3gb or 4gb?

I've noticed everyone who got the 4gb RAM had to have their mobo replaced, so I was wondering if it's just better to get 3gb? Also, does XP recognize and run well with 3gb or should I stick with Vista?

 

I'd say that's a bit of a stretch. What you are planning on doing with it should determine how much memory you need. XP doesn't need as much. 3-4GB is probably overkill for Office and internet.

 

You will need a 64-bit O/S to be able to use the full 4GB and you will probably only see 3GB (or maybe a bit more) out of 4GB if you have a 32-bit O/S. I would therefore suggest getting the 3GB. The asymmetric RAM configuration should not hit the memory bandwidth - see this thread.

John

 

I'll be doing a lot of CAD and 3d modeling work.

 

Then 3 Gb is more than enough. I also do alot of CAD work and I never see my memory usage above 2 Gb although I have 3 Gb of RAM (and I'm using Vista). The 1 gig more when using 4 Gb won't be used, not even in heavy applications.

 

so now my question is what OS should I go with?

 

Vista by all means. Vista is a larger and more mature OS than XP it is also the center for current development. In some cases, it's slower but I'd totally recommend vista and I'd recommend that you get a bootable vista disk from a friend. I don't believe that's illegal since it's your product key that is important. The bootable disk will support exact restoration of your entire PC with Vista Complete PC Backup.

 

Perhaps this is just semantics but I would say that XP is the more "mature" OS at this point in time and that Vista is still quite immature. Perhaps after SP1 or SP2 for Vista is released, we can properly call it "mature."

That said, I agree with the second part of your statement that Vista is the center for current development and also the conclusion that Vista is what one should order with a new PC, especially since many (but not all) versions of Vista come with downgrade rights, so by ordering Vista, one also gets the right to a licensed install of XP, if they later decide that they are not ready for Vista for whatever reason.

 

I ordered with 3GB and had my motherboard replaced.... but I was having problems with 1GB, 2GB (2x1GB and 1x2GB), and 3GB. Order with as much memory as you need and can use with your OS... Actually, order as little as possible and upgrade aftermarket for a lot less. Prices from Lenovo have gotten a little better, but they are still more than double aftermarket RAM prices.

 

4GB no problems here with Vista 64-bit reports all 4 GB available.

 

Your Vista 64 bit is what exactly? Home, Ultimate,etc... Also the only 64bit I saw on the lenovo site was Business. What exactly is the difference?

 

Business 64-bit. It is just a 64-bit O/S versus 32-bit O/S. The 64-bit core has some enhanced security, ability to address large quantities of memory, but at the loss of some compatibility.

 

Now does the 64bit OS come with the 32 bit as well?

 

You can order the disks for a nominal charge, or you in my case it came with my Action Pack from Microsoft. (A subscription program for Microsoft Development Partners).

Phil

 

come on now, vista just came out, it will need at least 2 years to get to the level of XP (drivers, fixxes, support from third party software) .. Everybody I know hates Vista, lol.

I bought my t61 with XP Pro, and I got 2gb ram (cause it was cheap upgrade). With T7500 CPU, nVidia card, and 7200 RPM HDD, this computer rocks

 

Do you have a T61P with the Nvidia graphics or just a T61 with Intel graphics?

If you have the Intel graphics then I'm not surprised you didn't have any trouble.

The problem with 4gb is a KNOWN ISSUE now with the T61P models that have the Quadro 570M graphics. Lenovo is working on it, no fix yet but they have their engineers on it.

No point trying to down-play it ZaZ, Lenovo has confessed already that there is an issue with the T61P and 4gb of RAM. There's also a sticky now on the Thinkpads forums regarding this ever-more-common issue. There are more people reporting this problem every day.

 

I would have to agree with him, i had to switch back to xp just because of compatability issues. Not all CAD/3d modeling/rendering apps are supported in vista.. also the ones that are supported are not yet stable...

 

Well pertaining to this issue, it doesn't help to use XP. Many reports already have shown that this problem exists in XP as well as Vista. It has even been a problem in Linux. It doesn't matter what OS you have because it's a hardware issue. That's why replacing the motherboard has fixed it for some people.

Just wait for Lenovo to do their job and figure out the problem.

 

Here's the link to the sticky:

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=52633