Lenovo ThinkPad T490 upgrades
Released 2019 · support ended
CPU is soldered (BGA) - no CPU slot, no upgrade path (8th Gen Whiskey Lake-U or 10th Gen Comet Lake-U, 15 W U-series). Memory is partly soldered: 8 GB or 16 GB fixed at purchase plus one SO-DIMM slot. Wi-Fi is also soldered. Check the exact machine type (20N2/20N3/20RX/20RY/20Q9/20QH) before buying RAM, since soldered capacity varies by SKU.
Upgrade guide → What fits, step by step, and official documents.
- 1x DDR4 SO-DIMM (plus soldered RAM): DDR4 SO-DIMM · 8 GB soldered · up to 48 GB total · 2666 MT/s
- 1x M.2 slot (2242 or 2280) NVMe/SATA: SSD M.2 2242 / M.2 2280 (NVMe / SATA)
Slot map
1x DDR4 SO-DIMM (plus soldered RAM) DDR4 SO-DIMM · 8 GB soldered · up to 48 GB total · 2666 MT/s
One upgradeable 260-pin DDR4 SO-DIMM plus non-removable soldered RAM (8 or 16 GB depending on SKU - soldered_gb shown as 8, the common baseline; verify your model, only 16 GB soldered enables 48 GB total). Non-ECC unbuffered only. PSREF lists DDR4-2400; 10th-gen configs run 2666, 8th-gen clock modules down to 2400. Dual-channel/interleaved mode benefits from matched sizes.
| $/GB | Price | Capacity | Product | Condition | Store | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $2.38 | $19.00 | 8 GB | Micron 8GB DDR4-2666 SO-DIMM (MTA8ATF1G64HZ-2G6E1) DDR4-2666 CL19 SO-DIMM | Used | eBay US +2 | View deal Amazon Price alert |
| $3.00 | $24.00 | 8 GB | Kingston KCP426SS8/8 8 GB DDR4-2666 SO-DIMM (KCP OEM line) DDR4-2666 CL19 SO-DIMM | Used | eBay US +2 | View deal Amazon Price alert |
| $3.12 | $24.99 | 8 GB | Crucial 8GB DDR4-2666 SO-DIMM (CT8G4SFS8266) DDR4-2666 CL19 SO-DIMM | Used | eBay US +2 | View deal Amazon Price alert |
| $3.57 | $28.58 | 8 GB | Samsung 8 GB DDR4-2400 SO-DIMM (OEM module) DDR4-2400 CL17 SO-DIMM | Used | eBay US +2 | View deal Amazon Price alert |
| $3.75 | $29.99 | 8 GB | SK hynix 8GB DDR4-2666 SO-DIMM (HMA81GS6CJR8N-VK) DDR4-2666 CL19 SO-DIMM | Used | eBay US +2 | View deal Amazon Price alert |
| $4.06 | $64.95 | 16 GB | Samsung 16GB DDR4-3200 SO-DIMM (1Rx8) runs at 2666 MT/s DDR4-3200 CL22 SO-DIMM | Used | eBay US +2 | View deal Amazon Price alert |
| $4.06 | $64.99 | 16 GB | SK hynix 16GB DDR4-3200 SO-DIMM runs at 2666 MT/s DDR4-3200 CL22 SO-DIMM | Used | eBay US +1 | View deal Amazon Price alert |
| $4.06 | $65.00 | 16 GB | Micron 16GB DDR4-3200 SO-DIMM runs at 2666 MT/s DDR4-3200 SO-DIMM | Used | eBay US +2 | View deal Amazon Price alert |
| $4.16 | $33.25 | 8 GB | Crucial 8GB DDR4-2400 SO-DIMM DDR4-2400 CL17 SO-DIMM | Used | eBay US +2 | View deal Amazon Price alert |
| $4.24 | $33.94 | 8 GB | Samsung 8 GB DDR4-2400 SO-DIMM (OEM module) DDR4-2400 CL17 SO-DIMM | Refurbished | eBay US | View deal Amazon Price alert |
All compatible memory with filters → · Compare prices: DDR4 laptop RAM (SO-DIMM)
1x M.2 slot (2242 or 2280) NVMe/SATA SSD M.2 2242 / M.2 2280 (NVMe / SATA)
Single M.2 drive only - no 2.5" bay or second drive; 2280 gives PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe or SATA 6 Gb/s (SATA option not available in EMEA), while 2242 runs only PCIe 3.0 x2. Lenovo's tested maxima (1 TB 2280, 256 GB 2242) are not hard limits. Opal2 SED supported; a separate M.2 2242 WWAN slot exists for cellular modems only.
| $/TB | Price | Capacity | Product | Condition | Store | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $75.00 | $299.99 | 4 TB | Crucial P3 Plus 4TB M.2 2280 NVMe M.2 2280 SSD · NVMe Gen4 | Used | eBay US +2 | View deal Amazon Price alert |
| $97.56 | $49.95 | 512 GB | SC401 512GB M.2 2280 SATA SSD M.2 2280 SSD · SATA | Used | eBay US +2 | View deal Amazon Price alert |
| $97.64 | $49.99 | 512 GB | XG7 512GB M.2 2280 NVMe Gen4 SSD (Lenovo) M.2 2280 SSD · NVMe Gen4 | Used | eBay US +2 | View deal Amazon Price alert |
| $98.75 | $395.00 | 4 TB | Crucial P3 Plus 4TB M.2 2280 NVMe M.2 2280 SSD · NVMe Gen4 | New | eBay US +2 | View deal Amazon Price alert |
| $101.52 | $25.99 | 256 GB | Samsung PM981a 256GB M.2 2280 NVMe SSD (Lenovo FRU) M.2 2280 SSD · NVMe | Used | eBay US +2 | View deal Amazon Price alert |
| $105.00 | $209.99 | 2 TB | Crucial P3 Plus 2TB M.2 2280 NVMe M.2 2280 SSD · NVMe Gen4 | Used | eBay US +2 | View deal Amazon Price alert |
| $105.00 | $419.99 | 4 TB | Kingston FURY Renegade 4TB (no heatsink) M.2 2280 SSD · NVMe | Used | eBay US +1 | View deal Amazon Price alert |
| $107.40 | $54.99 | 512 GB | SC401 512GB M.2 2280 SATA SSD M.2 2280 SSD · SATA | Refurbished | eBay US | View deal Amazon Price alert |
| $107.40 | $54.99 | 512 GB | PM981A 512GB M.2 2280 NVMe SSD (Lenovo FRU 00UP735) M.2 2280 SSD · NVMe | Used | eBay US +2 | View deal Amazon Price alert |
| $109.99 | $109.99 | 1 TB | Crucial P3 1TB M.2 2280 NVMe (Gen3) M.2 2280 SSD · NVMe Gen3 | Used | eBay US +2 | View deal Amazon Price alert |
All compatible storage with filters → · Compare prices: NVMe M.2 2280 SSD