IBM X servers and Kingston Ram. IBM warranty still valid ?.

RimBlock · 27 Jun 2012 at 05:59

Hi,

Quick question...

The price I am being quoted for IBM X-Series ram (X3250M4) is ridiculous to the point of being over twice the price of comparable HP parts and three times more expensive than Kingston compatible ram.

If I get Kingston ram compatible for the X-Series (M4) servers, what affect will it have, if any, on the support & warranty from IBM ?

Thanks
RB

droyden · 27 Jun 2012 at 09:58

Just don't tell them and keep the original IBM RAM to swap in if there is issues

You could confirm with IBM support though (or your reseller), aftermarket upgrades normally dont effect warranty of the other components (unless they directly break them I guess)

RimBlock · 27 Jun 2012 at 10:08

droyden said:
Just don't tell them and keep the original IBM RAM to swap in if there is issues
You could confirm with IBM support though (or your reseller), aftermarket upgrades normally dont effect warranty of the other components (unless they directly break them I guess)

Fair point.

I am the reseller though and the terrible pricing is from the local distributor. I also do not trust the distro to provide the correct warranty info as they as sales people after all

. I will confirm with IBM and have just signed up for a partner account with them but wanted to get a 'gut feel' from others as to the state of play.

Thanks VM
RB

droyden · 27 Jun 2012 at 10:58

TBH I asked our Dell account manager about sticking in non dell drives and how that would effect warranty, he basically said the same - will be fine aslong as it doesnt break it

Yamahahahahaha · 27 Jun 2012 at 11:57

In my experience IBM are the least happy (vs. HP and Dell) about using non-IBM branded kit in their machines.
One horror story on here a while ago (2011? 2010?) was an IBM server having it's warranty dropped because of a similar situation, installing non-IBM branded RAM.

HP are happy if you replace the original component before their engineer turns up (bit of a pain if it's a CPU etc) and Dell don't really care what you do as long as the issue isn't caused by the component you've installed.

RimBlock · 28 Jun 2012 at 07:13

Just a quick update.

Just got confirmation from IBM that any changing of parts will void all support and warranty contracts.

Bit of a shame that.

RB

malman · 3 Jul 2012 at 16:11

Thats funny because I had a vague memory of a letter from IBM saying that they would cover certain Kingston ram in X series servers under the IBM warranty so even if it was the ram that failed they would swap it.

After a bit of googling I found a few hits but nothing for the UK
This shows the USA/canada and parts that are covered.

http://www.kingston.com/en/business

Can't find the UK stuff now as its not something I was looking at doing but you might want to speak to your IBM rep