Fastest possible RAM in AW M17x R4

I am looking to upgrade my RAM to 16GB. It would be great to get a faster memory at the same time. Since stock RAM would slow down the performance of the new RAM, I would not be using stock RAM at all in this laptop. Stock RAM installed at the moment is 8GB Hynix 1600Mhz CL11. I would prefer Corsair Vengeance, Kingston Hyper X or similar memory with the highest possible speed and lowest possible latency. Looking through the memory threads here seems to find mostly old posts.

 

Kingston Hyper X Impact RAM or Cosair Vengance 2133MHz RAM is your best bet...

 

Thanks, I was looking at these, but all Intel i7 3rd gen processors officially only support 1600Mhz memory. I am hoping someone running faster RAM could confirm they definitely work in R4.

 

Mr Fox runs 2133MHz RAM with his 3920XM... I'm not sure if 3740QM will be able to do this but should be able to...

 

Personally I'd go for the Corsair.
I've had a better experience with those.

 

Thank you for the feedback. Could you confirm that Corsair Vengeance 2133Mhz will work at full speed in Alienware M17x R4 please?
This is a kit I am looking to buy:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00H33JU...lid=2H82UQJJFKUPW&coliid=I18YWG7YG1X0TX&psc=1

 

Could someone with Alienware M17x R4 running RAM at anything higher than 1600Mhz post your timings please? And what brand of memory you are running.

 

The Alienware M17x R4 system supports up to 32 GB up to 1600 MHz, unbuffered non-ECC, single-channel and dual-channel DDR3 configuration memory.
Short story: No, that RAM you got there is way above the recommended MHz for the 17xR4.

 

1866MHz works. 2133MHz isn't beneficial over 1866MHz except for some extreme benchmarking.

 

Price difference between 1866Mhz and 2133Mhz is around £5, so not an issue. It seems most people are confirming 1866Mhz and 2133Mhz RAM modules are working in R4.

 

Let me be clear, both models will work, but you cannot force the ram to 2133mhz because it depends on the CPU.
BUT, I will buy the 2133mhz kits even its only run with 1866mhz.

 

If mariussx had a 3940XM, 2133MHz should work... However with 3740QM, 1866MHz will probably be tops depending on his luck!

OH BTW, if you are going to sell your old RAM and it's Hynix, I'll take it for free.. been looking for some AW memory for ages .. PM me and let's talk of some price

 

Just purchased some Corsair Vengeance 1866Mhz CL10 ram due to recent discount on amazon. I am still a bit curious to see if 2133Mhz would work with my CPU, but 1866 is still a bit better than the stock memory

 

cant get mine above 1333mhz with 4 x4

 

I am sorry to hear that. This is odd, since my stock memory is running at 1600mhz. Is all your memory exactly the same spec? If you have one stick, which is slower, all the memory will only run at the speed of the slowest stick regardless of the speed of the rest of the memory.

I went ahead and purchased 2133mhz memory as well, so will be testing 1866mhz and 2133mhz Corsair Vengeance 16GB kits and see if they work with i7 3740QM. Perfect timing for those price cuts

 

When are you getting it delivered approximately?

 

18-20 March for 2133Mhz kit and 21-24 March 1866Mhz kit.

 

Well, it appears Corsair Vengeance 2133Mhz memory does not work in R4 with i7 3740QM at full speed. I can get them to work in dual channel at 1866Mhz CL10, but not at 2133Mhz CL11. Still trying different settings, but so far the laptop does not even post when memory is set to 2133Mhz. If one stick is removed, another works fine at full speed (1066Mhz), but it's half the required speed due to memory running in single channel mode. I am a bit disappointed, but this is something I knew was coning. Now just waiting on 1866Mhz kit to arrive to test it next. Judging by 2133Mhz kit working @ 1866Mhz CL10 fine, I can assume that 1866Mhz kit will work just fine with pretty much no configuration.

If anybody with core i7 3xxx running Corsair Vengeance 2133MHz CL11 memory could post their timings screenshot, that would be appreciated. Intel extreme tuning utility shows all the memory timings.

 

You probably need the 3940XM for it to run at 2133MHz... I think your 3740QM just not up to the job.. memory controller might be the problem..

 

Well, tested both Corsair Vengeance 16GB kits at 1866Mhz CL10 and 2133Mhz CL11. 2133Mhz kit is going back, I am keeping 1866Mhz kit. It works with no changes in BIOS at all, everything on auto - memory still runs at full advertised speed. I could probably run 2133Mhz memory at full speed if I overlocked the bus clock as that would in turn overclock the memory controller on the CPU. This is something I do not wish to pursue due to various reasons. I can confirm at least that Corsair Vengeance 1866Mhz CL10 works perfectly with no adjustments, just plug and play in Alienware M17x R4 with i7 3740QM.