big RAM and fast HDD make a difference

[sherpa]

Hello,

just as FYI:
I did the reinstallation of my TP X31 yesterday {5 recov. CDs}
some of my observations{in comparison with the same process but with 512 MB ram and 4200 HDD}
1. new 7200 disk is really fast, even a bit louder but that is OK for me.
2. 1,25 GB RAM also helped I believe to that fast processing
3. installing of MS win updates from net {cca 230 MB} took about 30 minutes only, previously it was some 1,5 hours I assume.
4. system responses with just windows {xp sp2} installed is ultra speedy! click and you have the application on screen!
5. disk is not hotter than predecessor. {NHC and mobilemeter is installed but no changes done, only monitoring}

I am very delighted with the new setup. I think it was worth that upgrade. now I own a really small thin light mobile connective powerfull sexy pc .

however the HPA predesktop area was not installed from my CDs, but that could be as it was probably disabled in BIOS.
now I can boot WINXP only when it is disabled, in normal or secure mode I get 1810 error of disk layout.
hmmm IBM did not perform very smart here, but never mind. settings are so unclear.

knowing that reinstallation is not so long now I can do repeat it again these days. I will post news if I got through that later.

[tomh009]

Congrats on the upgrade -- your X31 is very similar to mine now. I do have 1.6 GHz, but that really doesn't make such a big difference most of the time, really only when running Photoshop.

With NHC, you can drop the CPU 6x voltage down to about 0.764V -- that alone will give you extra battery life, and make the X31 feel cooler.

[pianowizard]

2. 1,25 GB RAM also helped I believe to that fast processing

I wish my new TP570E could take so much memory! But amazingly, even with only 320MB PC100 (max supported), 500MHz PIII, and a 4200rpm HDD, it's still quite snappy and can multitask fairly well. I am now playing a video on YouTube, surfing this forum, checking Yahoo email and my institution's Webmail, and the system slows down only a tiny bit. Many people worry about new computers becoming obsolete within two to three years. This 570E was introduced in Feb 2000!

[losmeme]

Sherpa; Congrats, I have a similar X31 that I upgraded as you did, nice! My predesktop area did not install either (or doesn't work on bootup) but at least I have the disk set.

Piano, think of how awesome that 570E will be when SSD drives become mainstream! I have a mint 570E I am holding onto just for that day!

[JHEM]

I wish my new TP570E could take so much memory! But amazingly, even with only 320MB PC100 (max supported), 500MHz PIII, and a 4200rpm HDD, it's still quite snappy and can multitask fairly well.

Put a 7200RPM HD in it Kwoon, the result will astonish you.

James

[pianowizard]

Put a 7200RPM HD in it Kwoon, the result will astonish you.

My R50p has a 60GB 7200rpm HDD, when I upgrade it, I will transfer it to my 570E.

[sherpa]

and I forgot to mention that hibernation and resume is now also much faster, but I would await faster resume, it is not 2x faster maybe only 1,6 times faster than before.

and I cannot help myself but with that new disk I seem to feel my X31 more solid and stable and handy....but that is only the "new" feel. it feels clicky loud sometimes now but is fast reactive which is the factor for me.

how much battery minutes do you save on undervolting the X31 1.4GHZ? 10-20-50-100?

my record on R40 with CPU minimum {some 287 MHZ speed of centrino pentium 1,3GHz, no underclocking, just intel speedstep regulation automatic, yes I was surprised too with this system info} lcd total minimum with fresh new original IBM battery typing a letter in MS word was some 8hours 22 minutes till dead end. and I think wifi was on but no wifi net nearby. I was really amazed that time.

[tomh009]

how much battery minutes do you save on undervolting the X31 1.4GHZ? 10-20-50-100?

My rough guess is maybe 30 minutes, but it really depends on your usage. The temperature drop was an even bigger factor for me.

[wilsonhs]

yep, i suppose that a newer HDD and more ram do a big boost for TPs

My X21 has changeed to a FUJITSU 30GB hdd replacing the dead IBM 20GB, they are both 4200 rmp,but dunt know y the loading and saving process =has been enhanced much.
Also, i transferd a 128MB SD module from my dead ACER notebook to my X21, and upgraded to 256mb, wow fantastic, the speed is much faster, although cant be compared with my 2.6Ghz HTP4 desktop with 1.1GB ram , but simple word processing, MSNing and Net surfing is really enough already.

I hope this X21 can serve me till 2 years later when i am going to University and get a new TP

[pianowizard]

My X21 has changeed to a FUJITSU 30GB hdd replacing the dead IBM 20GB, they are both 4200 rmp,but dunt know y the loading and saving process =has been enhanced much.

Probably because you did a clean install of Windows when you bought the 30GB HDD. Also, data density is a little higher on the 30GB drive.

[wilsonhs]

My X21 has changeed to a FUJITSU 30GB hdd replacing the dead IBM 20GB, they are both 4200 rmp,but dunt know y the loading and saving process =has been enhanced much.

Probably because you did a clean install of Windows when you bought the 30GB HDD. Also, data density is a little higher on the 30GB drive.

i dunt refute this reason coze it must be one of the reason
but as i observe, after the upgrade, clean install of windows is comparativly faster than clean install on the Old 20GB
maybe the old one has lower cache or worn out due to 6 years working.

[sherpa]

Hey,
I just made a short deep search on hitachigst.com and found that my original 40 GB HDD 4200 rpm had only 2 MB of cache, so I believe this was a put back at my former times.
Now I feel the power of 8MB and 7200 rpm and that makes a noticeable wow difference {and you do not need vista for the wow}.
really recommend 8 or 16 MB cache for fast access.