ordered some well reviewed g skill 8gb dual channel ram for my thinkpad. computer however is less responsive (slower start up times, slower times while opening programs, lag while typing etc) than it was with the 2gb stick that was in there earlier. the timings that the bios is running are 7-7-7-20 but the timings on the ram are 9-9-9-24. would bios forcing tighter timings on the ram be causing this issue? i cant think of anything else that would cause the system to slow down as opposed to get smoother with more ram.

suggestions are welcome. figured i would ask here before i send this back and get ram that matches timings in bios.

Forgot to mention that I ram Memtest on it for about 15 hour. 8 passes 0 errors. So the ram is fine I think.

Tightening the timings too much could cause that I would think. Try loosening them just a bit. Also see if you can knock down the voltage a bit maybe in the process if you have it all the way at 1.65 (I'm guessing DDR3)? Trial and error time.

laptop. everything in bios is locked. ddr3. stock is 1.5V. mobo is giving it 1.5V.

Obvious but you're running the same clock speed on both chips right? Yeah I would think if you're trying to tighten the timings that far you must be putting in quite a lot of voltage for it to even run and it might not like that. Have you tried memtest and memory speed benchmarks?

Edit: lolwut running stock voltage while having that much of a difference in timings, I'm surprised it still runs

how does it run with just one stick of the new ram in? also if you haven't already check for any bios updates.

Updated bios earlier today. Haven't tried a single stick. Send it back and purchase ram that matches timings mobo is enforcing?

Send it back and purchase ram that matches timings mobo is enforcing?

That's what I would do/did. But then I'm more conservative than the average computer geek.

well if i had a desktop i would just up the voltage but since i cant do anything with the motherboard in the thinkpad, im assuming it might be safer to go with different ram.

rma request sent.