Will "No-Name" Memory work in a T42p ???

[Master One]

Someone please tell me:

Is it bad to use 2 memory modules of different brands in a ThinkPad?

I found these in the pricelist of our usual wholesaler:

- MUSTANG 1024MB DDR PC2700 soDIMM NTB333MHz (M3128644406N)
- TRANSCEND IBM 1024MB DDR SoDIMM PC2700for 31P9834 31P9835 (TS1GIB9834)
- KINGSTON 1024MB DDR PC2700 nonECC CL2.5soDIMM NTB 333MHz (KVR333X64SC25/1G)
- IBM 1024MB DDR PC2700 soDIMM 333MHz NTBCL2.5 NP nonParity (31P9834)

There is no more info available, but the price differences are huge (I have listed them in the order of price, first one is cheapest).

The price differnce between the MUSTANG and the KINSTON is 68,70 EURO (excl. VAT), and compared to the genuine IBM memory, the MUSTANG is even less than the half price!

I still don't have the mentioned ThinkPad, but it will arrive with 1x 1GB PC2700 installed, I was just thinking about upgrading this to 2 GB right from the beginning (I like to have a lot of apps open at the same time, so you never can have enough memory )

[slagmi]

I'd buy the Kingston (best value for the money plus lifetime warranty), but it's actually likely that any of the above would work. At your own risk, though. Just make sure it's returnable.

There's no question that quality RAM like Crucial for example is better;
But in a Thinkpad there is no place in the BIOS to tweak the timings, etc. to get better performance. So the benefit maybe more peace of mind. You wouldn't buy a Cadillac and put cheap tires on it, though you would be perfectly safe driving around, it just wouldn't feel right. Well, I might, if the money was tight-LOL.

In my (admittedly informal) testing, it appears Thinkpads treat all RAM the same, use SPD, auto-adjust for bus(PC2100/133-PC2700/166 for example) and the other settings are conservative and don't change. Perhaps someone here who knows more can confirm or deny that.

[Kenn]

I haven't heard many accounts of bad memory lately, and I'm sure most of it is fine as long as the specs are right (PC2700 DDR SODIMMs). However, memory is critical to the computer's functioning and upgrades up to 512MB are pretty inexpensive, so most people decide it's worth a few extra dollars to go with name brands such as Crucial.

In the end it's you're call. I personally think going with generic is fine (as long as you have a convenient and fair return/exchange policy), but I went with Corsair for my upgrade.

[wildman]

I just put the kingston stick in my FVU yesterday and it works just fine. Excellent value, I paid 183 for it. Plus it has a lifetime warranty should anything happen down the line.

[Master One]

On last Sunday I managed to catch the mentioned Kingston 1GB stick for only 154,83 EURO incl. P&P on ebay (it's a used one, but Kingston has lifetime-warranty on all memory sticks, so it should not matter). That's what I call a value deal

I'm very excited, it will be my first machine ever running with 2 GB RAM.