Adding laptop ram

hg2

Supremacy Member
Joined
Jan 1, 2000
Messages
7,757
Reaction score
712
Laptop bios mostly cannot tune timing and clock... If you unlucky... then one blue screen per day... else it just run slower.
 

firesong

Supremacy Member
Deluxe Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2001
Messages
7,913
Reaction score
3,948
I'm looking to add another stick or ram to my laptop which currently has an 8gb 2400mhz stick.


I went to look ard on lazada and the 2666mhz stick is cheaper than 2400mhz so my qns is, will there be and issues buying the 2666 and adding that to my laptop?
2400mhz: https://s.lazada.sg/s.ZMex1
2666mhz: https://s.lazada.sg/s.ZMfi5

Generally it should be okay. The generic 2666 memory sticks will also have JEDEC timings for running at 2400Mhz. Just check the specs sheets if you're worried.

In general though, change your memory modules in pairs for best performance and to minimise any conflict issues. If you can't (because one is soldered), then use reputable RAM. I think Hynix and Samsung from Korea are pretty decent options.

Personally, I'm very skeptical about Made in China RAM modules, though they are more common these days. Have encountered a few fakes before - or at least the distributors claim they are of dubious origin. So buying from reputable sellers is a strongly encouraged.
 

Phen8210

High Supremacy Member
Deluxe Member
Joined
Jul 29, 2011
Messages
26,470
Reaction score
6,819
I'm looking to add another stick or ram to my laptop which currently has an 8gb 2400mhz stick.


I went to look ard on lazada and the 2666mhz stick is cheaper than 2400mhz so my qns is, will there be and issues buying the 2666 and adding that to my laptop?
2400mhz: https://s.lazada.sg/s.ZMex1
2666mhz: https://s.lazada.sg/s.ZMfi5


First check your processor model and see what ram speeds it can support.. some laptops don't have XMP or memory speed selection in bios and won't auto-down clock one. It's not like desktops. Please DYOR before buying.
 

Phen8210

High Supremacy Member
Deluxe Member
Joined
Jul 29, 2011
Messages
26,470
Reaction score
6,819
Laptop bios mostly cannot tune timing and clock... If you unlucky... then one blue screen per day... else it just run slower.

TS Shouldn't have ignore your comment, I can't believe no one else mentioned this.
 

firesong

Supremacy Member
Deluxe Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2001
Messages
7,913
Reaction score
3,948
TS Shouldn't have ignore your comment, I can't believe no one else mentioned this.
Have been adding quite a few sticks of 2666 RAM to recent Intel laptops since the 7th Gen, no problems. To be fair, it's mainly corporate laptops - Thinkpads, Latitudes, HP Elitebooks. Though I personally stick to Hynix, Samsung, or Micron modules, and am not willing to try repackaged or other manufacturers. This timings concern is the reason why JEDEC was formed as a standard, and the manufacturers I use have clearly published timings tables at their web sites that you can check up.

JEDEC predates XMP by many years. And usually laptops that don't support XMP will still fall back to JEDEC unless very old, or very deviant (perhaps custom BIOS tunings, so I suspect you'll encounter more of these uncertainties on gaming laptops)

I don't have enough data for AMD machines though, so I will proceed more cautiously there. Sad to say a lot of these standards are "defined" using Intel hardware.
 

Phen8210

High Supremacy Member
Deluxe Member
Joined
Jul 29, 2011
Messages
26,470
Reaction score
6,819
Have been adding quite a few sticks of 2666 RAM to recent Intel laptops since the 7th Gen, no problems. To be fair, it's mainly corporate laptops - Thinkpads, Latitudes, HP Elitebooks. Though I personally stick to Hynix, Samsung, or Micron modules, and am not willing to try repackaged or other manufacturers. This timings concern is the reason why JEDEC was formed as a standard, and the manufacturers I use have clearly published timings tables at their web sites that you can check up.

JEDEC predates XMP by many years. And usually laptops that don't support XMP will still fall back to JEDEC unless very old, or very deviant (perhaps custom BIOS tunings, so I suspect you'll encounter more of these uncertainties on gaming laptops)

I don't have enough data for AMD machines though, so I will proceed more cautiously there. Sad to say a lot of these standards are "defined" using Intel hardware.

Honestly the ones I encountered were all using intel CPUs, this goes for both newer or older than 7th gen. In some machines, there were no tunable memory settings in bios and the system wouldn't automatically downclock the ram speed. The result is customers complaints of having instabilities and random crashes.

It's a common misconception for consumers to think they can just plug whatever ram they want into laptops and have it fix itself, which is what you are saying. Of course, this is expected but also a case by case basis. I have seen some laptops capable of tuning itself correctly and others that just cannot be bothered.

Apart from that, AMD could support 3200MHz so it wasn't that big of a deal. Usually consumers have difficulty finding slower ram so they consider buying faster ones.. just like what TS is experiencing right now.

The rule of thumb for laptops is to not anything above what intel states on their website and you should have lesser worries.
 

firesong

Supremacy Member
Deluxe Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2001
Messages
7,913
Reaction score
3,948
Honestly the ones I encountered were all using intel CPUs, this goes for both newer or older than 7th gen. In some machines, there were no tunable memory settings in bios and the system wouldn't automatically downclock the ram speed. The result is customers complaints of having instabilities and random crashes.

It's a common misconception for consumers to think they can just plug whatever ram they want into laptops and have it fix itself, which is what you are saying. Of course, this is expected but also a case by case basis. I have seen some laptops capable of tuning itself correctly and others that just cannot be bothered.

Apart from that, AMD could support 3200MHz so it wasn't that big of a deal. Usually consumers have difficulty finding slower ram so they consider buying faster ones.. just like what TS is experiencing right now.

The rule of thumb for laptops is to not anything above what intel states on their website and you should have lesser worries.
The point of the JEDEC tables is so that there is no settings to be done, but automatic timings are pre-programmed. Also, it is the default industry standard (they are the standards body that made the DDR4 standard!)

If the computer reports it runs at, say, 2133Mhz, the pre-programmed 2133 timings profile on the RAM should be automatically loaded - this setting is on the chipset level since it's programmed by Intel. Unless the RAM does not have this setting pre-programmed, which is extremely unlikely. Or if somehow the laptop manufacturer overrides the chipset-level settings.

The other thing I do to maximise compatibility is to buy the same chipset of the RAM that it ships with. If Hynix RAM, get a new pair of Hynix modules. Likewise if Samsung. I have encountered incompatibilities/system performance issues mainly when I mix across different RAM brands/chipsets. The few times I did encounter stability issues, it was faulty RAM - or in 3 cases, fake RAM from China that somehow slipped through Amazon's detection. For fake RAM, speed tests, memory report apps like CPU-Z should report timing tables that are usually slower than the manufacturer's published ones - just write to the manufacturers seeking verification of authenticity and provide proof, and they're usually happy to include a letter to certify that the RAM is fake, for you to initiate a return/exchange.

Take for example this random DDR4 SODIMM module I pulled up from Hynix's web site for the HMA82GS6DJR8N:
https://mis-prod-koce-producthomepage-cdn-01-blob-ep.azureedge.net/web/TR-20201119010119009.pdf
From that document, the published, pre-programmed RAM timings. You can see it's quite comprehensive and covers all the basic DDR4 default speeds that are pre-programmed by Hynix on the RAM and would be chosen by the chipset, 1600, 1866, 2133, 2400, 2666, 2933. 3200 Mhz. Not really any reason for a lack of table entry on the modules:


PS: Random find, but Intel reportedly adopted JEDEC compliance officially in 1999. https://www.theregister.com/1999/12/22/intel_cuddles_up_to_jedec/
 
Last edited:

Phen8210

High Supremacy Member
Deluxe Member
Joined
Jul 29, 2011
Messages
26,470
Reaction score
6,819
The point of the JEDEC tables is so that there is no settings to be done, but automatic timings are pre-programmed. Also, it is the default industry standard (they are the standards body that made the DDR4 standard!)

If the computer reports it runs at, say, 2133Mhz, the pre-programmed 2133 timings profile on the RAM should be automatically loaded - this setting is on the chipset level since it's programmed by Intel. Unless the RAM does not have this setting pre-programmed, which is extremely unlikely. Or if somehow the laptop manufacturer overrides the chipset-level settings.

The other thing I do to maximise compatibility is to buy the same chipset of the RAM that it ships with. If Hynix RAM, get a new pair of Hynix modules. Likewise if Samsung. I have encountered incompatibilities/system performance issues mainly when I mix across different RAM brands/chipsets. The few times I did encounter stability issues, it was faulty RAM - or in 3 cases, fake RAM from China that somehow slipped through Amazon's detection. For fake RAM, speed tests, memory report apps like CPU-Z should report timing tables that are usually slower than the manufacturer's published ones - just write to the manufacturers seeking verification of authenticity and provide proof, and they're usually happy to include a letter to certify that the RAM is fake, for you to initiate a return/exchange.

Take for example this random DDR4 SODIMM module I pulled up from Hynix's web site for the HMA82GS6DJR8N:
https://mis-prod-koce-producthomepage-cdn-01-blob-ep.azureedge.net/web/TR-20201119010119009.pdf
From that document, the published, pre-programmed RAM timings. You can see it's quite comprehensive and covers all the basic DDR4 default speeds that are pre-programmed by Hynix on the RAM and would be chosen by the chipset, 1600, 1866, 2133, 2400, 2666, 2933. 3200 Mhz. Not really any reason for a lack of table entry on the modules:


PS: Random find, but Intel reportedly adopted JEDEC compliance officially in 1999. https://www.theregister.com/1999/12/22/intel_cuddles_up_to_jedec/

I am not denying that these standards exists. In fact, all these concepts are well known. However, the point is that I've observed different behaviors from different manufacturers and laptops. If it was desktops then it wouldn't be that concerning.

Some laptops that could only be stable running 2400, when installed 2666 or 3200 sticks it stayed at those speeds.. resulting in instability. The system did not downclock itself and also did not have tuning options, this was already mentioned by another user.

Besides, I've worked across countless amount of laptop from apple/hp/dell/lenovo/asus/acer/lg/microsoft/other oems and what I mentioned is actually based on practical experience in professional settings and not just theory. The parts used were also procured from their official manufacturers and respective distributers.

Before I encountered these behaviors, I also never thought that such is possible. Being exposed to more type of different hardware has taught me things that I haven't read of or encountered.

In summary, this still goes on a case by case basis. Expected Outcome =/= Actual Outcome.
 

Jedixx

Member
Joined
May 17, 2016
Messages
138
Reaction score
5
So from what I'm gathering, I should prob get the exact same ram as the one in my laptop.
I don't really want to buy a 2 stick kit cos it's an old laptop and I'm just trying to squeeze out more performance while waiting for the pc market prices to get lower first to buy a desktop.

Would it be ok to get some used ram of the same model off carousell?
 

firesong

Supremacy Member
Deluxe Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2001
Messages
7,913
Reaction score
3,948
I am not denying that these standards exists. In fact, all these concepts are well known. However, the point is that I've observed different behaviors from different manufacturers and laptops. If it was desktops then it wouldn't be that concerning.

Some laptops that could only be stable running 2400, when installed 2666 or 3200 sticks it stayed at those speeds.. resulting in instability. The system did not downclock itself and also did not have tuning options, this was already mentioned by another user.

Besides, I've worked across countless amount of laptop from apple/hp/dell/lenovo/asus/acer/lg/microsoft/other oems and what I mentioned is actually based on practical experience in professional settings and not just theory. The parts used were also procured from their official manufacturers and respective distributers.

Before I encountered these behaviors, I also never thought that such is possible. Being exposed to more type of different hardware has taught me things that I haven't read of or encountered.

In summary, this still goes on a case by case basis. Expected Outcome =/= Actual Outcome.
That's true.

I've changed laptop RAM without issues. If it helps, the only models I upgrade RAM in are ones where they are customer replaceable, as the User Guide gives the instructions to replace RAM. I did specify the few I've changed RAM in, along with the steps (identical sticks, same brand where possible, only specific OEMs, etc...)

Perhaps it's less clear in many other laptops, since they don't specify that users can upgrade them.

In any case, with more and more laptops going the soldered memory route, this discussion becomes increasingly moot.
 

firesong

Supremacy Member
Deluxe Member
Joined
Jan 17, 2001
Messages
7,913
Reaction score
3,948
So from what I'm gathering, I should prob get the exact same ram as the one in my laptop.
I don't really want to buy a 2 stick kit cos it's an old laptop and I'm just trying to squeeze out more performance while waiting for the pc market prices to get lower first to buy a desktop.

Would it be ok to get some used ram of the same model off carousell?
There shouldn't be an issue if it's a matching stick. No harm trying, since it would be fairly inexpensive getting it on the second hand market.
 

86technie

High Supremacy Member
Joined
Jun 8, 2006
Messages
36,301
Reaction score
3,384
So from what I'm gathering, I should prob get the exact same ram as the one in my laptop.
I don't really want to buy a 2 stick kit cos it's an old laptop and I'm just trying to squeeze out more performance while waiting for the pc market prices to get lower first to buy a desktop.

Would it be ok to get some used ram of the same model off carousell?

I have been buying used RAM from Caurosell for very long, notebook RAM are fine no issue.
However desktop RAM in my experience sometimes may not work.
Probably some have overclock their RAM thus it stop working.

If you have concern you can ask if any issue can return or not.
Just a tip, after you buy the RAM use a eraser just rub the contact before using.
Sometimes the contact can be oxidize.
 

Jedixx

Member
Joined
May 17, 2016
Messages
138
Reaction score
5
Alright, thanks everyone for all the advice. I'll just get a matching second hand stick from carousell and hopefully I see a meaningful performance uplift.
 
Important Forum Advisory Note
This forum is moderated by volunteer moderators who will react only to members' feedback on posts. Moderators are not employees or representatives of HWZ. Forum members and moderators are responsible for their own posts.

Please refer to our Community Guidelines and Standards, Terms of Service and Member T&Cs for more information.
Top