Thinkpads Forum

I have w701ds on order (placed an order 5/11). I went ahead with 8GB 1333 MHz of RAM in 2 DIMMs at the time. I prefer not to modify my order at this time hoping that Lenovo will finally ship it out soon. I would like to upgrade my laptop to 16GB of RAM once it arrives and would greatly appreciate, if somebody could post Lenovo part number for (4 GB PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz SODIMM Memory for W701ds) I assume I'll need two of those. Is there any way to purchase an exact same memory somewhere else? If so, would it void the warranty? Also, is it safe to go with third party memory? I found a few places that sell it, but still prefer to go with Lenovo one.

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I'd recommend buying it elsewhere, unless you like paying more. Older ThinkPads can be finicky with memory, but the newer machine I've seen pretty much accept anything.

I ordered my W701 with 2gb and bought 2 8gb kits from other sellers for a 16gb upgrade ($276 for the first 8gb from superbiz.com, $189 for the second 8 off ebay). If yours is coming with 8 then adding two more sticks is easy. It should not void the warranty, regardless of whether it is Lenovo RAM or 3rd party. The only thing is to try and match the specs, which shouldn't be a problem.

I'm a little confused with Lenovo part numbers for memory upgrade. The following number is listed in my order confirmation e-mail:

SYS.4323CT CONFIGURED SYSTEM
4323CTO THINKPAD W701 -
40Y9134 TPP TERMS AND CONDITIONS
41C9338 3YR Onsite + 3YR ADP
45M3090 VBB GENUWIN7PROFES.64
45M3419 SBB MSLAB.(WIN.7STANDARD)
45M4574 VBB 8GBPC3-10600DDR3 1333SODMM
45M4755 SBB NEWINTLAB2010INT.CORE I7XE
45M4805 SBB IN.CENTADV.-N+WIMAX 6250
55Y2645 3Yr Battery Warranty
60Y6087 SBB IN.QUADCOREPERFPROCESSORXE
60Y6935 SBB CAMERA, 2.0 MP
60Y6939 SBB COM FLSH(PCIE)+EXP CRD34MM
60Y6942 SBB ULT+NMKEY+FPRUPEK+CLRSN+DG
60Y6944 SBB W701DSBFPLEST1394AUSB3.0
60Y6948 SBB BS2NDTCHFNVDGLM3(1GB)+BRTH
60Y6952 SBB 17WXGARGBLEDBL10.6WXGLEDBL
60Y6954 SBB NVIDIAGLM31GB+HG PWR THRML
60Y6956 SBB MLT RCRDR OPT DRV(12.7MM)
60Y6966 SBB 500GB HRDDSKDRV,7200RPM
60Y6968 SBB 128 GB SLDSTTDRV,SRATA
60Y6986 SBB CTRPKNRTHAMWDTLNCR+230WACD
60Y7126 SBB WLANMISCP.-2X2WIMAXHALFH1
60Y7130 SBB CL.PLW701DSWLAN+WIMAX+BLUT
60Y7136 SBB LCD ASMCPLW701W/CSENSORLED
60Y7137 SBB S.LAB.W/COMPL.ID:TP00006A
60Y7141 SBB GEO LABELUS,WLAN,BLUETOOTH
60Y7154 SBB BTMECH MISC / SCREW
60Y7190 SBB SECHDD-500GBHDISKDR7200RPM
60Y7219 SBB 4GBPC3-10600DR3SDM1333SDMM
60Y7220 SBB MECHMISCPARTS
60Y7256 SBB INTERNALRAID-NOTENABLED
60Y7267 SBB PRIMHDD-128GBBSOLIDSTATEDR
60Y7278 SBB W701DS PCKMOW EXC CN,HK,JP
60Y8329 SBB LANGPACUSENG230WCADAP
60Y8500 SBB FRULAW701DSBAPLUSB3.0TPM
60Y8520 SBB GENWIN7PRO64USENGLISH
75Y0571 SBB WIMAXOPTIONUSCLEAR
75Y0781 SBB ODD SW DVD REC VW7 CRL
42X6355 SBB KYB US ENGLISH
43Y4810 SBB 9 CELL LI-ION BATTERY
44C8355 SBB FCC LABEL
44C8401 SBB ENERGYSTAR 4.0 TIER 2 PACK
45M3043 SBB BLUETOOTH W/ANTENNA

However, hardware maintenance manual lists the following FRU number:

9 4-GB DDR3-1333 SDRAM SO-DIMM (PC3-10600) card 55Y3717 **
. 2500-CTO, 2Ax, 2Bx, 2Lx, 2Mx, 3Gx, 43x, 45x, 48x
. 2541-CTO, 28x, 4Jx, 4Kx, 4Lx, 4Nx, 4Qx
. 2542-CTO
. 2543-CTO
. 2544-CTO
. 4323-CTO my laptop W701ds
. 4326-CTO

Which part number is correct 60Y7219 from the order confirmation e-mail or 55Y3717 from the hardware maintenance manual ?

Link to ThinkPad W700, W700ds, W701, and W701ds Hardware Maintenance Manual

I would greatly appreciate any help.

Also, which memory brand Lenovo is using for W701ds?

Quick question: This was true a LONG time ago for certain memory chips and I was wondering if it still is. If I have a system with DDR3-1066MHz RAM, will the chip above it (so to speak), a DDR3-1333MHz RAM also work, or is it not backwards-compatible?

Thanks!