Do T410 series support dual channel memory?

[Hans Gruber]

Does dual channel exist on the T410 series? On some T410 models I use 6GB and others 8GB of ram.

[rkawakami]

According to the ltwbook.pdf PSREF, yes T410 is dual-channel capable. I think I saw a note confirming this when I last ran memtest86+ on one of my T410 systems.

[Temetka]

On the T410 in my signature, it sure does.

[axur-delmeria]

Wasn't dual-channel capability a feature of Intel memory controllers (inside chipsets, and later CPUs) since the 945 series (circa 2006, T60/X60/R60/Z61 era)? Unless it's a pre-Bay Trail Atom chip, that is.

[Hans Gruber]

I only asked because I wanted to keep balanced memory if it was utilized in Thinkpads. 2gbx2gb or 4gbx4gb. You need to have the same amount of ram in each slot for dual channel.

[FryPpy]

I only asked because I wanted to keep balanced memory if it was utilized in Thinkpads. 2gbx2gb or 4gbx4gb. You need to have the same amount of ram in each slot for dual channel.

Not 100% right. From T60 (945) era it can use asymmetric dual channel mode (2 + 1GB). I think this feature also exist in T410. In any case you can use memtest86 to check speed and mode of memory controller.

[axur-delmeria]

Traditional dual-channel memory setup required balanced RAM because it runs in "ganged mode" where the two 64-bit RAM sticks are treated as a single 128-bit channel.

However, tests and benchmarks saw much less improvement than was expected, so an "unganged mode" was implemented. This way, 2 sticks are put in separate channels, allowing them to be accessed independently. This allows for better performance with multi-core processors and multi-threaded applications. This also allows differently-sized RAM sticks to be used.

[ajkula66]

Does dual channel exist on the T410 series? On some T410 models I use 6GB and others 8GB of ram.

Dual-channel was introduced on T43/p and R52 back in 2005 and has been supported by every single ThinkPad with two RAM slots since.

[Hans Gruber]

Thanks for the replies, good to know ram size does not matter. Does anybody notice a difference between using 4GB, 6GB or 8GB of ram on the T410? I am using 8GB of ram but on some of my T410 models I use 6GB if I don't have enough 4GB sticks.

What is the maximum amount of ram the integrated graphics can utilize from the memory ram? Is it 1GB or 2GB of ram?

[ajkula66]

I'm seeing 1696MB on my i7 620 with 8GB installed - although not on a T410 - but it shouldn't make a difference.

[Temetka]

Well T410's have Nvidia GPU's on some models. Also some of those have either 256MB or 512MB of VRAM. So on those machines, when the Nvidia GPU is in use, I would assume that the Intel GPU would release whatever RAM it had borrowed from the system.

[sir_synthsalot]

I only asked because I wanted to keep balanced memory if it was utilized in Thinkpads. 2gbx2gb or 4gbx4gb. You need to have the same amount of ram in each slot for dual channel.

Not 100% right. From T60 (945) era it can use asymmetric dual channel mode (2 + 1GB). I think this feature also exist in T410. In any case you can use memtest86 to check speed and mode of memory controller.

That's correct. I've used 2GB+1GB in my R500 and it was dual channel. It will work with the T410 as well.

A lot of laptops these days ship with 4+2 GB as well and it runs dual channel.

Thanks for the replies, good to know ram size does not matter. Does anybody notice a difference between using 4GB, 6GB or 8GB of ram on the T410? I am using 8GB of ram but on some of my T410 models I use 6GB if I don't have enough 4GB sticks.

What is the maximum amount of ram the integrated graphics can utilize from the memory ram? Is it 1GB or 2GB of ram?

If you don't use that extra RAM it makes no difference.

It varies how much RAM the integrated GPU uses depending on what you are using the integrated GPU for. On my T410s only ~200 MB is reserved.

CPU-Z says 3.7GB for mine. I don't know if that's a bug or accurate.

Well T410's have Nvidia GPU's on some models. Also some of those have either 256MB or 512MB of VRAM. So on those machines, when the Nvidia GPU is in use, I would assume that the Intel GPU would release whatever RAM it had borrowed from the system.

You may have to disable the integrated GPU or it will always reserve some of the RAM. On my Haswell desktop you have to disable it in the BIOS or it will always reserve RAM despite a dedicated GPU.

Although if it's like 200 MB and you have 6GB does it even matter?

[Temetka]

True.

I have 8GB in my T410 and *cannot* disable the Nvidia chip. Lenovo removed any options for that from the BIOS. So while I can use optimus, I cannot run on just the integrated GPU even if I wanted to. Which I do. But that's mainly to run a few degrees cooler. Even when I have my system loaded down, I use about 5GB of RAM.

I'm also one of those people who feels that since RAM is so cheap, why not max out the system in question. It cost me $30 to get 8GB of RAM for my T410. I spend more than that on gas in a week.