Maximum upgrades of RAM and HDD/SSD for Pavilion dv7-3109TX

[DaveWaddington]

I have a HP Pavilion dv7-3109TX acquired about 10 years ago and still going strong, although not getting a lot of use these days.

Processor: Intel Core i7-720QM processor with 1.60-GHz, SC turbo up to 2.80-GHz with 8-MB L2 cache
and 1333-MHz FSB

It comes installed with 4 GB of RAM (2 x 2 GB) and 2 x 500 GB HDDs.  I would like to upgrade the RAM and HDDs.

The maintenance and service guide says that the maximum possible RAM capacity is 8 GB (2 x 4 GB). However, I have read on these forums about other dv7 models which are capable of going to 16 GB, despite what is stated in the guides. Would this apply to my model?

I would like to swap the 2 HDDs for a 500 GB SSD and a 2 TB (or more) HDD. However, the maintenance and service guide says the maximum capacity is 2 x 500 GB HDD or a 128 GB SSD and a 500 GB SSD, with no option for mixing a SSD with a HDD.  Why these restrictions?  Any chance I may have more options here, too?

Thanks for any help.

Regards,

Dave

[banhien]

@DaveWaddington 

Welcome to HP Support Forum. You have 2 things you wish to upgrade: RAM and HDD

1. RAM  : However, I have read on these forums about other dv7 models which are capable of going to 16 GB

              That is true because DV7 has MANY generations, from dv7-0xxx, dv7-1xxx .... to dv7-7xxx which spanned over 6 or 7   years therefore 16GB option may not true for your machine.

2. HDD to SSD: Yes, you can upgrade the first one to 500 SSD and the second one to 2TB HDD (at this stage, over 2TB HDD's are thicker, won't physically fit to your machine). You can mix SSD and HDD

Regards.

[DaveWaddington]

Thank you, @Banhien.

1. RAM - I hear Banhien saying that 16GB option may not be an option for my machine.  How can I find out for certain? 

I read in another post that "Only notebooks with the 1st generation i7 quad core processors will run 16 GB of memory". My processor is i7 quad core and the laptop was purchased in 2009. Would this indicate that 16 GB is indeed viable?

2. HDD/SSD - So I can mix a 500 GB SSD with a  2 TB HDD. That's great.  Would there be any problem with me taking the SSD up to 1 TB? 

Banhien, I will be sure to follow your advice and not exceed 2 TB for the HDD.

Thanks.

Regards,

Dave

[Huffer]

Yes the 1st gen Intel Core Quads will run 16 gigs (2 x 8 gig DDR3-1066). On this model be sure to get low density (dual rank) chips as they are very finicky about their memory. There is no capacity limit on 2.5 inch disks in either bay. The only limit is what can be found to buy in the market. As @banhien  states, right now 2 TB are the largest capacity HDDs that are no thicker than 9.5 mm. I have seen 4 TB SSDs but frankly can't imagine spending that kind of money on a 10 year old laptop.  

[DaveWaddington]

Thanks @Huffer.  Yes, doesn't make sense going so overboard on the SSD.