[T410/510] Using Thinkpads for Prof. Audio Applications? - Why This **bleep** Ricoh Chipset?

Question

Hi.
I've read that the T410/510 Thinkpads might have problems with DPC latency. I want to buy one of these models and use them for professional audio using external Firewire audio interfaces.
Hence I'm dependant on low DPC latency.
Here's a tool for DPC latency measurement (no installation required):
http://www.thesycon.de/deu/latency_check.shtml
Are models with Intel HD graphic less prone to latency problems than those with dedicated Nvidia graphics?
Thanks!
PS: Just edited the title, as I'm still concerned about the Ricoh chipset (see below).

Answer 1

Hello, first post here
I bought my first thinkpad laptop about a month ago: Thinkpad T510 i5 540 2.53 ghz. Came installed with windows 7. I upped the ram from stock 4gb to 8gb.
I use it for work/word processing, and then at my leisure for electronic music (ableton live, and now I am trying out Presonus Studio One because it is a 64 bit system)
I noticed that when I played my soft-synth instrument VST's, which require continuous audio streaming, that I was getting crackling audio artifacts.
AT first I thought my CPU was getting hit. I went through a lot of the tweaks listed on the Black Viper site, which I have used in the past on XP builds with some noticeable improvement: http://www.blackviper.com/Windows_7/servicecfg.htm
I also just basically tidied up the computer: no bloatware, just the apps that I need, etc - still getting crackles. So I opened up task manager and it turns out the CPU is generally running along quite smoothly, under 8% at idle and with my more intensive programs barely ever going past 35%. SO what's the deal?
A friend suggested that the crackling was due to DPC latency issues. I used DPC latency checker, and sure enough I get red bars every 5th bar or so - no good.
SO then I went in device manager, made sure all devices were updated, and then proceeded to disable any devices that I absolutely did not need. Using a usb audio interface (Native Instruments Audio 8), so no need for the onboard audio, disabled the camera, etc
As researched on other websites, I set the NVIDIA graphics to just operate at the most watered-down level. I then installed some kind of driver (sorry, don't remember what it was, Intel something or other). Now when I click on the NVIDIA menu it takes me to the less flashy Intel menu page and asks me if I want to keep the same basic settings as NVIDIA ( I did). I don't know if this means I have something like "dual drivers" for videos installed - my intent was to get the NVIDIA one of in case it is the culprit, but now I'm scared to uninstall anything NVIDIA because I don't know what will happen on a laptop - will I get a black screen?
I was also  a little gunshy about disabling any USB devices because I'm using all available USB ports.
In any case, any idea what could be causing this latency issue? The computer is fast and lovely but there is clearly an issue with crackling during audio playback during music production..... I would love to get this computer to be a
digital audio workstation for the casual producer, and the tweaks I made provided some improvement - nevertheless I get intermittent, unacceptable crackles.