Asus N56VZ 16GB RAM Thread?

Picked up a N56VZ-RB71 from the Microcenter deal a few days ago, and am trying to figure out how some of the resellers are able to get 16GB ram booted? I tried a set of Crucial 8x2 from Microcenter and couldn't get the system to post.

There has to be someone out there who has opted for this upgrade; if so, please post what brand/model you are using....

 

As far as I know, the max amount of RAM this laptop supports is 8GB. Try one stick of 8GB.

 

..um. Wow. Seriously? Max 8gb? ..any idea how would they manage to do that?

 

A handful of resellers are offering with a 16GB option...

 

Try Bios Mods -The Best BIOS Update and Modification Source To install your own modded bios that supports 16GB RAM

 

If you search N56VZ and Max RAM together you'll see a lot of sites coming up with 8GB as the max. Just try 8GB in one DIMM and see if that lets you boot. Maybe you need different RAM, I'm not sure.

 

..Maybe it has something to do with the standard timing settings in the spd table. Or, if the ram doesn't have a table for the settings the bios expects, it won't boot (and would need a bios setting change..). Maybe some of the settings are locked, forcing timings that prevent certain types of ram from booting.

If anyone has changed their ram, and have a cpu-z lookup, we could compare the timing with the reference from the manufacturer.. If we're lucky, that might tell us something.

edit: or if we're even luckier, maybe someone would be able to test either a Crucial pc3-12800/1600Mhz 1.35v/1.5v set (with lower volt on the lower timing states), along with a .. Kingston HyperX L33t Edition pc3-14900/1866Mhz (with timings out of range of the standard ram). And see if they perform as they're supposed to.

I was about to order the HyperXtrrreeem chips, but I'm more interested in something that drops down on 1.35v on idle. But then again - if both either won't work, or else work at the original timing... Anyone know if a reseller or an asus-person might be around..?

 

I know a guy that has 12GB, but he also cannot boot with 16GB

 

I'm interested in this topic. I just ordered it and my wish was to upgrade to 16GB and now i'm reading about 8gb limit
Hope in a solid and stable solution.

 

Mm. I've been moseying a bit on the bios-settings - I'm not sure what to make of this, really. The memory is locked somehow to the highest frequency. It stays put at the spd-set "upper state", 800Mhz/11-11-11-28. But it doesn't seem to be forced to that setting in the bios explicitly.

But the drive strength and command delay settings are manually overridden. And I kind of think that's why the chips stay at the highest frequency. For example that the max delay is too low for anything but the highest frequency state. And that this is going to make chips that need longer minimum cycle simply not boot.

I'm not completely steady on this either, though - ..but I sort of think Asus made a mistake here. Wondered about this on the other n53 I had as well - some of the ram timing was hardcoded to something that.. I guess would make sense on a stock desktop computer.

 

So there is a rumor of a user running 12GB, however not a single person running 16GB? Anyone know a XoticPC rep that can possibly shed some light on what memory they are using for the 16GB upgrades in this system?

 

You shall try Samsung 8GB 1600MHz 204 pin memory.

It shall work.

 

Hi prostar, did you tried it ?

thanks a lot

 

We say the max is 8GB because we have tested it. However this laptop is able to do more however we are not responsible if anything happens. The reason why they are able to boot with 16GB is because they have a different bios setup. Have you tried speaking with a tech support from xotic pc to see if you can download their bios and other programs that they have installed. Just be aware that you are doing this at your own consent that if your laptop no longer works that is not our fault.

 

My guess is that it works, and that it works thanks to that memory being designed for very tight timing. So when it's overvolted with the overridden bios-settings, it runs reasonably well at 1cr, at more lenient timing than it's designed for. Essentially an overclock that happens to work because the focus of that chip is stability even at extremely low voltage.

..basically, I think a lot of the ram-configs will fail because they are made for 2cr and lower delays.

edit: @cj-jeffrey - with all due respect, but like I explained to you in pm, the current timing the bios locks the ram to isn't exactly the most safe.. But I'd be interested in seeing the xotic bios as well, if it's different from the default.

 

Sorry i'm not really into bios and ram hardware but this means that we have to flash a customized bios in order to use 16gb ?

 

Ok i found this on Samsung sites. I guess that the only one that fits should be K0 ones, with CL 11-11-11. Is CL 11 below average performance for a ram modules ?

F7	400MHz/800Mbps@CL6	6-6-6
F8	533MHz/1066Mbps@CL7	7-7-7
H9	667MHz/1333Mbps@CL9	9-9-9
K0	800MHz/1600Mbps@CL11	11-11-11
MA	933MHz/1866Mbps@CL13	13-13-13

<colgroup><col style='mso-width-source:userset;mso-width-alt:4352;width:89pt' width='119'> <col style='mso-width-source:userset;mso-width-alt:5632;width:116pt' width='154'> <col style='mso-width-source:userset;mso-width-alt:3072;width:63pt' width='84'> <col style='mso-width-source:userset;mso-width-alt:4352;width:89pt' width='119'> <col style='mso-width-source:userset;mso-width-alt:3840;width:79pt' width='105'> <col style='mso-width-source:userset;mso-width-alt:4096;width:84pt' width='112'> <col style='mso-width-source:userset;mso-width-alt:6656;width:137pt' width='182'> </colgroup>

Part Number	Production Status	Density	Organization	Voltage(V)	Speed	Component Composition
M471B1G73BH0	Mass Production	8GB	1Gx64	1.5,1.35	F8,H9,K0,MA	(512Mx8)x16
M471B1G73AH0	Mass Production	8GB	1Gx64	1.5,1.35	F8,H9	(512Mx8)x16
M471B1G73CB0	Customer Sample	8GB	1Gx64	1.5,1.35	H9,K0,MA	(512Mx8)x16

 

Get custom bios, or get a pair of ram-chips that happily accept 11-11-11-28/1cr timing at 1.5v, yes. :/

Note that the spd-module on the ram my n56 ships with actually wants to use 11-11-11-30 at 800Mhz frequency. Higher timing than what the bios forces. I don't know if it's offset by something else.

..by the way, when we're on the subject - anyone wondering about throttling on the cpu -- it's set to trip full fan at 75 degrees. Which the processor will reach instantly, because all cores will run at the highest state until 105 degrees. There is a common setting in the bios that starts to enable a load-balancing routine, and that has been disabled. In other words, if you can somehow manage to fit process-time on to all the cores (which is unlikely, but still), it's possible to run all cores at full boost until it reaches 105 degrees. Where, most likely, cooling pads and goop have been damaged, and double-sided tape holding down plastic surfaces will start to move on their own, since the glue goes off.

Er.. since we're putting out warnings and all that..

--

..by the way, cl11 is what the ram is running at at the highest frequency (or, the highest advertised frequency) The best ram can typically run with 1cr (command rate) at relatively tight delays, even at max frequency. And can be rated cl11, like the hyperx chips, at 1866Mhz. In return, the row delays are increased to make it stable.

But most ram ends up upping the voltage, or increasing the command rate delay to 2, for example, to reach the highest frequencies. At lower frequency, the delay timing tends to be set much lower. Somewhat different than when we overclocked sdram by reducing the delays and increasing the front-bus speed, I guess.. But to reach the high frequencies that the i7 processors can support, etc, the delays and command strength are increased.

..unless you override the manufacturer's recommended spd-settings, obviously..

One more thing - overclocking ram.. that is, unless you're changing the voltage past 1.35v-1.5v is 100% safe. You either get boot, or else you don't. It's physically impossible to actually destroy a ram-chip by changing the timing. The only thing that can happen is that if you're extremely lucky, you might get ram-errors, without causing instant lock-ups.

 

N56VZ does support 16GB of RAM:

 

..as long as the chips boot at the forced 790Mhz, 11-11-11-28, 1cr, 1.5v settings.

edit: Just a question - wouldn't you be amazingly more likely to be able to sell more 1866Mhz, top of the line chips.. or more mobile-friendly 1.35v rated chips (or just configs with 1.35v ram... if asus didn't force a light overclock on all memory put into the laptop?

I just don't understand in whose interest it is to force settings that are: neither optimal, nor extremely safe, or the most compatible. I just don't get it.

Just so we're on the same page here - the default config from AMI is to let the spd-timings govern the ram-timing. The reason we have jedec standards and spds is because having those ram-timings in the actual chips is: 1. safer, 2. give better yields, and 3. makes consumers happier, since there's no setup in the bios.

But Asus changed that to a forced setting, something that hasn't really been much point for anyone other than volt-modders or extreme overclockers for at least ten years. And that override is what prevents most normal chips from booting (like I said, my chips are actually overclocked slightly - this is not "safe" in any sense of the word, but it's probably going to work without hangs for the most part -- if you're unlucky, however, you are going to have nothing but trouble from overriding the spd-timing of oem-chips with small margins to go on. And statistically speaking, that will happen).

 

Sorry i fail to follow you Nipsen because i'm not very much skilled in RAM hardware .
Are you saying that ASUS, by BIOS fixed setups, force us to buy certain type (maybe expensive one) of RAM in order to have a 16GB machine that works correctly ?

Or that, looking at gentech screenshot, ASUS force us to tweak some "hardcore" parameters in RAM in order to run a 16GB machine but the tweak needed underpower ram or make them unstable from a different point of view ?

 

Almost. You have to buy hyper-ram with extremely high margins to get the computer to boot with 16Gb. But that ram will still have to run at much lower frequencies than what it supports (the forced timing). Or timing that it wasn't really made to run at. You still need that high-speed hyper-ram, however, because /some/ of the forced timings are a bit steep.

I.e., new chips are a terrible waste of money, even if they work. Because they'll run at lower speeds than they could, and might actually be unstable.

Or, your perfectly well made 1.35v chips (that can be just as expensive), with timing and volt that fits a laptop more than a desktop (shorter delays, safe frequencies, less heat, quicker response) -- will just fail to boot altogether.

I.e., definitely a complete waste of money.

 

Tried 1866MHz RAM and it either freeze or BSOD, not only N56VZ but all models with 3rd Gen CPU:

 

Not the case. i5 and i7 notebooks on current (as in last 24 months) mainboards are specifically supposed to support it. ..the question is why we can observe something happening consistently, no..?

Could have said something similar about sata3 support. If you look at any laptop - not just form asus - that was shipped lately with sata3 support on the mainboard, but that don't have support for sata3 anyway for some mysterious reason. Then you could easily conclude that the common factor is.... they all have d-sub ports, or whatever. They're all sandy bridge and ivy bridge, maybe, since that's when the first ssd-disks turned up for laptop bundles. Casuality, and boom, conclusion - end of explanation, congratulations with the logical fallacy of the day, etc.

But the real reason, specifically for asus-laptops, was that the default "autodetect" setting in the bios was forced to "gen2". There were actually a lot of laptop mainboards that turned up with sata 3 and pci-e 2x support at the same time, because that's how this works -- unless there's something specific that prevents the mobile version from having the same features as the desktop version, it's cheaper to produce it with the same chips.

And now ssd's are cheap, and asus almost advertise their computers with easy hdd/ram upgrades, so... time to change tack? Probably not - my guess is that they just enabled default/gen3 settings to get the "instant on" thing to work with the hybrid disks. Otherwise, I've no doubt that we would have been stuck with an expensive system, that had been locked to settings appropriate for a core2duo system from 8 years ago.

I mean, there are many, many, many gaming laptops - or just normal laptops with hacked bioses - that can run any amount of crucial ram at 1866Mhz/10-10-10-27, for example. They're not throttled, they're just set up properly from the beginning.

Not meaning to be particularly offensive here, and I guess it's not important in the scheme of things, and so on. But we have retailers, asus reps and laptop reviewers posting around here. So.. front bus speeds, dual channel ram-timing ranges and sata signaling speeds - it's not classified information. Shouldn't you know how this stuff works..?

 

Gentech, from screenshot i read that they are vengeance corsair. Which flower/model of them are ?

 

The 1866MHz with BSOD? it was Kingston HyperX.

For the Corsair 8G X2 it's CMSX16GX3M2A1600C10.

We have no problems with 16GB (8GBx2) 1600Mhz but any 1866Mhz RAM with any brand doesn't work.

 

.. I think what we're looking at to get this to work is:
1. Have turbo-boost specifically set to fit with a front-bus speed supported on the motherboard.
2. XPM/dynamic frequency allocation set.

Might be that what we're getting is a fsb-frequency that's too high with the fsb:dram timing relationship they've set, with a too low volt setting, or too tight timing.

But it could just be that the Hyperx is timed at about.. twice as high tRCmin and tRRDmin as what's forced in the bios. Because that's going to cause write-errors, no matter what frequency it's run at.

 

​

I thoroughly appreciate your posts GenTechPC! I am planning on getting an Asus N56VZ, but the major drawback for me was the supposed difficulty in installing 16GB of ram.

So just to clear up, your saying the Corsair CMSX16GX3M2A1600C10 will work with the Asus N56VZ without any BIOS editing? You just pop in the two sticks and your all good to go?

Thank you so much!

 

I'm also interested in how this is cleared up.

Does anyone know if the N76VZ is similarly affected? It's the big brother I'm interested in but def need the possibility of 16GB RAM.

 

Correct, if you use CMSX16GX3M2A1600C10 it will work, just install the RAM and you are good to go without mod BIOS.

Or the G.Skill F3-1600C11D-16GSQ works fine too:

 

Thanks for the tip.

And do you think the N76VZ is also affected by these issues? If so then at least we have a RAM brand which should work. I found this Ebay link of the model you recommmend for European users.

 

No models are affected by 16GB (1333/1600MHz) issues as far as I know.

People think it will not work with 16GB probably because it's listed on Asus's website saying Max RAM supported is 8GB. And G75VW (has 4 RAM slots) with 16GB Max but the true is it can support up to 32GB.

If you look at Intel's i7-3610QM specs it can support up to 32GB with 4 stick of 8GB:

Intel® Core

The maximum capacity per each slot is 8GB stick.

Core i7 can support up to 4 RAM slots and i3/i5 support up to 2 slots.

N76VZ works just fine with 16GB 1600MHz without problems. Just don't use 1866Mhz RAM because it will not work.

The link you provide is the same RAM I've tested on N56VZ, it will work.

 

Thanks for clearing that up, GenTech.

It's a shame Asus themselves add to the confusion by inferring one of the N56's RAM slots is soldered by a 4GB, meaning it's non-removable. They also said some CPU's don't recognise 8GB sticks (but they could have helpfully pointed out the 3610qm does support them, as you did).

See the comment from 11 May 9:14

An earlier comment from them seems to suggest they have no idea what kind of WLAN adaptor is built into their own laptops...seems like this is a supreme example of some poor outsourced customer service agent getting his information from Google while his customers get the true information via trial/error and forum communities.

 

If N56VZ has 4GB soldered on the mainboard then the maximum RAM supported should be 12GB (4GB Soldered + 8GB Open slot) not 8GB.

Maybe we should show them my pictures with 2 removable slots and ask them there are 2 slots + 4GB soldered so the maximum supported RAM should be 20GB (8GB X2 removable slot + 4GB hidden soldered RAM).

No wonder I got so many emails asking if N56VZ does support 16GB of RAM and also on YouTube:

"Really nice on the review. My model is this exact same one, It's really a fine machine so far; especially considering the price/vs the processor. I checked the specs for this laptop and found Asus, and Kingston showing it as 8GB max (which is what is comes with). Are you certain that it can handle 16gb? (2 8gb sticks are currently about $100, I'd go for it, if it would handle it - Please post"

BravoSoundIntl 5 days ago

Product Showcase: Asus N56VZ Unboxing & Review - YouTube

 

Sorry Gentech pc but i'm not able to follow you(i think). Just to be clear, are you saying that any ram 1333/1600 will work on asus N56VZ? Or only a very specific ones? I know a friend that tried to put 16GB but he is only able to put 12GB. He tried all combinations and the two 8 GB modules work with an 4Gb module and alone but never the two modules of 8Gb together. Any ideia why? And if only work with a very specific modules, can you give some examples of ram modules that work for sure on asus N56VZ to achieve 16Gb ram?

 

GenTech already said which model definitely works, and I linked it on Ebay too just about 3 posts ago.

Also check out nipsen's posts for some more technical detail into this issue.

 

So far all the brands I've tested worked. there was never any issues with 8GB X2 on N56VZ or N76VZ.

Can you ask your friend what brand of RAM he use? If you can let us know which brand and model I can go buy it and test it.

 

Yes i know, i read it all. But it´s only one model, and i want to know if there are another models or just need to be equal to the model you show before(and what caractheristics needs to be equal). And i'm asking this because i obviously don't understand anything about ram modules and mixed with the fact that english is not my native language lead me to not understand very well all the facts

 

@GenTechPC
Well, Can I ask you for the detailed information?
1. BIOS version (202,204)?
2. Can you list all the brand you've used? (Especially those with lower clock latency (CL) beside those you had mentioned, CL11 (G.skill) and CL10 (corsair), if you can find those with lower CL though)
3. Did you test it only on 1 asus n56/76 only or several machines (to confirm there is no golden batch whatsoever, or you got all the golden batch )
Thanks

 

1: Tested with both 202 and 204.

2: As far as I can remembered I tested with G.skill CL11 and Corsair CL10 no problem, just make sure don't mixed Cl10 8GB with the stock 4GB CL11. You will have a lot of problems.

3: I tested with different units and different batchs and the unites I've tested are randomly picked.

When you say it don't work with 16GB is that you don't get any display or it was BSOD?

 

Just installed 2x8GB CMSX16GX3M2A1600C10. First time in my life i made a RAM upgrade. It seems all went ok, i'm writing this with my Asus N56.

By the way, my model is Asus N56VZ-S4035V, in other word (in case european classification is different from rest of world) the model without blueray, with full HD Display. with 650m and win home premium.
I have to say that i'm not in the standard configuration right now, so to be clear i have also the original HDD in the CDROM place, and a Samsung P830 where there was the HDD.

There's a way to stress test memory now ? The only activity i made is copying simultaneosly on 2 different partition a 5 GB file. Thanks

 

My advice would be to use Memtest86+ (web site: Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool).
It's a good test/stress utility for RAM.

But it'a a DOS program that needs to be booted by a CD or a floppy or an USB pendrive.
Since now you have no more optical drive (replaced by HDD), you should temporary put back DVD drive in place or booting the program from an external USB CD/DVD drive or USB pendrive (or even an external USB floppy, if you have a working one! ).

I never tested it from an USB pendrive but it should work (there is an auto-installer for USB from Memtest86+ site):
How to test your RAM in Windows | How To - CNET

Some other similar tools are listed here:
5 Free Memory Test (RAM Test) Software Programs
Windows Memory Diagnostic

 

Hi , can you please provide more info regarding the replacement of the optical drive with a HDD ? What parts you need for this job ? Did you use something like this : Replace a laptop's CD/DVD optical drive with a Hard Drive - YouTube ? From where did you get the casing for the hdd ? Price ? The optical drive is holded in place by one screw or is it more complicated ?

I'm planning to get this laptop and also want to do the RAM upgrade and add the extra SSD.

 

I tried with 2 slots of this memory: KTA-MB1600/8G , and it works perfectly. They are designed for Mac, but i had no problems with them.

 

I purchased an Asus n56vz-ds71 last week and immediately updgraded the HDD to an M4 Crucial 256GB SATA3 and Corsair (2x8GB) (CMSX16GX3M2A1600C10) by the recommendation of GenTechPC on the notebook review forum.

I'm using the bios version 211 and NVidia drivers version 306.23 released last week. I ran memtest ( Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool) and the 16GB indeed showed ok on first pass.(took over an hour)

Unfortunately my PC would crash repeatedly within an hour of playing F1 2011, COD MW3 or NFS:The Run. So I removed the memory and re-installed the original laptop memory.

I ran these games for about 3 hours and no crashing... So my conclusion at this point is that the PC is not stable with this ram upgrade. Have you experienced the same with your customers opting for the 16GB upgrade from your website? Is there a better memory option available for this laptop. How can I prove for sure that the memory was causing the problem...

See my posting on this matter: http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus/673371-asus-n56vz-issue-crashes-when-playing-3d-games-3.html (indueng).

 

I had freezing probs with 16Gb of DDR3-1333 Ram. Got it swapped for DDR3-1600 crucial vengeance and it's been fine ever since. Have you tried with just one module at a time to see if it's related to one of the sticks?

 

Could be the RAM issue, like bjammin suggest try remove one stick of RAM at a time to test.

Even the Crucial is working fine but there are still possibility some defect RAMs.

 

Hello everyone, I have bought the asus n76vz and overall I am very satisfied from my purchase although I haven't tested all its capabilities (i.e. via gaming) yet. The reason is that I am waiting for the arrival of a cooling pad which I have ordered from ebay, since I have read about heating issues when you stress up the system. I knew that laptops which included thermal resistance cases-more fans inside (alienware, quosmio) come with the price of weight and bulky appearance so I dont regret for my choice.

GenTechPc I read your posts and I am planning to buy the corsair memory cards (2x8gb) you recommented as efficient. I want to ask you how I can istall them to the back of my laptop cause I dont have the computing skills I guess or the knowledge needed. Can you please tell me the procedure I have to follow in order to istall them? Are there any videos on youtube concerning the specific model and ram installment? I googled before I post thats why

 

Does the new update bios 211 has something to do with better support for 16 GB?

 

No. No difference since launch.

Here's the problem. The bios is locked to "drive strength" settings that make little sense. They are too low, or too high, depending on your setup. Most likely they are the default safe settings for a common ram setup a while ago, like PC1333 or lower. The settings are as follows:

-tCL: 4
("Column Address Strobe", the time the memory controller will wait before clearing a sent request, after receiving and executing it. It's set as low as you can go here. This doesn't actually work well on a dram controller with variable bus-speed. Because the delay needs to be higher on higher clock-frequencies. This basically means that on your incredibly expensive dual-channel ram setup, it's extremely unlikely that the ram will work optimally with this setting. It's just too fast. Whether it's measured in clock-cycles or something else, it's too fast.)
-tRCD: 3
("Row to Column Delay", this relates to the variable above in the sense that this is the time it takes before a cleared request is marked active. In an asynchronous setup (read: dual channel), there can be several requests on the memory controller at the same time that can be activated independently. Obviously, at higher clock frequencies and larger addressing spaces/more GBs, it's possible to create conflicts with a too low setting. Which is what this is.)
-tRP: 3
("Ras Precharge" - is how long it can be between each individual command issued to the controller.)
-rRAS: 9
("RAS Active time", how long it has to take before an active command becomes a precharge command. Note that if you tweak this blindly - like Asus does - you're essentially making sure that the precharge is useless - that it will never actually cause a cache-hit and save a command execution).
-tWr: 5
("Time to Write", the time that has to elapse after a completed write operation. I.e., after the precharge causes a write, this is the amount of time that has to pass before another precharge set is placed).
-tRFC: 15
-tRRD: 4
-tWTR: 3
-tRTP: 4
-tRC: 15
("Row Cycle Time", the minimum amount of time a complete operation has to take. This should be set as low as possible, to both clear issued commands quickly, but also to ready new precharges that may generate hits).
-tFAW: 10
("Four Activate Window" - the time window where four commands can be issued. The command rate is set at 1t or one clock cycle. But when will these multiple reads successfully happen in this setup, with these settings, on asynchronous ram at 1600Mhz? Very rarely).

By the way - the settings set in this bios for the ram is, apart from the memory speed, locked to identical settings as the Zenbook (with 1333Mhz ram), as well as the same settings of all other Asus laptops I've looked at.

Funny, isn't it?