8GB RAM Sticks with NP8170 (or HM series)?

Hmm, just wondering, has anyone used just one 8GB stick on a NP8170 (or HM series laptops) before?

Thanks!

 

sure, i dont see a reason why it shouldnt work ive had 2x8 GB corsair vengeance sticks running in my P150HM before

 

Thanks, I am thinking of going for one 8GB stick and replace the other 4GB and 2GB sticks with that lol

 

You can run a 4 and an 8 together for 8gb dual channel + 4gb single channel.

 

@Meaker is right, its best to use even number of slots (i.e. two or four) in order to get dual channel and thus double bandwidth from the RAM. using only one stick would basically half the speed!

 

Whoa, wait, I thought dual channel works only when same size and same speed? I didn't know that a 8GB and a 4GB can be dual channel too

 

sure, no problem ^^ just beware that the final speed of both sticks will adjust themselves to the slower of the two modules...

Sent from my Huawei Mate 8 NXT-AL10

 

Alright, let's see if I can sell off some of these sticks to pay for a new 8GB stick (or even two)

 

The official term is asynchronous dual channel. In an 8 + 4 configuration the 4GB stick is interleaved with the first 4GB of the 8GB stick giving 8GB in dual channel. The rest of the 8GB stick is addressed last to keep the speed as high as possible but if you go over 8GB is used as it's still far better than going to long term storage (SSD or HDD).

 

Ah, no wonder. I keep seeing the term elsewhere on my desktops and am not sure of the implications. Guess I learnt something new today...

 

That's this forum for you and just the way I like it

 

Yeah, I like this forum too; it is one of the contributing factors for me to stay with a Clevo as my next laptop purchase

 

Now typing this post on a stick of KVR16LS11/8 (Kingston ValueRAM 8GB 1600MHz DDR3L 1.35V); working nicely so far

I also tried using the Samsung 4GB DDR3 1333MHz 1.5V sticks with it, CPUID indeed tells me that this is considered a dual channel configuration (even if I use both sticks of 4GB and the one stick of 8GB)

Currently working with just the one stick of 8GB RAM to pre-empt any compatibility issues, will start memtest before I sleep and report back here

 

Yep, that's right. It's best to not mix voltages and brands, though. Instability ahoy! You can mix capacities and still get dual channel, it just runs in what's often called "asynchronous" dual channel.

 

That laptop will put 1.5v through any sticks so as long as the 1.35v stick is happy at that then there should not be an issue.

 

CPUID is saying that the stick is using only 1.35V... I think?

And yes, 2 passes of memtest successful, I guess I should be fine

 

Yeah, I'd say you should be fine then. If you start seeing issues or get bluescreens, you might want to look at changing the ram configuration, but you should be okay I'd think.

 

The stick is rated at 1.35v but that motherboard will put 1.5v through all sticks (as was the standard at the time).

Most if not all 1.35v sticks will take 1.5v.

 

MemTest is good, but the real stability test will be your regular usage.

 

Very true, keep an eye out for any issues but I personally think you will be fine.

 

Thanks guys, now using both sticks

I forsee myself doing quite a bit of photo and video editing work; let's put the sticks to the test!

 

The extra ram should help a lot with that

 

I hope so, my computer was lagging during one of the more intensive sessions (I had music playing and many tabs in Chrome open too lol) while I was using the 4GB + 4GB + 2GB + 2GB (all 1333 MHz) setup. This alone made me decide to just bite the bullet and replace the RAMs despite the possibility of me changing to a new laptop once Pascal arrives.

 

The 27xx or 28xx cpus would also help if you found one cheap.

 

I understand these CPUs will allow me to go to 32GB of RAM right? I *may* do that... only if my plans for new computers change (again) and I can use other GPUs aside from 680M with this lol

 

Your better off saving that money for a new laptop! Any investment in this is useless since it's good as obsolete!

 

Well, maybe. Just depends if you can find one for a really good price.

 

If it's still doing work and you can pick a chip up for cheap like I said it can be worth it.

 

Current prices are not that good though, so I will take a wait-and-see approach for this. I am considering letting this laptop be a spare laptop once I get my new one, but as to how long that will be, it is another story...

 

Keep an eye out in case one comes up cheap but otherwise yes it's not worth huge amounts.

 

Will do, currently the CPUs I am seeing won't add much to its performance

 

You are looking at 15% from the 2720qm with a bit extra from anything higher. It's not huge but there, a modern chip in a new machine is obviously going to do much better than that.

 

Yeah, 15% seem too low to warrant an upgrade (I heard it can take in XM CPUs right though?). I may change my mind about this if this computer can take in new GPUs too though; I can always turn this into a proper game streaming computer (based on tools I gotten from Avermedia, it can do 720P but not 1080P)

 

720p might be fine to stream honestly. I believe you can only stream at 720p on Twitch, unless you are parterned with them (generally from having a high amount of subscribers). So streaming at 1080 will just be a waste of bandwidth and CPU usage, since the stream will be locked in at a lower resolution. I'm not sure about streaming to youtube though, and if it matters there or not.

 

Hmm good point, didn't think of it that way. For (archival) recording, 1080P 60FPS matters though

 

You're absolutely true there. You want to find that balance between looking good, and not destroying your internet connection / dropping frames.

 

Disregard, replied to the wrong post.

 

Thanks, also I need to decide if it will be ok for me to hold back (i.e. wait for that new laptop and any new capture card that may use Thunderbolt or USB 3.1, which I do not know when depending on cash flow and other needs like a new HDD), or just make do with a simpler (read: cheaper) solution that can do 720P with my current laptop based on these results and opinions until then.

 

It depends on the kind of content you are creating and the intended audience.

 

Duplicate post.

 

I recording iPad gameplay, intended audience are fellow gamers

 

Why not ask them? Any comments about video quality? If there is a demand from the audience it's worth considering.

 

Erm, actually I don't exactly have an audience yet, this iPad gameplay streaming/recording idea is something I randomly thought of, but decided to make it a reality

 

No need to invest a lot while you are feeling out interest. Do it and if it starts generating interest then consider dropping some cash on a better setup.

 

Hmm now let's see how the different manufacturers respond about my queries on their products.

And seems to me that those that work in my use case are priced about the same here (excluding any good deal in the 2nd hand market that is)

 

The capture card market has a few players so they will keep each other in check price wise.

 

Their capabilities are almost the same too, unless you are going to capture an unusual device's output (e.g. iPad)

PS: I think I will carry this discussion over to a new thread, hold on