OK to mix BRANDS of memory on a laptop? Have R61i

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me

I bought a 14.1" R61i laptop but its severely choked
with only one gig of RAM since it has shared video.

I want to order another gig... maybe 2 gig.... but was
wondering if any need to open the laptop up and see
what BRAND memory is already in there and get the same
brand?

Or is it safe to just order the same SPEC memory even
if its a dif brand?

Question also applies to desktops that I may own in the
future.
 
GHalleck said:
In regards to memory modules, it is more desirable to mount RAM of
the same manufacturer and specs. Best to read the manuals for the
computer maker's recommendations.
Click to expand...

Well I've looked in the manual and also Lenovo web site
and it gives the specs of the RAM but NOT the brand

I will give Belarc a go and see what it says....
forgot abt that
 
Well I've looked in the manual and also Lenovo web site
and it gives the specs of the RAM but NOT the brand

I will give Belarc a go and see what it says....
forgot abt that
Click to expand...

Ok I just got done taking the laptop apart.

Man those things are delicate inside!!

Anyway.. it is Samsung memory. I wrote down all the
numbers on the SODIMM

There are two slots and only one slot has 1 gig in it
so the other slot is open

Should I go ahead and put a 2 gig sodimm in the open
slot?

Or will having 1 gig in one slot and 2 gigs in another
slot cause some sort of "unbalance" issue?

Thanks for any help!
 
I bought a 14.1" R61i laptop but its severely choked
with only one gig of RAM since it has shared video.

I want to order another gig... maybe 2 gig.... but was
wondering if any need to open the laptop up and see
what BRAND memory is already in there and get the same
brand?

Or is it safe to just order the same SPEC memory even
if its a dif brand?

Question also applies to desktops that I may own in the
future.
Click to expand...

http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=ThinkPad R61i Series

I found an advert that says it has GMA X3100 graphics, and
looking that up on Intel.com gives GME965 as the chipset.
The product blurb for GME965 says it can run single or
dual channel. Matching the sticks might give the best
performance.

See PDF page 65 here.
http://www.intel.com/design/mobile/datashts/316273.htm

If you choose not to match the sticks, the "Flex memory"
feature extracts as much performance as possible from
the configuration. If you match the sticks, then the
entire memory space would allow interleaved access.
Since the processor already has pretty significant
caching and prefetch features, the difference is
probably pretty small. (Which is why they may have
shipped the machine with one stick in it, rather than
two matched sticks.)

I'd say you're pretty free to choose what you want
for it, as long as the new memory is rated for at least
the same speed. I'd probably try to match speed and
CAS settings. Matching rows, columns, banks and ranks
isn't essential (you could install a 1GB and a 2GB stick,
and get dual channel speeds for the first 1+1=2GB of space).

You can use http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php , to get some
information about the RAM already in there. And also
confirm my theory on the chipset that is present.

As for "future desktops", I prefer to look up each system
individually. At the end of this year, Intel starts
shipping Nehalem, and the rules will change again.
So the recommendations don't remain static for very long.

Paul
 
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