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T530 Ivy Bridge: Does It Accept 16 Gb DDR3 RAM Sticks (Total 32 Gb)?

Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2020 10:22 pm
by olex126
Hi Gang.

Picking up a bare-bones T530 tomorrow (Friday) sans memory or HD. I've already checked out/tested everything with the present owners' 16 Gb RAM (2 x 8 Gb)..... except he's pulling those sticks out for another of his units.

(TYPE: 2394-5XU...i7-3520m 2-core 4-thread 2.9 Ghz)

The Intel spec sheet for the processor says 32 Gb RAM max....is there something (what, if anything?) in the Lenovo build that limits this machine to 16 Gb max?....I thought I had read something here previously regarding this, but darned if I can find it now :roll: .

I had 32 Gb in a 4-slot W530 that I sold on the Forum awhile back, but wasn't sure if the 2-slot *30 series would even post with 2 x 16 Gb sticks.

Any advice appreciated before I needlessly throw away my sheckles on possibly (in this case anyway) unusable RAM, and awaiting any of the wise sages that inhabit the Forum to enlighten me on the matter!

Thanks :bow: :bow: and Regards.

Dave

Re: T530 Ivy Bridge: Does It Accept 16 Gb DDR3 RAM Sticks (Total 32 Gb)?

Posted: Fri Sep 11, 2020 12:23 am
by RealBlackStuff
The T530/X230/W530 "Intel QM77 chipset" can only support 8GB per RAM-slot, so no 16GB sticks.

Re: T530 Ivy Bridge: Does It Accept 16 Gb DDR3 RAM Sticks (Total 32 Gb)?

Posted: Fri Sep 11, 2020 8:39 am
by olex126
Ah yes....chipset limitation of RAM per slot....

As always, the all-wise RBS to the rescue with THE answer. Thanks! :thumbs-UP:

Since I have a plethora of Crucial 8 Gb DDR3-1600 RAM sticks, I'm good-to-go with no outlay of more cash for upgraded memory....and in this age of Covid, I can now spend those same ever-cheaper Canuck Bucks on extra face masks, soap dispensers, hand sanitizer, ear plugs, sunglasses, face shields, and rubber gloves....

(although I must say.... those thick heavy rubber gloves DO make it just a tad more difficult to seat the RAM correctly into the slots without a lot of fumbling.... :banghead: )

(Future generations of innocent Thinkpadders are REALLY gonna wonder about that last couple of paragraphs when this post resurfaces sometime in the 2050's!)

Regards.

Dave

Re: T530 Ivy Bridge: Does It Accept 16 Gb DDR3 RAM Sticks (Total 32 Gb)?

Posted: Fri Sep 11, 2020 8:42 am
by atagunov
olex126 wrote:
Fri Sep 11, 2020 8:39 am
when this post resurfaces sometime in the 2050's
Long live T530!