Hardware Adding memory (RAM)

trevortron

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I have a reasonably good (I think) laptop which I use daily. It's an Acer 6120: i5 processor, running Win7 64 bit, with 4GB RAM (DDR3, 1066MHz 204 pin).

I'd like to add another 4GB RAM, apparently it can support up to 8GB.

Two questions- First, am I better to get 2 matched 4GB sticks, or one 8GB one? (I'm already thinking 2 sticks- in case one dies, at least it'll still work).

Second- is there any advantage in buying faster than the original 1066?

Thanks, TT.
 
I have a reasonably good (I think) laptop which I use daily. It's an Acer 6120: i5 processor, running Win7 64 bit, with 4GB RAM (DDR3, 1066MHz 204 pin).

I'd like to add another 4GB RAM, apparently it can support up to 8GB.

Two questions- First, am I better to get 2 matched 4GB sticks, or one 8GB one? (I'm already thinking 2 sticks- in case one dies, at least it'll still work).

Second- is there any advantage in buying faster than the original 1066?

Thanks, TT.

I would get two matched, as you say, if one breaks you could take it out and still have a working lappy. No point getting faster than the mobo can cope with - it will just run at maximum mobo speed.
 
will be 2 sticks mate the motherboard will take 8 gb this wont mean 1 x 8 it will mean each bank will support 1 x 4
there will be 2 sticks in the lappy at the min if you check 2 x 2
as for the speed it will only run at that if thats what it rated at
the faster speed ram might run a little cooler as its not as stressed out nothing more that
it might not work at all tho as some motherboards can be fussy on ram
check the crucial website as there is a ram checker for boards
 
I would get two matched, as you say, if one breaks you could take it out and still have a working lappy. No point getting faster than the mobo can cope with - it will just run at maximum mobo speed.

Thanks for the speedy answer. Would it be safe to assume that the makers fitted the fastest RAM it can support?
 
Thanks @turner brown for reminding me about Crucial's site- I knew I'd seen the memory configurator thingy somewhere! (Could do with some decent memory myself!!)

According to them, it's "DDR3 PC3-12800 • CL=11 • Unbuffered • NON-ECC • DDR3-1600 • 1.35V " I need, supporting @Him Her 's theory that Acer perhaps didn't ship 'the best'. OR are Crucial 'at it'???!!
 
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never had a reason to not trust them mate . used it a few times when ordering ram
but if not in a hurry email acer support to confirm
 
never had a reason to not trust them mate . used it a few times when ordering ram
but if not in a hurry email acer support to confirm

Hmm, might give that a try.. although from what I've been reading, 'Acer' and 'support' seldom come together in the same sentence. Worth a try though :) Thanks for all the help, will update as things progress.
 
Got through to Acer's support 'Chat'. The promised 9-second wait was more like 3 minutes, and about 20 minutes later I got the answer that the original-fit is what they recommend.
 
...and I've also seen 1600's refuse to works because of BIOS issues on machines with slower buses...
 
Well, after a painfully slow wait the memory finally arrived. 2 Samsung 4GB sticks, all the way from China. Installing was a breeze, not even a screwdriver was required, and the machine started up, not even a nag from the bios & I have to say it is running a lot smoother now.
Whether it's coincidence or not I don't know, but now, occasionally, when starting up from 'cold', Windows tries to enter a recovery mode- but as it hasn't loaded the virtual (touch) keyboard, there's not way of proceeding or cancelling. I just force the power off & try again & usually on the second attempt it starts up quite happily. I am tempted to blame the memory upgrade, as I've never had this before- but of course you never know what's going on with MS updates, so who knows?
I rarely completely shut-down so shouldn't present much of a problem.
Thanks for all the advice & suggestions :)
 
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