Upgrading the RAM in my laptop L502x

I'm planning on updating the RAM in my XPS 15 l502x, but I want to maximize the amount of RAM I have.

I currently have 2x2GB RAM installed from DELL, and crucial says my laptop has/supports DDR3 PC3-12800, DDR3 PC3-10600 RAM. I ran cpu-z and found out my RAM's frequency/speed is 667Mhz (PC3-10700).

I want to buy a 8GB SODIMM, but which should I buy?

It would be nice if I could take out one of my 2GB dimm's and replace it with the 8GB and get 10GB in the system.

If I want to do that, what RAM should I buy? If I buy RAM that's different from my existing DIMM, will it run at a lower speed, or not work at all? What will happen? What's the best thing I can do/buy at this point?

I'm planning on buying Newegg.com - Silicon Power 8GB 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Laptop Memory Model SP008GBSTU133N02
But since my existing RAM in PC3-10700, and this is PC3-10600, I'm not sure what would happen if I install this. What does the matched pairs of RAM thing mean?

I know this is a double post from http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-xps-studio-xps/697430-l502x-upgrading-ram-us.html but I just realized I'd posted to wrong subforum, and I couldn't figure out how to delete it.

 

Do note that the L502x officially only supports 8GB RAM, so it may or may not be picky about 8GB DIMMs. That being said, the RAM that you linked should work fine. You get better performance on paper if you use symmetric dual-channel (DIMMs of the same capacity), but it's nothing you'll notice in practice except in some corner cases, so don't worry about it.

 

Thank you! I'm going to order it soon.

Btw, why is CPUz reporting I have PC3-10700, I though it was supposed to be PC3-10600?
So there won't be any conflicts between the PC3-10700 vs PC3-10600?

 

It's the same thing; it's technically PC10666, but some people round the nominal figure up and some round it down.

 

Oooh! Okay, thanks for explaining it like that.

I actually found a Patriot 8GB dimm Newegg.com - Patriot Signature 8GB 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Laptop Memory Model PSD38G13332S
This one will be compatible as well, correct?

 

That one should also be fine. Any DDR3 should work fine.

 

i am recommending kingston hyperX or corsair vengeance (1600mhz or1866mhz)
having the hyperX myself and it's blazing fast. more than 25gb/s in ram test and 7.9 WEI score for RAM in windows 7

 

IMC in mobile i5 2nd gen. will not be able to use 1866MHz RAM at its full speed.

 

yes, it will downclocked to 1600mhz. but RAM is like a lifetime investment. you can swap it to your new machine later on, it has lifetime warranty, and moreover, the high performance one is very good in overclocking and underclocking, so it doesn't matter where you put it (as long as it is not a penryn or even lower processor)

so, why not buying the best one? , for investment

 

The user WILL LOOSE on such investment.

Very few people buy barebone laptops and transfer parts from their previous laptop to them. "New machines" are purchased as a whole in 99.9% cases, including RAM, which, at the time of the purchase, is way cheaper than it was before. Conclusion: why pay premium for something the user will not be able to use now and most likely will not use in the future?