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Max RAM for new i7 Studio XPS 16s?

post #1 of 13
9/26/09 at 7:49pm
Thread Starter 
So with the new Studio XPS 16s that come with the Core i7 processors.

To save a little money right now I just got 4GB of RAM but I'd like to upgrade that to at least 8GB later.

1) Will any 1333mhz DDR3 SODIMM chips work?

2) Is 8GB a true cap or can the BIOS / motherboard etc handle larger chips when they are more available ... e.g. could I put 2x8GB SODIMM chips in?

Thanks!

Mike
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post #2 of 13
9/26/09 at 11:57pm
your system specs define 8 GB max of 204 pin DDR3 PC3-8500 1066 Mhz RAM.
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post #3 of 13
9/27/09 at 2:41pm
Thread Starter 
Those limits (8GB of 1066MHZ DDR3) were for the pre-i7 Studio XPS 16s.

Although they didnt change the name the i7s are apparently using a new motherboard.... the only RAM they come with is 1333MHZ DDR3 ... I mostly just wondered if the 8GB is a hard cap still or if that has been raised also since the Alienware i7 can handle up to 16GB.
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post #4 of 13
9/27/09 at 5:35pm
For the most part you should be able to run any DDR3 204 pin memory, and tpically the faster timing chips will work and if the board cannot support the 1333 clocks, would usually down clock the RAM to 1066.

can't awnser the 16 Gb don't know anyone who has tried it conisdering price of those chips.

If you know the board chipset - checking intel's site may shed some light on the max memory the board can support, after that the only BIOS is the limiting factor.
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post #5 of 13
9/29/09 at 4:03am
Why anybody would need that much RAM is beyond me. I have the 'original' XPS 16 w/ 4GB of RAM (1066Mhz) Running multi-tabbed Firefox, encoding a DVD, downloading torrents, and performing a virus scan is only yielding 35% use of RAM. But that is using 64-bit Windows 7 RTM...
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post #6 of 13
9/29/09 at 4:18am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mb67 View Post
Why anybody would need that much RAM is beyond me. I have the 'original' XPS 16 w/ 4GB of RAM (1066Mhz) Running multi-tabbed Firefox, encoding a DVD, downloading torrents, and performing a virus scan is only yielding 35% use of RAM. But that is using 64-bit Windows 7 RTM...
Start running VMWare and watch how fast 4GB looks like 4k
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post #7 of 13
9/29/09 at 4:26am
I've run VMware on a laptop with a core-duo, Vista, and only 2GB of RAM. After the initial swap both O/S's ran fine...
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post #8 of 13
9/29/09 at 4:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mb67 View Post
I've run VMware on a laptop with a core-duo, Vista, and only 2GB of RAM. After the initial swap both O/S's ran fine...
I couldn't imagine that you were doing much with it. Get a couple of 2008 servers and windows 7 running at the same time and you'll soon feel the pain.
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post #9 of 13
9/29/09 at 4:46am
Quote:
Originally Posted by pstones578 View Post
I couldn't imagine that you were doing much with it. Get a couple of 2008 servers and windows 7 running at the same time and you'll soon feel the pain.
you're running that on a latop?
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post #10 of 13
9/29/09 at 8:08am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mb67 View Post
you're running that on a latop?
Not for production use, lab only
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post #11 of 13
9/29/09 at 9:20am
Quote:
Originally Posted by pstones578 View Post
Not for production use, lab only
Then we are not talking about normal usage. Thus 4GB is more than enough with what is being currently needed.

cheers ...
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post #12 of 13
9/29/09 at 2:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by qhn View Post
Then we are not talking about normal usage. Thus 4GB is more than enough with what is being currently needed.

cheers ...
Whatever normal means. The comment I responded to was why anyone would ever need more than 4GB. It's so easy to want/need more than 4GB as soon as you do anything challenging. Windows 7 64 bit alone asks for a recommended 2GB which doesn't leave you with much. As soon as you put XP mode on top of that you're definately starting to get to where 4GB might seem what it is, not enough these days for anything serious.
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post #13 of 13
9/29/09 at 4:43pm
Most challenging things I can think of on a computer use more CPU than RAM. Anyway, it sounded to me that the OP was getting the RAM just go get it rather than having a specific use for it. In this case, 4 GB would definitely be more than enough. At any rate, if the i7 uses a new motherboard (which it will) then it should accept more RAM than previous motherboards (probably 16 just like the alienware). As dave-p said, the only other factor would be the BIOS but I don't think bioses are that restrictive anymore (plus it seems like a simple bios update could fix it if it were a problem).
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