Memory for Lenovo Y50

Looking to upgrade the memory in my Lenovo Y50 which currently has 8GB @ 12800 to 16GB. Any tips for some nice high quality ram?

I have experience overclocking desktops but never laptops. So I'm debating between CAS9 12800, CAS10 14900, or even CAS11 17000.

Any advice is appreciated.

HM86 chipset?
i7-4720HQ
8GB (2x4gb) PC3-12800 DDR3L
860M 2GB
1TB upgrading to 850 Pro
Touchscreen

 

Just buy whatever RAM kit you can find at a good price, from a reputable name-brand memory manufacturer (e.g. Crucial, Corsair, Kingston, Patriot, etc). There really isn't a difference between memory, as long as you buy name-brand RAM (and not generic no-name or "store brand" RAM).

As for RAM speed, it's irrelevant. Your laptop is rated to run at DDR3 1600Mhz (PC3-12800), so that is the speed your RAM will use to operate. Even if you put higher-speed RAM into your system, it will still run at 1600Mhz (PC3-12800) speeds.

And even *IF* you could overclock your RAM to run at higher speeds, it won't make ANY difference in real-world performance. Just about everything you do with your laptop, from application usage to gaming, is going to be CPU limited, GPU limited, or storage-system limited. A computer pretty much never sits and waits for a RAM speed bottleneck. You could spend all the money on the world and overclock your RAM all you want... and you'll still get literally <0.5% performanec difference in real-world use.

 

I'm a bit behind the times, are you saying that if I take the bus on this system from 1600 to 2133 it won't make much difference?

Leaning towards one of these 2:
CAS9 12800 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231705&cm_re=g.skill-_-20-231-705-_-Product

CAS11 17000 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231760&cm_re=g.skill-_-20-231-760-_-Product

 

Correct.

1) You can't modify the memory speed on a Lenovo Y50 by default through the BIOS.
2) Even if you could, going from 1600Mhz --> 2133Mhz wouldn't make any noticeable real-world performance difference.

Between the two RAM kits you linked, just get whatever is cheaper. You're not going to notice any difference whatsoever between those two, with the exception that one of them will make you $30 poorer than the other.

If you want real-world performance difference, put your money towards an SSD if you don't already have one. THAT is an upgrade that will absolutely give you the highest bang-for-your-buck in terms of real-world performance difference.

 

Well $30 isn't a big deal if it allowed me to have some fun playing with speeds. Is the restriction peculiar to Lenovo bioses? I don't have the system in hand yet. Have people gotten around it?

And ya, I've got a 256GB 850 Pro I'm putting in it.

 

You can't adjust memory speeds.

Most notebook manufacturers lock that option out of the bios. This is especially true of the "big name" laptop vendors like Dell, Lenovo, HP, etc. The only times I've seen the ability to modify RAM timings is in high-end gaming machines, or through some kind of hacked or unlocked BIOS.

I don't know if an unlocked BIOS exists for a Lenovo Y50. But even if it does, it isn't worth the risk and hassle of running a modified BIOS just for the purpose of playing RAM timings.

 

I agree. Unless you're running a high end CPU and GPU, it *might* make a slight noticeable improvement in certain apps or games. But generally 1600MHz is the "sweet spot" for any modern gaming laptop, even one running a top end CPU or GPU. The one thing you *might* notice is an unquantifiable "snappiness" to the OS. But honestly your time and money are better spend elsewhere.

The only way it will make a marked difference is when using the integrated graphics of your Intel or AMD CPU. But for general system performance and gaming 1600MHz is all you'll need.

Here's a good article on how RAM affects gaming performance when using a dedicated GPU: http://techbuyersguru.com/ramspeedgaming.php