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Review: Vista 64 Bit and Lenovo T61P

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Over the past week, I have had the pleasure of seeing how Vista is supposed to run.

I have been saddled with a horrible machine and plagued by display driver problems with it.  It ran slower than any other machine that I have worked with, and machines with only 1 GB RAM outperformed my old notebook that had 2 GB RAM in it. 

I had enough and finally got a Lenovo T61P with 4 GB RAM in it, and I am running Vista Ultimate 64 bit.  Holy smokes. 

I am finally able to run DreamScene (animated desktop background) without it completely taxing my machine.  I can watch a video, compile in Visual Studio 2008, and have SQL Server 2008 running in the background without any problems.  I even have a VPC open in Virtual PC 2007 that has 2 GB RAM allocated to it, and my host OS seems not to care at all.  In fact, I even have the Vista Sidebar open, I even have a few gadgets running on it... never could have that running in the past, especially not with a VPC.

The point is that the machine is working flawlessly and I haven't had a single issue with applications running on 64 bit Vista.  In fact, it is by far the best Windows experience I have ever had.

Comments

  • Anonymous
    May 29, 2008
    PingBack from http://lostdriveblog.com/2008/05/30/review-vista-64-bit-and-lenovo-t61p/

  • Anonymous
    June 08, 2008
    I have a T61p - but it shipped with the 32-bit version of Vista - I have access the the 64-bit version through my MSDN subscription. Is it easy to upgrade?

  • Anonymous
    June 08, 2008
    Yep, that's what I did... just install the 64 bit version and use Windows Update.  I didn't even go to the Lenovo web site for new drivers, Windows Update picked everything up.

  • Anonymous
    June 21, 2008
    I just bought a lenovo t61 and I wanted to get 4 GB Ram, but it only ships with vista ultimate 32 bit.  Lenovo says they can't upgrade it to 64 bit even though 64 bit doesn't cost extra.  I have to questions if anyone can answere them I would greatly appreciate it.  First, is there a way to upgrade from vista ultimate 32 bit to 64 bit for free?  And second, it is much cheaper to buy a 4 GB ram kit from NewEgg.com than have lenovo install it.  As long as the Ram is compatible, there is no reason why I shouldn't just order the t61 with 2GB Ram and upgrade it myself correct?  Thanks very much.

  • Anonymous
    June 21, 2008
    From http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/41531554-d5ef-4f2c-8fb9-149bdc5c8a701033.mspx#EHF: If you are currently running a 32-bit version of Windows, you can only perform an upgrade to another 32-bit version of Windows. Similarly, if you are running a 64-bit version of Windows Vista, you can only perform an upgrade to another 64-bit version of Windows Vista. Work with Lenovo to procure the 64-bit version of Vista.  As for costs, you should be able to easily compare Lenovo's pricing with other vendors.

  • Anonymous
    June 27, 2008
    Hey, I was just wondering if you were having any problems installing software/hardware that do not support the 32-bit OS? I'm thinking of buying a T61p with 4GB RAM, but I'm not sure whether I should tell Lenovo to install the 32-bit or 64-bit one. I know the 32-bit OS doesn't support the full 4GB, but I'm worried that I'll have trouble with non-compatible drivers when I try to install other devices/software.

  • Anonymous
    June 28, 2008
    When I first decided to run 64 bit, I was hesitant, thinking it would not run the programs I need.  It has run everything like a champ with no issues.  Visual Studio 2008, Expression Suite, Sony Vegas Platinum, SQL Server 2008, Virtual PC, Silverlight, Office 2007, Live Messenger, Live Writer, Live Mail, Office Communicator... all running with no problems.