Conflicting reports on maxium capacity for memeory (Asus K55A)

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azurehobo

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Online many website show that my laptop (Asus K55A) will only support up to 8gb of RAM, and this includes Asus's website. Yet when running multiple system tools like SIW the program says that the max memory supported goes up to 32gb. Wanting to upgrade my 4gb up to at least 8gb, but if I can get 16gb for a good price I figured I might as well get that.

Anyone know what the true max memory is?
 
The CPU can handle up to 32GB or 2x16GB non-ECC SODIMM modules. The Intel® HM76 Express Chipset isn't an issue. So the only issue can come from ASUS and the BIOS.

That all said, I typically find 'most' (newer) notebooks and PC's will exceed their memory specification. However, that in no way is a guarantee. So the choices are: 1. risk buying 2x8GB (16GB) or 2. request tier 2 support from ASUS - http://support.asus.com/Hotlines.aspx?SLanguage=en

The spec are 8GB or 2x4GB:
Crucial - http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=K55A&Cat=RAM
ASUS - http://www.asus.com/Notebooks/Versatile_Performance/K55A/#specifications

64-bit OS:
Windows® 7 Home Premium is 16GB maximum
Windows® 7 Professional & Ultimate is 192GB maximum
Windows 7 limits - http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa366778(v=vs.85).aspx#physical_memory_limits_windows_7
 

azurehobo

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Thanks for responding,
Also if I were to just go to 8gb should I buy a 2x4gb kit or a single 8gb stick? Is there any difference in performance and battery life between the two?

And lastly can I just another single 4gb stick or should I just buy a new set/single large stick?
 
The more the memory the longer it takes for the PC to sleep or wake, but once the notebook is 'on' the differences from a 2GB through an 8GB module is very (very) small.

As far as a 4GB vs 8GB module -- the spec's are 4GB modules not 8GB. If an 8GB module 'works' then 2x8GB would also work. The differences between Single Channel (1x2GB, 1x4GB or 1x2GB + 1x4GB, etc...unequal) is very small in comparison to Dual Channel (2x2GB, 2x4GB, 2x8GB or 2x16GB...equal). Tough I recommend Dual Channel as your best choice.

Most importantly, unless your 'Free' memory is zero then there's no need to 'upgrade' your RAM -- you'll never notice the difference. Now 'if' your 'Free' memory is listed as zero then you might want to consider a memory upgrade. Most folks unless they're Rendering, Large Databases, or Game typically have no need for more than e.g. 4GB (2x2GB).

To speed up your notebook by far the best purchase or upgrade is an SSD, plus an SSD uses half or less power.

(note) Free memory:
RM_7PRO6GB.gif
 

azurehobo

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The laptop speed itself isn't slow what so ever, I have instant on from sleep with this ASUS laptop. The reason I want to increase the RAM is because of the HD4000. I do light gaming on the laptop from time to time because I don't feel like lugging my desktop around. That being said with League of Legends running I can easily get 60fps at the start but mid way through a game it'll drop down to around 30fps.

I found this odd because my friend's laptop which has a HD3000 in it has no problem (we are both using i5's but mine is 3rd gen while his is 2nd). I realized that he has 8gb of RAM so I looked at my usage during a game, and it was peeking at around 80% when minimized. Figured more available RAM would allow the integrated card to use more for graphics.
 
Frame rates are all about your quality settings and mostly influenced by the resolution, your's is 1366x768 (1.05MP); typical HD monitor is 1920x1080 (2.07MP). So you might want to find out both your friends resolution and settings to 'compare' apples to apples. For 'most' games 8GB is the 'ideal' but without the 'shared' iGPU memory taken out. So the true difference is going to be the OS 'Shared' (most of Standby) + BIOS 'Shared' (Hardware Reserved). See comparisons for an idea - http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ram-memory-upgrade,2778-8.html

Now if it's 'instant on' then you're not using the more conventional 'hibernation' or 'hybrid' sleep which writes the memory to the HDD or SSD, and more than likely your using standby (low power but 'on' mode).

Therefore, either contact ASUS or get a DDR3-1600 2x4GB SODIMM kit; see - http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007609%20600000410%20600000401&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&Order=RATING&PageSize=20
 
"DDR3 1600 MHz SDRAM, 2 x SO-DIMM socket for expansion up to 8 GB SDRAM"
ASUS K55A (specs) - http://www.asus.com/Notebooks/Versatile_Performance/K55A/#specifications

The question is can it (K55A) run 2x8GB or even 2x16GB? I don't know, but unless ASUS went out of its way to cripple the K55A it 'should' and my advice is to contact Tier 2 of ASUS or see a valid CPU-z with 16GB or 32GB of RAM with the OP's notebook -- I searched and didn't find anything conclusive. 'asus k55a 16gb cpu-z'
 

It's not necessarily true. Example any of the newer Apple notebooks can run 2x8GB though they're rated for 2x4GB from the mfg.

There's possibly a huge difference between 'expansion' and 'maximum', the K55A's options include a 2x4GB configuration. Again, while I feel the ASUS 'should' I'm not guaranteeing it will run 2x8GB; there's no spec standing in it's way.

Primo example:
Intel® Core™ i7-990X - http://ark.intel.com/products/52585/Intel-Core-i7-990X-Processor-Extreme-Edition-(12M-Cache-3_46-GHz-6_40-GTs-Intel-QPI)
Specs: Max Memory Size (dependent on memory type) 24 GB
G1.Assassin - http://www.gigabyte.us/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3752#sp
Specs: "6 x 1.5V DDR3 DIMM sockets supporting up to 24 GB of system memory"
Reality 48 GB here's it running - http://www.youtube.com/user/LinusTechTips/videos?query=48GB
 

azurehobo

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Sorry for not posting back, had a busy weekend. I'm still waiting of a response from ASUS VIP support on whether it will run 16gb. Probably just going to go with 8gb in the end. As for how many sticks I have in the K55A, ASUS provides 1 4gb DDR3 1600 stick. I'm probably going to just get what Jay suggested as I've had issues mixing two different RAM sticks in the past (stock 2 and adding another 2gb from Kingston).
 

waspvl1

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So what did you end up doing? Also I found a website that sells he k55a laptop and allows you to have them upgrade it for you. One of the options on memory upgrade is for 16gb of memory The website is xoticpc dot com So it seems to me that it might be possible to upgrade to 16gb of memory.

http://www.xoticpc.com/asus-k55adb51-p-4747.html?wconfigure=yes

waspvl1
 
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