t400 memory woes

[mtoal]

Hi Thinkpads.com forum,

I have a T400 6473-pvu with current 3.25 bios. It has qty 2 1GB PC3 8500 modules
(OEM Hynix and an elpida aftermarket)

A friend has a T420 4178-6vu with unknown bios It has qty 1 4gb PC3 10600 module
(OEM Hynix)

I read that my t400 will take qty 2 of 4GB DDR3 1066 MHZ PC3 8500.
So I order some noname memory off ebay....

The pc3 8500 ebay memory DOES NOT WORK in my t400 6473
(I tried both together, and each individually in the bottom slot)

But, the pc3 8500 ebay memory WORKS SORT OF in my friend's t420
(it boots to windows, but bluescreens after a few minutes)

And, the pc3 10600 t420 memory WORKS OK in my t400 6473
(I presume it is "stepping down" to 8500)

The T400 spec refers to PC3 8500, so do I get PC3 8500 or PC3 10600?
http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/detail. ... MIGR-72190
My understanding is the pc3 10600 is a higher grade than the pc3 8500.

Did I just get craptastic memory, and the T420 is just more tolerant of it than the t400 for some reason?

Thanks!!!

[Cigarguy]

Sounds like to got a crappy set of memory.

Yes you can order faster RAM and the system will throttle down to it's fastest speed. Having said that, best thing to do is get name brand RAM of the specified speed. If all else fails follow the instruction manual.

[mtoal]

Yeah, I figure I got stung. Sometimes the lowball deal is a bargain, sometimes it's just cheap s***. Oh well. I just ordered some name brand ram from Newegg. I bet I won't have any issue with those.

[mtoal]

Maybe this will help someone else:

I was able to return the memory to the ebay seller, they were cool about it. The vendor said that after checking their generic low density memory won't work in my T400, but weren't clear on the specifics. I ordered the following from Newegg to replace it, and it works just fine. I paid $49USD in Feb 2013.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820231342
G.SKILL 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Laptop Memory Model F3-10600CL9D-8GBSQ

[rkawakami]

If you can, please post a link to the eBay auction that you bought from. We may be able to determine what went wrong. I've been out of the DRAM world for a couple of years, but as far as I know, there should be no "density" problem with DDR3 memory.

Also, you should run a good memory diagnostic on any newly received modules so that you can promptly identify any issues. One such diagnostic is memtest86+. You can download a free copy from here:

http://www.memtest.org/#downiso

The program is installed on a bootable CD, flash drive or floppy. Let it run for a couple of hours or three complete passes, whichever occurs first. As long as you don't see any white characters on a red background, your modules are fine.

[obiwan722]

Hi to all!

What you think about this RAM for T400 6474-EC3.
http://www.transcend.jp/support/dlcente ... 2842_S.pdf

Looks like ok, but I'm unsure, because official compatibility page of Transcend is a bit old.

http://www.transcend-info.com/Support/S ... y.asp?out=

IBM/LENOVO ThinkPad T400 (2764,2765,2766,2767,2768,2769,2773,6473,6474,6475,7417,7420,7425,7434-xxx)
- Standard Memory : 512MB/1GB/2GB R
- Maximum Memory : 4GB(32bitd) / 8GB(64bits)
- Slots : 2
- Expansion :
- Comments : Chipset:Intel GM45 If 4GB is installed approximately, 3GB will be useable by the operating system.
Transcend P/N | Description | Rank
TS128MSK64V1U 1GB DDR3 1066 SO-DIMM Single Rank
TS256MSK64V1U 2GB DDR3 1066 SO-DIMM Dual Rank
JetRam P/N | Description | Rank
JM1066KSU-1G 1GB DDR3 1066 SO-DIMM Single Rank
JM1066KSU-2G 2GB DDR3 1066 SO-DIMM Dual Rank