Will this RAM work?

Hi all,

I have recently brought myself a M15x and am just awaiting delivery of it but am already thinking of a few parts which can be upgraded.

It currently has 4GB of memory and I would ideally like to double it to 8GB.

Im just wondering whether the following linked RAM will be okay.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0053GLCEY/ref=cm_sw_r_an_am_ap_am_gb?ie=UTF8

Thanks in advance.
James

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S3.

 

It might however the performance potential of the ram will be wasted.

The M15x can only run the memory at 1333mhz not 1600mhz. Also it cannot support XMP.

The only benefit might be the good timings which might end up even lower when it runs in the M15x at the slower 1333mhz speed.

Still it is pretty cheap and worth a try.

The M15x can also support up 16GB of ram. 2x 8GB sodimms

 

This ram no are good no are SO-DIMM are a DIMM for desktop PC.

This is work fine:
G-SKILL G.Skill SQ Series - Memory - 8 GB : 2 x 4 GB - SO DIMM 204-pin - DDR3 - 1333 MHz / PC3-10666 - CL9 - unbuffered - non-ECC + 2 YEARS WARRANTY: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

 

That ram you listed OP is for desktops and will not work.

1600Mhz ram will automatically downclock to 1333mhz in most cases. I'm running 1600mhz ram and it's running at 1333mhz with 8-8-8 timings.


This ram is cheap and will work. Corsair CMSO8GX3M2A1333C9 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 Laptop Memory: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

 

Whoops my bad!

SSJ what ram are you running?? I am looking to upgrade to 16GB of 1600mhz ram that will run at 8-8-8!

 

Hi James, this ram will work and cheaper than amazon Corsair 8GB DDR3 1333MHz Laptop Module CL9 SODIMM | Ebuyer.com It would be worth just installing the one instead of the 2x4gb for now so if you ever want to upgrade to 16gb you just have to add another 8gb

 

Am I the only one who needs to now revision of his M15X and his CPU before suggest any RAM or I mislead smth?

 

Thank you all for the replies. Very helpful and im glad I didnt order the originally posted sticks.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S3.

 

dsmclark - thank you for this link. I think I will order these so that I can put then in when the laptop arrives.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S3.

 

vivid, my post was sarcastic because I am 100% sure that we need you to tell us what revision (R4, R3, R2) is your M15X and what CPU (i5, i7).

Of course you can buy that 1333 and it will work but most likely it will be like you bought Mercedes and then you bought wheel from Daewoo.

 

The m15x only has one revision and it can take up to 1333 mhz Ram. 8GB is the maximum, all this according to our engineers for better stability.

 

Isn't there only one revision of the dell/alienware M15X? That is true though that the CPU needs to be an i5? or i7 and the bios has to be A09 to be able to use 8gb sticks.

 

Darn. Such a stupid mistake In this case sorry. Truly, as I know even if you get an I7-920XM and with so-called unlocked BIOS where you can set RAM frequency to 1600 still it will work only on 1333Mhz speed. Heard that someone was about to create BIOS mod with XMP support but then changed their mind.

Sorry again. but to be not so useless my friend uses 1600 RAM which works as 1333 with 8-8-8-21 timings. He says it makes laptop somewhat more responsive. Not very much of course though.
If you have I5 then RAM will automatically downclock to 1066 Mhz but I assume yours is I7 one.

 

Yes 16GB ram is fully supported. Mr Porras you ought to educate the engineers to know better

But please can someone tell me what ram is this??? I want 8-8-8-21 !!

 

The platform might stand it but may start having issues. That's what they don't want.

 

The ram I have is ADATA XPG low voltage (1.35v) ram and it's rated at 1600mhz 9-9-9-24, but since our laptop runs at 1333mhz, it downclocks to 1333mhz 8-8-8-21 timings. I will tell you going from 9-9-9-24 timings to 8-8-8-21 timings makes almost no difference. You won't notice it. Ram speed is where it matters most today unlike before with ddr2. My GF's M14x has 1600mhz ram with 11 timings and still blows away my 1333mhz with 8 timings.

Also, officially, not even the 920XM/940XM support over 8GB. The motherboard is what's allowing 16GB and like Porras said, it can start having issues in the long run. You're running the memory controller over what it was originally rated for, however, the time it would take for you to start having any issues is a long ways away. Most people will change laptops before any issues start to happen (Not saying they're going to, but it's always a possibility).

Also to note, if you do run 16GB of ram, the bios will say you have 0GB. This is normal and nothing to worry about.

I have 16GB in my desktop and have yet to saturate it. In a laptop I don't think I'll use my 8GB anytime soon. Even with a bunch of utilities and a vm machine running, I still had plenty of ram to spare. On my desktop I can dual screen, one with a vm running and one with me playing a game, and I don't saturate my ram still.

 

I am sorry but you are wrong. in 4 times. 920XM officially supports up to 32GB of RAM. Same as 740QM. Those info on the Intel site you look at is fake and you have to read PDFs Data-sheets.

In fact... only the motherboard and its BIOS (and faulty RAM modules) are the only one which can give troubles having 16 or 32 Gbs of RAM.

And yeah, RAM frequency is the one which better than timings. But when it is the only thing that you can do then why not? If I had 6GB and less then I would definitely buy faster RAM... even though I knew that difference would be not so different.

 

Mind pointing me to those data sheets that show the 920/940xm supporting 32gb of ram?

 

Hmmm. I was like "Sure, I will post it and write some good joke"... But for some reason I got troubles with it. Nowadays datasheets do not have that what I saw while I am not the only one who know for sure that there were official documents on Intel site.
In fact I also can't find old thread where I being less experienced was trying to prove that 1-st gen i7 can't handle more than 8GB of RAM and even was posting a screenshot with that 8GB value while another guy proed me that I was wrong giving a intel link on datasheet and quoting...

Some very strange thing is going on here.

Anyway, I guess I am trusted enough member to believe me without proof-links however it is your choice

 

Unlikely 16GB compatible sticks will ever be made so perhaps it can't be tested. It was new news to me also.

 

My M15x arrived today and I am very happy with it.

Spec is as follows

i7 1.73 GHz
250GB HDD
HD 5730 Graphics
4GB Ram

Whats my options on getting a little more out of the laptop? Im going for 8GB Ram as suggested in a link above, is there any other fairly easy upgrades/mods I can do to help performance.

Thanks
James

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S3.

 

Yes indeed there are many upgrades you can do. What do you want to do?

CPU - 920/940XM
GPU - 7970M
RAM - 16GB
SSD + HDD (in dvd bay)

Do these upgrades and no 15 incher out today can best this 3+ year old machine by much.

Costs alot though. All these upgrades on a good day will set you back at least $1000 (no SSD). Say $800 if you sell off the old GPU,CPU, RAM and HDD)

Do some reading on here. There is much about upgrading this machine.

 

Thanks for the replies.

The above spec of my current machine, how capable should it be? Ive got to admit im slightly disappointed with it just seems a little bit sluggish.

What sort of games should I be able to play at a decent level?

I like my Command & Conquer games and I have installed Generals. I whacked the detail level to high and it does play but just seems quite clunky and sluggish...........surely it should be able to handle this?

Any opinions?

Thanks
James

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S3.

 

The 5730M is a mid ranga card. It might struggle at 1080p resolution. Otherwise generals should play no problem.

 

You only have two options in game on the resolution anyway. Do I have to change my machines resolution to match that?

That was kind of my next question as well I have played C&C Generals and NFS: Most Wanted and wondered how you get them to play widescreen rather than just a square with black edges.

Thanks

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S3.

 

Have you installed proper drivers for your video card?

AMD Driver Autodetect

I think this is your problem. Both those games are old and should run in full details at full reso on your card.

 

You can do a Clean Windows 7 installation to start from scratch.

This will erase all data on your computer, you'll get rid of any possible software conflict as well. Make sure on step 4.6 you delete ALL existing partitions, then created a new one from the "unallocated space" and install Windows 7 there.

Once the installation is complete, DO NOT use the media resource DVD or you will end up with dead lights for your laptop. Instead, download and install all the drivers in the order they appear below.

Alienware M15x: Initial Drivers Installation

After all of this is done, try your games and let us know how the laptop performs