Need 32GB for your XPS 9550 on the cheap?

I was shopping around, and found some good pricing on 16GB DDR4-2133 modules for the XPS 9550.
Looking at other manufacturers, the Crucial RAM is priced much lower, with 32GB (16GB x 2) costing only $104, no tax most places and free expedited shipping.

Check it out here (disregard the title saying "Server"...these modules are non-ECC and unbuffered, so they are just standard RAM).

There are faster modules but I couldn't get my 9550 to work at the higher speed, they just run at 2133 no matter.

 

DDR4 prices are finally dropping, and as you say this laptop will only run 2133 no matter what you buy.

 

This price seems WAY below what a 16GB DDR3 SODIMM is, which looks to be about $150 each, so $100 for 2 16GB modules seemed like a steal.

 

on backorder. can't find anything else on google for that part #.

i posted this in another thread. 32gb for 119. i have it installed, works great

http://www.amazon.com/CRUCIAL-TECHNOLOGY-32GB-16GBx2-CT2K16G4SFD8213/dp/B015YPB8ME/

 

Mine should be here today from Adorama, which was cheaper than Amazon plus no sales tax, unlike Amazon that does charge sales tax.
No biggie, though...both are good deals.

 

Newegg has G.Skill Ripjaws for $120 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...C-051316-Latest-_-LaptopMemory-_-20232150-S0F

 

On reddit some people are claiming to get this up to 2800. Not sure how they are doing it. Or if it matters. . .

https://www.reddit.com/r/Dell/comments/4aqtsz/xps_15_9550_16gb_to_32gb_upgrade/

 

I call bs without proof

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

 

Actually in the thread is a picture showing the RAM running at 2400Mhz.
http://imgur.com/a/b2SnA
They mix up the NB Frequency with the DRAM frequency - that's why they claim 2800

 

oh!

 

Assuming it were running at 2400, would it actually matter?

 

2133@CAS 15 latency or 2400@CAS 17 latency. It's pretty much a wash at that point. I'll stick with the cheaper CAS 15.

I just realized the memory I have now is 2133@13T CAS.
Now I'm not sure if I should go with the 32GB I just purchased that is 2133@15T CAS...

 

Why do you think that you would see any difference in real world scenarios?

 

If you're asking me (referring to my post), I don't know that I would see any difference. But then, those of us that spend a lot of time configuring and upgrading our higher-end equipment don't always make decisions based on real-world scenarios.

If it were all about real world scenarios, I'd buy a plastic Dell Inspiron or HP or whatever the cheapest piece I junk I could find with similar CPU and RAM and call it day.

 

Absolutely spot on. It's a waste of money to get higher speed RAM's with longer timings...it can actually do more bad than good in real world normal usage. I have never noticed any speed difference with my desktop sticks where I've OC'ed or bought higher speed sticks...

It's best to just stick with the stock speeds that the laptop comes with and to put the effort into upgrading something else that actually matters...like lets say a faster m.2 maybe?

 

Thanks guys!

I really appreciate you taking the time to answer these questions.

 

I can confirm that with the 1.2.0 bios 2400Mhz RAM is supported.

2400Mh DDR4 by TDO posted May 20, 2016 at 4:29 PM

Geekbench stock RAM
memory single core: 3458
memory multi core: 3842

Geekbench 2400Mhz RAM
memory single core: 4042
memory multi core: 4978

 

Oddly, 1.2.0 BIOS does NOT run my DDR4-2400 @ 2400. My Kingston HyperX DDR4-2400 is running at 2133 (1067*2).

What RAM are you using that runs at 2400?

 

Kingston: http://www.kingston.com/dataSheets/HX424S14IBK2_32.pdf

 

What CPU is in your 9550? I saw this note on the Kingston page you linked:

Note: HyperX DDR4 PnP memory will run in most DDR4 systems up to the speed allowed by the manufacturer's system BIOS. PnP cannot increase the system memory speed faster than is allowed by the manufacturer's BIOS. Memory overclocking is locked at 2133MHz on all mobile processors except Core i5 and i7 quad core processors with a TDP of 45W or greater.

I have the same modules but 8GB x 2 instead of the 16GB x 2. This is mine.

 

The i7-6700HQ, 4K Display

 

Running 2x16gb (G.SKILL Ripjaws Series model F4-2666C18D-32GRS) in Precision 5510 at native 2666 MHz.

 

XPS uses the i7-6700HQ while the 5510 uses the i7-6820HQ. That could be difference.

 

FYI I did a scan of this site and the internet and have not seen any i5 9550s running with speeds above 2133 mhz (not sure if it actually matters)

 

Bloody annoying why Dell did not put 6820HQ in XPS15 when both 6700HQ and 6820HQ costs the same from Intel.

 

Difference for what?
I am not aware that anybody tested recently if not only 2400Mhz but also 2666Mhz are supported from the XPS15.

 

I have a XPS 15 i7-6700HQ with (2X16gb) G.SKILL Ripjaws 2800 that are working on frequency 2400. I believe it is the set limit.

 

According to HWiNFO64: "DDR Frequency Support (100 MHz RefClk): 1300 MHz" (under CPU info), and "Maximum Supported Memory Clock: 1300.0 MHz" (under Memory info).

So this would explain why the ram is limited to 2400. I assume this is a mainboard limitation, as the 6700HQ should be able to handle 2666.

Out of interest, which bios are you on and what are the ram timings at 2400?

 

I imagine this photo answer all your questions.

http://s16.postimg.org/4drxms9hh/Sem_t_tulo.jpg

 

Nice. I will pick 32Gb of DDR4 2400 methinks. I'm still on the 01.02.00 firmware, I've been rather hesitant to flash it now that I have everything running stable.

 

I will correct myself here. I believe the memory controller is on the cpu, not the mainboard. DRR4 maximum of 2600 would make sense for a cpu with a default speed of 2.6Ghz. And it is a mobile chip, not intended for overclocking, after all. Shame though, that the memory clock is 33Mhz short of running DDR4 2667.

I was reading overclocking article and they were testing different DDR4 sticks (desktop DIMMs). i7s are quite capable of running overclocked ram, desktop i7 K version (intended for clocking) can easily run up to 3800 with a decent motherboard.

i7 mobile cpus will automatically overclocks the ram via bois, when 2400 or higher is installed. A number of checks would occur to determine the fastest safe configuration setting for the speed and timings, as these options are typically unavailable on a laptop mainboard. These auto checks are probably just checking SPD ratings of the ram and the options available from the memory clock and chosing the best possible.

What is interesting is that some people have been capped at 2133 on ram that is capable of higher speeds. If this is the case, I would speculate that either speeds above 2133 have been internally disabled in the bios, or perhaps those people were unlucky and have received cpus that aren't able to overclock the ram?

 

Funny the Intel spec sheets for the 6700HQ show only 2133Mhz support. Also there was a Q3 2015 and a Q1 2016 revision. Maybe higher speed was a hidden feature for the Q1 2016 lot?

http://ark.intel.com/compare/88967,93341

 

Yes but the 6700K is also listed as 2133.

http://ark.intel.com/products/88195

The K is the desktop version designed for overclocking. It can easy do 3600+ on the ram. With high end ram (over volted) and a good mobo it can even hit 4000+. Skylake apparently has an excellent memory controller.

 

Wow, they are really slow.

 

Has anybody tried CORSAIR Vengeance (CMSX32GX4M2A3000C16)?

It's 3,000Mhz 16-18-18-39. I'm wondering what the timings at 2,133Mhz and 2,400Mhz would be, but Corsair don't provide this information on their website.

 

DDR4 prices have unfortunately skyrocketed this autumn.

But...Amazon has a special on 32GB 2400 HyperX Impact RAM at $149 shipped. Market price has held at around $180 for the past month. Caveat - only for Amazon prime members. I think you can do a free Amazon prime trial to get this attractive price.

Also based on posts at NBR and elsewhere, I have seen this memory work fine on the 9550. So I picked it up...

 

So to answer your post, I got the same RAM on Amazon ( https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01G26166W/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_dp) and has been dealing with a weird issue where my screen would black out when I run a GPU-dependent applications like Adobe Lightroom. The screen would constantly black out. I restarted, ran the Diagnostic in the BIOS and it failed in the "Testing Memory". See this screenshot ( http://imgur.com/a/JdYVs).

I swapped back to the OEM 16GB ram and the issue went away.

Highly advise anyone to stay away from this type of RAM from Corsair.