Thinkpads Forum

Hello, I want to make sure before I make the purchase, this ram is 100% compatible with my W530. Here are the specs/product description. Please, advise, ASAP, as I have a big project upcoming and want to beef my system up. All the best and thank you for your time.

NEW Crucial 8GB 2Rx8 PC3L-12800S SODIMM RAM Memory Intel DDR3L 1600Mhz 1.35V 8 G

Product Description
100% New chips.high quality guarantee. Tested works perfectly before shipping.

Type: DDR3 SO-DIMM Laptop memory
Function: Non-ECC
Frequency: PC3L-12800S 1600MHz
Module specifications: 204pin
Memory capacity: 8GB
Memory voltage: 1.35V
Warranty: Lifetime warranty

Packing List:
8GB 2RX8 DDR3L 1600MHz PC3L-12800S 204PIN SO-DIMM Intel Laptop CPU Notebook Memory RAM x 1 pieces

NOTE:
1. Before you order, make sure the RAM is compatible with your motherboard/CPU.
2. If have any question, welcome to contact us through email or eBay message, our professional customer service will solve it for you.

W530 PSREF says DDR3-1600/PC3-12800 memory.
Some people use DDR3L in a DDR3 machine and apparently it works without problems.
However, other people complain that their DDR3L runs hot in a DDR3 machine.
W530 being a workhorse, I would recommend DDR3 (1.5V) rather than DDR3L (1.35V).
At least make sure you get a proper brand-name RAM and not any "value" type.

Hello, thanks for the reply. I had another question, not sure if I am allowed to ask here, on this thread. If you would like me to start a new one, let me know. Was wondering in your opinion, what is the best Lenovo laptop of all time, as far as options of beefing it up/ speed/ power. Etc. I guess what I’m trying to ask is, I’ve read places the W530 Is among the top dogs, which would be the top dog? Thanks for any information

The W series usually take the cake:

* beefiest heatsinks
* 4 RAM slots
* CPU socket supporting quad-core CPUs.

The W541 is the last of this line. After this, Intel stopped offering socketed mobile processors, so RAM and storage are the only upgradable parts in newer Thinkpads.

Though some may say that the W700, W701, and P70 have upgradable graphics due to having MXM GPUs, the sad fact is that the BIOS is so locked down that upgrading the graphics is impossible, except for the GPUs that were offered by Lenovo.

W530_Help wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 15, 2021 2:32 am

what is the best Lenovo laptop of all time, as far as options of beefing it up/ speed/ power

Ha ha, that's $1m question! Best of all time Well if you want the best power I assume the latest models are the best!

T440p is quite famous on its upgrading capabilities. It can even take latest IGZO power-efficient screens. I don't know W540 but from the post above it looks like W540 can deliver more omph than T440p.

T520/T530/T420/T430/W520/W530 (and X220/X230 with a specially purchased $150 mobo from Aliexpress, special mobo because CPU is soldered) can all run 4-core Ivy bridge CPU-s. T520/T420/W520 would need Coreboot installed. T530/T430/W530 would need a classic keyboard installed Now if you look at cpubenchmark.net you will notice that these 4-core Ivy Bridge CPU-s are quite powerful. They loose to the likes of T480/T490/... but win over T450, possibly even over T470. And they still take batteries filled with 18650 cells, my understanding is batteries with 18650 cells age batter than modern flat batteries. And they have strong bodies. But all of these machines are limited to 16Gb RAM except for W520/W530 which take up to 32Gb RAM. And screens are rubbish on X220/X230. They leave to be desired I understand on T420/T430 too. Though either can be improved on by using extra boards which adapt them to eDP screens. And I doubt you'd get more than slightly over 4hrs from these machines even on their biggest batteries. Certainly not above 6hrs. I'm getting 4hrs out of my *20.

T440p doesn't need this hassle with screens - it offers eDP out of the box. But it's got a chicklet keyboard.