T42 - what variation in RAM specs can you use?

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Rahula · #1 Post by **Rahula** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 7:15 pm

I've just bought a IBM factory refurbished T42 thru an ebay vendor. It looks like gleaming brand new; not a smudge or scratch under close scrutiny! It seems to be slightly slower than my T23, though they both have 512MB ram. The prescribed RAM specs for this T42 (2373-6ZU) is:

DDR-SDRAM-200PIN PC2700 @ 333 Mhz

Checking through the web, a new 1GB of this RAM retails from US$80 to US$100, whereas other variation of 1GB, e.g. PC5400 can be bought for half the price.

Which part of the spec is the controlling factor, e.g. is it the 200Pin, PC2700, or 333Mhz, etc. Those who have used RAM of slight variation from the above specs in their T42, can you tell me which ones work safely?

I would like to max the RAM to 2GB, but that would cost $200 whereas the T42 cost me only $460 so, if there is a cheaper way, I would like to hear from the experienced T42 owners.

Thanks in advance.

#2 Post by **rkawakami** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 7:37 pm

PC5400 is a DDR2 module and will not work in the T41, which only accepts the older and slower DDR type module.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDR_SDRAM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDR2_SDRAM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SO-DIMM

Generally, any module less than 3200 is DDR and more than 3200 is DDR2. The only one you really have to watch out for is one a seller calls "PC3200". That can be either DDR (PC-3200) or DDR2 (PC2-3200).

edit: Cheap places to get a 1GB DDR module would be either here in the Marketplace or on eBay, where hopefully I won't get shafted by this deal (supposed to be a 1GB PC2700).

edit2: Arrggh... I knew that I shouldn't have even brought it up... http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=58826

dash7540 · #3 Post by **dash7540** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 7:39 pm

You can use either PC2700 or PC3200 DDR SDRAM; if you use the latter, the speed will be limited to the same as PC2700.

PC5400 is DDR2 SDRAM, which will not physically fit your memory slots.

Hope that helps.

Edit: Beat me to it, Ray!

sjthinkpader · #4 Post by **sjthinkpader** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 7:42 pm

The PC2100/PC2700 used in T40/41/42 are just too old. Not many high volume producers are still making these because the total demand is low. These modules were made with 256Mb/512Mb chips to make 128MB/256MB/512MB modules.

Today the volume production DDR2 1GB/2GB modules are made with 1Gb and 2Gb chips. Few producers are still making DDR DRAMs for PC use so they are expensive. DDR are still made for printers and HDDs but are lower density than PC.

#5 Post by **rkawakami** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 8:01 pm

sjthinkpader wrote:Not many high volume producers are still making these because the total demand is low. <snip> Few producers are still making DDR DRAMs for PC use so they are expensive.

My boss and I were discussing this several months ago (I work for Mosel Vitelic, a subsidiary of ProMOS). If wafer fab mask sets weren't so darned expensive, we could take some of our old 128Mbit and 256Mbit SDR designs, shrink them down to what the fab is now using (on 12" wafers), run one or two lots and have enough raw product to make thousands of low density 256MB PC100 and 512MB PC133 modules that we could sell for about $40 each.

It's bad being on this end of the price vs. age "bell curve" if you are a consumer.

fkelly · #6 Post by **fkelly** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 8:04 pm

If you have a Circuit City in your area they are a good source for PC2700 sticks.
The regular prices are generally $99 but if you scan the Sunday sales pages they have sales thru-out the month ranging from $59 to $74.

Last weekend I picked up a 1 gig stick for $59.

In total I have purchased (3) 1 gig sticks at that price over the past 2 months patiently waiting for them to go on sale....

#7 Post by **rkawakami** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 8:21 pm

Well, actually, where the OP appears to be located, Frys might be a better bet if "off-brand" memory is acceptable:

http://shop3.outpost.com/search?search_ ... ng=4922031 ($50 for 1GB A-Data SODIMM)
http://shop3.outpost.com/search?search_ ... ng=4389075 ($57 for 1GB Kingston SODIMM; currently out of stock)

pianowizard · #8 Post by **pianowizard** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 8:36 pm

Also check Craigslist often.

Rahula · #9 Post by **Rahula** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 11:00 pm

Thanks for the useful replies.

Ray - I could drive to Frys in Milpitas which is only 20 miles away, but too bad the Kingston is out of stock. I'd prefer Kingston because of their Lifetime Warranty. Perhaps, I'll wait a few days and see ....

I checked Craigslist and found two pairs of used 512MB asking for $40-$45 each pair. I may probably go for that, making a total of 1GB in my T42, and keep the spare as standby.

I'm also wondering whether 2GB is overkill for what I usually do with the T42. As an exception, last night I converted a 150 minute video file (2.6GB) from mpg to wmv and the Task Manager showed CPU usage at 100% most of the time! And fan was loud going at full blast. I blame it on the paltry 512MB RAM, but it's also strange that 1.7GB cpu has to struggle at max when that was the only task on the T42.

By the way, how can I check how my RAM is coping? As I'm now typing this thru Firefox and nothing else opened, the Task Manager shows this:

Physical Memory (K)
Total: 523184
Available: 182340
Syst Cache: 201312

Your views?

#10 Post by **rkawakami** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 11:36 pm

Assuming you're running Windows XP, then 512MB is probably okay for basic browsing and light Office tasks. I would think that transcoding video needs as much memory and as fast a CPU you can throw at the task. I did something like that once on a T23 but haven't tried it since:

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=31273

My older daughter has done a couple of vids on a maxed out T23 (1024MB memory) for her iPod and as far as I know she hasn't burned it up yet

.

The 1.2Ghz WinXP T23 I'm using right now has 43 processes running at about 7% CPU usage. It has 1024MB of memory, 519MB available and 672MB in System Cache. The only major programs that are active are Firefox, AVG and Agent; there's a couple of other small utilities running (DSClock, MobileMeter, XNeat, 4t Tray Minimizer). I'd say if you had at least 1GB in the T42, that should be good enough for most uses. The reason I just bought that 1GB stick is that both of my T41s only have 512MB (2 x 256MB) and I'm trying to upgrade them. They're mostly being used as loaner systems when my younger daughter's friends come over, so it's just basic web browsing. I figure that 1.25GB will be fine for them if I need them to do any serious work. Hmm... maybe I'll re-visit Videora after I get that new stick and see how it goes.

sjthinkpader · #11 Post by **sjthinkpader** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 12:36 am

Back when I worked for a DRAM manufacturer I regularly max out my system too. Now I watch Fry's going on sale.

The DDR PC3200 had a very short life span so demand is lower than PC2100 and PC2700. Some will work in PC2700 sockets.

Lower density PC2-4300 used in T43 are very cheap since many people are going for 2GB and newer system are using PC2-5300.

I made a 144 pin adapter for reprogramming SPD but had no success to report. Now I am tempting to make a 200 pin adapter to reprogram some 1GB PC3200 SODIMMs to see if I can make them work in PC2700 sockets.

sjthinkpader · #12 Post by **sjthinkpader** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 12:46 am

rkawakami wrote:...
My boss and I were discussing this several months ago (I work for Mosel Vitelic, a subsidiary of ProMOS). If wafer fab mask sets weren't so darned expensive, we could take some of our old 128Mbit and 256Mbit SDR designs, shrink them down to what the fab is now using (on 12" wafers), run one or two lots and have enough raw product to make thousands of low density 256MB PC100 and 512MB PC133 modules that we could sell for about $40 each.

It's bad being on this end of the price vs. age "bell curve" if you are a consumer.

There were several legacy DRAM producers such as Sanyo but they had stopped. Etron is concentrating on HDD and other low density, high volume markets. Old mask sets don't work in current fabs and current mask set are too expensive to payback based on after market like you said.

So there you have it, expensive legacy DRAM such as PC2700.

But current PC2-5300 and PC2-6400 are so cheap that even large manufacturers cannot make money. A very tough market indeed.

#13 Post by **rkawakami** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 1:18 am

Well, it's even worse when you're using PC133 equipment!

@Rahula: Sorry to get a little OT, but this does shed some light on the pricing structure of older memory...

off1c3r · #14 Post by **off1c3r** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 2:36 am

I have a 2379DJU, and I use 2GB of ram. 2x1GB chips from Crucial. (PC-2700). I did the upgrade so long ago I don't even remember the specs and my laptop isn't here but it wasn't expensive and I still see abundant pc-2700 rams around online.

#15 Post by **Johan** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 3:37 am

Rahula wrote:<snip>
DDR-SDRAM-200PIN PC2700 @ 333 Mhz

Checking through the web, a new 1GB of this RAM retails from US$80 to US$100, whereas other variation of 1GB, e.g. PC5400 can be bought for half the price.

Just in case you haven't ordered 1 GB PC2700 RAM yet, then I suggest you have a look at the ongoing Newegg sale; right now (and until March 23) they offer high-quality Crucial 1GB 200-Pin DDR SO-DIMM DDR 333 (PC 2700) Laptop Memory with life-time warranty at only $45,- even shipped, after mail-in rebate! This is by far the lowest price I have seen from them in quite a while - normally it is around $70,-

Go get it!

Best regards,

Johan

#16 Post by **rkawakami** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 3:50 am

Johan,

Thanks for that link! I haven't checked with newegg in some time. One other good thing is that the rebate is valid for TWO modules. Looks like I'll have to get out the old credit card in the morning... well... it IS morning already...

yak · #17 Post by **yak** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 6:25 am

Rahula wrote:I'm also wondering whether 2GB is overkill for what I usually do with the T42. As an exception, last night I converted a 150 minute video file (2.6GB) from mpg to wmv and the Task Manager showed CPU usage at 100% most of the time! And fan was loud going at full blast. I blame it on the paltry 512MB RAM, but it's also strange that 1.7GB cpu has to struggle at max when that was the only task on the T42.

The only reason for a video converting process NOT to take 100% CPU time is when you deliberately tell the converting program to slow down (if it has such an option). Otherwise it will use all the power you throw at it to finish the conversion as soon as possible.

Rahula · #18 Post by **Rahula** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 11:52 am

Johan - Thanks for the tip. Err, before I buy two RAM sticks, I opened the RAM compartment and found only one empty slot! Below that is the WLAN chip. So, the stock 512MB RAM must be hidden somewhere, right? Is it soldered, or user-replaceable?

Regarding telling the CPU to slow down, how can I do this in the T42?
My Toshiba lappy has a Power Manager that has pre-configured levels of CPU usage, e.g. High/Normal/LongLife and user configured. It defaults to High when starting up and within ten minutes, the fan comes on loud and frequent even when just typing in Word! I bought it new a year ago, but now put it aside because the glossy screen is annoying, and now demoted to just heavy processing where little LCD viewing is required.

#19 Post by **rkawakami** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 12:06 pm

The T42 has two memory slots that hold the removable modules: one underneath the keyboard and another accessible from a bottom panel. A good resource to have is the Hardware Maintenance Manual:

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... 46464.html

I believe what yak is saying is that the video conversion program itself may have setting which controls the amount of CPU time it uses. If it doesn't, then you can try using Windows Task Manager to set the priority. Launch Taskmgr with a CTRL-ALT-DEL, click the "Processes" tab, find the name of the video conversion program, right-click on the name, select the "Set Priority" option and then click on "BelowNormal" or "Low". That may reduce the amount of CPU cycles (I haven't tried it with that type of program but have used this Task Manager feature before).

#20 Post by **Johan** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 12:29 pm

Rahula wrote:Johan - Thanks for the tip. Err, before I buy two RAM sticks, I opened the RAM compartment and found only one empty slot! Below that is the WLAN chip. So, the stock 512MB RAM must be hidden somewhere, right? Is it soldered, or user-replaceable?

Regarding telling the CPU to slow down, how can I do this in the T42?
My Toshiba lappy has a Power Manager that has pre-configured levels of CPU usage, e.g. High/Normal/LongLife and user configured. It defaults to High when starting up and within ten minutes, the fan comes on loud and frequent even when just typing in Word! I bought it new a year ago, but now put it aside because the glossy screen is annoying, and now demoted to just heavy processing where little LCD viewing is required.

Oh, Rahula, you've certainly come to the right place when you need help: The Fantastic forum.thinkpads.com!!

With respect to adding memory to ThinkPad's, take a walk to this site: ThinkPad Movie matrices - Notebooks and find all the answers there! You really also ought to get hold of the Hardware Maintenance Manual - ThinkPad T40, T40p, T41, T41p, T42, T42p - don't ever go anywhere without it!!

If I were you, I would not buy more than 1 stick (= 1 GB), and then combine that with your existing, built-in 512 MB... unless you really know that you need full 2 GB RAM, and cannot live with "only" (?!) 512 MB. Unless you run big programs (or run many concurrent), I don't believe that you will benefit from taking the step from 1.5 GB to 2 GB... but it's your money, so it's your decision!

And, yes, I recognice the pleasant feeling of having a "maxed out" ThinkPad - and that truly require two stick's à 1 GB!

To "slow down" your T42 I suggest you use the free and highly recommended program Notebook Hardware Control - see the post: T43 operating temperature and follow the links... that's it!

Your T42 also has a Battery MaxiMizer program, that will allow you to "slow down" it (= enabling "Speed Step"); go to Start --> All Programs --> Access IBM --> Battery MaxiMizer Wizard and then (in Step 6), create a "Power Scheme" of your choice. If you don't already have the Battery MaxiMizer, you may download if from here. Alternatively, get the System Update and let it manage all the updates. SERIOUS RECOMMENDATION: Do make a Windows System Restore Point before installing any updates... as experience has shown that System Update from time to time may make things worse... so prepare yourself for a "roll-back safety solution". No kidding.

Best regards,

Johan

Rahula · #21 Post by **Rahula** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 4:15 pm

Johan and Ray,

Thanks for the valuable info and suggestions. Yes, this is indeed a fantastic forum. Knowledgable and very helpful thinkpadders.

Next stop is to cope with noisy fan and HDD, but I'll do some searches first (yikes! search for "noisy fan" yielded 4999 matches; may take months to read all that!)

#22 Post by **Johan** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 5:02 pm

Rahula wrote:Johan and Ray,

Thanks for the valuable info and suggestions. Yes, this is indeed a fantastic forum. Knowledgable and very helpful thinkpadders.

Next stop is to cope with noisy fan and HDD, but I'll do some searches first (yikes! search for "noisy fan" yielded 4999 matches; may take months to read all that!)

No problem; like you, I am certainly also having great pleasure of being here and drawing advantage of all the knowledge and helpfulness which is so generously shared here!

With respect to replacing your fan, yes, there are many threads, but I'll give you a kick-start: Try search for either 13R2657 or 41W5204 and see what comes up! Note user rbena's post on this issue - and also have a look in e.g. the threads Noisy CPU fan on T-41 - need guidance (see the post of Tue Feb 26, 2008 2:02 pm) and Noisy fan and Replacing My Fan. Many, many more - these were just the first, few I recalled! A brand new, original IBM spare part "long M10" fan FRU = 41W5204 cost around $30 if you order it directly from the IBM's spare part site.

About upgrading your HDD - there are of course also a whole lot of threads on this issue; a few is mentioned in T42 Upgrade Possibilities... but recent comments indicate that 5400 rpm HDD's appear almost as fast in real-life use as 7200 rpm's, while the 5400 rpm's are less power-hungry (longer battery life!) and also slightly less noisy.

Best regards,

Johan

Rahula · #23 Post by **Rahula** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 8:09 pm

Thanks for your input fellas!

Just placed order with Newegg for the one 1GB RAM and the Hitachi HDD with 16MB cache that was raved by others in this forum. Now to enjoy the other beauty of the T42 while I gather the courage to do surgery on the noisy fan in the not too distant future......

T42 - what variation in RAM specs can you use?

T42 - what variation in RAM specs can you use?

Newegg offer 1 GB PC2700 RAM at only $45, shipped!

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