M18x Memory Discussion Thread

Thanks much - that was what I thought, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something. One thing in particular I'm glad you mentioned - the triple-drive option reducing the whole array to SATA II, you just saved me a whole 'nother thread question when I go to configure my system!

For me, if I'm already shelling out for a specced system, $120 is worth having Dell do it. If I'm not going triple drive out of the gate, though, may just have them drop in a 512 SSD, with the idea of adding a second one later.

One last question - in a raid array, is it required that the two drives be identical (i.e. brand, specs) or just the same size? (i.e. if I get a second 512 later to raid, do I have to buy a second of whatever Dell puts in there, or can I grab whatever I like?)

Thanks - the more I hang out here, hopefully the more I learn about these things!

 

Ideally, both drives should be identical. If they aren't, they may have different controllers and different speeds and could end up causing more headaches that it's worth - it is possible but it's a bit like memory, mixing and matching is not recommended. BTW, the Dell drives are Samsung PM830's which are basically Dell's OEM version of the retail Sammy's with different firmware. Also worth pointing out is NOT to raid drives of different sizes as the raid will default to x2 of the smallest capacity, rendering the larger drive only getting used to half its potential capacity = big waste of money!

 

Cool, thank you - the Samsung 830's are what I'd been looking at anyway - will the different firmware matter? Can I just grab a second Samsung 830 (of the same size as the original, of course) from newegg, drop it into my other SATAIII slot, and be ready to set up the raid, or do I need to grab a second drive from Alienware to get the same firmware as the original drive?

 

As Brother Steve pointed out, mixing RAM or SSD may work, but it's not the smart thing to do. Better to keep them matched to avoid loss of capacity or performance.

Dell/Alienware has recently made their pricing on both more competitive with the aftermarket and I agree 100% with the rationale of keeping as many parts as possible under the factory warranty. For a $0 to $200 difference in the cost of memory and SSD upgrade to be covered under a 2 to 4 year warranty is sort of a no-brainer to me.

Got the 16GB of Kingston 1866 PnP yesterday and installed it after work last night. Works perfectly as advertised. Instantly recognized and ran at 1867 without user intervention. I could have sworn it supported XMP profiles, but it seems to not be the case. I can choose either profile in BIOS and it boots fine but changes back to the default BIOS setting. My WEI changed from 7.8 to 7.9, but there is no perceivable change otherwise compared to the 16GB of stock Dell DDR3-1600. I have not tried manually programming the memory timings yet as Kingston's marketing material indicates to be possible. I have to figure out how to do that.

 

I'm not sure if this is the correct place to ask this question. I ordered 16gb of hyperx 1866mhz ram for my incoming R2. I saw that on Dells website they offer it on the R2 as an upgrade. Has anyone on this forum had any problems after installing this? I can always exchange it for 1600 if I must. Thanks

 

From what I understand the PnP (Plug and Play) spec is what your after. Do you have a link with the specs ? I've seen a few people have trouble here setting up 1866 with no pnp.

 

Yes, as long as it's a PnP kit, you shouldn't have any compatibility issues. Thoroughly test your kit to ensure they are error free though, it can save you headaches down the road.

 

Hello, I'm in process of trying to order a M18x but have same question and think Dell has a future problem on there hands with systems dieing because I believe these processors are not made to work with 1866mhz memory as they have listed as an upgrade on there website. If you look here on this comparison of both chips, they both say 1600 not 1866

When I call to order mine I will bring this up as a complaint because in order to get the 1600mhz memory they list it as an upgrade cost when actually it should be standard

Compare Intel Processors

 

Here is where I bought the ram Amazon.com: Kingston HyperX Plug n Play 8 GB Kit (2x4GB Modules) 1866MHz DDR3 SODIMM Notebook/Netbook Memory 8 Dual Channel Kit (PC3 15000) 204-Pin KHX1866C11S3P1K2/8G: Computers & Accessories I'd like to hear from someone who has 16gb of this on their machine. Maybe I should just use 8gb and return the rest.I think I read somewhere that Mr.Fox has 16gb of 1866

 

Intel has it at 1600mhz as its official speed speed, but with it can support up to 2667mhz.

Simply, it works, but it sound like you have to go through the BIOS to "oc" it to that speed.

 

Being that this ram is PnP all I have to do is install it or do I have to go into the BIOS and set it to 1867 and the ram tinings to 11,11,11,32 which I believe are the right timings?

 

Nope. Just install it and it will do it automatically. I have these modules in my R1 and they work fine btw.

 

That's good. I just tired to make the safest response as possible with only doing 3 mins of research.

 

1866 RAM works fine in R2 (8GB surely, more possibly), even Corsair Vengeance. This said, Corsair may need extra 'tuning'.

 

I have 16GB of Kingston HyperX 1866 PnP memory (4x4) and it was truly plug-and-play in my M18x R1. If your BIOS is already set to "Auto" then you don't need to do anything except install it. If it is set to 1600, it may still automatically change when you install the HyperX memory.

The benefit of upgrading to DDR3-1866 was negligible and my system does not perform noticeably better than it did with the 16GB of Dell/Hynix DDR3-1600 memory that it replaced. It's a little faster in memory tests, but in all other system benchmarks the results are more or less unchanged.

 

My new ram came in about a week ago. I ordered 2 Kingston hyper x 16gigs 1600. If I'm not mistaken, my laptop came with 6 gigs 1600 ghz (not sure the brand, think hynix). Is it possible to use both of these in my computer or would I see a performance decrease. Reason why Im asking is because I don't want to have to go under my key board to get to dim c and d. Also does it make a difference which ram is in which dim? Meaning put the 8 gig in dim a instead of c?

 

Will 12GB DDR3 Overclocked 2660MHz CL11 Dual Channel Memory (3x4GB SODIMMS) work in the m18x?

 

If it does, 4gb of it will run in single channel as you will have an empty sodimm slot......where have you seen them!

 

xotic has them... don't know why they are selling it that way...

 

So it would be best to just go with 16gb then?

 

Yeah, if that's the ram you want it seems pointless configuring it with an empty sodimm slot as that stick would run much better paired with another to fill it in dual channel mode as opposed to single channel.

 

Hyper X pnp 2133 now out! search for KHX21S12P1K2/8. Gonna give them a try since I couldn't get 4 x 4 gb dell/ hynix to work.

 

Nice. Only UK link I could find to buy was this one...still, cheap!: 8GB 2x4 Ddr3-2133 Hx Sodimm P - Khx21s12p1k2 8 - Memory Products - New Products - by Kingston - 8GB

+ rep!

 

Cheers for the rep! Just getting started with the forum. I've got some great tips on here from people who know what they're talking about.

Could I ask for a quick bit of advice on undoing the raid array and reinstalling windows? Cloned, and my read speeds on 2 830's is @750. writes have been high though. I can get to the raid screen (ctrl I) then how do I get from there to set the bios to boot from CD/DVD? Should I remove 1 ssd before installing windows? Read the entire SSD migration thread and that step seems to be missing. Never used raid before so want to get it right.


ps. ordering 2133 tomorrow!

 

I'm just going to tell you how I did it.

I installed both drives in my computer. I installed fresh copy of windows onto my primary drive. I installed all drivers needed and the Intel rapid storage technology software to perform the raid array from within windows.

And that was it. It took only a few minutes to make the array and have been golden since.

To set your cd/dvd drive to boot you would hit F2 after the radi splash screen and then scroll over to the boot tab and change it there.

OR

You could hit F12 after the raid splash screen (same place as F2) and that will give you all you boot choices. That is the easiest way to do it unless you always want your computer to search the dvd drive just incase to boot from.

 

All the info you could ever want regards setting up raid: http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...llation-questions-troubleshooting-thread.html

 

thanks guys for the ssd info. I will give it a go.

re the 2133 hyperx - about 2 to 3 weeks for Kingston UK to get stock I've been told. Amazon Germany has some though.

 

I've got a quick question in regards to the memory slots on the m18x. Is it better to have all the slots filled or is it fine to just have two slots filled? I know on my X58 mobo that its best to run with at least 3 sticks (something to do with triple channel I guess).

 

As long as you have either set of slots full, you are good to go. No addition benefit (apart from the obvious one of more memory) of having all the slots full opposed to just two.

 

Sweet, thanks thats pretty much what I thought.

 

Are the 2133mhz HyperX dual channel? The current 1600mhz I have now are, so just wanted to check. Also what is the purpose of dual channel ram? Would it be better to stick with my current 16gb HyperXdual channel 1600mhz ram or put in the new 2133mhz HyperX I go today?

 

Just put in the RAM today, and all my WEI just shot up to 7.9. Are there any other test to run or programs to check to see if the RAM speeds are running as they should?

 

Open CPU-z and go to the memory tab - should tell you what speed you are running at (multiply by 2 for dual channel!).

 

Do the 1866mhz hyperx sticks put the Windows Score at 7.9? I literally received my 1866mhz sticks on the same day I found out about the 2133mhz being sold. Would it be worth the hassle of returning them and buying the 2133's? I heard there's only a 5%~ difference in speed during benchmarks, but goes unnoticed in use.

 

DDR3 Memory Performance Analysis on Intel X79 - A Look At Channel Scaling From Single to Quad - Legit Reviews


here is a good review with some testing in it. While it is testing using quad channel, it is the same idea. There is not that much difference between 1600, 1866, and 2133. Less than a 400 point difference and while there is a difference in the bandwidth of 1600, 1866, and 2133. There is not many programs that will need that much bandwidth.

Even looking at how many channels the memory is using and scores for it... Single to dual is a huge jump, then it kinda levels off pretty much.

so for me I would say no it isn't worth it.

 

Cool, thanks. I figured there wasn't a huge difference.

 

Right now there running at 2128Mhz

 

Brilliant. That means they run at the right speed without tweaks. 2133mhz as cpu-z won't give an "exact" read - that's good enough for me! (as an example, my 1866mhz ram shows as 930.4 in the same field so x2 = roughly 1866)

 

I'm getting my mobo replaced and am upgrading the GPUs from dual 6970s ---> dual 6990s.

I would like to upgrade the RAM from 8g to 16g. Currently the 4 slots have the stock 2g sticks.

What's my best option?

 

I think your cheapest/best option would be to remove all the Dell stock modules and keep them safe for warranty/returns. Buy a couple of 8gb kits (x2 modules each kit) of whatever memory you want to upgrade to and install them in all four slots. Alternatively, you could buy two 8gb modules of whatever ram you want - you're realistically gonna have to open the system up and remove the 2x2gb sticks from under the KB anyway - if you plan on upgrading to faster ram because if you don't remove them and just change the modules in the easy-access slots, your new ram is only gonna run as fast as your Dell ram in terms of mhz. If you are ok with tearing down to the KB and you get x2 8gb modules, I would install them under the KB and leave the other slots free.....you can then always look to upgrade more ram without a teardown again. Bear in mind, if you are running Win 7, you would need Pro or Ultimate to use more than 16gb anyways.

 

So far it will run 1100 mhz or 2200 mhz comfortably at 1.5V
CPU-Z Validator 3.1

Also in the r1 it looks like it needs about 1.55V to run 12-12-12-33

 

I've been wondering this since ordering, as I ordered mine with 32 GB since I like having lots to play with, and I'm looking into running the OS off a ram disk that gets uploaded to RAM at boot time and offloaded and stored as an image at shutdown.

But does 1866 MHz 16 GB really make a huge difference and does 32 GB 1866 MHz exist yet (for M18x yet of course).

Side note: Can I over clock my RAM from 1600 to something higher and how would I go about doing so?

 

The mere fact that you have 32GB RAM is crazy (in a good way)!

I honestly don't know if the clock speed increase would be hugely noticeable. It's been debated on previous threads - some say it helps, others say it doesn't. Personally, I have 16GB 1866Mhz, which I picked it up on the NBR marketplace for a good price. I DID see a performance increase (this was on my R1), but I was also going from RAM that was a fair bit slower (not 1600MHz).

Ultimately, you have to decide if the cost is worth the benefit. I don't think you'll see mind-blowing performance increases, but a moderate improvement may be enough for you to justify the investment. If you have disposable income, I suppose you could pick some up and test it yourself, then sell whatever you don't wind up with on the NBR marketplace or eBay.

Not sure if that helps at all...

 

Thanks yeah it makes sense. I tried OCing my RAM directly in BIOS and it doesn't really seem to do a whole lot, still says 798.2 - 800 in CPU-Z which makes it 1600 MHz so I guess Alienware disabled that too... Kinda makes you wonder who actually owns the laptop you paid for

 

Thanks Stevie,

2 x 8gs sounds good. What do you recommend for 1866ghz or is 1600ghz practically as good?

30

 

If money isnt an issue then why not go for the faster one. In the real world I don't really feel much difference between my laptop and desktop RAM. My desktop uses 2133 MHz corsair ram and my laptop used 1600 MHz and I don't feel any difference

 

The other option, if you want FAST memory is the new HyperX 2133mhz stuff......I think it only comes in 4gb modules at the moment so you would have to fill all four sodimm slots.

 

But I'm reading the PNP is better (stability wise), the 2133mhz doesnt appear so?

 

I don't have the 2133 so I can't pass comment. Maybe Brother Johnksss can, as he has it in his machine.

 

1600 Cas9 or 1866 Cas 11. Should be equal in performance? Price is 2x more for 1866 over 1600