M17x RAM Questions

So, I ordered an R3 on Thursday. However, I've opted to upgrade the RAM myself instead of paying 200$ extra.

What kind of RAM was in your machine? I'd like to stick with the same brand if possible.

When I go to upgrade, do you think the 2 sticks already in there will be on the bottom, or under the keyboard? I'm hoping they'd leave the more accessible slots open, but you never know.


Thanks in advance!

 

Mine has Samsung and its in the bottom.

 

Samsung? Didn't expect that one. Bummer about it being on bottom, but I guess I can deal.

Newegg.com - Kingston HyperX 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1600 HyperX Plug n Play Laptop Memory Model KHX1600C9S3P1K2/8G

Thinking about ordering this. How much of an overkill would 16gb be?

 

slight overkill

 

So 8gb you think? The 2nd gen i7's take up to 1600 if I remember correctly so is that kingston a good choice?

 

8gb should do. I rarely use over 50-60 percent with my 8gb.

 

i believe if you want ddr3-1600 ram for you laptop, the kingstons are your only choice. They are decent.

Personally, i'd get 2 x 4gigs ddr3 1333's and have 12 gigs total (wait, that's what i did lol)

 

The ram that comes pre-installed in my system is 1600. My plans are to add a second channel, at 1600 as well.

 

how much ram do you have now? 4gigs?

the R3 has 4 rams slots, so if you buy 8 gigs, you'll end up with 12...and you'll still be in dual channel as long as you place 2 x 4gigs in ram slots 3 and 4

 

Yeah that was the plan, the same ram being in 3 & 4. But I'd like to make sure it's the same speed as 1 & 2, for my own sanity's sake.

 

Mine came with 4GB of 1600 and it was in the bottom.

The sticks it came with were hynix they run 11-11-11-28 timings.

I bought 2x4GB patriot 1600MHz (11-11-11-28) and put them in the other slots. I'm very happy with the 12GB 1600setup I have going. (Which incidentally I'm running at 1672MHz at the moment thanks to a 104.5MHz bclk

 

I took out the stock ram, put in 4 x 4gb of hyper x 1600 ram and caused myself endless grief. Read the m17x bootloop issue thread started by me to get a feel of what I went through...
http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/615506-m17xr3-vertex-3-bootloop.html

 

Mine came with 4 gigs of 1333mhz hynix in the bottom

I bought 8 gigs of mushkin 1333mhz for about $40 and put it under the keyboard.

For those of you wondering what our processors 'officially' support:
The i7-26xxqm supports up to 1333mhz
The i7-27xxqm through i7-29xxxm supports up to 1600mhz

Performance difference of memory:
There have been many many tests over the years determining if speed of memory really effects the speed of a system, and for the most part, that answer is no. The performance difference is usually in the range of 1-3%

Here's a link displaying that:
AnandTech - Sandy Bridge Memory Scaling: Choosing the Best DDR3

The simple answer is that if you plan on keeping the original memory in your system, then just pick some that operates at the same speed. Buying and replacing memory in your system with something faster really wont net you the performance you expect for the price difference you'll be paying.

The biggest difference you will find with faster memory currently is if you choose to use the Intel HD graphics as the memory speed directly affects the performance of the on die graphics, more so than any processor performance effect.

 

This is what I have coming in the post tomorrow.
8gb is more than enough I gather.

 

I repped this cause it was informative and well written.

At some point in the future, I will be putting in ddr3-1600 ram. It doesn't make financial sense, but i think people that buy alienware are a different slice of society. We wanted high performance laptops so it feels silly to me to not have the best ram. The 1-3% peformance boost is a plus

 

I have 2 hunix (hyundai) 4GB and 1600, timings: 11-11-11-28

 

hmmmm...i wonder what is better ddr3-1600 cas-11 or ddr3 1333 cas-9?. I'm leaning towards the tighter timings. I wonder why dell did that

 

cause they're cheap... tell me more I am planning on buying ram (The kingston 8GB 1600 CAS 9 timer - not mentionned xD
here is the link... how come there is no timer here? Newegg.com - Kingston HyperX 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1600 HyperX Plug n Play Laptop Memory Model KHX1600C9S3P1K2/8G

 

under "details" tab, it says cas 9...so those are currently the fastest ram that i know of.

Just be aware that if you want to mix and match ram, they will always run at the slowest speeds. This means that if your original 4 gigs of ddr-3 ram is running at cas-11, even if you buy these HyperX sticks that are a much better cas-9, they will downclock and run at cas 11

So if you are going to keep your original sticks, get cheaper cas-11 ram and save money

 

Thanks buddy, I am planning on not keeping the original sticks based on what have been said in this forum (a great portion of it said by you). Is the difference between cas 11 and 9 soooo great? that it actually becomes noticeable!?

 

it will only be noticeable on benchmarks and even then, it will be very little difference...maybe 1-2% The tighter the timings the faster the ram is. So the best scenerio is running DDR-3 Cas-9 1T.

I'll be selling my 12 gigs or ram when i upgrade so it will help to recoup the cost of the upgrade.

 

And I will be keeping my original sticks to keep my 3 year warranty.

 

oh, i didn't even think about that...that's an excellent point. I'll keep my original 4 gigs too for warranty purposes

 

I've heard that it's possible to install up to 1866mHz and have it run at that speed as well Newegg.com - Kingston HyperX 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1866 HyperX Plug n Play Laptop Memory Model KHX1866C11S3P1K2/8G

 

Actually, the 2670QM supports 1600mhz as well.


Intel Core i7 2670QM 2.2GHz (3.1GHz w/Turbo Boost, 6MB Cache)
4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz (2DIMMS)

Directly from my order sheet. Just don't want anyone thinking they are restricted to 1333 if they aren't.

 

Have been using Hyper X 1866 RAM for a while with BIOS A08,no problems so far.IMO,8 gigs of either 1600 or 1866 RAM is more than enough for the average user.

 

16gb all the way!

 

So you can mix and page 2 sets of different branded memory as long as they're the same speed?

 

yes you can. Just make sure the timings and voltage are the same for max compatibility

 

Hi all , I'm in Italy waiting for my new M17X R3 i7 2670qm , 4gb ddr3 1333.
Will it full work with 4x 4gb hyperx 1600 pnp ?

Thanks

 

yes it will

 

thank you SlickDude80 .

the ram heatsink does not bother the socket?

The 1866 will work with i7 2670?

 

Hi guys i would like to know if the kingston hyperx 1866 pnp would work without changing any bios settings according to my specs below? oh guys and will it work if I plug those alongside with my stock 8gb? will there be any conflict?
__________________
Alienware M17X R3 i7-2820QM 2.30GHz, 8gb ram DDR3 1333MHz, Crucial M4 512 SSD + 750 HDD , 1.5GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M

 

Yes, it will work, but if you mix it with 1333Mhz memory, then it will function at the slower speed (1333), which defeats the whole purpose.

 

oh what if I just use the kingston hyperx 1866 pnp 8gb will it be alot better than the stock 1333mhz i'm using now? will my system be able to support 1866 without changing any bios settings?

 

Not a lot better, but some. You'd probably be ahead going with 1600 HyperX ram. You'd save $50 (for 8GB kit), stability is assured and the performance differential is minimal at best. Newegg.com - Kingston HyperX 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1600 HyperX Plug n Play Laptop Memory Model KHX1600C9S3P1K2/8G.

AnandTech published an overview of the effects of memory speed and latency in Sandy Bridge systems, concluding that the impact was "extremely limited", primarily due to the improved memory controller. Check here for details: AnandTech - Sandy Bridge Memory Scaling: Choosing the Best DDR3.

 

Get the Corsair Vengeance 1866 it has better timings than the HyperX and was confirmed to work perfectly.

However it does not have any smexy heatshields like the HyperX

 

I see, thank you everyone for your opinions! I'd most probably go with the hyperx 1600 pnp, I don't have to do anything to the bios right? just plug and it'll run at optimum?

 

That's all. Plug and play.

 

I bought 16gb Kingstone HyperX 1600 pnp

 

Hi!
I just registered here to ask a question.

I got an Alienware M17x R3 on order which is supposed to arrive in the next few days. My first Alienware btw
I opted to buy and install SSD and memory by myself and I've just ordered the SSD (a Samsung 830 128GB). Was just about to order the memory as well when someone pointed out that the 2670QM only support 1333MHz DDR3 memory. I was planning to get 2x4GB Kingston HyperX PnP 1600MHz...
Is it true that only 1333MHz is supported? If so I guess 1600MHz memory will run at 1333MHz which seem like a waste.

Here's Intel's page about the 2670QM
Intel® Core? i7-2670QM Processor (6M Cache, 2.20 GHz))

Full computer spec... Core i7 2760QM, GeForce GTX 580M 2GB, 17.3" WLED 1920x1080, 4GB DDR3, 750GB SATA, Killer WiFi.
I got it with a 25% student discount (Sweden only)

EDIT:
Just checked the UPS tracking site - the package just arrived in Köln/Cologne, Germany (via Dubai and Shanghai). Scheduled delivery is tomorrow "by end of day"
I ordered on january 9...

 

Congratulations. Nice system.

Notwithstanding the Intel spec sheet, HyperX 1600 will work fine with a 2670QM in the M17xR3. There are many instances of that combination being used by forum members. Copy and paste the following into a Google search box to find some of them and discussions addressing the issue:

site: Laptop Forums and Notebook Computer Discussion 2670QM 1600 memory

 

Thank you.

Yes, it's true that many people have that combination. I'm sure it works fine but the question is if they are running it at 1600MHz or only 1333MHz...
I see quite alot of people asking the same question but I haven't found a clear answer yet.

 

I put some 1600 into mine, set the speed accordingly and I saw an improvement in the WEI for memory from 7.6 to 7.8 IIRC.

So yeah it works.

 

Ok I'm a newb to this forum, and having read a lot of the RAM topics, I just want to be sure. The threads seem to be dated. I ordered my MX 17 yesterday, and some things have changed with time.
I ordered my rig with 4 Gb 1600 Mhz ram with the intention to bump it up myself. The CPU is a 2760QM. The link I picked up on one of the threads is for Kingston Hyper X Plug n Play 2 x 4 Gb 1600 Mhz 204 pin. There are 4 ram slots in the rig, and I am now seeing some Hyper X 8 Gb sticks. I am wondering whether to:
1. Order 1 set and add to existing stock RAM totaling 12 Gb
2. Order 2 sets so that they match for 16 Gb.
3. POSSIBLY order a set of 2 x 8 Gb (if they will work) for 16 Gb and the potential for 32 Gb. (future expansion ???)

Just need some updated help !!!!

 

Hey i just raised my speeds to 1600 from the regular 1333 and im not sure if its working, how can i check to see what speeds they are running at?

 

Whats up all ! I just order the m17x r3 with the 2670qm - 4 gigs ram - 6990m GPU - 1080p screen. So to saved some cash and ordered 16 gigs of kingstion 2 x 4 @ 1600mhz plugin play ram the gray ones not the blue ones. will they work with the 2670qm or did I buy the wrong ram?

 

The grey ones are better. Plug and play ftw and can be slightly overclocked.

They will work perfectly.

 

So will the ram work with the 2670qm or not!

 

he said it does -.-