Urgent query

[shubmina]

My laptop is HP omen ax001tx(Gaming Laptop). Specs are i7-6700HQ, 4GB DDR4 RAM( 1 slot is unused), 4GB NVIDIA DDR5 960M Graphics.

What is the maximum RAM upto which i can upgrade this laptop.

Is 4GB+4GB is good option or 4GB+8GB??
In which case i will get the maximum performance?

[old_geekster]

@shubmina, welcome to the forum.

Removed!!

[pl100]

Your link    http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c05357609      says 16 GB MAX, just an FYI. Does that mean the HP manual is wrong and these units can take 32 GB?

[shubmina]

Can u please tell which combination of ram would be best.... 8gb +4gb will be good or not?....currently it has 4gb and its not that fast

[pl100]

Sure, 8GB will help a lot.

My HP Omen 17.3 came with 12 GB, one 4GB and one 8GB. You should get the same brand and specs for the second stick, to make sure it is DUAL CHANNEL. You can get the Manufacturer and Specs with CPU-Z if you don't want to open the laptop to find out.

Note: The whole bottom of the laptop has to come off to get to the memory. That voids your warranty if you damage anything, from my reading of this forum.

Example below is  from my HP Omen 17-w053dx 

[shubmina]

Same brand is necessary???
Omen has 4gb samsung brand RAM
I m thinking of buying 8gb crucial ram...how to make sure it has dual channel or not??

[pl100]

I just told you. Download and install CPU-Z. It will tell you whether or not it is DUAL CHANNEL. I showed you in the picture where it says DUAL. You may not HAVE to use the same brand. Some MB's say you do. But the following are the requirements. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-channel_memory_architecture#Dual-channel_architecture

Modules rated at different speeds can be run in dual-channel mode, although the motherboard will then run all memory modules at the speed of the slowest module. Some motherboards, however, have compatibility issues with certain brands or models of memory when attempting to use them in dual-channel mode.

For this reason, it is generally advised to use identical pairs of memory modules, which is why most memory manufacturers now sell "kits" of matched-pair DIMMs. Several motherboard manufacturers only support configurations where a "matched pair" of modules are used. A matching pair needs to match in:

• Capacity (e.g. 1024 MiB). Certain Intel chipsets support different capacity chips in what they call Flex Mode: the capacity that can be matched is run in dual-channel, while the remainder runs in single-channel.
• Speed (e.g. PC5300). If speed is not the same, the lower speed of the two modules will be used. Likewise, the higher latency of the two modules will be used.
• Same CAS Latency (CL) or Column Address Strobe.
• Number of chips and sides (e.g. two sides with four chips on each side).
• Matching size of rows and columns.

[pl100]

Hi, I'm not sure where my first reply went, but I will try again. 

I showed you a utility that will show if your memory is running DUAL CHANNEL or not. CPU-Z

Here is a link to wikipedia regarding DUAL CHANNEL memory

Some motherboards, however, have compatibility issues with certain brands or models of memory when attempting to use them in dual-channel mode.

For this reason, it is generally advised to use identical pairs of memory modules, which is why most memory manufacturers now sell "kits" of matched-pair DIMMs. Several motherboard manufacturers only support configurations where a "matched pair" of modules are used. A matching pair needs to match in:

• Capacity (e.g. 1024 MiB). Certain Intel chipsets support different capacity chips in what they call Flex Mode: the capacity that can be matched is run in dual-channel, while the remainder runs in single-channel.
• Speed (e.g. PC5300). If speed is not the same, the lower speed of the two modules will be used. Likewise, the higher latency of the two modules will be used.
• Same CAS Latency (CL) or Column Address Strobe.
• Number of chips and sides (e.g. two sides with four chips on each side).
• Matching size of rows and columns.

Dual-channel architecture is a technology implemented on motherboards by the motherboard manufacturer and does not apply to memory modules. Theoretically any matched pair of memory modules may be used in either single- or dual-channel operation, provided the motherboard supports this architecture.

[old_geekster]

@pl100, welcome back to the forum.

From reading the specs in your original post, it appears from the first sentence that the memory is non-upgradeable by customer.