Ali_109 :
Hi guys!
I m not sure about the RAM I really need, so my question is:
Can I buy the laptop with 32GB of ram and upgrade the ram to 64GB if I need it? OR does the customisation you do on Dell's website affects the board/slots and make any upgrade impossible...?
May seem a stupid question for you but I m sure I'll get quick answer here (I ve been waiting from dell for a couple of days)!!! Thanks
Hi Ali_109,
Yes, you can buy the laptop with 32Gb of DDR4 RAM now and upgrade to 64Gb later. Whatever RAM configuration you buy now, your system will still come with 4 RAM slots in total.
This means that if you want the possibility of upgrading to 64Gb of DDR4 RAM later, you need to order your system with 2 sticks (DIMMs) of 16Gb each (be careful because you could also buy 4 sticks of 8Gb each, filling all 4 RAM slots). This 2 x 16Gb configuration will leave you with 2 empty slots in your system for later use.
Then, when you will be ready to upgrade to 64Gb, you will have to buy 2 sticks of 16Gb and fill the 2 empty slots in your system. At this point, you will have 4 x 16Gb or DDR4 RAM for a total of 64Gb.
What you need to know is that RAM sticks work better in pairs in this type of system. This is called dual-channel RAM. This means that your system will optimize the use of your RAM sticks using pairs of DIMMs (sticks). For example, your initial setup will have 2 sticks of 16Gb. In dual-channel mode, your operating system will assign one stick to channel 1 and the other stick to channel 2. If the Dell technician who will build your laptop knows what he is doing (!), he will put the first stick of 16Gb in slot 1 and the second stick of 16Gb in slot 3. This is how it is usually done in dual-channel RAM systems. FYI, your operating system should automatically work in dual-channel if your system was built correctly. There is a way to verify if your operating system is using dual-channel, just search online and you will find info about how to verify this in the Windows Control Panel.
When you will upgrade to 64Gb, you will have slot 2 and slot 4 empty on your system. You will be able to add one stick of 16Gb to slot 2 and another stick of 16Gb to slot 4. With this configuration, your system will be able to use the full power of dual-channel RAM. You will then have 32Gb for channel 1 and 32Gb for channel 2.
I am telling you this because you might be tempted to add ONLY 1 more stick of RAM later... Don't do this. It is not worth it. RAM is not that expensive and your system will be much faster if you upgrade your RAM in pairs. This means that you could buy 2 sticks of 8Gb later (for a total of 48Gb of RAM) instead of 2 sticks of 16Gb. This will work better than if you buy only 1 stick of 16Gb. Always buy your RAM in pairs of sticks (DIMMs) for optimal performance.
That's it, just make sure that you order your laptop with 2 DIMMs of 16Gb for now and you will be ok for upgrading later.
Cheers,