Macbook pro takes 16GB Ram - Why doesn't the X220 ?

The new Macbook pro (i5 & i7) is able to take 16GB Ram (2 x 8GB sticks). I know the new ram is too expensive to consider, but why doesn't the X220 (also i5 & i7) accept that much ram?



Did Lenovo put a cap on the ram, even though Intel supports it?

Reply 1 : Macbook pro takes 16GB Ram - Why doesn't the X220 ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by adam7777 Hi The new Macbook pro (i5 & i7) is able to take 16GB Ram (2 x 8GB sticks). I know the new ram is too expensive to consider, but why doesn't the X220 accent that much ram? Did Lenovo put a cap on the ram, even though Intel supports it?

The X220 probably will take 16GB, but Lenovo hasn't validated it with 8GB sticks since they're crazy expensive and hard to find (Newegg doesn't even stock them).



This is similar to how Lenovo only lists certain SSDs as being compatible with the T420. Any 2.5"/9.5mm SSD should work, but Lenovo can only guarantee that it will work with the drives that they have actually tested.



Note that the X220 (and the T420s) take 2.5"/7mm drives, so most SSDs/HDDs won't fit. The Intel X25-M G2 is a notable exception since it is a 7mm drive once you remove the plastic spacer.

Reply 2 : Macbook pro takes 16GB Ram - Why doesn't the X220 ?

Yup 8GB sticks cost about 2 grand a pop...so does it matter that a MBP can take 16 GB RAM lol.

Reply 3 : Macbook pro takes 16GB Ram - Why doesn't the X220 ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by adam7777 The new Macbook pro (i5 & i7) is able to take 16GB Ram (2 x 8GB sticks). I know the new ram is too expensive to consider, but why doesn't the X220 (also i5 & i7) accept that much ram? Did Lenovo put a cap on the ram, even though Intel supports it?

What exactly do you plan to do with this laptop that would need 16gb of memory? :P



PS: Why did i just laugh about the idea of apple saying..it can support 16gb of memory..then they recommend it..i wonder how many would do so..ah ok enough jokes..

Reply 4 : Macbook pro takes 16GB Ram - Why doesn't the X220 ?

16gb of ram is well past the amount of load average workstation laptops can handle. We handle heavy ram intensive cad at work and our workstations hit 8-11gb and that's enough to bog down an core i7 950 machine. So why on Gods green earth would you want that in an average laptop let alone an ultraportable????

Reply 5 : Macbook pro takes 16GB Ram - Why doesn't the X220 ?

Just looking for a video editing solution with premiere pro:



* tower vs notebook (with a vidock & monitor)



... but $1600 for 16GB ram from OWC is too expensive.

Reply 6 : Macbook pro takes 16GB Ram - Why doesn't the X220 ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sphinx 16gb of ram is well past the amount of load average workstation laptops can handle. We handle heavy ram intensive cad at work and our workstations hit 8-11gb and that's enough to bog down an core i7 950 machine. So why on Gods green earth would you want that in an average laptop let alone an ultraportable????

Virtual Machines.

Reply 7 : Macbook pro takes 16GB Ram - Why doesn't the X220 ?

By the time you are using all 16 gigs of ram in the current MBP, it will probably shutting itself off from overheating. MBP are not designed for serious CPU intensive tasks.

Reply 8 : Macbook pro takes 16GB Ram - Why doesn't the X220 ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sphinx 16gb of ram is well past the amount of load average workstation laptops can handle. We handle heavy ram intensive cad at work and our workstations hit 8-11gb and that's enough to bog down an core i7 950 machine. So why on Gods green earth would you want that in an average laptop let alone an ultraportable????

My job involves writing natural language processing systems using machine learning, and I absolutely appreciate having 16GB of memory in my desktop (i7-2600 / 4GB x 4). When you're writing code that processes gigabytes of text, the classification models can get huge. So you either write your code to be more efficient, or you do what I do and just throw more RAM at the problem.



As soon as 8GB SO-DIMMs come down in price I'll have 16GB on my laptop too. And possibly 32GB of memory on my desktop. You can never have too much RAM.

Reply 9 : Macbook pro takes 16GB Ram - Why doesn't the X220 ?

X220 is a a notebook that didn't fall into the netbook hole.



I believe 8 GB RAM for such a petite computer is more than sufficient for now and the future.