Ok, RAM confusion, even after looking at the manual. Might be easy to answer however. I have options

[daveaphoto]

Ok, so I have the 15-ba061dx 

I went to Crucial.com to look for memory, and they said I need DD3 ram??? But the manual (and verification on one of these forums was that I need DD4 ram) 

So, I was looking at this:

Ballistix Sport LT 16GB Kit (8GBx2) DDR4 2400 MT/s (PC4-19200) SR x8 SODIMM 260-Pin - BLS2K8G4S240FSDK

According to the manual, it does support 2400 RAM. But...

1. SR or DR? 

2. There is another model that looks more powerful and is cheaper. It is 21300 and 2666 mt/s - would that even matter? Would the motherboard not even take advantage, and if so, would it even be noticable. I mean, yes its cheaper, but my concern is that it is too "powerful" for that laptop. 

Help? 🙂 

[Huffer · Accepted solution]

Here is the Manual:

Manual

For your model, which has an AMD A12 processor and is not a touchscreen, your RAM specs are in the first section about "Memory" on page 2. You need DDR4-2400 memory but the system will downclock it to 1866 mhz. 

Not sure what you are asking about the other memory or "SR or DR"? Memory compatiblity is not about how "powerful" the memory is, its whether its operating frequency matches the frequency of the processor as it handles data. 

You do not need "Sport" or "gaming" or "hyper" memory just get the ordinary DDR4-2400 SO-DIMM like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-PC4-19200-Unbuffered-SODIMM-260-Pin/dp/B01BIWMWVS/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&...

"How to" on memory upgrade is at pages 42-47.

Post back if you have more questions or please Accept as Solution if it is your answer. 

[daveaphoto]

My last question is in reference to the link that you sent me. 

On the list of options it shows DR (single rank) and DR (dual rank) 

It appears that you have SR selected, so I assumed this is sufficient. 

You also mentioned "You do not need "Sport" or "gaming" or "hyper" memory" 

Are you indicating that I can save money by not bothering with RAM like that? Or that I can get "just as good" performance with the RAM that you linked to? Or that it won't serve any purpose on the laptop I have, as the system wont treat is as "gaming" RAM? 

I appreciate all your help. 

- Dave 

[Huffer]

It will serve no purpose. Assuming the memory is compatible the system will run it at 1866 mhz. It will do that if you install regular memory or super hyper ballistic memory which could run at a much faster speed on another system. So yes it would be a waste of money and not make the laptop perform any better. 

My experience with DDR4, unlike DDR3 is that it is not real picky about single and dual rank configuration of the modules. 

Just to be super safe and OCD you can look at what is installed when you open it up and get the same thing but the Crucial single rank I linked to you will work. I have a DDR4 laptop running one dual rank and one single rank chip and they run in dual channel as if they were the same. 

[daveaphoto]

Fantastic. Thank you for your help.