Thinkpads Forum

I have read some other posts on this topic, but they don't fully answer my doubts, so here I go.

I got a T60 with only 512 installed. Lenovo is supposed to send me another 512 in about a week. However, I got a 1 GB stick from PNY, with (presumably) the same specs as the factory memory. You can find it here.

Now, my question is, would I be better off buying two of these sticks, or just adding the 1 gb to the 512? If I add the 1 GB, will I be running in dual channerl, or would I be just running more memory?
I read some other posts, and although there was a lot of arguing (dual channel vs. not), it wasn't solved whether it was better to to have 1.5 gb, or 1 gb in dual channel, or if 2 gb from an aftermarket brand (in my case PNY) will work equally well. Like I said, Lenvo is supposed to send me 512 more, which would make my T60 the promised 1 GB (they shipped it with only 512, even though it was supposed to have shipped with 1 gb. Here's a link to that post

Any comments are appreciated.

I upgraded from 2x512M to 1x512M+1x1G.
I really not noticed any performance different due to not running at dual channel.

2x512 will run dual channel, but 512 + 1024 will not. I have a an IBM 1024 stick (had to exchange it because the original was defective) and a OCZ 1024 stick, both 667Mhz PC5400, and they run in dual channel just fine. I would recommend that if you want dual channel, you buy a second identical stick of the same brand.

I've heard that dual channel improves the speed by only like 10% or even less. So, 1GB + 512MB (no dual channel) is better than 2x512MB (dual channel).

rmendoza, here it is in a nutshell:

1. Your computer will run in dual-channel mode only if the two memory sticks are the same size and speed. So with 512x2 you will have dual-channel performance. If you have a 1gb stick and a 512mb stick, you will not get dual-channel.

2. In the real world, having more memory without dual-channel is almost always better than less memory with dual-channel. Thus, you can expect your Thinkpad to perform better with 1.5gb (1x1gb + 1x512) than with 1gb (2x512). More memory is almost always better, and helps to future-proof yourself for an upgrade to Windows Vista.

3. The only real exception to my point in 2. above is that it takes more time to hibernate when you have more memory. That's not really a big deal.

4. If you can find a way to trade your two 512 sticks for a 1gb stick, you would get somewhat better performance than the 1.5GB configuration. The speed benefit you get from dual-channel is really overhyped. It's really not very noticable. Again, the real benefit is having more RAM, not dual-channel. I would guess that 1.5GB would be plenty of memory for 99.5% of the computer users out there.

RonS is correct.

Also keep in mind that Core Duo and Core 2 Duo chips have relatively LARGE caches. So you really see minimal performance improvements by going to dual channel memory on these systems (same holds true for desktops with these processors as well).

RonS and everyone else,

I thank you for the response. Like I said, I wasn't completely sure of whether more memory outweighed the dual-channel mode. I think I will try to see if I can sell the two 512 sticks so I can get another 1 gb stick.

Any thoughts about PNY? In another post someone said to avoid it, but it seems like the specs are the same as original Lenovo memory. And the price seems competitive with newegg.

Anyhow, I apologize for asking so many questions (in this and other posts), bu I am a new ThinkPad owner. Thanks again.

My 14 inch T60 C2D T7200 2.0 Ghz came with 1 GB RAM stick 100 GB when i added another 512 stick that i had earlier i started getting BSOD or system halted after that i removed it and the BSOD went
however i relocated the 1 GB ram that came with my system in the other dimm for 15 days now without any problem i want to add another 1 GB stick but I'm afraid that ill get a BSOD any advice? thanks.

nxman wrote:My 14 inch T60 C2D T7200 2.0 Ghz came with 1 GB RAM stick 100 GB when i added another 512 stick that i had earlier i started getting BSOD or system halted after that i removed it and the BSOD went
however i relocated the 1 GB ram that came with my system in the other dimm for 15 days now without any problem i want to add another 1 GB stick but I'm afraid that ill get a BSOD any advice? thanks.

Find a stick of ram from the same manuf. as the 1GB you have, and match it. That will cut your chances of timing differences b/w the sticks to near zero.

Thanks brentpresley how to know exactly the type of my ram?
And what if i order it from Lenovo? please advice.

nxman wrote:Thanks brentpresley how to know exactly the type of my ram?
And what if i order it from Lenovo? please advice.

Open her up and read the label on the RAM. It will have a part number.

And you CAN buy from Lenovo, but there are MUCH cheaper options.

I installed the 1 gb from PNY right next to the 512 from Lenovo. It seems to be working great. As a matter of fact, I noticed a significant difference in boot times, and program startup times. I didn't time it, but the difference was pretty obvious.

I was puzzled by one thing though. I ran CPU-Z, and it did show all the memory, but it did say it was running in dual channel mode. I think that's great, but according to the more knowledgeable forum members, this could not happen. Is there any chance that a T60 can run in dual-channel mode even with two sticks of different capacities? Or is this just a flaw in CPU-Z? This is just curiosity. Whatever the case, I am happy with the improved performance.
Thanks for all comments.

rmendoza wrote:I installed the 1 gb from PNY right next to the 512 from Lenovo. It seems to be working great. As a matter of fact, I noticed a significant difference in boot times, and program startup times. I didn't time it, but the difference was pretty obvious.

I was puzzled by one thing though. I ran CPU-Z, and it did show all the memory, but it did say it was running in dual channel mode. I think that's great, but according to the more knowledgeable forum members, this could not happen. Is there any chance that a T60 can run in dual-channel mode even with two sticks of different capacities? Or is this just a flaw in CPU-Z? This is just curiosity. Whatever the case, I am happy with the improved performance.
Thanks for all comments.

No. CPU-Z is an incredibly buggy program. All it saw was 2 sticks of memory in a dual-channel capable system and assumed they were running dual channel.

Besides, dual channel is EXTREMELY overrated (see my post concerning caches and Core/Core2).