Which Memory Upgrade - VPC Z13x

Hi Guys,

Almost ready to place my order for a nice new shiny Z13 which will come with 6Gb of RAM and I want to upgrade it to 8Gb. I will be purchasing the upgrade from Crucial and have 2 options.

The first is to buy the 8Gb kit which includes 2 matched 4Gb modules and replace both Sony modules.

The second option is to buy a single 4Gb module and just replace the 2Gb Sony module. Although I will get 8Gb it will be with non-paired modules.

What are you opinions on the above and do you have any advice or experience of either scenario?

Cheers,
Mark.

 

shouldn't be a problem with either option, just make sure if choose 2nd one that specs on your 2nd stick of ram match the ones on the Sony installed one (generally, it's 1066 at 7-7-7)

 

I would get just one stick 4gb option from sonystyle and just order additional matching ram from online vendor such as newegg. Why waste money on a 2gb upgrade IMO. goodluck

 

because sony became cheap and the 4gb option is (2x2gb) modules as opposed to the 1x4gb config offered with the Z11 CTO's

 

but Sony's 4gb->6 is +$150 upgrade, but you can just get a couple matching 4gb Corsair sticks for like $166? Why worry about matching what's in there plus spend more $

What am I missing

 

My VPC Z12 came with 2x4gb Samsung 1333DDR3.

Since it only works at 1066mhz, it is worth considering the upper speed modules to get reduced latencies at 1066 ( CAS7).

Other than that, I would not overthink it with pairing modules and other "enhancements" they try to sell.

It might be useful to overclock both pairs, but since it is not possible, why bother?

Samsung has very good reputation with RAM modules as being consistently very good quality and problem-free.

Maybe it would be worth considering buying a samsung 4gb module.

 

Thanks for the replies so far.

The reason for it coming with 6Gb is that I will be buying an off-the-self model rather than a custom one as it works out £100's cheaper (and also quicker delivery). It comes with the exact configuration I want other than the memory.

Is there any real world differences in having matched modules as opposed to 2 different ones? I really have no interest in benchmarks, all I am interested in is real life noticeable results. I will be using the Z for running multiple virtual machines if that makes any difference at all.

*EDIT* Forgot to mention I'm in the UK if that indicates makes/types of modules which will be in there by default.

 

No. Just use the same latency and clock timings and you will be fine with another module. Sometimes there are issues with mixed RAM types, but you can anyways return the module if it doesnt work.

 

What I may do is wait until I have the laptop, see what the original 4Gb module is and see how much they are and if they are readily available...

 

Yeah and wait to conclude that 6gb will indeed not be enough for you. I'm a pretty heavy multi tasker and I do plan to run the occasional VM and I went with 4gb, but figured I'd just go to 8 if needed like in my post above. (I still don't have my Z in my hands yet though, it was delivered last Monday and I had left Sunday on a 2wk business trip!)

 

Check also the working latencies, so you can pick a module with the same specifications, that should provide the best performance.

Matching pairs, as told before, provides no benefits here.

As other has just said, there might be problems because of mixing different vendors/modules, but it should be very unlikely if you buy quality ;-)

 

yeah but ram compatibility isn't an all-or-nothing thing. sometimes weird things happen like very occasional crashes, freezes etc. Go matching whenever possible to avoid any headaches

 

this is the exact piece of RAM in my Vaio clocked at 7-7-7-20:

M471B5273BH1-CH9 Samsung DDR3-1333 SODIMM 4GB Notebook Memory - DDR3 SODIMM 200 Pin - SuperBiiz.com

now, there's this one which is similar:

M471B5273BH1-CH9 Samsung DDR3-1333 SODIMM 4GB Notebook Memory - DDR3 SODIMM 200 Pin - SuperBiiz.com

Both, according to Samsung's specs sheets are rated at CL9... but apparantly because they're at 1333 mhz, they get 7-7-7-20 on the Z which can only "use" 1066mhz RAM.

spec sheets: SAMSUNG's Digital World

 

Thanks for all the replies but it looks like I will be getting a CTO after all. I checked on the Sony UK website last night and the 256Gb Quad SSD is currently on offer with 50% off.

This saving alone now makes it cheaper for me to configure it on the website with the full 8Gb.

Fingers crossed I get the cash together in time.......