New to cf-52 need help

Can anyone tell me what this model number means: CF-52FKN10AM

I can't find a sticky about the 52 with model information

Also does anyone know what ram it uses? Ddr2 or ddr3? This laptop is being shipped to me with 2gb ram and I want to order 4gb before it gets here... Any reccomendations as to memory manufacturers?

Thanks if you can help!

 

CPU:
F - Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 (No WLAN) - 2.4GHz ( Federal only)
LCD:
K - 15.4" WUXGA (512MB ded. VRAM)
Hard Drive - RAM:
N - 160GB HDD and 2GB RAM
Integrated Options:
1 - DVD Multi-drive + SmartCard + No Absolute in BIOS
Wireless:
0 - No Wireless and No Absolute in BIOS
Operating System:
A - Win Vista COA, downgrade to XP
Geographic ID:
M-US


DDR2. It does not have wifi. You will need to flash the bios in order to get wifi to work. It has been discussed here before.

 

Here is the link to Panasonic's configurator. You can put any model Toughbook (ending in M) in it to find out what it had when it left the factory Panasonic Mobile Computing Configure Products

 

The tool doesn't tell me what ram to buy DDR 2 or DDR 3 and what "pc2" 6400 5300 etc

I can't figure it out all I can tell Is it has a 8400 2.4gz processor

 

According to Crucial.com it will take up to 4 Gb of ddr2 5300 or 6400. I'm running Samsung 6400 (2Gb) in a CF-52G. I like Crucial but use a bit of everything. Matched sets in any particular unit. There are several posts about 52 and ram on this forum. One guy claimed to use 8 Gb.

Replace TEST with your question. TEST site:forum.notebookreview.com/panasonic - Google Search

Then save this link to your tool bar. You'll be glad you did. Thanks as always to Azrial.

 

I posted that it is DDR2

 

Yes, but pc2 6400? 5300?

 

For the slight difference in cost, I always go with the fastest available. It's always downward compatible and that way the ram can be swapped into the faster Toughbook(s) you are going to buy later on........

Also if you go to the official Panasonic Toughbook web site, you can download the owners manual which covers all this information.

http://www.panasonic.com/business/toughbook/computer-support-download-manuals.asp

 

Always go with the fastest compatible ram and downclock it to match your FSB.

For example the older Core 2 Duo's use 266Mhz * 4 multiplier ~ 1066Mhz FSB (front side bus). Well ok, it's 1064 if we must be 100% correct but they advertised it 1066.

DDR 2 memory is using double data rate. Which means that you must divide it's speed on two to see where it goes. For example DDR 2 on 533 is 533/2 ~ 266Mhz. That matches the Core 2 Duo FSB. You should use that frequency.

More to go - if you get a "better ram" on the same machine, for example DDR 2 on 667, which is 667/2 ~ 333Mhz, it's worth to downclock it on 533 if you have 1066Mhz FSB (that's the case with my oldie PC at home). You'll keep it on 667 only if your FSB is the newer (Penryn's) 1333Mhz speed.

Buying DDR 2 on 800Mhz? Why not, but always downclock it (depending on your FSB). I don't know if there is 1600Mhz C2D FSB at all. You'll need it on that speed if you overclock.

What happens if you run the ram on faster speed than the FSB is? The answer is that it will run empty cycles. That's not only useless but it also goes out of sync sometimes which degrades performance.

Why not buying the "correct ram" which matches your FSB stock? Because the slower rams are usually the faster rams with errors which does not show on slower speeds

And again - look also not only at the speed but timings too. You won't overclock, but it's still better to get a ram with the best timings. It's timings will be downclocked too but this means more stable operation anyway. It's like buying a faster car but driving slowly with it

Verdict - buy the better ram (look at the latency and other timings) and then downclock it. On the laptops most of the time you don't have control over the ram speed - it's downclocked automatically to the correct speed.