PaddyC13

Hi @Eigenvektor Thank you for your help. I have ordered a new RAM upgrade from Crucial so the sticks will match going forward. I have also ordered some new thermal paste to give my laptops a wee thermal spa day! Many thanks Paddy UK

Hi @Eigenvektor OK, I chatted with Crucial about the above two modules: Crucial 16GB DDR4-2666 SODIMM CT16G4SFD8266 https://uk.crucial.com/memory/ddr4/ct16g4sfd8266/ct13998775 Crucial 16GB DDR4-2666 SODIMM CT16G4SFRA266 https://uk.crucial.com/memory/ddr4/ct16g4sfra266/ct18629266 According to the agent, the CT16G4SFD8266 part comes with dual ranked RAM whereas CT16G4SFRA266 comes with both single and dual rank RAM. In terms of performance (speed), the agent said CT16G4SFRA266 is the one to go for. As for my second question, I am not sure I got a clear answer (confusion on their part). If they did understand the question: Does 2x8GB (16GB total) performance faster than 2x16GB (32GB total) when memory use does not exceed 16GB? The agent said that there would be no difference unless you exceed 16GB of RAM use. I assume this means that RAM use in interleaved on a PC and data is stored on either stick as the computer runs. Many thanks Paddy UK

Hi @Eigenvektor Thank you for your swift and informative reply. Really appreciate you clearing up the "Intel limitation". Reading the Crucial website, they do not recommend mixing memory sticks but I was not sure if that was just to make more money! May you, or someone else can clear up a couple of other things for me. On the Crucial website they list these two sticks (and others) as compatible with the ThinkPad E490. Crucial 16GB DDR4-2666 SODIMM CT16G4SFD8266 https://uk.crucial.com/memory/ddr4/ct16g4sfd8266/ct13998775 Crucial 16GB DDR4-2666 SODIMM CT16G4SFRA266 https://uk.crucial.com/memory/ddr4/ct16g4sfra266/ct18629266 For the life of me, I cannot see what the difference is - can you clarify? My next question is about maximum memory. I get the dual vs. single channel issue and fortunately the E490 has two slots. However, if you have both slots occupied with 16GB sticks (32GB total) BUT your use case means you never go beyond 16GB (I am not gamer or high end user anymore) will the computer only be using one stick all the time? The second stick will effectively be sat there doing nothing? Would you (in theory) get better performance by having less total memory (16GB say), but with two 8GB sticks? Once again, thank you for your help. Kind regards Paddy UK

Hi Folks, Hopefully this is a quick question and I apologise for my lack of knowledge here. I have inherited what is essentially a new a ThinkPad E490 laptop with an Intel i7-8565U (4 cores, 8 threads). The machine came with 32GB RAM (2 x 16GB) and in the main works well. I have upgraded the SSD to a Samsung 970 PRO 512GB and this works fine. My concern relates to the RAM as the two sticks are different. The first is: Crucial 16GB DDR4-2666 SODIMM 1.2V CL19 CT16G4SFD8266.M16FH The other is: SK Hynix 16GB 2Rx8 PC4-2400T-SE1-11 HMA82GS6AFR8N-UH NO AC 1715 The Lenovo specification sheet for this laptop states that RAM will run at 2400 due to an “Intel limitation” - whatever that is? This would suggest the Crucial RAM will run below it’s maximum speed of 2666. This is confirmed by CPU-Z. https://psref.lenovo.com/syspool/Sys/PDF/ThinkPad/ThinkPad_E490/ThinkPad_E490_Spec.pdf My concern is around the fact that the Crucial RAM is unbuffered whereas the SK is not (if I am reading their specs correctly). Is this anything to worry about? Should the sticks match for best results? Any advice would be appreciated. Kind regards Paddy UK

HI @mariushm and @Chiyawa Sorry to chase but can you please confirm my understanding when you have a minute? Thank you for your help. Kind regards Paddy UK

Hi @mariushm and @Chiyawa Thank your help so far. I have installed both Aida64 (trial version) and HWINFO64 on to my laptop where I wanted to check the memory. Under Aida64 I get the following result which I assume indicates this Corsair RAM is the slower (x16) kind? With HWINFO64, I do not see the same information as @Chiyawa as I do not see Banks listed but rather Ranks? Is this because I have DDR4 rather than DDR3 RAM? Many thanks Paddy UK

Thanks @Chiyawa- I will also check this out later when I get home. Many thanks Paddy UK

Thanks @mariushm, I will give this a go and report back. Many thanks Paddy UK

Hi Folks, Just watched the video on RAM banks and potential speed hit from using x16 RAM rather than x8. Very few RAM suppliers seem to provide this level of detailed information which is disappointing. I have looked at CPUz and RAMMon but neither utility seems to report how many banks (x value) the RAM has in your system. It may be me not understanding the information correctly and if so could someone please clarify? Alternatively, is there a utility out there that does report this level of detail? Many thanks Paddy UK

Thanks both - ah that is a shame. I was hoping for an easy win. Kind regards Paddy UK

Hi Folks, One of my PCs is a ThinkPad E460 with an Intel Core i7-6500U processor. The laptop currently has 16GB of Samsung DDR3 1600MHz RAM installed. According to Intel's website, the Core i7-6500U supports DDR4-2133, LPDDR3-1866, DDR3L-1600. https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/88194/intel-core-i7-6500u-processor-4m-cache-up-to-3-10-ghz.html However, Lenovo state that the E460 supports: Chipset Memory Intel SoC (System on Chip) platform 16GB max / PC3-12800 1600MHz DDR3L, non-parity, dual-channel capable, two 204-pin SO-DIMM sockets https://psref.lenovo.com/syspool/Sys/PDF/ThinkPad/ThinkPad_E460/ThinkPad_E460_Spec.PDF Can someone please explain to me why the E460 cannot support the faster variants of RAM? Does this mean Lenovo have disabled this support in some way? Thank you for your help. Kind regards Paddy UK

Managed to find one stockist with Thermalright TFX. 2g for £11,99. Does that sound reasonable? Kind regards Paddy UK

Strange, all the small tubes of Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut and Arctic MX-4 are out of stock in the UK... Kind regards Paddy

Thanks both - I will try and get hold of some Arctic MX4. Kind regards Paddy UK

Hi Folks, Sorry that this is a rather basic question but what is the best thermal paste to use? I have an HP ProBook 640 G1 (Intel i7 quad-core) which I have had from new (2015). I would like to replace the thermal paste to give it a wee bit more oomph in its old age. Any help would be appreciated. Kind regards Paddy UK