school sale which knocked 750 off the total purchase price. Its a great price for everything I get, my friends tell me it cant get any better then that.

But after doing some research it seems like the Merom AKA Core Duo 2 is supposed to come out soon. Speculations say within a month.

My dilemma is this. Do I keep the deal I got and go with the x60 with the core duo or cancel my order and wait for the Merom.

Everyone is telling me that the 30% performance boost and 64bit wont be utilized in the x60 for what I plan to do anyway so the extra power and the potential of extra money spent wont make it sweeter then what I have now.

I know I shouldnt chase technology because that is impossible and have tought myself a while ago not too, but when one is so close to the release of new technology I cant help it.

Personally I think ill be fine with the regular Core Duo, but im more curious if they will redesign the whole computer or not.

My other option is to get the laptop, hopefully sometime in the first week of august, estimated ship date is the 15th, and then if nothing comes out within my 30 day return policy ill keep it but if not ill return it for the better if the price/options is better.

What do you guys think I should do?

Saml01 · #2 Post by **Saml01** » Sun Jul 23, 2006 10:25 pm

Oh and its a great forum you guys have here, for a second I thought I wasnt going to be allowed to post when I got the link saying I have to wait for authorization. But its great to be part of the club.

jjesusfreak01 · #3 Post by **jjesusfreak01** » Sun Jul 23, 2006 11:11 pm

My T60 is dirty stinkin fast, I must say. It runs Battlefield 2 well, even with a bad graphics processor. Remember in the realm of technology, there will always be something better coming out in the future. Unless the next gen is coming within a month or so, you really ought to ignore it and consider if the current generation serves your needs. If it does, go for it, and dont worry, just because something better comes out doesnt mean your current setup is outdated. Good luck, either way I am sure you will end up with a good setup.

kulivontot · #4 Post by **kulivontot** » Sun Jul 23, 2006 11:42 pm

even if merom is coming out within a month (which means you will be able to actually get them in like two months), Lenovo most likely will not do a complete re-design with the T60 or X60 soon. they just launched both of these models less than a year ago, so it may be a while before they update the models for core 2 duo, especially since the difference in technology is somewhat minimal. I would suggest going ahead and buying a regular core duo notebook now. Also, if you are really worried about getting the latest and greatest technology, merom is pin-compatible with yonah, meaning you could technically upgrade the processor to core 2 duo yourself. However, this assumes that lenovo release a proper bios update to support the new processor.

Duo Secundus · #5 Post by **Duo Secundus** » Mon Jul 24, 2006 5:13 am

kulivontot wrote:Also, if you are really worried about getting the latest and greatest technology, merom is pin-compatible with yonah, meaning you could technically upgrade the processor to core 2 duo yourself. However, this assumes that lenovo release a proper bios update to support the new processor.

Unfortunately, the OP cannot do that, because the CPU in his X60s is soldered in.

69

Saml01 · #6 Post by **Saml01** » Mon Jul 24, 2006 6:33 am

Yea, that is true. I did some reading around, the cpu is soldered on for space reasons.

I am talking to people and they are saying that Lenovo is an early adopter and will most likely release a laptop with the new processor almost immedietely as its available. IBM on the other hand would have been slow to transition.

Im thinking of just calling my rep today and talking to him, im curious to see what he would say about this issue. Maybe I can sqeeze some info out of him.

Aroc · #7 Post by **Aroc** » Mon Jul 24, 2006 8:37 am

We're probably about 6 months away from seeing the replacement models for the X60 and X60s (X61 and X61s?) shipping with any real availability. This is based upson availability of prior models once the new CPUs were reported to be "available." The new dual-core 64-bit CPU appears to be the "beast" we've all been waiting for. But the Yonah and even Dothan are no slouch my any means.

I'm not sure how long you can wait, though.

Saml01 · #8 Post by **Saml01** » Mon Jul 24, 2006 11:40 am

Aroc wrote:We're probably about 6 months away from seeing the replacement models for the X60 and X60s (X61 and X61s?) shipping with any real availability. This is based upson availability of prior models once the new CPUs were reported to be "available." The new dual-core 64-bit CPU appears to be the "beast" we've all been waiting for. But the Yonah and even Dothan are no slouch my any means.

I'm not sure how long you can wait, though.

I need this computer for class in september so i cant really wait long.

Once again I raise the question to myself "Do I really need the extra juice in a machine like this". I answer NO, but then i say "BUT I WANT MORE POWER". And this equates to wasted money.

But really what I want is to save as much money as possible which is why I am sticking with my order, its still the best deal you can get today for everything I got.

kulivontot · #9 Post by **kulivontot** » Mon Jul 24, 2006 8:16 pm

You don't need the juice. spend the money on more ram or a faster hard drive and you will notice that improvement like 10 times more than you would ever notice from a small processor upgrade.

christopher_wolf · #10 Post by **christopher_wolf** » Mon Jul 24, 2006 8:20 pm

kulivontot wrote:You don't need the juice. spend the money on more ram or a faster hard drive and you will notice that improvement like 10 times more than you would ever notice from a small processor upgrade.

Yeah; in the order of RAM upgrade, then HDD uprgrade.

Get's you a great deal of improvement for a given amount of money rather than a totally new CPU with a step up in GHz whilst everything else stays, more or less, the same.

Saml01 · #11 Post by **Saml01** » Mon Jul 24, 2006 10:32 pm

christopher_wolf wrote:
kulivontot wrote:You don't need the juice. spend the money on more ram or a faster hard drive and you will notice that improvement like 10 times more than you would ever notice from a small processor upgrade.
Yeah; in the order of RAM upgrade, then HDD uprgrade.

Get's you a great deal of improvement for a given amount of money rather than a totally new CPU with a step up in GHz whilst everything else stays, more or less, the same.

The computer is already pretty decked out. Aside from getting a 7200 rpm harddrive nothing to add to it. I would get the 7200rpm in all honesty since I have always had 7200rpm drives in my previous laptops (700m and X1000) but reading the numbers comparing the 7200rpm to 5400 rpm sata drives the difference in access time is like 2 ms which makes it somewhat pointless especially for what I need it for.

This might actually be the first machine I wont touch.

Question though. I got a free 512mb stick from them. but I dont know if it will be installed into the machine or will come seperatley, does anyone know?

coolsilicon · #12 Post by **coolsilicon** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 5:56 am

My new T60 is supposed to be delivered today. After researching the net for almost every single bit of information on Merom, Conroe, Core 2, after digging through every benchmark I could get I decided not to wait for a CPU that would provide a ~20% increase in processing speed, EM64T and some other features over the current Core Duo technology. I just checked my horoscope and it reads: "Reconsider an investment" - Ha! THAT'S funny, isn't it?

Saml01 · #13 Post by **Saml01** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 10:24 pm

coolsilicon wrote:My new T60 is supposed to be delivered today. After researching the net for almost every single bit of information on Merom, Conroe, Core 2, after digging through every benchmark I could get I decided not to wait for a CPU that would provide a ~20% increase in processing speed, EM64T and some other features over the current Core Duo technology. I just checked my horoscope and it reads: "Reconsider an investment" - Ha! THAT'S funny, isn't it?

That is nuts. what are you gonna do?

But be carefull if you have a Girlfriend, that could also mean a time investment

ehsu · #14 Post by **ehsu** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 11:20 pm

But how do you improve on an excellent mobile chip anyway? Unlike the desktop CPUs where there was a lot of room for improvement, Intel's mobile CPUs were in excellent shape already. Though the jump in performance isn't as massive as the desktop Core 2 Duo, the improvements Intel has put into their new laptop processors is significant and maintains their dominance in the mobile space.

See Merom review here.

christopher_wolf · #15 Post by **christopher_wolf** » Thu Jul 27, 2006 11:56 pm

Saml01 wrote: But be carefull if you have a Girlfriend, that could also mean a time investment

I follow the advice given by a Talking Heads song; Girlfriend is Better.

Strongly Recommended. (and *no fair* calling your Thinkpad your Girlfriend!)

Saml01 · #16 Post by **Saml01** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 8:51 am

christopher_wolf wrote:
Strongly Recommended. (and *no fair* calling your Thinkpad your Girlfriend!)

Now tell me about your sig.

Merom processors in IBM Thinkpads

Merom processors in IBM Thinkpads

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