z61t and maximum ram

[Crazycow]

hello mates

a while back, i had made some questions
about the z61t, i am still thankful for your answers but now that i will procced to actualy upgrade my machine i got rather confused again.

half people said that z61t can use all of the 4gb ram if it has a x64 able proccesor such as the t7400 and a x64 OS, the other half said that due to the chipset the z61t cannot use more than 3gb.

i made my search on the forum, and in this thread and this thread people say that its not possible to actualy use more than 3gb.

but is that the case?
my model, the z61t 9443 97G, as i found here is based on the Mobile Intel 945GM Express Chipset.
according to intels datasheet (pg 23) , the 945GM can handle 4 gbs.

so what is the case?
different models have different chipsets? eg model 9442 could potentialy have a different chipset from model 9443?
meaning that some can handle less ram and some more?

does anyone knows the actual memory i can use for my 9443 model? and if it can only be 3gbs then why? since apparently its not a mater of the chipset.

thank you for your time in advance

[craigmontHunter]

The Z61 is the same generation as the T60, which only supports 3gb ram. Even if you can use a x64 os, you can only use 3gb ram. Unless you have a x64 program, I would reccomend sticking with x86.

[Crazycow]

Intel says here that chipset 945GM can have a max memory of 4gb
on the datasheet it says up to 4gb as well.

and as the guy said on the other post

Maximum memory capacity may require the replacement of standard component with largest supported component available. On ThinkPad systems with an Intel 945GM, 945PM, GM965, or PM965 chipset, even though it is possible to physically install 4GB of memory, the actual amount of memory addressable by an operating system will be limited to 3GB. This limitation does not exist with the Intel GM965 and PM965 with the 64-bit operating systems Windows XP Professional 64-bit and Windows Vista 64-bit Editions.

but that is the issue, the chipset can have a max memory of 4gb, the socket can have a x64 core 2 duo proccessor, and i can install a x64 OS

i don't understand
why does the z61 support only 3gb ram then?

The Z61 is the same generation as the T60, which only supports 3gb ram. Even if you can use a x64 os, you can only use 3gb ram. Unless you have a x64 program, I would reccomend sticking with x86.

i don't have a x64 program, i was just trying to figure out what i will upgrade on my laptop since i decided to stick with it instead of buying a new one, and memory is one of the factors in the upgrade cpu question

[craigmontHunter]

The desktop version of the 945 supports 4gb. the laptops only support 3. If you put 4gb in, you will get the dual channel speed advantage (In my experience, only helpfull for intergrated graphics), but can only see 3gb.

[Crazycow]

haven't thought about the dual channel before, ty

but both the sheet and the site clearly says mobile... :S

[ajkula66]

Let's put it this way:

No ThinkPad or this era - and I've owned just about every single one of them - will utilize more than 3GB regardless of OS.

They will "see" 4GB in BIOS, but if you were to run the memory test from the machine itself, only 3GB will get accounted for.

In my experience, any 32-bit OS will run great on any of these machines, my preference is still along the lines of XP, but W7 is fast enough as well.

[ThinkRob]

Let's put it this way:

No ThinkPad or this era - and I've owned just about every single one of them - will utilize more than 3GB regardless of OS.

George is right.

3 GB is all you get, and it's the hardware's fault. 64-bit OSs only see 3 GB, same as 32-bit ones.