RAM upgrade for Alienware 18

Hello,
I currently have a Alienware 18. I'm looking to possible upgrade from 16g of ram. I have 4 slots with 4x4g sticks in. My question is would it be possible to upgrade just slots 3 and 4 with 2x8g sticks for a total of 24g. My concern is would having 2 aftermarket ram work while still having 2 OEM in slot 1 and 2. I'd like to upgrade 1 and 2 down the road, just don't want to tear off my keyboard to upgrade them yet. Id probably get the 1.35v gskills. Iv never had a computer with more then 2 slots, nor tried to upgrade only 1/2 of them. Any help would be awsome. Thank you

 

You may get a better response if you have this thread moved to the Alienware 18 forums.

But to answer: Max amount of RAM for the Alienware 18 is 32GB. I would imagine you could mix different sized sticks as OEMs do it all the time, but that's generally not advised...even with today's advanced memory controllers. I'd say, just bite the bullet and go with 4 x 8GB sticks. If you're having to upgrade to 24GB, who's to say you won't need to go even further in the near future.

 

I would be careful with what RAM you get.. Alienware motherboards can be fussy with RAM.. I would buy maybe a set of 2X8 and test that and if it works just do a 32GB RAM upgrade and save yourself time..

 

Thank you for feed back. Only reason I'm hesitant to just do all 32 g is because I don't feel comfortable removing the keyboard from my laptop. Even tho the procedure seems extremely easy.. It's a lot of money to around with

 

Neither was I. But it turned out to be an unwarranted fear. Perhaps held over from my consumer HP laptop which isn't designed to be taken apart by the consumer.

However, removing the keyboard from my Precision was as easy as snapping off the bezel and unscrewing the keyboard. That revealed the RAM slots where the new ram also snaps right in. The biggest issue is to remember to tread lightly since these can be fragile parts. Then again so can washing a glass, but most of us manage.

If your AW is anywhere as modular as the Precision, it should be a piece cake. Just remember to cover the display so it doesn't get scratched by the keyboard edges.

 

It will be modular but still, this is nothing easy.. Every time the tech removed the screen to open up the keyboard area, my heart skipped a beat... There are so many cables there and stuff that can break..

 

Whoah, you need to take a stress pill and relax. Its a computer, not open heart surgery. if I can do it with aplomb, so can you.

 

Yeah when your'e a student who's had to put everything he has earned into this, your heart will skip if it has to be repaired... I can't afford to have anything broken in it..

 

Funny you should mention broke student cause we're in the same boat. Nearly half my total financial aid package went into my Precision setup. If anything were to happen to it there's no way I could have it replaced.

I'd spend all my spare time fighting for a much slower student beatup computer at the lab and still wouldn't get all my work done. I was so happy to finally be able to get away from that nightmare. So you see, we have more in common than you thought.

But if it means anything to you, I still shake overtime I have to open my computer just to change a drive or even update the BIOS.