Need help upgrading RAM in a MSI GT70 Dominator 890 Pro

Have a relatively new MSI GT70 Dominator 890 Pro w/ 16 gig of RAM. Upgrading to 32 gig.

Opened the back, see that there are two DIMM slots to replace. (Two 8 gig DIMMs currently in place, replacing with two 16 gig.)

However, a heat pipe from the GPU / CPU assembly covers the RAM and makes the DIMMs impossible to remove without removing the whole heat pipe assembly (as well as the main fan).

I'm pretty confused why they designed it like this.

Anyway, I was hoping for a guide to installing / replacing RAM on this notebook so I don't royally screw something up, but I haven't been able to find anything yet.

Can anyone help?

 

MSI Notebook GT70 --- Disassembling: http://youtu.be/bxVzseg1RRc

Basically everything should be done like on this video. The only difference is that you will have to remove GPU and CPU heatsinks simultaneously. Unscrew them both first and then rise both heatsinks gently.

Good luck!

Edit:

Also i think you should check in BIOS
if you have 4 DIMMs presented or only 2 as you say because there are also two additional slots under the keyboard.

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According to the manual, the laptop has 4 slots for DDR3 SO-DIMM RAM. Another two slots are probably located under the keyboard (user's manual doesn't say where they are). I guess that if you don't want to disassemble the cooling system, your safest bet is to take the keyboard out. Unfortunately this procedure is most likely described in the service manual, I don't have one and MSI doesn't have one on their website.

If you proceed with the cooling system disassembly, keep in mind that you have to clean the GPU and CPU dies and heatsinks, and apply new thermal paste on the dies. You shouldn't re-use the old paste.

 

On the video i attached, at 5:55, you can see where are slots. You will have to remove the upper case and LCD also to get to them. But on the other hand we don't know if you have simillar ram modules. From what you said you want to upgrade you laptop to 32GB not 48GB so you should chcek how many modules you already have and then to prepare for changing your thermal paste and pads also.

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Thanks very much for the replies so far.

That was a pretty intense video. They key word that I needed to type into a search engine (that I wasn't) was "disassembly".

You are right, there are 4 x 4 gig DIMMs already. I will need 4 x 8 gig. I only saw the two DIMMs under the bottom cover and assumed that that HAD to be the only slots for the PC. (I believe this laptop can only have a max of 32 GB.)

That means I will have to get at the other two slots.

Wow. I thought the heat pipe was bad. That is REALLY bad. I don't think I've ever seen a laptop with DIMM slots that were THAT hard to get at. That is REALLY intense.

I'll do my best, but with so much disassembly required, it seems the likelihood that I'll screw something up is high.

Dang. Hope it works.

 

I think you can call your local msi service and ask them if they would do such replace for you if you send them your pc and parts without taking a charge. I think its worth giving a shot especially if you are afraid of bricking your laptop.

Cheers!

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If your laptop has 4 x 4GB and you have 2 x 16GB SO-DIMMs (are they even out yet?), you can mix them up and put in 2 x 4GB + 2 x 16GB, for a total of 40GB RAM. Mind you, a quad core CPU is needed for such configuration, as dual core CPUs do not support dual SO-DIMMs per channel.

The laptop is said to support up to 32GB of RAM because at the time of release maximum capacity of a single SO-DIMM module was 8GB and 4 x 8GB makes 32GB. Quad core i7 CPUs and their IMCs can physically address 64GB of RAM (36-bit addressing).

Perhaps it's worth mentioning, that Windows Home systems support only up to 16GB RAM. If you want to be able to use more RAM, you will need Windows Professional or Ultimate.

 

Yeah, I'm on Win 7 Ultimate.

Again my mistake, I had believed 16 GB SODIMMs were available now.

Does anyone know if I have to remove the entire bottom (7 screws + 11 screws) to open the top? The video posted shows complete disassembly, so I'm wondering how much of the bottom I have to do to get to the DIMMs at the top.

I'm also having trouble finding the 11 screws at 2:35; I can only find 10.

(Side note - my LED cable (shown at 2:30 in the video) doesn't appear to be connected to anything; it's just a half inch piece that's plugged into the port but goes nowhere.)

 

FWIW the older i cores are 36-bit. Haswell is 39-bit (512GiB), well at least confirmed on my 4700MQ

 

Video which i posted is for older model because i couldn't find for your one but like i said there might be some little differences. To get to slots on top you will have to remove the uppercase and LCD. If you can't find the last screw it might mean there isn't one beacuse of reasons. You will see that when you will be trying to rise uppercase. Do it gently so that you feel if sth is holding uppercase or not. As for LED cable it might be put hardly to port. Try to separate it using flat screwdriver or someting like that (plastic thing would be the best). If you won't manage to separate cables post photo here of this port and we will trybto help you.

Cheers!

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Interesting. Could you post a screenshot from HWiNFO64 -> CPU -> Intel Core i7-4700MQ -> (scroll to the bottom) Memory Ranges?

 

Can do

 

You have just broadened my horizons a little.

+rep added

 

So PeaSizeHail did you managed to upgrade your notebook or are you still fighting with it?

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I just upgraded my Gt70 the only problem I had was getting the RAM in far enough it has to be angled, but i can tell an immediate difference. I would recommend doing the upgrade just make sure you don't fudge the heat sink to much and you will be ok. i use mine for Virtualization and GNS3 which is Processor and RAM intensive.

 

There are many reasons one may need or want 32 gigs of ram. Running virtual machines, large amounts of video and picture editing at once, auto-cad project + lay-plan and also some games on ultra settings are just a few reasons I use 32 gigs of ram.
I have the same laptop as you. There are two slots under the keyboard that are the ram that came standard with your unit and there are two slots under the bottom cover. These slots are DDR3L 1.35v but are labeled as 1.5v, MSI recommends using the 1.35 low voltage to keep the heat down.
Installation of new ram appears to need the removal of the whole heat dissipation system. This includes the removal of both CPU and GPU heat sinks, fan and connected systems simultaneously.
None of this is necessary at all though, after speaking to MSI a teck suggested just slipping in in "somewhat forcefully".
What worked for me was simply placing the new ram fully under the heat tube and sliding it into the slot. The second RAM card was a little bit harder to slide in but the same technique worked fine. Only took 5min including removing and replacing bottom covers.
Granted this worked for me it may not work for others who are less mechanically inclined. Also once completed it makes the removal of the whole cooling system seem asinine.
Just my .02