Can I exceed rec'd ram on Sony Vaio?

I am trying to run Adobe Elements Premier 7 video editing software on my laptop - Sony VGN-FE41Z, running Vista. Sony say max ram is 2GB and that is what is in it. Chipset is 945PM. Adobe struggles, and so I thought more ram was/is needed.

Elsewhere on this forum there is: "Vaio FE31M (945PM chipset) works with (4GB)3072MB ram (sony says 2GB max)" - link here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=4445338. Whilst not exactly same model, the chipset ref corresponds.

Does anyone know, please, if the model I have could handle/recognise 4GB ram? I'm no techie, and need advice. Thanks. EdmundUK

 

It should do. The best way to find out is to look around if any of your friends got 3 or 4 gig in their lappys, so you can just take one 2gig stick and put it in your machine to see if it works))

 

It should be able to handle 4GB, but just go with 3GB, because the chipset will address only ~3GB.

 

Yeah only go with 3GB as the notebook won't handle anymore than that anyways.

What my thread is meant to say is that the 945pm chipset can accept 2x2GB sticks (to fully utilize dual channel) but only recognize and take use of 3GB!
So you can go for 2+1GB as the FE41Z is about the same notebook as the FE31M, but with a more budget GPU/CPU and so.

 

It may not work. I have the i945Pm chipset in my dell e1505, and the bios limits the memory to 2GB. It will not boot with even a single 2gb card installed.
You can try buying a 4Gb (2 x 2GB) memory kit, but make sure you get it from a site which does not have a restocking fee. Also keep your current ram in case it doesnt work.
If it works without a problem, that would be awesome. Unfortunately some laptops have bios limits.

K-TRON

 

Thing is, he quoted my "old" thread where as i have the same chipset and same manufacturer, it's to 95% the same notebook and uses the same BIOS.

So i'm 100% sure it'll work fine with what i said in my previous post I use the fe41 bios on my fe31 therefor i know

 

well in that case, the memory upgrade will work

K-TRON

 

Thanks everyone. I'm really grateful that you pitched in with advice. I had consulted our workplace IT support people who investigated it thoroughly but said 'no', it would not work. However, encouraged by your advice, I ordered 2GB which arrived in the last hour. So I now have one x 1GM module and 1 x 2GB module and the laptop recognises it and shows 3GB!

I hope this is of use and encouragement to others. Again, thanks for your help and advice.

(And I highly recommend mrmemory.co.uk who were also doubtful but v helpful).

EdmundUK

 

No problem dude Glad it worked out fine for you. But i already knew it would work without a problem for you as we both has the same sort of motherboard!
I'm glad that i took the shot and ordered 4GB before to really find out how much it really could take, so 3GB is the answer You're the fourth one that has gotten use of my advice for these sony vaios and how much ram it really can take

 

Not always a good source of information unless you find an enthusiast. Many of the IT people tend to read the manufacturer's specs. It's a known fact that many notebook manufacturers did not test 2GB modules when preparing the specs for that generation of notebooks because at that time the 2GB modules were rare and expensive. So they didn't say that those modules would work.

The IT support person should have been able to find a 2GB module to temporarily borrow try the configuration.

John