Upgrade RAM

[solarkey]

 My laptop: HP ProBook 450 G9 6S7D6EA

I'm going to add more RAM. I want to put 64gb. But the official HP site says max = 32gb: https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/ish_5999155-5999207-16

Using the method "wmic memphysical get maxcapacityEx", I found out that the maximum memory capacity of my laptop = 64gb. Where is the truth?

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

There aren't any posts on the forum where someone has actually installed 64 GB of memory in the 450 G9.

It could be a simple as HP didn't test the model series with 2 x 32 GB of memory and indicated the max memory is 2 x 16 GB.

I can't tell you how many HP service manuals understate the 'real' memory capacity the notebook can actually support, but there are several.

You ran a pretty accurate report that indicated 64 GB was the max and also, FWIW, the Crucial memory report for your notebook indicates it will support 64 GB of memory as well.

HP - Compaq ProBook 450 G9 | Memory RAM & SSD Upgrades | Crucial.com

Do you really need 64 GB of memory?

I'm running 48 GB in one of my PC's and when I look at the Windows resource monitor, 38 GB of memory is free.

[TzortzisG]

Hi!

We've talked about this before solarkey. The truth is that all 4xx/6xx G8/G9/G10 Probooks support 64GB of RAM. The command you executed reads tables that are located in the BIOS and filled in by HP coders (of that BIOS). And 99% of the time the result is the actual max RAM limit. On the other hand, the official documents and manuals are sometimes  (more often than we'd like) filled with false information. I've posted the 64GB (known) limit of these systems many times on the forum: https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Business-Notebooks/HP-Probook-450-G9/m-p/8866810#M170967 . We also have a thread where someone successfully upgraded his 455G8 with a 64GB kit of Ripjaws, after asking Paul_Tikkanen EXPERT Level 22 for advice: https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Hardware-and-Upgrade-Questions/HP-ProBook-455-G8-RAM-upgrade/...  .

The maxcapacity result is correct. Documentation is wrong. Although I definitely agree with Paul's comment above that the average user won't have any use for all this RAM, if you want to, you can have 64GB on these systems.... By the way, there is a good reason to upgrade to 2x32GB nowadays. This is that it's the only way one is sure to get good quality dual rank 2Rx8 modules, which aside from giving you more GBs of RAM, will also perform much better than having 2x8GB or 2x16GB single-rank modules installed.

[solarkey]

Found information on the official website on this topic:

Why does crucial recommend a higher maximum RAM limit for my system than the system manufacturer? | ...

I'll need to connect multiple monitors for work, so I'm thinking of buying 32gb. However, I don't understand how to find out the rank of RAM? There are two models to choose from Crucial 16GB DDR4 SODIMM PC4-25600 CT16G4SFRA32A and Crucial 16GB DDR4 SODIMM CT16G4SFS832A. What's the difference and what rank?

[TzortzisG · Accepted solution]

Hello Solarkey.

To be honest I'm not really sure what you're trying to get at with all these questions. A little over a month ago you asked if your system can work with the Kingston gaming 64GB kit. I told you that it can. Last week you came back with a separate thread to ask if you can actually upgrade to the 2x32GB modules. Again WE told you that you can. Now you've come back to this thread (and opened a third one) asking if you can use 32GB Crucial RAM on your system........ I'm not sure I follow your reasoning in all of this.

- However, I don't understand how to find out the rank of RAM? There are two models to choose from Crucial 16GB DDR4 SODIMM PC4-25600 CT16G4SFRA32A and Crucial 16GB DDR4 SODIMM CT16G4SFS832A. What's the difference and what rank?

Crucial doesn't give out a lot of info on their modules. You have to read posts and reviews online to understand (if you can) what their real specs are. The SFS modules are single-rank modules, but that's not the biggest problem you'll have if you buy these. These particular Crucial modules use a XMP (overclocking) profile with the high 3200 speed, and a JEDEC profile with the base 2666 speed. Since HP laptops only use the JEDEC profiles, it will be like buying 2666 RAM, for an Alder Lake laptop. We've had at least two reports about this RAM here and here. The SFRA modules don't have the XMP issue, but when talking about the 16GB capacity chips, they have been reported as incompatible with some laptops, including several HP models. The problem is that there are many versions of the SFRA RAM, and apparently some of the single rank versions are very problematic.

- The same variants can be different variations of 2Rx8/1Rx8. I want to purchase a dual-rank RAM. How can I identify it? As far as I know, there are more postscripts after designations like "CT16G4SFRA32A". For example, ".C8FE" or ".M16FR". Is there an exactly what they mean? According to the information from this site: CompuRAM GmbH - Memory Search and Find 8-single, 16-dual.

The 16GB SFRA modules nowadays are very hard to find in dual rank versions. I would suggest getting the older -better quality and ALWAYS dual rank- "CT2K16G4SFD832A" kit. I guess that if your life depended on finding "CT16G4SFRA32A" dual rank modules, the way you describe above would probably work. However, posts on other forums suggest that even when these specific product numbers were ordered online, users actually got the single rank versions due to the extremely low availability. Probably the only way to be sure you'll get the exact product number is by getting used RAM from Ebay.

My advice is to get the dual-rank "CT2K32G4SFD832A" 64GB kit on the Crucial site. Otherwise try to find the older "CT2K16G4SFD832A" kit I mentioned above.

Either way, good luck with your upgrade!