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What does this mean about memory upgrade?

Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 8:58 pm
by pantera
The following is the options available to Thinkpad T410s 2901CT0 that I selected when I ordered the laptop...

Total memory8 Help me decide

"...4 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1067MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM)..."

http://shopap.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/co ... 46168F1B4C

The following is from Levono website for Thinkpad T410s, T410si

Memory
•PC3-8500 non-parity (NP) Double Data Rate Three (DDR3) technology
•Dual-channel capable
•Two 204-pin SO-DIMM sockets
•2 GB, 3GB or 4GB memory
Supports up to 8GB maximum memory


My Question: Does this mean that later on I can buy another 4GB to extend the memory to 8GB? Does this mean that I will have to buy two 4GB and discard the current 4GB, or I can buy only one 4GB to install next to the current one?

Thanks a lot

Re: What does this mean about memory upgrade?

Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 9:04 pm
by Harryc
If you originally purchased 2 x 2GB for a total of 4GB of RAM, you'd have to remove both modules and purchase 2 x 4GB RAM modules to get 8GB total .

Re: What does this mean about memory upgrade?

Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 9:34 pm
by pantera
Harryc wrote:If you originally purchased 2 x 2GB for a total of 4GB of RAM, you'd have to remove both modules and purchase 2 x 4GB RAM modules to get 8GB total .
Thanks. So when I buy extra memory, I will have to buy 8GB and not 4GB. Why can't I find the 4GB RAM for T410s Win7 Professional? The Levono website for T410s 2901 only has 4GB for Vista, and everything else is 1GB and 2GB.

http://shopap.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/co ... -size=1000

Can I buy the one recommended for Vista and install it under Win7 Pro?

Re: What does this mean about memory upgrade?

Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 9:37 pm
by Colonel O'Neill
RAM is OS agnostic. You'll probably save some money by buying from a different seller; Lenovo just resells rebranded RAM, although if you buy Lenovo branded RAM, they inherit the warranty of the Lenovo machine they're put into.

Re: What does this mean about memory upgrade?

Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2011 6:08 pm
by ctkelly
Most ram these days carry lifetime warranties. Some work better than others, pay a visit to newegg.com and look for the particular ram you need and then read the reviews to see what people have to say. They generate enough traffic and business that it should be clear which ram works and which ones are problematic.

Re: What does this mean about memory upgrade?

Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2011 1:14 am
by pantera
ctkelly wrote:Most ram these days carry lifetime warranties. Some work better than others, pay a visit to newegg.com and look for the particular ram you need and then read the reviews to see what people have to say. They generate enough traffic and business that it should be clear which ram works and which ones are problematic.
Thanks, ctkelly.

My T410s has 32-bit Win7 and 4GB (2 DIMM). Does this really help upgrading the memory to 8GB given it's run on the 32-bit system?

Thanks

Re: What does this mean about memory upgrade?

Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2011 2:08 am
by Monck
No, 32bit saw and use only ~3.5Gb RAM, you need 64bit OS.

Re: What does this mean about memory upgrade?

Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2011 2:28 am
by pantera
Monck wrote:No, 32bit saw and use only ~3.5Gb RAM, you need 64bit OS.
Oh, I see. Given the laptop comes pre-installed with the 32-bit Win7, can I remove it and re-install with the 64-bit Win7?

Thanks

Re: What does this mean about memory upgrade?

Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2011 4:08 am
by Harryc
Yes

Re: What does this mean about memory upgrade?

Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2011 6:52 am
by penartur
ctkelly wrote:Most ram these days carry lifetime warranties.
And "lifetime" often means "product lifetime". That is, if the specific model is no longer produced, you won't get any warranty service.
With constantly changing models of RAM, USB flash sticks etc "lifetime" may mean a couple of months in some cases.

Re: What does this mean about memory upgrade?

Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2011 8:38 pm
by ctkelly
penartur wrote: And "lifetime" often means "product lifetime". That is, if the specific model is no longer produced, you won't get any warranty service.
With constantly changing models of RAM, USB flash sticks etc "lifetime" may mean a couple of months in some cases.
My point was ordering memory that has a lifetime warranty is better than ordering a stick of lenovo ram and installing it. For one, it will be cheaper, second it may have a faster memory timings which can translate to increased performance, and third the warranty will more than likely be longer than your lenovo warranty anyways. As far as a couple months, I think thats a little extreme. DDR2 is still being produced and DDR3 is the current standard...so even if something does come along new to replace DDR3, you can probably bet on another year or two of production from most manufacturers.

If you look at a big memory maker like crucial, you will see they produce all sorts of out dated ram...all the way back to SDRAM. I would bet that their lifetime warranty will hold up better than a couple months.

Re: What does this mean about memory upgrade?

Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 2:06 am
by penartur
ctkelly wrote:My point was ordering memory that has a lifetime warranty is better than ordering a stick of lenovo ram and installing it.
I agree with you; my point was that "lifetime warranty" is not as good as it sounds and that the common 1 year or 3 years or something warranty is usually better that this "lifetime".
For one, it will be cheaper, second it may have a faster memory timings which can translate to increased performance, and third the warranty will more than likely be longer than your lenovo warranty anyways. As far as a couple months, I think thats a little extreme. DDR2 is still being produced and DDR3 is the current standard...so even if something does come along new to replace DDR3, you can probably bet on another year or two of production from most manufacturers.
You didn't understand me very well.
Let's say you're purchasing e.g. "Kingston 1GB 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Laptop Memory Model KVR1066D3S7/1G". Couple of months later, Kingston still produces DDR3 memory in 1GB sticks, however, KVR1066D3S7 is no longer produced, and now they produce KVR1066D4S7. Product lifetime is over now, and no more warranty for you. That's what "lifetime warranty" may mean (and AFAIK often means).

Re: What does this mean about memory upgrade?

Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 6:23 am
by ctkelly
That may depend on which company you deal with and what their warranty actually states. In the past when I have ran into a warranty problem and the exact product was no longer produced I was offered a similar product that would work. I had a stick of crucial ballastix tracer ram go out, it was a matched set......they offered to replace BOTH sticks with a similar product so it would be a match set....in the end, they did find the particular stick of ram....and even one from the same lot as mine.

I see what your point is, I just have not ran across a company that hanldes their warranty like that. I hope I never have to either.