Thinkpads Forum

Hi all!!
I have a T61 that I wanna upgrade from 2 to 4GB.
What is the maximum supported clock speed? (667MHz or 800MHz)
Does the T61 support Dual channel?

Thank you guys!!!

Good question, I am about to upgrade to 8GB ram and had similar questions.

Ran CPU-Z and got the following info on the current 4GB ram:

Dual Channel
DDR2
DRAM Frequency: 333Mhz
FSB:DRAM: 3:5
CAS (CL): 5.0
RAS to CAS (tRCD): 5
RAS Precharge (tRP): 5
Cycle Time (tRAS): 15

I think anything from a PC2-4200 up to a PC2-6400 should work fine but I am assuming here, someone should come along who knows better.

hoax32 wrote:What is the maximum supported clock speed? (667MHz or 800MHz)

You can use both, but if you buy the DDR2-800 it will still run at 667mhz speed.

I'm typing this in my modded T61 and I'm using 2x 2GB Kingston HyperX modules. Did the same in my X61s and RAM is working fine in both notebooks since November last year. The reason I bought the 800's was because they were cheaper than the 667's.uy

And yes, if it will support dual channel if both RAMs are the same model (or have the same specs).

If your 2GB is in two separate chips, then you'll have to remove them both and install two 2GB chips. I have them if your interested. I normally get $10 per GB, but I got a ton of it and willing to make a deal.

If you want to to install 8GB, then you're going to need 4GB chips. These have just skyrocketed in price in the last couple weeks. I was selling them for $40 each, then I needed six of them about a week ago and my suppliers wanted $45, but could only give me four of them, so I bought two more at newegg for $50, now the same chip is $65 at new egg, so I went from selling 8GB for $80 to paying $130 in a weeks time, so if you want 8GB, I'm not sure if I should advise you to wait, or to hurry before it goes even higher.

However, most people never use 4, and having 8 won't make a bit of difference if your not actually using it, and if you don't have a 64bit OS, you can't use more then 4 anyway, unless you have a special 32bit windows version that's designed to use more then 4GB, which was never available on a thinkpad.

Patriot has had 4GB DDR2-800 sticks for $38-$40 after rebate via NewEgg and Amazon in the last couple of months (Even less for DDR2-667). I'm not sure that's worth waiting for again (for a variety of reasons), but that's as low as it goes for NIB warrantied 4GB DDR2 SODIMMs.

Radioguy wrote:Patriot has had 4GB DDR2-800 sticks for $38-$40 after rebate via NewEgg and Amazon in the last couple of months (Even less for DDR2-667). I'm not sure that's worth waiting for again (for a variety of reasons), but that's as low as it goes for NIB warrantied 4GB DDR2 SODIMMs.

I bought the patriot from newegg just a week or two ago for $50, but it's now $65. The rebates are usually more of a pain then they are worth, and usually have severe limitations, so I can never get the quantity I need.

I even contacted some ebay sellers that offered the 4GB ram, simply to find out the manufacturer, but got a "thank god you contacted us before ordering the wrong ram, this is what you want" and was referred to overpriced 2GB chips. I wonder if this scam actually works, or what they would have sent me if I had just proceeded with purchase, but my reputation is worth more then the few dollars I would have saved so I'll never find out.

you can put up to 800MHz ram modules, but those will downclock and run at 667MHz speed as the laptop itself can not support higher clocks.

the maximum supported memory is 8GB, i.e. 2x4GB modules, which are overpriced as hell .. lol

with that in mind, the fastest modules you can put will come with 4-4-4-12 memory timings (that's what I have, 2x2GB by G.Skill) and those are not available on the 4GB modules. The standard and most widely available timings for DDR2 are 5-5-5-15 and this is what most modules run at. Lenovo used to ship modules with 5-5-5-12 timings but those still run at 5-5-5-15 by the laptop. The slowest come with 6-6-6-XX.

if you put two modules in your laptop then those will run in Dual Channel, regardless of the size of each. If you put two same modules then those will run in Dual Channel - Symmetric, which has almost no difference of running Dual Channel - Asymmetric. Keep in mind that the difference between Single Channel and Dual Channel is also minimal.

unless you run windows server 2008 32 bit, any other 32 bit windows will see up to ~3GB of RAM. If you want to use up to 8GB then you'll have to run 64bit OS.

I need 8GB for development work (.NET development and running Virtual Machines, SQL Server etc).

Going to shop around as I am based in the UK and prices have started to creep up here as well.

Lenovo Outlet:

2GB 667 @ $16.50 http://outlet.lenovo.com/accessories/45k1900.html

I am intrigued as to whether it's really possible to have 8GB with T61. (time has come to upgrade my 2GB memory )
According to Intel data sheet (http://ark.intel.com/products/chipsets/28116) the PM965 chipset supports 4GB max.
Anyone that can confirm/refute this please?

Welcome to the forum, 1114rk!

Yes, a number of forum members have 8GB in their T61/p units.

There were no 4GB DDR2 DIMMs available when the machine/platform was initially released, hence the confusion.

I have a t61 mobo in my t60 with 8gb RAM installed, everything works fine.