I rebuilt my Lenovo T60P with Windows Vista SP1 today. I also opted for the x64 version with Bitlocker encryption. I’ll skip any commentary on SP1 since I don’t know what’s publicly being said about it. When I first got my Lenovo I tried out the x64 version and the drivers were a little ‘sub-optimal’ for pretty much every feature. This time I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the drivers and the overall performance of the system when running an x64 OS. I also knew the performance boost wasn’t only from SP1 since I’d run a 32-bit SP1 install on it already.
For CRM users out there it is really worthwhile considering Bitlocker or other comparable whole disk encryption solutions. I’m relatively heavy user of the CRM Offline Client and I have no intention of that data ‘going missing’ if my laptop is lost/stolen. If you aren’t convinced that disk encryption is for you imagine this scenario: your laptop is stolen and you walk into your boss’ office the next day and they ask "anything important on it". You confidently reply "yeah – but it was encrypted".
