Is it possible to upgrade to 12 G of RAM (4 G + 8 G)?

[paulwece]

Hi,

I just bought a refurbished X220 (specs are below). I wonder if it's possible to replace one of the 4G ram with a 8G ram for a total of 12 G, or does both ram cards has to be the same? Currently it has 8 G of ram (two 4 g ram).

I also read that it has to be 1333 mhz right? If you can recommend one that'll work I'd appreciate it. thanks

Manufacturer: Lenovo
Model: Thinkpad X220 Laptop Lenovo
CPU: Intel® Core™ i5-2520M Processor 2.50GHZ (3M Cache, up to 3.30 GHz)
RAM: 8G DDR3 (2x4GB)
Hard Drive: 128GB Solid STATE DRIVE SSD Sata 2.5" SUPER FAST performance
Graphics: Intel® Integrated HD Graphics
Screen: 12.5" HD (1366x768) LED Backlit Display
Optical: no
Webcam: N/A
Network: 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet - Intel® Centrino® Advanced-N 6205 AGN
Interfaces: (1) DisplayPort with audio (1) VGA (3) USB 2.0 4-in-1 SD Card Reader (SD/SDHC/SDXC/MMC slot) (1) Express Card 54mm
COA: Windows 10 Professional

[RealBlackStuff]

Yes, you can put in max. 2x8GB=16GB, either 1366 or 1600.
Do NOT put in 1866 or low-voltage (1.35V) DDR3L.
Both of your modules SHOULD have the same speed.
Use well-known brands such as Crucial, Hynix, Elpida, Samsung, Axiom, G.Skill.
Avoid so-called Value Ram.

[Thinkpad4by3]

Also, woth mismatched sticks, you may not be able to run dual channel mode, decreasing performance. To what degree, IDK.

Sent from my SM-G550T using Tapatalk

[ThinkGreen]

I restart from this topic because I've a similar question.

I need to update my configuration:

- 2 Gb: Samsung PC3-10700 (667 MHz) M471B5773CHS-CH9
- 4 Gb: Crucial PC3-8500F (533 MHz) CT51264BC1067.M16F

How could I upgrade both modules to improve performance as more as possible ?

[RealBlackStuff]

See my first post in this thread.

[ThinkGreen]

So would the best choice be a pair of 2x8Gb of DDR3 at 1600 MHz ?

[skx]

So would the best choice be a pair of 2x8Gb of DDR3 at 1600 MHz ?

I would add a 2nd 4 Gb: Crucial PC3-8500F (533 MHz) CT51264BC1067.M16F

Cost benefit wise, better solution, 8Gb is sufficient for normal usage, only if your are into heavy virtual machine usage going up to 16Gb would make sense.

[ThinkGreen]

And now You have 2 models of 4 GB in dual mode ?

So would the best choice be a pair of 2x8Gb of DDR3 at 1600 MHz ?

I would add a 2nd 4 Gb: Crucial PC3-8500F (533 MHz) CT51264BC1067.M16F

Cost benefit wise, better solution, 8Gb is sufficient for normal usage, only if your are into heavy virtual machine usage going up to 16Gb would make sense.

[skx]

And now You have 2 models of 4 GB in dual mode ?

Sure, just buy exact same RAM and you will have dual mode. It is easy to find the exact same RAM via ebay for like an affordable 20usd/eur.

[ThinkGreen]

I'm undecided on which is the real max supported frequency...

[RealBlackStuff]

I think that RAM frequency is only of limited interest to most people, unless you look for bragging rights.
If you'd need to do really big number-crunching, you wouldn't work on a laptop to begin with.
More important is to have RAM modules with the same speed and (preferably) the same size, so they can run in Dual-Channel mode.
But even Dual-Channel (or not) doesn't make all that much difference.

[ThinkGreen]

In think it's an important aspect.

Here is an interesting discussion about this argument, included the fact old bios supported 1866 MHz ram, too.

viewtopic.php?f=43&t=105882

[skx]

Its like people claiming FLAC is must have for listening music with an iPod. You will never consciously notice the difference.

[ThinkGreen]

Are You sure ? From 1033 to 1600 could be a concrete improvement in day-to-day performance.

[dr_st]

Are You sure ? From 1033 to 1600 could be a concrete improvement in day-to-day performance.

What are you basing this assumption on?

[ThinkGreen]

Are You sure ? From 1033 to 1600 could be a concrete improvement in day-to-day performance.

What are you basing this assumption on?

It's not an assumption, it's an hypothesis.
Do You know the difference?

[dr_st]

Look it up.
https://www.google.com/search?q=1333+vs ... difference

[Saucey]

If you're using 16GB RAM, having heavy usage (like 12GB or more), quadcore i7 pushing 85%+ & 'feel' the speed of the SSD, then that latency speed on RAM would show the significance.

Get the 1600MHz if it feels better to you. Personally I couldn't tell much of a difference.

If you're going to use a lot of layers on photoshop, or have a lot of chrome tabs, 12GB would be good enough. My T430s with XFCE handled 70 Chrome tabs fine, although I did have adblock on all that

[GomJabbar]

FWIW, I recently bought from Amazon: Crucial 16GB Kit (8GBx2) DDR3/DDR3L 1866 MT/s (PC3-14900) Unbuffered SODIMM 204-Pin Memory - CT2K102464BF186D and installed this kit in my X220 (bios version 1.26). I works just fine, and at full speed (as verified by CPU-Z).

Product description
Capacity:16GB Kit (8GBx2)

CT2KIT102464BF186D is a kit consisting of (2) 8GB DDR3L 1.35V Notebook module that operates at speeds up to 1866 MT/s and has a CL13 latency. It is dual voltage and can operate at 1.35V or 1.5V. It is Unbuffered and is non-ECC. It conforms to the industry standard SODIMM layout of 204 pins and is compatible with computers that take DDR3L SODIMM memory.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JC ... UTF8&psc=1

[ThinkGreen]

If you're using 16GB RAM, having heavy usage (like 12GB or more), quadcore i7 pushing 85%+ & 'feel' the speed of the SSD, then that latency speed on RAM would show the significance.

Get the 1600MHz if it feels better to you. Personally I couldn't tell much of a difference.

If you're going to use a lot of layers on photoshop, or have a lot of chrome tabs, 12GB would be good enough. My T430s with XFCE handled 70 Chrome tabs fine, although I did have adblock on all that

70 ? Personally never gone over 30 tabs, with adblock and great suspender on.

[ThinkGreen]

Which one among:
Kingston: kvr13s9s8/4
Crucial: ct51264bf160bj.m8fn
?