Adjusting RAM speed after upgrade

[mcduck]

Some reason I assumed OP had pulled the old RAM.



OP would be up to 12GB at this point, right? 1x4 of the old and 2x4 of the new.

In any case, I can't find this motherboard anywhere. But HP.com says the 14-1200 runs at a max of 1333Mhz, so maybe the 14t-1200 cto does too.

Good point about the 12GB, for some reason I didn't notice that it was 2x4GB.

The OP said in the first post that memtest recognizes the increase in capacity, which is why I assumed he had both old and new RAM modules plugged in. Of course if there's 8GB of the new RAM then that would indeed increase the capacity even without using the old modules together with new ones...

Edit: I was actually just trying to find the same information about the max supported RAM speed of the motherboard, but it seems the info for 14-1200 is as close as we are going to get, the "CTO in the model name means "custom-to-order" and HP doesn't provide any specs of such machines. Anyway, 1333MHz would make sense as that's also the spec speed for the i7-740.

[Jerry N]

Even if the OP were to get the new RAM to run at 1600 I doubt that he would see a really significant speed improvement over running at 1333. That's not a very big change and RAM speed is only one factor in overall performance. And the various (not understood by me) RAM timing options have to be considered too. Another factor to consider: Most laptop computers have marginal internal temperature control and upping the RAM speed might cause the temperature to rise beyond acceptable limits.

Jerry

[SebSmith]

To clarify so confusion, i removed the old ram chip and inserted two 4gb ram chips.
the laptop only has space for 2 chips so no i dont have 12gb, i have 8.

now because the i7-740qm says it only supports 1333, does that mean i will never be able to run my ram at 1600mhz?

what if i upgrade my processor in the future (which ive researched is possible because it is not welded in on this machine)?

[SebSmith]

Click on one of the forum titles "absolute beginner forum" which will give you a list of all threads at the top of the list theres a button for "New Thread"

Sorry for the side track guys, carry on, I'm learnin a lots from your discussion.

this really is a great discussion, but its disappointing at the same time.. i paid a lot for this nice ram. id love for it to work at potential

[DGINSD]

I feel your pain sucks to pay good money for something and not have it work as you expected, even though as someone else stated the performance gain would me minimal with the RAM speed increase.

What I'm taking away from this is do diligent reaserch first and upgrade second. Even still there always seems to something that gets over looked.

Even still 4G to 8G wooooo hoooooo game on!

[Zeno Izen]

this really is a great discussion, but its disappointing at the same time.. i paid a lot for this nice ram. id love for it to work at potential

Ok here's a few suggestions:

1. dmidecode seems to have turned up bunk info for your motherboard. Since your machine is new, you might actually still have the physical documentation. Try to find your motherboard docs, they should have the exact model info. Once you have that, contact HP and simply ask "What's the fastest RAM motherboard xyz can support."

2. If you find that you board only supports 1333 not the full 1600 that you bought, check newegg's return policy. They might possibly trade it in for the slower RAM.

3. Unless I'm mistaken upgrading your CPU won't help your max RAM speed. It's the Northbridge on the motherboard that limits you.

Honestly, based on what the other posters have said, I'd lay my money on the probability that you're not capable of the full 1600 with this motherboard. And trying to tweak your gear up to match the RAM isn't really worth the trouble or risk.

I would go straight to deciding whether you want to try to recoup your money. Is the price difference between the 1600 sticks and the 1333s really that great? Like I said, Newegg might let you swap them. Or, if it really comes down to it, you can buy the slower RAM and try to sell the faster ones on eBay, or something like that.

[jocko]

Don't see what you say below. Can you provide suitable link/graphic image for what I should be looking for because I just don't see it? Try a print screen screenshot.

Here.

[sydbat]

3. Unless I'm mistaken upgrading your CPU won't help your max RAM speed. It's the Northbridge on the motherboard that limits you.

This.

FSB (Front Side Bus) is what controls the speed at which your motherboard can process the RAM frequency. This setting is configured below the maximum for good reason. However, it also allows the manufacturer to release BIOS updates to marginally increase the speed if they find that new CPU's or RAM require it.

Also, BIOS updates are only released / needed if something is not right with the original BIOS or if it will add functionality (as I mentioned above). Therefore, at this time, I would imagine that the OP will not find an updated BIOS from HP.

As for the RAM the OP bought, why not just run it as is. It has been mentioned that there is little performance difference between 1600 and 1333, and because you have doubled the RAM in the first place, you will see an increase in the availability of system resources.