[Confirmed RAM List + Feedback] - Alienware 17 R4 / 15 R3

"Mobius 1" whats your notebook (used in this benchmark immediately above) ?

 

sager np9876 (clevo p870km1)

 

Guys, Just bought a brand new Alienware 17R4 7820hk gtx1080.;
but only with 8g ram.
I plan to upgrade to 16g ram. can anyone link me a ram that I should buy from newegg.ca
I dont want to buy something that is not compatible. im from Canada.
thanks!

 

Hi i have bought aw 17r4 i7 6700hq/GTX 1060/1 X 8GB RAM/late 2016 does anybody know the ram brand it came with to buy identical stick or if anybody has bought compatible crucial stick and made it work? Thank you for any help

 

So are we basically saying here that, at least as of the current 1.1.9 BIOS for AW 17 R4, the memory speed is locked at 2400 MHz so there's no point in even trying to use a faster set?

EDIT - well fwiw I just installed a Kingston HyperX CL14 32 GB set and all is working perfectly.

 

Hi everyone!
Newly registered to the forum. I've followed this thread from the start due to questions / issues with my recently obtained (refurb) AW 17 R4 7820HK / GTX 1080. It came with 16GB 2667MHz memory, but I wanted to bump it to 32GB. There was what seemed to be a great deal on Ballistix (Crucial / Micron) Sport "Gaming Memory" (2666MHz @16 CL) for $309 new on Amazon. But, when I installed it, the memory locked in the BIOS at 2400 now, when it "was" 2667 with the stock Hynix memory. On Passmark 9 memory benchmark (any good?) it is now significantly lower, 92nd percentile instead of 96-97th percentile. On Aida, I get a latency of 75.9. I've been messing with XTU, which helps some (scratching my head on how it works - bypasses the BIOS somehow?) and I have different timing categories than I've seen in this thread, so not sure 100% which settings to change and how much, but I still can't get it anywhere near the Hynix memory, which isn't supposed to perform as well. Running the latest BIOS v1.2.3 BTW.

Any ideas how to improve it or does the memory just not live up to the specs?

Thanks!

@rickdeckard You have 2667MHz in the BIOS? Have you updated the BIOS yet?

 

Have you tried resetting BIOS to default values and even doing a power reset?

 

Thanks, Vasudev. I tried what you recommended, but it didn't help. I also tried just one of the new 16GB modules at a time. Still ran at 2400. Popped in the Hynix memory that the laptop came with. Runs at 2666 on start up. On further investigation, the Ballistix Sport memory only runs at 2666 under an XMP profile, which as I understand it, the 17 R4 does not support. Apparently, memory we use would need to support a JEDEC profile, which is PnP. And, it turns out that the HX426S15IB2K2/32 model of HyperX does support 2666 via a JEDEC profile. Plus it has a CAS of 15. See spec sheet.: https://www.kingston.com/dataSheets/HX426S15IB2K2_32.pdf So, it should run faster than the Hynix with a CAS 19.

As I also understand it, the 17 R4 memory system will not support RAM that runs at 3000MHz. Otherwise, (but maybe for future proofing?), I would get this G.Skills memory (F4-3000C16D-32GRS) since it can run at 3000 with a CAS of 16.

If my understanding is not correct in any area, I would appreciate any clarification someone can offer before I order memory that should run at the speed the 17 R4 supports.

Thanks in advance!

 

If you go into BIOS and see if there's memory section and you can tweak the profile to XMp 1 or 2.

 

I'm using BIOS version 1.2.3 and there is no memory section or any other section to choose an XMP profile. Did AW's used to have that? Or will they soon?

 

Darn, I forgot about it. By default its hidden. Sorry about the confusion.

 

No problem. Just glad to understand the situation. Back goes the Ballistix memory, in comes the HyperX. Thanks for your responses.

 

Oh, forgot to ask: When you say "hidden by default", does that mean there is a way to unhide XMP profiles?

 

Yes there's a way but too risky and I bricked my laptop and by the grace of god I was able to recover it.

 

Ok, I'll leave well enough alone. Thanks for the feedback Vasudev.

 

Thanks for the useful info about XMP vs JEDEC, that explains the confusion! I didn't want to risk buying a 2666 set and getting stuck at 2400 so the Kingston set I bought is 2400 MHz and yeah the BIOS just locked at 2400. Hopefully we can get a list started on this thread of all the 2666 sets that work at that speed on this laptop.

 

The Kingston 2400 can work at 2666 mhz at CL 18-19-19-43, but it's not worth it at those timings.
If it's the valueram stuff, you can run it at 2400 mhz at 15-15-15-35, 1T command rate.

 

1T command rate in Alienware? From what I know... Everything who smells ram settings is locked.

 

Its 2T on AW. 2133MHz has 15-15-15-31 2T on my lappie. I haven't seen 1T on locked BIOSes at all like HP,Dell.

 

@ rickdeckard, Sorry for my delayed reply.
I can confirm the Kingston HyperX 32GB kit, rated at 2666 with CL15, P/N: HX426S15IB2K2/32 does run at 2666MHz. Web page. Great detailed spec sheet here. Too bad all manufacturers don't provide as complete information. The spec sheet shows the JEDEC/PnP config can run at 2666 with CL15-17-17 timing or with an XMP Profile #1. Seems we need the JEDEC/PnP profile support, until the BIOS and/or system is (ever) updated to support XMP.
I had an initial problem when I put the memory in my AW17 R4. It was stuck in a constant reboot cycle, not getting past the BIOS. I put 1 stick of memory in, it ran fine, so I swapped them around, then it booted, recognized 32GB and the BIOS set 2666MHz.
So, I'm happy! Nice to have the headroom. Now, I'll sell the 16GB Hynix that came with the system.

 

Don't sell it, when you send the lappie for repair put those sticks and sell them only after warranty expires OR Just take out your RAM,SSDs and HDDs while giving for repairs.