Does X220 Support 1866MHz Ram?

[whitelabel]

Hi!

I'm curious about the real benefits from using 1600/1866 MHz RAM. Are there any? I assume no.
Intel's datasheet for i7-2620M says that this CPU supports only DDR3 1066/1333
(Check Memory Specifications here: http://ark.intel.com/products/52231/Int ... apkw=2620m)
So, what's the real deal with it?

p.s.
I got 16GB of 1333 MHz RAM and i7-2620M and it works great. However I never tried 1600 or 1866 RAM.
Also I've been able to find modified BIOS 1.40 with memory support range unlocked. And I'm wondering why Lenovo
has limited this range to 1066/1333 in the newest BIOS versions while old versions (as people say) had supported
1066/1333/1600/1866 MHz RAM). So why Lenovo has enabled all four frequencies in the first place? And why Intel says
that only two modes are supported? Some strange stuff here.

Thanks!

[johnmcdonnell]

I have an x220 with a 2.6GHz i5-2540M CPU and 16GB of DDR3 1866 Crucial Ballistix Sport RAM. The BIOS is a modified version of 1.40 with adjustable RAM speeds. Ran a couple quick benchmarks using PC Benchmark from Jujuba Software.

Memory set to 1333MHz gave these results:
- GPU Compute: 162.01 speed ops
- Main RAM: 1,875.20 MB/s

Memory set to 1866MHz gave these results:
- GPU Compute: 174.98 speed ops
- Main RAM: 2,329.60 MB/s

Pretty decent improvement in memory speed and some modest gains in GPU performance. Can't say I really notice any difference with day-to-day use, though.

Edit: Ran some additional benchmarks with PerformanceTest 8.0 - red is 1333MHz, green is 1866MHz:

[whitelabel]

Hey johnmcdonnell!

So its possible to use the RAM at 1866 speed after all. Thank you for confirming this and for the benchmark results!
It's very useful and much appreciated!

I think you might notice the difference between 1333 and 1866 in some heavy apps.

[zat]

Bumping an old thread, however, I came here while searching whether X220 supports 1866MHz RAM with running coreboot.

I am seeing a previous reply stating they are using a modified BIOS version 1.40. I am not familiar with that BIOS firmware. However, I have an X220 running coreboot.

That's why I would like to know if enabling 1866MHz RAM speeds are supported with running coreboot, too. Any opinions?

[zat]

Bump for my question above one post.

[mikemex]

Sandy Bridge supports frequencies above 1333 MHz. I think I've read reports stating that 1600 and 1866 MHz were enabled at first, but for some reason they were deactivated in subsequent BIOS releases.

I have absolutely no idea about Coreboot as I've only heard about it but never actually installed (or even used) it. But the hardware supports it.

Also, there are reports stating that X220 doesn't support DDR3L in 1.35v mode, only 1.5v. So it's better to stick to normal RAM (running DDR3L in 1.5v mode makes it to run hot).

[axur-delmeria]

Have X220 with unlocked BIOS and DDR3L-1600 RAM installed.

1. Yes the reported speed is 1600.

2. The RAM voltage is not reported, but expected to be 1.5v. Since the DDR3L spec was announced in mid-2010, there's not enough time to incorporate complete support for it as the Sandy Bridge CPU design would have been (nearly) complete by that time.

3. I while back I read about someone who modded his X220 to lower the DDR3 voltage to 1.45v because at 1.5v his 16GB DDR3L RAM overheated at times and caused BSODs and lockups. Too bad I can't find it anymore.

[benlimanto]

Have X220 with unlocked BIOS and DDR3L-1600 RAM installed.

1. Yes the reported speed is 1600.

2. The RAM voltage is not reported, but expected to be 1.5v. Since the DDR3L spec was announced in mid-2010, there's not enough time to incorporate complete support for it as the Sandy Bridge CPU design would have been (nearly) complete by that time.

3. I while back I read about someone who modded his X220 to lower the DDR3 voltage to 1.45v because at 1.5v his 16GB DDR3L RAM overheated at times and caused BSODs and lockups. Too bad I can't find it anymore.

Modded? He change the board design? wow.
Hmm... seems 51nb or xueyao come to rescue regarding this

[axur-delmeria]

Modded? He change the board design? wow.
Hmm... seems 51nb or xueyao come to rescue regarding this

He changed a very small amount of components on the system board. I think he looked up the schematics, found the voltage regulator chip that generates the 1.5v for the RAM slots, read its datasheet, and found out how to change the output voltage. Usually, it's done by changing some resistors connected to the voltage regulator.