RAM Upgrade - M18x (with pics)

if you only have 2 sticks of ram its the only way to get dual channel.

 

Is this setup definitely possible on the M18X? Some said earlier in this thread that the sticks must be in slots 1&2 for the laptop to boot up. If it is possible, why don't Dell set it up this way if it increases the memory bus from 64bit to 128bit?

 

Hi guys
i plan to upgrade my ram to 1866MHz
only replace from bottom because I not much confident to add ram under keyboard
but when I open bottom cover and try take ram out but I can't
So how do i take those ram out?

 

You sure it's worth it? Can u run at that speed?

 

To answer your question.....
There are 2 metal tabs on either side of the ram, just pull them outward at the same time and the ram will pop up.

Also, I am assuming that you have a new m18x correct...?.... because you will not really get any benefit if you are putting those into your M17x-R2.... plus the M17x-R1/R2 only has 2 dimm slots (not 4 like the m18x)...... (just FYI)
D.

 

right, my system right now is M18x R1 ^^!
just got it for system exchange with M17x R2 and now want upgrade ram, SSD, and big foot killer so I think I will got ram first

 

Thanks for this. I'd naively assumed all 4 slots would be accessible from trap doors on the bottom. My 18x should be here early in the week and I have 4 x 4GB to replace the supplied 2 x 2 GB.

 

Yeah one of the aspects they need to change for M18X R2 just for ease of access.

 

Thanks for the guide. Found some 4 GB of RAM on sale last month for $23 + $15 mail-in-rebate. Now 16GB Woot.

 

Question.. are there 4 ram slots ? I heard they require 8Gb pieces in two of the slots ? If im entierly wrong can someone tell me how many slots there are, and what I can install as SIZE goes in each slot ? Thanks ahead of time for any help.

 

M18x does indeed have four Sodimm slots. They dont REQUIRE 8gb in each one, thats just the max they will take. Each slot can take up to a maximum of 8gb, giving a system total max ram of 32gb. This would prove to be more expensive than a maxed out m18x given the cost of 8gb sodimms.

You can run the system just fine with 4gb which is two 2gb sticks in the slots directly under the base panel. That can be upgraded extremely easily just by removing the battery and back panel. Not rocket science. If you want more than 8gb and dont want to pay the high prices for 8gb individual modules, you will have to open up and remove the keyboard and install ram there....again...pretty easy.

Your best bet to maximise ram would be to get two 8gb kits, put a 4gb module in each of the four slots giving you 16gb.

A popular flavour of ram is Kingston HyperX - various speeds available...the latest being the plug and play variety at 1866mhz...just stick it in and forget about it....

 

In my m18x there are 4 ram slots. 2 on the bottom and then use the OP to get to the other 2 slots under the keyboard. If you have more $$$ you can buy 8GB sticks and have 32GB but the 8GB sticks are about $400-$500 each. Your best bet right now is to get 4 4GB to make a total of 16GB. That would run you under $100 total easy. You may find them on sale for a much better price.

 

Thanks for the wonderful reply +rep sir.

 

Great deal on RAM right now at Microcenter:

Found over at Fatwallet.com

Patriot 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 Desktop Mem PGV38G1333ELK $9.99 + tax AR at MC in store only

 

What are both of you talking about m-( 8GB sticks are available for $150 and 4 of these would cost $600.

Newegg.com - CORSAIR 16GB (2 x 8G) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1333 Laptop Memory Model CMSO16GX3M2A1333C9

 

Fair play but thats still very expensive for value ram....I really dont see the need for 32gb anyway. Get 16gb and get some good ram instead.

 

Quick Question.. I went to Frys and bought 8gigs (2 4Gb Kit) and used this TUT to install. Problem is the Keyboard Ribbon is really tight now. Its all pressed up against the top of the memory. will that effect the ram or ribbon ? i was thinking the heat my play a factor. Wasnt much room. Thanks for any adivce.

 

As long as the ram was clicked properly into place and the keyboard put back snug, you shouldnt have a problem. If heat were to be of any concern, there would have been a plate to cover the ram and to protect the KB ribbon......there isnt. If you are worried, just make sure the ram is in properly and the keyboard is too....there isnt much slack on the ribbon anyway from recollection....

I reckon you will be fine.

 

after removing all the keyborad area, i put it back as normal...i realized that the areas at the power button and those lower/ louder volume, etc..are very HOT when I play game...Is that normal ? I'm not sure that it's hot like that before removing stuff...did I put the LCD wires or something ?

 

Thats quite normal as directly under those areas are the video cards, which WILL get hot during gaming. Thats why the fans come on to keep them cool. If you are worried about temperatures, you can monitor the with various tools such a as hwinfo and gpu-z. Just google them and download 'em....

 

I have the standard 8gb ram 2x4 slots,I have 2 4gb sticks from my old unit,can I just pop the 2 4gb sticks in the bottom for 12gb total or is there a 1-3,2-4 that I have to do,kinda short on cash, hollidays and all.I want to keep the proper dual channel and Ive seen others on here with 12gb.Thanks

 

Yes, that should work if the specs on the RAM are the same. If one set is faster that the other, it will all run at the slower speed. You are referring to an M18x or one of the systems in your signature?

 

Thank you Mr Fox,I am referring to an m18x with stock 8gb 2x4 slots and I have a stock 1600mghz 8gb from my m14 that was extra$ so I figured I could take out 4 from m18x and add the 8gb from other.Ill check timings,I think theyre the same.Thanks again Mr Fox for the quick reply.

 

Has anyone seen a difference going from say 8gb to 16gb Ram? I just added and now have 16gb at 1600mgz,I guess future wise it's good,But I dont feel any real world use difference.Thanks smoothJ for the guide Btw.

 

theres no diff from 8gb to 16.

 

Thanks,I thought so.Just checking to make sure it wasn't just me.

 

the extra ram is good for video encoding and stuff of that nature, where more ram is always better. but for most 4gb is more then enough.

 

I figured,I don't do anything that's going to use near 16gb,I guess It's a future thing for me,My 1st pc had floppy no internal ram.LOl.Then I splurged and spent like 4k for a 233mb pentium with (MMX) gateway with a then huge 64mb Ram and a 6gb hdd.LOL back when they shipped in the cow boxes.Boy I feel so old now! That was the fastest pc in 95 I think.My cell phone is 100x faster now.233 mghz was intels fastest chip.LOL,I thought what a beast I had,compared to my buddy's with 166mgz no mmx and 650mb hdd,Sorry for going off topic it's amazing how far we've come.

 

^^ How that was funny. I wanst old enough to care about specs then.

I wanted to know where the default place where ram would be located in the 18, at the bottom or underneath the keyboard if you got the 4GB?
Dont want to go under the keybaord

 

I know I'm old,lol been builing my own desk tops for years,anyway the default is at the bottom.I heard the m18x won't boot if you put ram under keyboard only.Honestly after doing the upgrade it was pretty easy,the m18x is a beast,but some parts are plastic like around keyboard so alway's be careful.But I had 2 4gb underneath the bottom cover.And under keyboard was empty.

 

AH, that means to get it up 12 means to get under the keyboard then. planning to get 2x 4GB

 

Just a point for you to be aware of AgentVFX.

If you have a factory configuration of 4x2gb modules (two under the KB and two in the other slots), and you are thinking of just upgrading the ram in the "easy access slots" to bump your system up to 12gb, you may want to think on about what kind of ram you buy - in terms of its speed.

I mention it only as if you buy "super-fast" ram, such as 1866mhz stuff, with the intention of installing it to the "easy-access" slots WITHOUT touching the Dell ram under the KB, what will happen is that ALL of the ram will run at the lowest speed. Ie: If your ram under the KB is 1333mhz and you were wanting to buy 1866, the 1866 wont run at 1866, it will run at 1333.

Just a heads up in case you were not aware....it might save you a bit of cash if you were thinking faster ram would be just as fast...it wont be.

Obviously, if your system shipped with ram installed ONLY into the easy access slots, you will be fine with whatever speed ram you choose.

 

I've been experimenting with the M17x R3 with XMP ram, not PnP but specifically XMP that require Profile 2 to run at full speed. I have concluded that XMP only works on 2 slots. When I have 4 sticks of the same HyperX ram I want to use, the speeds default to 1333Nhz however I set it in the bios. You M18x users have this too?

 

I havent got my hyperX installed in this rig as its going back soon....I will let you know when I get the replacement, interesting though....I dont recall it being a problem when I did have it installed.

 

You are using PnP though. I'm talking about XMP.

 

I did have XMP before, 1600mhz stuff - the two kits I had got RMA'd and they bumped me to the 1866mhz stuff after a bit of whinging.

Obviously I cant be of help with the ram I have now but from recollection, when I had the XMP stuff in the M18x, using profile 2, it all ran at 1600mhz....

 

Hm...for some reason, the XMP ram I have will run Profile 2 at full speed only if there are 2 in the system. When 4, the XMP Profile don't stick...

 

Weird, Im almost certain from recollection mine worked just fine...apart from having to be RMA'd lol

 

Hey thanks for the advice, much appreciated.

I have the 2760QM which I think can only handle 1333 anyways.

My question is then, whats the best make to get? HyperX? Can I just buy any? there are cheaper ones.

 

Th I7 2760qm does actually support 1600mhz ram. It probably will take faster 1866 sticks too. According to Intel's product info, the max supported ram speed (even for the 2960xm) is 1600mhz but plenty of people use 1866mhz.....as for Branding, Kingston HyperX is a very popular version, others will say Corsair, others may say someone else too - it really is down to you - and of course, how much you want to spend - maybe you can bag a bargain of some variety if you shop about....

 

Well ok good to know, Ill go for the 1600 then. BTW your M18 is packing!

 

Thanks! - I am sure you will enjoy your beast too - these things are user upgradeable too, so plenty of time to change things if you want to later on....you may want to add your system spec. to your signature by cliking on the "User CP" link top left of the NBR page, "Edit Signature" and put your details in....just helps out if everyone knows what system you have - they are more readily able to help answer any questions if they know exactly what you have in your system!

 

Anyone here running 32gig in there machine?

 

Hello, everybody. I'd like to know whether theres much performance difference from 4GB to 8GB or not.
Thanx!

 

This guide made it so easy, thanks mate! +rep!

 

Well...yea...there is. It means there's more memory to be had. With all the background tools and such I run my RAM usage sits at about 4.2-4.7GB while I'm just browsing the net/office functions, and probably up to 6GB while under heavy stress. IMO nobody *needs* more than 8GB, but it seems pretty standard to have 12-16GB in gaming PCs

*edit: Wooops, looks like I'm late to that one.

 

Thanks a ton for this guide! I was able to upgrade my M18X to 32 GB of GeiL DDR3 1333 MHz.

I unfortunately had to upgrade my Windows 7 from Home Premium to Professional via Anytime upgrade since I didn't have the hind sight to do this when I purchased my laptop.

 

Thanks for the pics and guide! You saved my bacon - I was having a meltdown about possibly scratching the keyboard cover and could not figure out how to get it started...

Now I'm a happy camper with a pristine new M18x and 32GB RAM Corsair Vengeance on board!

thanks again!

 

Having just bought Vengeance RAM, how did you get 32GB?? Corsair's site only shows a 8GB KIT (4GB x 2), no single 8GB 1866Mhz module, hence only 16GB is possible in the M18x.

 

I hope people who are only using this laptop for gaming are not actually putting a full 32 GB's of ram in their machine.... if your just gaming, you won't see a lick of difference between 8GB and 16GB and a even less than that from 16 to 32...