RAM Upgrade - M18x (with pics)

I am sure like most users the 16gb to 32gb range is mostly just bragging rights with maybe over preparation for some future piece of software or game that might use this amount of RAM.

 

A few programs might use 16-32, but no game will for about 40 years will lol.

 

Gotta remember though, these systems are the computer equivalent of high powered sports cars and as so, enthusiasts buy them. As an enthusiast of either performance cars or performance computers, many people just want the very best available.....you could say that someone who can afford a Lamborghini is senseless as there arent many places to drive it at 200mph+ - it's just the knowing that it CAN be driven that fast that is nice to have....same goes for computer memory - you might never use it but its "under the hood" just incase!

 

Well put. Same could be said for the ridiculous amounts of money these same people are willing to spend on their graphics cards or the entire rig itself. Once you reach a certain fps, you're really paying for bragging rights in my opinion.

What some people pay to play a game is pretty far out on the price/performance curve!

But, we do love our toys and are willing to outfit them to the max regardless of benefit.

 

Guys, Nice to meet you all. I am new here, I am cyberchick.

I just got a new (used) laptop as a gift, Alienware M18x and I have a few questions and see if you can assist....

1. Is this the right ram chip for this laptop? Newegg.com - CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Laptop Memory Model CMSX8GX3M1A1600C10

CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Laptop Memory Model CMSX8GX3M1A1600C10


2. Also a little off topic, I want to buy a SSD as a boot drive.... since my laptop is back to facotry reset. I want to copy everything from the hard drive to the new SSD to use it as C: boot drive... how do I do that (copy everything to the SSD and use it as C

3. Finally how do I add a second SSD to the laptop?

Thank you so much.

cybegirl

I just looked at your signature with your laptop set up and it seems that we have the same laptop!

 

Hello cybergirl and welcome to NBR!

Sounds like you have a great system if its the same as my signature

Regards to the ram you linked to, that would be just fine and will fit into the M18x without a problem. The one you have linked to is a single 8gb module, just so you know. You could buy x4 of them to have 32gb if you wnted to max out your ram slots but bear in mind, if your OS is Home Premium, it will only support a max total ram of 16gb.

The Corsair ram is good stuff from what I have read about it on the forums too....alternatively, you could look at slightly faster 1866mhz ram if you wanted to (these are 8gb kits - x2 4gb modules so the max memory you could get with these kits would be 16gb utilising all four slots on the M18x): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...0000432&IsNodeId=1&name=DDR3 1866 (PC3 15000)

Regards to the SSD upgrade, there are a few options for you. You can look to clone your existing OS drive and install it on the new SSD - many new SSD's come with Data Migration kits to allow you to do this quite painlessly - probably the most straightforward method.

Alternatively, you could perform a full clean install which would, IMHO, be the best option as you will then have a nice brand new OS - have a read of this thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...r-install-order-guide-alienware-systems.html# and this thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...ok-feel-after-clean-install-windows-7-a.html#

You can also try to "Respawn" your HDD's factory image to the new SSD - you can try this method by creating recovery disks/USB using AlienRespawn (if you dont already have them) and simply boot from that media by hitting F12 when you boot the machine and selecting to boot your system from either CD or USB.

Regarding installing the drive to the machine itself, very simple. You can look at the owners manual but its basically four screws to remove the bottom panel, slide and lift it off and you will see the HDD caddy. Another four screws to undo the caddy - you can then carefully lift out the caddy whilst it is attatched to the Interposer (or you could undo the Interposer ribbon cable from the mobo via its securing clip and the caddy will come out with the Interposer attatched still) and gently pull it away from the interface and then you can remove your original drive from the caddy itself which is secured to the caddy with..yes...another four screws on the side!. Once removed, just pop your new drive into the caddy, re-assemble in reverse order and job done.

If you want to use your orginal HDD as a storage drive on the other port in the caddy, just do the same...add it to the other empty port & after you reboot, assign it a drive letter in disk management and format it. Hey presto - additionall storage!

If your end goal is to end up with TWO SSD's in Raid0 but you will be adding the second SSD later on, whilst installing your first SSD, it would be advisable to set the Sata Operation to RAID in bios - even though right now you wont be raiding drives...this way, its far simpler to add a second SSD and extend the OS across the two drives without the need to re-install everything all over again.

 

Quick Question Folks:

Will the M18xR1 run 16GB of memory at 2000MHz ? I was thinking of picking that up at frys today. Thanks!

 

I don't see why not, but you need to make sure of a couple of things..

First, how does the R1 read the DIMM to set itself to 2000MHz? Is it a profile in the DIMM, is it auto-configure, or is it an XMP profile?

Secondly, your sig shows you have 1600MHz RAM now. (14GB??? How do you get 14GB??). 2000MHz RAM has different, slower CAS timings, which may or may not offset the faster clock speeds. So it may be a wash. An example is your current timings may be 10-10-10-1T but the newer faster stuff may be 12-12-12-2T, which may offset the 1600 --> 2000 increase, giving a barely noticeable speed increase.

What RAM is at Fry's @ 2000MHz?

 

Thanks for the reply. I have unlocked bios A05. I believe I saw the DIMM, Auto-Config and XMP options in the overclocking memory options. I dont know what settings I would need.

As for the 14GB, I have: 2GB, 4GB, 4GB, 4GB. (I preorderd with 6GB and added another 8 GB kit)

Frys has a 16GB kit (2 8GB sticks) of 2000MHz, but after calling Dell they told me they wont certify those anything over 1600MHz, but Id be willing to pull the current memory and install the 2000MHz if its possible. I dont want to waste my money or time if my lappy will not support that speed.

What do you think ?

 

The BIOS definitely supports 1866MHz, and I've seen someone here running RAM at 2133. But, look at the specs for the RAM and get the timings. You might be better off picking up some Corsair Vengeance 1866 RAM...

 

Okay so Installed 16GB of Corsair Vengeance 1600MHZ as that was all that is available at frys. The website says it can support 2000MHz as well, however Im not seeing that as an option in the bios. Anyone here can point me to a thread on Over Clocking memory ? I switched it to 1866 in the bios but its not changing clock and I was thinking I might have to change some other settings. Any information at all would be helpful.

 

Download and run CPU-Z. It will show you, among other things, information about each of your RAM modules, including what timing profiles are built in, and what XMP profiles are built in to the modules.

From there, you should be able to determine what you can run at.

Also, Corsair sells 1866 RAM, so I'm not sure how likely their 1600 will overclock. I'm sure they want you to buy their 1866 stuff!

 

Can you help me make since of this ? Never done anything with memory before. here is a screenshot of CPUZ.

 

So you see your DRAM freq is about 800. Multiply that x2, gives you your 1600MHz. Your timings are 10-10-10-1T. Bigger numbers = slower.

Click the SPD tab and you'll see what timings are programmed into your DIMM's.
Remember to multiply x 2 the frequencies. If there are any XMP profiles under SPD, those would need to be accessed and set via the BIOS.

I believe my Vengeance 1866 is set to 10-10-10-2T. The 2T vs 1T is slower.

 

Okay Ill see what I can do in bios. Thanks.

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...official-m18x-r1-running-memory-2133-mhz.html

 

Question was answered elsewhere!

 

Thanks for taking the time to do this, I will be using it as I'm intending to use 16Gb 1866Mhz Kingston HyperX memory. Your how-to guide will be very useful.

OB

+1

 

I'm thinking of getting this for my M18x, any thoughts on this?
CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8G) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1600
Model CMSX16GX3M2A1600C10

 

Hi,

You can try it but, if you look into it on the other threads, some users/members have had issues using this memory due to some problem between it and the M18X, most success has been found using the Kingston HyperX memory...

You can always give it a try and report your findings?

OB