ASUS G53JW RAM Upgrade - How To

How do you get to the 2nd slot under the keyboard to upgrade the memory? Thanks!

 

Take a look at this thread:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/asu...bling-g53jw-installing-second-hard-drive.html

It explains how to remove the keyboard and get at the ram slot.

 

Hi everyone,
Just got myself an G53JW - IX045V. It's the one with i5 460m, 4GB ram, 500GB/7200 sata hdd and 3d glasses. Everything's nice and shiny but i'd really like to have 8GB of ram.
So, thinking the beast has 4 dimm slots, I went and purchased 2x2GB sodimms.
Using the guide above I started to disassemble the laptop, BUT under the keyboard there is NO dimm slot... Omg, that's so cheap i thought to myself. They saved a couple of bucks by not soldering a ddr3 dimm slot
Proceeded further on, removed the underside panel only to find a SINGLE dimm slot already populated with 2GB ddr3....

Can anyone please tell me where the 2 missing slots are supposed to be?
Also what are my chances to get 8GB ram?

 

@manu72 I don't know from direct experience, but I think the i5 models only have one or two RAM slots, somebody posted about this before (but I can't find the thread...)

 

Thanks ALLurGroceries.

I managed to dl and read the pdf manual - the good ol' RTFM is still valid
It clearly states that the laptop "may" come with 4 dimm slots. Dimm 1 is hidden and always come preinstalled. Mine has a 2GB module and i will probabil save myself of the hassle to replace it unless dual channel doesn't work with 2+4GB
Back to DIMMS on my model, maybe the info will help some others:
- DIMM 1, apparently under the kb, but is out of reach, is filled with 2GB/1333
- DIMM 2, on the underside, near HDD slots, filled also with 2GB / 1333 - i will replace it with a 4GB module
- DIMM 3, on the underside, it should be ontop of the DIMM2, but is missing on my model - it is not soldered
- DIMM 4, under the keyboard, also not soldered on my model.

I have to admit that the choice of placing the dimm slots is really awkward to say it in a gentle manner.
And while i5 memory controller is able to run 8GB ram, replacing the hidden DIMM is quite a challenge.

 

Hello. I have the G53JW Xn1 win7 64bit and i7...I recently purchased 2x4gb soDimm ram from CRUCIAL that is compatible with my system. I opened the laptop up and saw under KB empty dimm slot. I proceed to the back and the 2 dim slots by the HD, the back of the two has one of my 2 2gb. I assume the second 2gb one is the "hard to reach" one and wanted to know if I can throw these two 4gb somewhere and make it work? Any Ideas? Thanks

 

It will work. I have the same model as you and I did the exact same thing. Running 12GB happily.

 

Ok good to hear. Here's the thing...I plugged the ram into the empty slots and booted up and got a blue screen and then it powered off. Took them out booted fine and then I tried to EasyFlash BIOS but where I have the folder with the new BIOS and try to use it in EasyFlash it's "not there"...So if it's a BIOS thing how can I get that going...I can't find any solution. Any help is much appreciated. Sorry for the newbie ?s. RAM is Crucial 4 gb sodimm ddr3 1333 10600 204 pin (x2)

 

@Metzger422 put the BIOS image file on a FAT-formatted USB stick for easy flash. For more info see: http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus/174395-bios-update-guide-asus-notebooks.html

 

@ALLurGroceries Much Appreciated!

 

OK I will end with this ...I got the BIOS updated (Thanks Groceries) now I installed the 2 4gb Ram and got a black screen on boot up. So I tried removing one and booted. It started, so I should have 8Gb now right? WRONG my system info said 2gb and a few hundred Mb free.... So I took the 4Gb out and now I'm back to 4Gb ram where I started. I don't get it???
Thanks for all your help guys and I'm sorry to nag. Just a young'n trying to get computer savvy

 

The ram may not be compatible, the SPD may be incorrectly detected. I guess you should return that RAM and try one that is verified to work (I don't know offhand).

 

That's just it though. The tech from Crucial's hotline checked my order and the ram I bought and confirmed compatibility with the g53jw. He said the existing 2 2gb may be the factor here. I cannot and will not rip apart the whole laptop just to get to the hidden dimm slot. So I am going to have a PC store do it for me and remove the 2 2gb and just install the 2 4gb instead. I then can always buy 2 more and have my 16Gb max at a later date. If that doesn't work then I will return it and get Kingston because I hear no complaints from g53 users. What a nightmare this turned out to be...

 

That is definitely possible, the 4th slot is really not very convenient to get to.

Even if you bring it to a repair shop your warranty may be voided, depending on if they rip warranty stickers and if there is any evidence of it being opened... not sure if that is a concern for you or not.

 

Darn ASUS! It is a BRAND new laptop and I do have 2 years warranty...what to do, what to do?

Heck, I already bought the RAM might as well use it!

 

I'm not sure, if you bought it from a retailer who customizes laptops, maybe you can send it to them for the upgrade and keep the warranty intact.

You may be able to do it yourself without voiding the warranty, I'm not familiar enough with the G53 to know for sure (never owned one myself).

 

I bought it from NewEgg.com. I can get to the three slots, but the 4th I don't feel confident in doing.

I cannot find any videos that show how either or I would so I can use it to retrace my steps.

 

There is a dissassembly video here: YouTube - BTOtech.com | G53Jw & G53Sw Disassembly Take Apart G53 g53j service manual

It looks like you have to take the deck off completely to get to the 4th slot, and possibly the screen too.

 

I can't thank you enough ALLurGroceries. You've been a great help!

GEEKSQUAD is a joke! Even with me telling them about 9 screws to get the cover off, the guy still try to pry it with his screw driver! I told him "stop that or I'll smack you!" hehe. They wouldn't open the lappy to get to the hidden one either. "Against" their rules or something. Useless...

 

It seems to me like I have the same problem with my laptop. I open up the keyboard and i cannot find a proper looking slot under it.

Under the black tape and in under the metal sheet i can find a hint of a RAM slot but nothing which seems to want to attach to my new RAM DIMMs .

Any advice on this?

Is it possible that I do have the fourth ( hard to get to ) slot which requires heavy disassembly?

Many thanks,

 

Google the G53JW disassembly video by BTOTech to be able to get to all the modules.

 

I bought the g53jw-xn1 with an i7-740qm processor from newegg. I want to upgrade to 8gb of ram. I would like to buy a single 4gb stick from newegg as well. Can anyone point me to the right one that I am looking for?

 

Newegg.com - Laptop Memory, DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600),4gb sodimm ddr3

Assuming your laptop came with 1333 RAM

 

I checked my order history and it says 1333 so I am guessing that is the same as what I got. Thanks for the help!

 

So after a complete disassembly I detemined that my notebook in fact only has 2 DIMM slots in total.

My retailer told me i would have 4 slots so this was very annoying and time consuming.

As you can se the front side DIMM slot is missing!

 

Well it looks as though my ram might be incompatible. I opened up the keyboard and pulled black that black plastic tape part, inserted the ram and reassembled and restarted my computer. The screen stayed black for about 10 seconds longer than usual finally it said "loading windows files" then it turned itself off.

The ram that I bought from newegg was this one and its not listed on the compatible section of crucial's website

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148344

Is notebook memory really this finicky or is it just this laptop?

 

There is a post in the G73JW review section somewhere where one of the ereps from xoticpc saying that they stopped using crucial ram in their builds years ago due to compatibility issues and recommended something like g.skill, Kingston and one other brand (forgot which brand). Hynix ram is seemingly used and the most compatible ram for just about all notebook manufacturers. The xoticrep also said that gskill uses hynix brand chips. From my experience with ram is the past 7-8yrs or so, I've always used gskill in all my builds/upgrades and never had one problem with them and theyre backed by a lifetime warranty.

 

It's best to try and match the brand already installed on your system.

 

Ok so this makes no sense at all. I bought a new stick of ram from g.skill

Newegg.com - G.SKILL 4GB 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Laptop Memory Model F3-10666CL9S-4GBSQ

I installed in under the keyboard and the same thing happens that happened with crucial. So I take it out and then take off the touchpad and the back plate to get to the other memory. I was thinking of just buying another stick of g.skill ram and throwing away the 2x2gb sticks that came with the comp. Anyways there is only one stick underneath the computer next to the hard drive. It is ASint tech SSZ3128M8-EDJEF also confirmed by CPU-Z. The other one must be underneath the metal plate underneath the keyboard. I take out the ASint ram and place it underneath the keyboard slot. Now windows won't load. So I figure the slot is no good for whatever reason. I take the comp apart again and place both the ASint stick and my g.skill stick in the double slots near the hard drive. Now it only registers one stick of 2gb in the slot underneath the metal plate that is underneath the keyboard. What is going on?
I assume you simply place the memory in the slot and then gently push it down to where the two metal clips hold it in. There should be no forcing them into the slot or down that much should there? I lined up the little notches at the bottom with the little plastic protruding part in the slot and clipped it in.

edit: Nevermind, I noticed that my ram was sliding out pretty easy. I didn't know that it had to be inserted at about a 45 degree angle and then snapped in. All 8 gb appears now.

 

I have the G53JW-XA1 with 6GB of RAM. If I were to buy this G.Skill 2x4GB pair and place one of the sticks in the "easy to reach" slot below the keyboard (which I think is slot #3?), should I place the other stick in slot #1? Are they matched this way in the G53? If so, does anyone know which slot is #1?

(I am also assuming that slot #0 is the difficult to reach slot and #1 & #2 are the two that aren't too hard to reach..?)

 

Maybe as an extension to my question above, if I am already looking at replacing 2 sticks of RAM (1 under the keyboard and 1 from the pair), is there any good reason not to replace all 3 of the "easy to reach" sticks? I'd then have 3x4GB G.Skill and the 2GB Hynix lone ranger that I am not willing to mess with.

I'm utilizing my laptop as a VMware lab and I realized that my 6Gb goes fast...