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    Corsair 16gb 1866mhz in X220

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by JBN, Dec 18, 2012.

  1. JBN

    JBN Notebook Consultant

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    Hey guys, I've been trying to find this answer but to no avail so I was hoping for an answer from someone who tried this. Does the new Corsair 16gb 1866mhz RAM work in the x220?

    Here's the link: Amazon.com: Corsair Vengeance 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR3 1866 MHz (PC3 15000) Laptop Memory CMSX16GX3M2A1866C10: Computers & Accessories

    I'm running the 2.8ghz i7 2640M right now (I heard that there may be a difference between the 2640M and 2620M in terms of mem speed; limiting factor to 1333mhz while others run at 1866mhz). I know that various users have successfully ran 8gb at 1866mhz on the x220 at full speed but what about the 16gb? Is Corsair compatible or is it only the HyperX series that allows 1866mhz on the x220? Thank you in advance for your responses.

    There's a lot of Facebook pages that I load to look at kittens so I need the memory size and speed *sarcasm*
     
  2. JBN

    JBN Notebook Consultant

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    First and last bump. If there's no response then wait until I get it next month and we'll see if it works...hahaha.
     
  3. OtherSongs

    OtherSongs Notebook Evangelist

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    What did/does that memory cost?

    There are a few NBR regular high count posters who sometimes state that while better/faster memory doesn't always see much improvement in benchmark score, that it does often provide a noticeable improvement in "snap" response of the system when you press the enter key.

    Generally just buy the cheapest and largest (8GB each) pair of 1.5V 1600 speed SO-DIMM laptop memory.

    If your laptop only supports 8GB of total memory, then buy 2x4GB of 1.5V 1600 speed SO-DIMM laptop memory.

    Don't worry (or fantasize) about higher speeds than 1600 (like your above ref to 1866) and also don't worry about SO-DIMM that are rated to run as low as 1.35V

    FWIW Newegg has recently had 16GB (2x8GB) of 1600MHz G.Skill SO-DIMM on sale at $59.99 (which is what I went for), and now GeIL at ~$55, both at 1.5V and 1600 speed.

    If you want to spend $90 or well over $90, have at it. My vote goes to lowest cost 1.5V 1600 memory that comes along, provided it gets a high percentage of favorable owner reviews.

    FWIW I can only think of 3 reasons to buy more than 8GB of total memory on a laptop computer: 1) you are running a workstation laptop like Lenovo W530, and 2) you are running VM via linux (not sure if that's correct terminology), and maybe(?) 3) you are running a large SSD as your boot drive. But I'm still uncertain about #3. I'm running a 512GB SSD as my only storage device on my new Lenovo T530 laptop.

    I did manage to track down one recent short (and decent) NBR laptop memory thread at: http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...6gb-memory-kingston-cruicial.html#post8966914
     
  4. James D

    James D Notebook Prophet

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    I am one of that "high count posters" and I must say that except you forgot to mention that official max size of RAM supported usually is much lower than real size and (much more important) that faster RAM gives significant performance boost for integrated GPU in CPU (like Intel HD3000 which will be very useful for Thinkpad.) your post is very quality one!
    In fact I don't get how you have no rep here. No clue. But it's fixable ;) Next time don't forget the main advantage of Fast RAM.:hi2:

    @JBN, as it is stated, unless you know why you need more than 8GB (Photoshop, CAD, Virtual Machines, video rendering etc) you don't need it.

    My vote is for best 2x4GB kit you can afford.
    I personally buy Samsung 1600 MV-3T4G3D/US and overclock it to 2133MHz 1.5V. However unless you have BIOS settings which let you to OC RAM manually you will have to use Thaiphoon Burner or else software which is not free :( This is what I and many others did.

    But your Cpu most likely will work at only 1866 Mhz max. Not guarantee though as your BIOS may downclock it to 1600.
     
  5. OtherSongs

    OtherSongs Notebook Evangelist

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    That's a nice thing to say, thanks very much.

    Odds are that you are fairly young?

    True?

    Anyhow I'm retired.

    So I'll clue you in. Listen very very carefully.

    The difference between a great system analyst and a very very very good system analyst is that the great analyst asks fewer questions and pisses no one off.

    They both reach the same system design as an end point.

    The only thing that saves a very very very good system analyst is when they are superior at crunch time, which sooner or later always arrives. Usually sooner than later, but things like this can take time.
     
  6. JBN

    JBN Notebook Consultant

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    So that's exactly my question: does the stick run at full 1866mhz because this system does (according to some NBR users). True, I have been checking out the prices of the 1600mhz for months, both the 16gb and 8gb and I have seen the drop in price on Amazon (and other retailers) so I am aware of those pricing as well as the 8gb 1866mhz from both HyperX and Vengeance series. Photoshop, video rendering, and VM yes. My question is not "is 1866mhz marginally better than 1600mhz" but "is 1866mhz Corsair 16gb compatible with the i7 2640M". Many people will think it's a waste of money for a marginally better performance, which I tend to agree as well so don't get me wrong there.
     
  7. James D

    James D Notebook Prophet

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    @OtherSongs I was talking about Join Date Nov 2012 not about age :)

    @JBN Most likely it will work fine. But when we talk about Corsair all can happen.
     
  8. Flickster

    Flickster Notebook Evangelist

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    I disagree.

    2) Why would you have to be running Virtual Machines only via Linux to require extra memory? You can run multiple VMs in a Windows environment just fine. Bottom line is that Memory is King when it comes to virtualization regardless of what platform you are using to run the guest OS, be it on a Type 1 or Type 2 Hypervisor.

    3) What does having a large capacity SSD have to do with needing more than 8GB of RAM? In my books or any of the many books I have read, I have never heard of a large capacity SSD being a reason to increase RAM beyond 8GB.

    By the way I know a couple of great system analysts that do tick people off with their recommendations, just not the wrong people. :) - There is almost always resistance to change, it's human nature and it's almost impossible to please everyone.
     
  9. Flickster

    Flickster Notebook Evangelist

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    Double post due to latency. - Same as above.
     
  10. OtherSongs

    OtherSongs Notebook Evangelist

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    One answer, when you're unsure, is to buy memory from a vendor with an excellent return policy.

    Out of honest curiosity, how much are you going to buy? 2x4GB or 2x8GB? And what is it going to cost?

    BTW I see that James D has responded to you and he gave a somewhat long 1st and a short 2nd post.

    He also did a somewhat recent long (653 posts) memory thread in another forum. Odds are you've seen this (given your post count), but in case not, it's at: http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...extreme-boost-1600-2133-beyond-jedec-xmp.html