wrote:
Just to add, the under-keyboard installation is not really very difficult to do yourself. I did it the day after I got my P50 because Lenovo, like all OEMs, charges way too much for RAM.
There are YouTube videos to help you, but you basically just need to remove the bottom panel, which allows you to remove the keyboard screws, then you slide the keyboard up and flip it over, then remove the RAM cover. It actually only takes maybe 10 minutes.
I agree, regarding the over-pricing of memory from Lenovo. I made the same decision for my P70 and bought my second 8GB from Crucial (first 8GB from Lenovo with the P70) thinking it would be just like every other machine I've ever added memory to. But I had never needed to get to an under-the-keyboard location before, so I was a rookie here.
The HMM wasn't really that clear with its wordless diagrams with schematic arrows drawn to try and imply what you're supposed to do, but while you can say "then you slide the keyboard up and flip it over" that actually is quite an inscrutable task if you've never done it before. I had no idea how to slide the keyboard a bit out from its current installed and seemingly quite solid and secure position so that I could actually lift it up and over. There are no finger-holes or other plastic protrusions for you to grab onto, so I ended up using a small screwdriver and inserted it into a tiny opening and then rotated it, to pry the keyboard loose and get it moving. I know this surely isn't what you're supposed to do, but I just couldn't figure out any other way to make it happen.
In the end, I of course did have success. But in the end I only saved $40 on the cost of Crucial 8GB vs. what Lenovo wanted for the same 8GB. Had I known about the keyboard surgery required at the time I probably would have just paid the difference and saved all the time I invested myself (which surely also has some cost).
Of course if I were dealing with one or more larger non-ECC memory sticks, or even worse ECC memory, I'm sure I would be thinking differently as the price differential between Lenovo and Crucial is much larger. And of course now that I've actually removed and reinserted the keyboard once, I'm now "an expert". So it wouldn't be so daunting if I had to do it again. Would probably take the 10 minutes you say is really all you need, if you actually know what you're doing.