how much RAM can my computer handle?

hey i have a Sony Vaio VPC SE!7 Specs: Sony Vaio VPC-SE17 - Notebookcheck.net External Reviews
and am curios how much RAM i can add to it, one slot is taken up already with 4gb of ram and it isnt removable but their is one free spot? i scanned it with crucial.com and it says the maximum memory is 8192 OR 16384, so to get 8 i would add another 4gb stick but when it said the word or it made me think if my computer can handle it? if it could handle it i would wish to add an 8gb stick? can anyone help me out, sorry if this made no sense im sorta in a rush

thanks guys, Ryan

 

The i series cpu's have the RAM controller moved onto the CPU chip (so basically, the CPU determines how much RAM you can install)
Per the specs on NotebookCheck, you have an i7 2640m, and if Intel's ark website is any indication, it says i7 2640m can support 16GB RAM.

So yes... you can easily install that 8GB, but I would make sure the RAM stick in question matches your 4GB stick in terms of speed.

 

thanks! and i will definitely do some research before i buy, i really appreciate the help!

 

Did search and come up with this site and it says only upgrades to 8G. I did a basic search based on the model number provided.

VAIO VPC-SE17GGB | Sony VAIO SE17 Black | laptop specification sheet

It's says it can be upgrade to 8Gig Ram as for 16Gig I couldn't tell you for sure if your chipset will let you or prevent you from going to 16Gig.

 

thanks for the info, so would it be best to just get another 4gb stick and have 8gb ram? if i did try to put in a 8gb stick would it do serious damage or spit it out and turn off?

 

Actually, I wouldn't pay that much attention to what the manufacturer says.
For one thing, the chipset has little to do with it - seeing how the RAM controller was embedded into the CPU.
They are probably going with the configuration of 2x 4GB stick - which is what they probably offered as the maximum during the time of sale.

Intel's website specifically states that i7-2640m supports 16GB RAM - so I would sooner go with what they say.
ARK | Intel® Core

Scroll down to Maximum Memory size and you will see it says 16GB.

Furthermore... my 5930G was officially stated to be able to go up to 4GB by Acer itself... whereas the chipset (this was before the i series cpu's) supported 8GB.
So I installed 8GB, and it works fine to this day.

Bottom line: manufacturers don't always paint the full picture, and since they're in the business of making money (like every other company), the main idea is to prompt people to buy new computers instead of spending less money on simple upgrades.

 

The true max amount of ram is what the ark.intel.com site tells. Never listen to the notebooks manual or brochure. It state that the max is the amount that they sell with.

 

The true max amount of RAM is what I say Never listen to the notebooks manual or brochure and listen with skepticism to what Intel site says. I state that it can handle up to 32GB 1866Mhz.
Every 2nd gen I core can handle 32GB of RAM.
However some laptops are hard coded to work with less than what CPU supports. It is very rare but happens.

 

Yes, I wanted to suggest the possibility about 32GB RAM support seeing how virtually any second series i core cpu was able to support up yo 32GB, but since the OP didn't go nearly that far... it was kinda moot.
That said, there might be some artificial limitations in place, but they are very rare (actually I don't think we had a reported case with modern systems implementing them).

 

I do know on my P-7811FX going to 8Gigs the computer is picky on what kinda RAM. So I tried a pair of PNY and another pair of 4Gig for 8Gig ram and it didn't like that setup. So my next step is crucial 2x4Gig ram to see if I can get it to take 8Gigs of Ram.

 

Don't put too much faith into ark.intel.com - it's intended to be a resource for end users, so it's not subject to the most rigorous quality standards. In fact, there are quite a few known errors, such as the 3930K and the VT-d bug in the initial stepping.

The CPU datasheets are a much more reliable source of information.

 

Since you have intel P45 chipset (like my own), I think 8GB should work fine... but I would make sure the 2 sticks are from the same manufacturer and being the same speed/cas latency/etc.

In your case, a BIOS upgrade might be required in order to get full 8GB RAM support, but I don't think this would necessarily be the case.
Make sure you have x64 windows and that the RAM sticks are the same for starters... if that doesn't work, then BIOS upgrade might be needed.

Ark.intel.com website is fairly reliable when it comes to these things - at least in terms of RAM support. In some cases they tend to omit highest possible RAM support in second i core series probably because they cannot guarantee they will work - likely due to the premise that at the time of their release, the max. they expected people to upgrade to would be 16GB, while 32GB is relatively expensive.

 

Since 4gb of ram is permanantly installed how do i know what brand it is to match it with the empty slot? or do i just get a RAM stick with the same speed etc? thanks for all the help you guys have given!

 

Are you saying that 4GB RAM in your laptop is soldered to the motherboard?
you mentioned something about 4GB being permanently installed (but that doesn't mesh well with what you said above about changing 2 RAM sticks).

You can use CPU-Z to check your hardware configuration and the RAM itself.
The RAM doesn't necessarily have to be from the same manufacturer, but same/similar in specifications... yes.