Just looking for advice/opinion. I bought from ebay, what i thought was an x220 Thinkpad with 8G of RAM…turned out only to have 4. I left a bad review but will keep the machine. I put Arch/Sway anyway.
I want to add RAM…i think it can go up to 16. I looked on line and i think it would be about $50 to buy the memory…so i thought o would find an online tutorial and add the memory myself…is this a bad idea?
You must log in or register to comment.
A loosely moderated place to ask open ended questions
If your post is
- Open ended
- Not offensive
- Not regarding lemmy support (c/lemmy_support)
- not ad nauseam inducing (please make sure its a question that would be new to most members)
it’s welcome here!
- 0 users online
- 6 users / day
- 14 users / week
- 21 users / month
- 10 users / 6 months
- 16 subscribers
- 351 Posts
- 891 Comments
- Modlog
While you are at it also replace the hard-drive with a SSD, as that will have a much bigger effect on speed than the RAM upgrade.
Really?
The computer might already have an SSD. Do you know how to check?
Yes, I can see that is HDD
Unlikely but it seems it was sold with an optional 128gb SATA SSD. But even then it might make sense to upgrade to a bigger and somewhat faster SSD, but of course the SATA interface limits that a bit.
It’s a very old machine, often used by enthusiasts, the chances are high that it has gotten upgrades before, no?
If you have a little bit of skill with a screw driver and basic electronics it’s a good idea. I think it fits two ram sticks, so you could buy two 8gb ones. Or you could buy a second 4gb one for very cheap and end up with 8gb, which is fine still anyways.
I was wrong, it’s even easier than I thought. Here is a step-by-step manual if you like: https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Lenovo+ThinkPad+X220+RAM+Replacement/71889
Holy crap! I can totally do that. Looks like i made up my mind.
I couldn’t buy an 8 and a 4 to make 16 with the 4 already there? I’ve never done this before, but the machine was cheap…so i figure why not learn something?
Learning always is a good idea.
You have two ram slots only. You could do 8 and 4gb but that’s not advised. Better use same amount and also same frequency etc. Did you check out the ifixit link?
I will…there is already 4, so i thought…add 12!
This should be interesting. I will check the link…i still have to order the memory.
No, 2x8GB is the best, or open up the laptop and check the existing 4 GB stick (might even be 2x2GB though) and try to find the same online for 2x4GB setup, as 8GB is basically enough if you don’t run bloatware like Windows.
First make sure that you got compatible memory! Also you could try to find used modules, they are available on craiglist and similar sites.
No such thing as a 12GB stick. You could start with adding an 8GB, then in the future replace the 4 with another 8. (Assuming it’s not 2+2 in there currently).
I’m running my x220 with 4+8 (12gb) and there is no issues :)
I rarely require more than 8gb but sometime do memory intensive job and it’s stable, the CPU is more of a bottleneck.
Iirc it’s possible to run 2x16gb but there is some BIOS trickery involved.