Quick question about RAM on T400

I bought mine with only 2gb. Now I want to upgrade. Problem is I have a 32 bit Vista. Should I get 1 or 2 gigs? Back when I was buying it, some people were reporting stability problems with 4 gigs as the system couldn't see it.

Also, I think I have PC3-8500 1066MHz DDR3 though I'm not 100% sure - is there any way to verify?

 

There won't be any "stability problems," just RAM sitting unused. The benefit of getting another 2GB DIMM (for a total of 4GB) is that you'll gain the slight performance boost (you won't notice it) from the dual channel RAM. The downside is, obviously, that it'll cost more than a 1GB stick.

The RAM that is in the Tx00-series Thinkpad is, as you said, PC3-8500 1066MHz DDR3 SODIMM RAM. In addition, the stock memory sticks have a CAS latency of 7, so you'll want to get another RAM stick that is 7 as well (or lower, but there's no point to that).

You can get all the specs of your current RAM by downloading and running Speccy (link in my signature). It will tell you what type of RAM you are running, and the timings (if you don't take my word for it ).

 

if you have the Intel GPU or use the Intel GPU alot, then you should consider the paired ram configuration, otherwise you would get the screen artifacts problem.

There is no stabilty problem with 4 gigs ram. I use it in my Thinkpad T400.

 

Thanks. One more question - how much ram, exactly, will I see (or be able to use) with 4gb installed? 3.5?

 

you will see 4 gigs, but only 3 gigs of which are available for use by Windows.

 

It all depends, on which GPU you're using and how much RAM you share for it. In some cases, 3.5GB is available, some cases, it's 3.25GB, and some cases, it's only 3G or even fewer

 

Why not use 64-bit?

 

I bought this laptop in 2008 - at that time 64-bit was still new and 32-bit seemed like a marginally better option. I'm thinking about upgrading to 64-bit but that will be a pain in the rear to do a clean install (plus the expense of buying a new OS).

 

you just need the 64 bit installation file or cd from somewhere, your serial number on the bottom of the laptop can be used for activating either 32 bit or 64 bit OS.

If you still got warranty, you can buy a set of 64 bit installation media from Lenovo for about 50 USD.

 

I installed and have used Win7 x64 without any significant problems. All drivers are supported. Most programs run seamlessly. And keys for 32-bit version can also work for 64-bit version, you don't have to buy new one.

 

Thanks. I suppose I'll have to upgrade at some point, if 3gigs of ram will not be enough.

 

Update: I put in another stick of 2GB for a total of 4GB. However Vista only recognizes 2.5GB. Bummer. I thought it would be at least 3. Is that normal? Seem kind of low.

 

the gpu has allocated some of the ram for its own use.

 

I have the ATI GPU that has its own dedicated ram (256mb I think).

 

Is there any way to adjust how much ram the gpu is taking? 1.5gb is a bit much.