Will DDR4 RAM work in my laptop?

I have a Medion Akoya P6667 with an i5-6200U Skylake CPU

It came with 1x8GB DDR3L-1600 which I swapped for 2x4GB DDR3L-1600 but I want to upgrade to 16GB now. (I sold the 1x8GB in another laptop I was selling)

The Intel page says the CPU supports the following

DDR4-2133, LPDDR3-1866, DDR3L-1600

Does this mean my laptop will work with DDR4-2133? It's so much cheaper to buy than DDR3L

Also, on the Crucial site, it says I can buy DDR3-1866* however that isn't listed on the Intel page

*Ballistix Sport 8GB Kit (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 SODIMM

Should I just get 2x8GB DDR3L-1600?

 

DDR4 uses a different pin layout, so any such modules will not physically fit into your computer. Technically, the DDR3-1866 should work, however you would not see any benefit unless you can get your machine to run at 1866, which is highly unlikely given that you have an ultra-low-voltage CPU.

 

From checking CPU-Z it says the Chipset is Skylake-U and the Southbridge is Skylake-Y PCH

On Wikipedia it says Skylake Y only supports DDR3L here

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skylake_(microarchitecture)#Configurations

Does that definitely mean it only supports DDR3L? Or is that just referring to the CPU models ending in Y?

Edit: I see, thanks @saturnotaku

 

Only DDR3 modules can fit inside your motherboard's SODIMM slots.

 

Does anyone know a good place to get cheap DDR3L memory (UK)?

Is it a bad idea to buy used memory from eBay?

 

ime; it is a bad idea to buy from ebay (period).

Use your google-ninja skills and find the best price (with full return if not working) you can, in your area. Don't ignore local sellers that may price match what you find online...

That is the best price you need to pay, today, to get 16GB RAM in your system.

If you have the budget and the need for the price (above), act accordingly. If this is just a 'want'? Just search occasionally until you find a price you're happy to part with your money with.

What is your reason to get 16GB RAM? What is your O/S, your workflows/workloads and what performance/productivity increase are you expecting?

Depending on your answers: a new/different platform may be the better option than upgrading the RAM on an i5 'U' based system.

Good luck.

 

I always disable the paging file, so the system isn't writing to the SSD, but with certain games (FIFA 17 and GTA V) I was getting out of memory errors, so I was thinking about ugprading to 16GB

 

What SSD? What capacity and how much % do you use? Any OP'ing of the SSD? How much free space in GB's do you currently have?

If any workload/workflow gives you out of memory errors; enable the pagefile (period). There is no SSD that can't cope with the writes today... (at least not one that is ~512GB or larger...).

How much will the RAM cost you? A larger SSD (1TB or larger SSD (OP'd by 33% or more) is what I would recommend) may be a better option for your $$$ than simply getting more RAM for your games.

If you enable the pagefile on your system as is; is the performance to your satisfaction? If it is; getting 16GB RAM for your case as stated is not recommended (and I usually recommend 16GB RAM minimum... 32GB RAM going forward on a new build today...).

(You don't need to set it to automatic; simply set it to 1024 and 2048 min/max and see if the errors go away - set it progressively lower (at weekly intervals) to see how low you can go. Some programs just need the paging file enabled (period) - even if they don't need to actually use (a lot of) it).

Doing both (16GB RAM and a 1TB or larger SSD OP'd by 33% or more) is the ideal. But if you are sensitive to the price of the RAM already; see what you can do with what you currently have.

Take care.

 

Hey thanks for the detailed reply

I have a 240GB ADATA SP550, and ~30GB (12.5%) free, as I delete games to not keep it too ful)

My thinking is also that, DDR3L is only going to get more expensive as time goes by. And I am willing to spend the money to upgrade, it's just that it would be nice to get it cheaper if possible

I found two options on eBay, as I have actually never had a problem using it

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Samsung-N...406369?hash=item23583f6a61:g:XZUAAOSw0JpV6mdI (£76.89 new, Hong Kong)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hypertec-...397776?hash=item361c61aed0:g:XFwAAOSwmNlZY7pP (£59.99 used, UK)

I've never heard of Hypertec RAM though

 

Free space does not equal unallocated capacity...

See:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...not-equal-op-space.759056/page-2#post-9743244


With the low capacity/performance SSD you have and zero 'unallocated' capacity; my first upgrade here would be an SSD of at least 512GB (nominal) OP'd by 33% and additional free space of ~100GB... - and the pagefile enabled... - before I would add the RAM.

You don't mention if enabling the pagefile made the errors go away - but my first instinct would be to get the SSD above HDD levels first...


From the link above:

Like I mentioned before; both upgrades are the best path to highest performance. But if your games work by simply enabling the pagefile; save that $$$ and put it towards where it's desperately needed in your platform, right now.

Buy yourself a $5 enclosure and put the current SSD inside for a largish capacity USB 'key'.