16GB RAM on the M11X R3, who has it?

I was reading this thread http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m11x/571707-16-gigs-ram-m11x-r3.html and many of the posts sounded quite naive or from teenagers who only play games on this monster machine. As the thread is closed, I am opening this one.

I have 8GB RAM in my M11XR3 (bought it with 8GB from dell) which I got mainly for music and video production on the go, and even without my DAWs, editors and media composers on, I get about 55% RAM utilization. With my production environment (3-4 HUGE memory hogs at any time: pro tools, avid composer, sound forge, Kontakt, Omnisphere, etc. etc.) When I load my programs and sample libraries, RAM utilization goes to about 87%, and occasionally more, which is worrisome.

Recently I ditched my desktop and now using the M11XR3 as my main production machine, hooked up to a ProArt monitor with a USB hub (3 USB ports are NOT enough) and to an Onkyo receiver with studio monitors. It does splendidly. To answer some of the concerns in the closed thread above:

1. M11XR3 is DEFINITELY a desktop replacement when upgraded to the MAX that can take anything thrown at it today (January 2013)
2. Skyrim and Battlefield 3 run at about 30fps on a FULL HD 1920x1080 external monitor with medium to high settings
3. The i7 in the R3 DEFINITELY supports 16GB of RAM.
4. This lappy, max upgraded, should be perfectly usable in 5 years from when it came out (2011)

So, I have definitely decided to get 16GB of RAM, 2x8GB (meaning I will need to sell my current 2x4GB in it), but I was wondering what brand and model of RAM should I get? I know there aren't as many choices for laptops as for desktops, but I would like to be able to overclock it in the future (not right now, or this year), using something like ThrottleStop.

Is OCZ the best, or GSkill, or Corsair? Which exact models (for this particular laptop)? It has micron chips inside now, but those are 'just ok', and I want to get something that is 'la creme de la creme'.

PS Yeah, I could 'get a desktop' or 'get a bigger/newer' laptop, but that is not the point of this post.

 

well i got some cheap ram for 30£, now with 16gb it all works beautifully. i doubt you'll see much of an improvement between high end and cheaper ram other than peace of mind, as ddr3 is quite fast as is (i got 1333Mhz, dirt cheap ram, ran a burn-in for few hours, works fine).

Now i can keep all my stuff open at same time ^_^ also about OCing, i did OC in bios the CPU to the max it goes stock (2.03Ghz or something like that, i got an I5 as you can guess from my sig.) and ram is coping perfectly fine... 662d49bacb6babadc9f65c43fa3e4522.png

Couldn't tell you which are "higher end of the high end" nowadays as personally I'm not too bothered about ram, got an SSD, everything loads pretty much as quickly as CPU can handle...

 

You won't appreciate extra pounds/dollars spent on RAM until you run memtest. Having read Corsair Value is of terrible quality, I went with Vengeance Series for a couple extra quid. 16GB really comes in handy when you run web browser with 40 windows open simultaneously (like me: http://imageshack.us/a/img849/2773/chrome160712.png ). Also, it quite possible enables to safely get rid of a swap file, especially if you run SSD. That said however, I have i5 R3 and tbh it's ageing quite fast. I don't play too much on it as it overheats (repasting done... still) and chrome lags a bit due to slow internet connection (it makes no sense but it happens in front of my eyes; once I get onto my fibre optic bb in the other house, chrome becomes a rocket).

Either way - I recommend 16gb for your i7 R2 and i5/i7 R3, unless you already have 8gb. If you haven't bought M11x yet, buy it with 2gb and upgrade it elsewhere as Dell counts double the amount other retailers do for a RAM.

 

@rspwn

He said he has 8gb and needs more ram, thus 16gb. read the topic first <_<

also blowing out dust every few weeks works wonders on thermal health, as the radiator is quite tiny, has to move quite a bit of air, clogs up quite quick, and on such a tiny thing even the little dust compromises cooling quite a lot.

anyways back to main thing:

1. it can take anything, not at max settings though. wanted TDU2, its either 20fps and looks nice, or looks like a pile of poo but runs quick... so yeah.

2. haven't gone through the topic above, but i can guarantee it runs at 720p resolution all maxed out smooth as a baby's bottom ( i had some OC)... 1080p res might need to downgrade on some settings, but should still look gorgeous. No clue on battlefield.

3.Definitelily! got 16gb, works like a charm in a fairytale.

4.Unless you drop it from high or something. Probably can manage pretty much everything that will come out in that time frame, not at max settings, but whatever work etc. shouldn't have much of an issue.

 

The current RAM that I have from Dell reports as "PC3-10600 DDR3 SDRAM SO-DIMM" .. I believe there is faster RAM today on the market, but I am wondering if there is any advantage to buying faster than the one specced for it? Would it even work? And if it works, would it run at the faster speed, or it would downgrade to a lower 'compatible' speed? Also, is the RAM for the R3 with 204 pins?

thanks!

 

A few things:

1) For the work you're doing you definitely need more RAM, so good call there. I've been finding more and more that 8 GB is often insufficient for doing heavy professional work and that 16 gb is more appropriate.

2) I'm not sure if the R3's motherboard is compatible with faster RAM. If not out of the box you may be able to overclock it. Considering your usage, though, I don't know that you'd see much benefit to that. Just as long as its compatible with the R3 you'll be fine. If you get memory that is of a faster clock it will be just get underclocked to whatever the mobo supports.

3) Yes, thats 204 pin memory. Just look on newegg for laptop memory of that pincount with good user reviews, and pick something in your price range.

Just taking a quick look at newegg this seems to be popular with great reviews. I've used g skill and never had any issues with it myself (in fact I'm running 8 gb of gskill memory in my R2 right now).

Newegg.com - G.SKILL 16GB (2 x 8G) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Laptop Memory Model F3-10600CL9D-16GBSQ

 

Yes, that was exactly the brand and model that I was looking at, as the speed signature is the same as the one I have in the laptop right now, but then I saw this one Amazon.com: G.SKILL 16GB (2 x 8G) 204-Pin SO-DIMM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Laptop Memory F3-10666CL9D-16GBSQ: Computers & Accessories which is the same but with 10666 instead of 10600. I read on the web that they are the same and interchangeable, but then I read people putting 10666 in 10600 motherboards and locking up the computer??

So, if anyone has tried, which is it with the M11X R3? Will 10666 work fine or will it lock/freeze the laptop?

 

RAMs have their certified speed given and that's the speed you can be sure of they'll run without trouble. In SPD, they also have lower clock-timing settings, so the moment you put it in M11x, BIOS sends a query with clock speed to SPD and they return lower values - suitable for your current processor clock. It will probably run at lower timings due to reduced clock - which is always a good thing. You'll also notice that, while overclocking, RAM will not limit you in any way as it is certified to run faster than it does in your M11x. As always, after installing new memory, run memtest86+ to check if it's not faulty off the box.

EDIT: I've re-read the previous post and PC3-10666 seems like a lower clock rating M11x R3 does run on (at least in my i5 R3). Unless you've mistaken speed rating with actual clock speed, which are pretty tricky to distinguish. So in short, you need memory with:
- DDR3 SO-DIMM 204-pin connector
- at least 1066MHz certified clock
- at least PC3-12800 clock rating

 

I have not mistaken the clock. The fastest m11x R3 with i7 processor runs PC3-10600 memory, that is a fact reported by all hardware programs. The PC3-12800 would be waste of money, since it runs at a higher clock which the motherboard does not support and will be 'downgraded' by teh CPU.

My question was different: Unlike the other speed steppings (like PC3-12800), the PC3-10600 comes in several flavors for the same speed: PC3-10600, PC3-10666 and PC3-10700. According to most reports they are one and the same and should be interchangeable (the speed rating number being a marketing trick).

However, some people have reported problems and freezes putting PC3-10666 memory in slots that were previously occupied by PC3-10600 chips, so I was wondering if anyone has had a similar experience with the M11X R3.

 

fd4b00618580efd4287e2e8439ce7d6c.png

DDR3-1333 is quickest R3 supports... i am quite sure of it, mine is a bit OCed, along with CPU i guess. would think its PC3-10600? only good pc3-10666 would bring is the headroom for overclocking, since it would support the extra clock speeds officially, instead of having a chance of becoming unstable. Not really worth it, i would think, if it may cause issues with the laptop, a bit of a hassle having to return them etc. , besides normal PC3-10600 should support the OC m11x would get.

 

Here are the memory specifications straight from our manuals:

Memory module connectors Two user-accessible SO-DIMM sockets
Memory module capacities 1 GB, 2 GB, 4 GB and 8GB modules
Memory type 1333 MHz DDR3
Minimum memory 2 GB
Maximum memory 16 GB

 

You are missing the actual memory clock which is 10600 in the M11XR3

 

PC3-10600 = 1333Mhz

The number after the PC3- is the maximum memory transfer rate in MB/second. It's obtained by multiplying the memory clock speed (in MHz) by 8. I.e.

1066 MHz = PC3-8500 8500 MB/s
1333 MHz = PC3-10600 10600 MB/s
1600 MHz = PC3-12800 12800 MB/s

 

Thanks for the details, I do understand the point. I appreciate the direct Alienware involvement too, nice to see you care about the little people

However, ONLY in the case of PC3-10600 there were actually three variations of the frequency:
1. the base PC3-10600
2. PC3-10667
3. PC3-10700

From Wikipedia:
"Fractional frequencies are normally rounded down, but rounding up to 667 is common due to the exact number being 666⅔ and rounding to the nearest whole number. Some manufacturers also round to a certain precision or round up instead. For example, PC3-10666 memory could be listed as PC3-10600 or PC3-10700.[12]"

This is the problem.

M11XR3, by factory specs, uses PC3-10600, but how about the two other variations on the same frequency (rounding?) Do they add performance or subtract stability? Or do nothing at all?

thanks,

 

As far as I know they won't do much difference in performance nor will they be less stable.

In other words, you should get pretty much the same results.

 

That's interesting, because on some forums people were complaining that PC3-10700 in their M11X R3 makes it crash and do blue screen errors

 

Here are my PC3-12800 up and running - CPU-Z Validator 3.1
As far as small differences in speed go - tbh I never saw 10700 modules. And regardless, I think you can override SPD settings in one way or another, especially when you run unlocked BIOS.
It is also worth mentioning that 16GB of RAM will require at least 8GB of free space on your system partition in order to let your system hubernate after 6 hours of sleep (default is 75% - 12GB but you can override it to as low as 50% using following command: powercfg –h -size 50 when logged in as admin).

 

I got my system kitted out with the rather substandard default of 4GB, which it evidently struggled with. When I looked into an upgrade, however, Crucial had a great offer for the 16GB kit at around £50, so I went straight for it. Haven't looked back since, this little machine is now truly a monster.

 

I read many people put Crucial RAM in their M11X? Isn't crucial the 'value' brand of Micron? Is it wise to put 'value' brands in an alienware?

I set my choice on G-Skill, but it is by far more expensive than any other brands, about double the price of the Crucial for the same model. Let's hope all that stellar reputation G-Skill has is justified and worth the money.

My second choice was Mushkin. Didn't even consider other brands, as G-Skill and Mushkin seem to have the best rep in gaming/OC circles out there.

thoughts?

 

I actually did some research prior to buying my Corsair Vengeance. My other choices were Crucial and Corsair Value, both of which had fairly poor reviews. People ran memtest with out-of-the-box memory modules and some of the cells were damaged already. There is no option of going cheap on your Alienware As for Mushkin and G.Skill, their availibility in UK is very limited so I cannot speak for it but I would imagine that while performance may be on par with its price, it's probably just so until a certain point because realistically - how much performance can faster memory modules give you.

 

Yes, I had Corsair as a third (distant) choice, but G.Skill and Mushkin are usually rated higher on tests, speed, reliability, heat generation (mushkin has 1.35v version of the chip, although the Micron 8G chips that came with my M11X3 from the factory were 1.5v

 

Strange, I've had nothing but good experience with Crucial's products and this RAM seems to be no exception. Still, there's a lid for every pot.

 

From Overclock.net Mushkin Vs. Corsair Vs. G.Skill

 

Screenshot from the overclock.net

 

I just picked up some Kingston HyperX DDR3-1600 "LoVo" 1.35V/1.5V memory, It's running at ~1400mhz with 8-8-8-23 timings and it seems perfectly happy, I don't know if its actually at 1.35v but I figured I'd get it on the off chance it'd save a bit of juice.

 

that is an overkill, since the internal bus on the R3 maxes out at 1333Mhz, so your memory will be downclocked

 

RAM Timings aren't quite as important as they once were but they still exist, I didn't come across a single pair of 1333Mhz memory that had timings tighter than 9-9-9-24, since I'm using memory that is rated at 9-9-9-27 at 1600mhz it's spd information calls for 8-8-8-23 at 1333mhz.

 

All 1333Mhz I've seen have 9-9-9-24? I didn't know that speed came with other timings?

I guess if you find a 1600Mhz chip that is cheaper than 1333Mhz chip, so it is still a good deal even if it runs downclocked, that would make sense, otherwise - a waste of money.

I don't understand what you mean by 'its spd information calls for ...'? Do chips have better timings when downclocked?

Are you saying that, for example, if I buy Corsair Vengeance at 1600Mhz (the slowest they sell) for my R3, when it gets downclocked to 1333Mhz it will get better timings i.e. it won't be a waste of money to buy faster memory that will just get downclocked?

 

1600MHz Vengeance running at 1333 has timings similar to 1600 - CPU-Z Validator 3.1
It runs at 9-9-9-23 which is shocking improvement from 9-9-9-24. And as far as I know, you cannot override SPD settings without unlocked bios.

 

I also got the Vengeance 16Gb, my timings are now 9-9-9-23 on 1333MHz, I see hardly any improvement in benchmarks BUT, the entire system feel snappier since everything is in RAM, lots of headroom certainly has its advantages...
one other thing; since I got these babies I was running 6Gb (4Gb + 2Gb) my desktop WEI score used to be 5.6 with the latest Intel drivers. now my WEI score for desktop is 5.8, I can only attribute this to the memory switch (I thought since the Core i series different RAM configurations were possible without performance penalties; am i wrong here?)

 

My bottle neck is the HDD. For the one in the sig I get 5.9 For the memory in the sig the score is 7.4

I am waiting for 0.5TB SSDs to become more affordable

 

I upgraded my 15x a while back to 16gb and i am thinking its about time the m11x r3 joined it. Would this be suitable?

16GB DDR3 KIT SO-DIMM 10600 1333 mhz Geil Laptop Memory NEW BOXED Matched Pair | eBay

 

Looks ok for specs, just make sure the sticks are not worthless so the packes should be sealed. Also do a memtest after installing them, is everything looks fine your got a good deal IMO.

 

I just took out 16GB (8GB x 2) of Ram from my M18x-R2 and put it in the m11x R3.

 

Would this work?
Mushkin Stealth 16GB 2X8GB DDR3-1600MHZ UDIMM PC3-12800 1.5V CL9 Dual Memory Kit STILETTO-BLK
Mushkin Stealth 16GB 2X8GB DDR3-1600MHZ UDIMM PC3-12800 1.5V CL9 Dual Memory Kit STILETTO-BLK

 

It doesn't look like 204-pins. Remember, laptops use 204-pins, desktop use 240-pins, they are NOT physically compatible.

Ask ncix what type of ram are them, as they didn't give details about that in the description.

Edit: did a quick google search, seems like I was right, they are desktop RAMs, not for laptops.