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HP Recommended
HP Probook 430 G3
Microsoft Windows 10 (64-bit)

Hello.

 

I just recently bought a HP Probook 430 G3 with i5-6200U, 500 GB HDD and 4 GB RAM. I have several questions  regarding this product:

 

1. At startup, I  wanted to enter BIOS to check some of the specs. Due to a misunderstanding, in the Startup menu, I pressed the "Update System BIOS" option at the bottom. Based on an erroneous reading of HP manual, I thought it would open first a menu with the information about the BIOS. Instead, it told me something along the lines "HP cannot find the BIOS firmware bin files. Make sure you have the bin files in some (kind of) HP/Product/New folder on your HDD or a USB flash". I pressed ok and the laptop rebooted normally.

Can anyone tell me what was that all about? In my case, nothing really happened because I had no BIOS update files on HDD or USB, but shouldn't the user be asked at least for one confirmation before HP tries to update the BIOS? Or maybe that confirmation is asked AFTER HP find the necessary files? If HP goes straight to business, so to speak, when upgrading the BIOS, that's quite dangerous, because in this case it is quite easy to accidentally press the wrong command, no?

 

2. I found on the net conflicting information regarding the memory for my model: one manual says 430 G3 uses DDR3L memory, another says DDR4. Which is it?

 

3. The memory speed listed in Computer Setup is 2133 Mhz and, the Windows indicates the same speed, but programs like SandraSoftware or CPU-Z says that the installed memory is actually a DDR4-2400. Why is that? Did HP install a memory faster than the motherboard can support?

 

4. If I wish to add one additional memory module, which would be best?

 

5. Is it possible to replace the pre-installed memory with some of my own? I mean, if I decide to take out the 4 GB module in order to make room for two 8 GB modules. Would this be ok?

 

6. Regarding the BIOS: Mine is version N78 01.15. Computer Setup says it was installed on 7 November 2016. But why is the 01.15 BIOS version on the HP Support website listed as released on 12 December 2016?

 

Thanks in advance.

11 REPLIES 11
HP Recommended

Hi,

The confusion about the RAM arrises from the fact that there are HP Probook 430 G3 with DDR3 RAM and others with DDR 4 RAM. Yours have DDR 4 RAM.

 

There is not much difference between 2133 and 2400 RAM and they are the same prize, maybe that is why they are installed. However there might be an option to raise the speed of memory in BIOS.

 

You can install your own RAM, the best idea would be to get two identical sticks of RAM and in that way use dual-channel which your PC supports. Here are examples from Crucial. (but any brand will work as long as it is the right RAM)

http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/compatible-upgrade-for/HP-Compaq/probook-430-g3-%28ddr4%29

 

To greatly improve performance of notebook you could also consider installing an SSD.

 

About Bios, the update Bios procedure at the beginning is in place for situations where the OS is corrupted or the BIOS itself is somehow defective and can be updated with a USB flash drive. The date of BIOS I do not really know, maybe it was originally installed on the PC when built and only later the same Bios was released as update.

 

Hope it helps,

David

HP Recommended

Thanks for the help.

 

Regarding the SSD, thanks for the suggestion, but I'm no fan of SSDs. Storage capacity is far more important for me than speed, and, currently, SSDs are sorely lacking on this front, therefore I deliberately avoid them. Besides, the main benefits of SSD are faster boot times mostly (but something I don't really care about) and maybe faster loading times in demanding applications like new PC games (which this laptop is not capable of running anyway). IMO, SSD speeds would come in handy when transfering very large amounts of data, in range of hundreds of GB, but an SSD larger than 1 TB costs as much as an good PC, so it's a no go, as far as I'm concerned. There is also the problem that SSDs can lose data if not power up for a long time (3+ months), as far as I've heard.

 

Regarding the BIOS, that procedure is therefore for situation the user has messed up his BIOS? BTW, is there any tutorial about the steps it involves? I would like to know what steps would have followed had the respective command found a BIOS update file on a memory flash or HDD. (I don't have any intentions of updating the BIOS, btw, but I would like to familiarize myself with the commands in the Startup menu, in order to avoid any accidental mishap).

 

BTW: I see that in your link both DDR-2133 and DDR-2400 as listed as compatible with HP 430 G3. Since this laptop has an DDR-2400 pre-installed, does that mean you can use a DDR-2133 together with it (as long as both have the same voltage, which is 1.2 V). Also, Cas Latency has to be the same? Because the CAS Latency of the pre-installed memory is CL 18, and none of the memory modules in the link have CL 18, just CL 17 or CL 16.

HP Recommended

> Can anyone tell me what was that all about? In my case, nothing really happened because I had no BIOS update files on HDD or USB, but shouldn't the user be asked at least for one confirmation before HP tries to update the BIOS? Or maybe that confirmation is asked AFTER HP find the necessary files? If HP goes straight to business, so to speak, when upgrading the BIOS, that's quite dangerous, because in this case it is quite easy to accidentally press the wrong command, no?

 

If the BIOS-updating utility did find a new '.bin' BIOS file, it probably would have prompted you, with something like "current BIOS level is 123, and new BIOS level is 456, press OK to upgrade", or "the new '.bin' file is not valid for this computer", or "the new '.bin' file is older than the current BIOS; do you really want to proceed?".

 

If the user gets "confused" by the on-screen prompts, then we can hope that the user can just power-off the computer, to force an "abort" of the process, just as you did.

 

HP Recommended

@mdklassen wrote:

>

 

If the BIOS-updating utility did find a new '.bin' BIOS file, it probably would have prompted you, with something like "current BIOS level is 123, and new BIOS level is 456, press OK to upgrade", or "the new '.bin' file is not valid for this computer", or "the new '.bin' file is older than the current BIOS; do you really want to proceed?".

 

If the user gets "confused" by the on-screen prompts, then we can hope that the user can just power-off the computer, to force an "abort" of the process, just as you did.

 


Thanks for the feedback.

 

One minor point: technically, I did not abort the process per se; since the Bios Update Utility did not find any update file, it simply told me there aren't any and the process did not even begin. I was wondering whether there should have been any prompt before that, but your answer clarifies the matter.

Had the process begun, I would have let it run until the end, because isn't aborting the BIOS update process something which someone should never do, because it can make the motherboard unusable?

HP Recommended

Hi,

It will only find the Bios files if you specifically downloaded them for this purpose. Yes it used to be "kind of dangerous" updating BIOS especially with the media which was used at the time (Floppy disks). However nowadays it has more and more become like installing a program and usually there are fallback situations where it can recuperate on its own or through intervention (special key combinations or usb drive recover).

 

About the RAM, it is best to have same latency and speed for correct functioning of system, even though usually it will work with the lesser speed and there is a bit of leniancy in latency. In your case to make use of dual channel capabilities (and with low peize of RAM) I would replace both with the exact same type. You can buy kits which come in pairs such as 2 x 8GB, this will make your system the most stable possible.

 

Hope it helps,

David

HP Recommended

> Had the process begun, I would have let it run until the end, because isn't aborting the BIOS update process something which someone should never do, because it can make the motherboard unusable?

 

Doing a "BIOS Update" can be broken-down into several steps:

 

1. launching the utility to start the process -- can be aborted/cancelled;

2. finding the new '.bin' file -- can be aborted/cancelled;

3. verifying that the new file matches the motherboard -- can be aborted/cancelled;

4. verifying the check-sum of the BIOS, to avoid using a corrupted file -- can be aborted/cancelled;

5. asking the user whether they want to make a "backup" of the current BIOS -- can be aborted/cancelled;

6. writing that "backup" file  -- can be aborted/cancelled;

7. asking the user to confirm the "current" and "final" levels of the BIOS -- can be aborted/cancelled;

8. loading the new '.bin' file into the BIOS -- the critical step;

9. rebooting the computer after the new BIOS has been loaded.

 

Only one step is "critical" -- hopefully, the computer does not lose AC electrical power during that one step.

 

HP Recommended

> 3. The memory speed listed in Computer Setup is 2133 Mhz and, the Windows indicates the same speed, but programs like SandraSoftware or CPU-Z says that the installed memory is actually a DDR4-2400. Why is that? Did HP install a memory faster than the motherboard can support?

 

Yes.  Most RAM has a small SPD ("Serial Presence Detect") chip, which contains a "Timing Table", e.g.,

 

Capture.JPG

 

that enumerates the various speeds that the RAM supports.

So, your "2400" RAM has declared that it will run at "2133" speed.

 

> 4. If I wish to add one additional memory module, which would be best?

 

 

The best is one that exactly matches the manufacturer and speed of the current stick of RAM.

Also "good" is one that exactly matches the speed of the current stick of RAM.

 

> 5. Is it possible to replace the pre-installed memory with some of my own?

> I mean, if I decide to take out the 4 GB module in order to make room for two 8 GB modules. Would this be ok?

 

 

Definitely OK, but probably more expensive to buy 2 sticks (and set aside the original stick) than to buy just 1 stick.

 

6. Regarding the BIOS: Mine is version N78 01.15. Computer Setup says it was installed on 7 November 2016.

> But why is the 01.15 BIOS version on the HP Support website listed as released on 12 December 2016?

 

Possibly, that level was used "internally" within HP for a month before HP "released" it to the general public.

 

 

HP Recommended

 


 

 

> 4. If I wish to add one additional memory module, which would be best?

 

 

 

Also "good" is one that exactly matches the speed of the current stick of RAM.

 

> 5. Is it possible to replace the pre-installed memory with some of my own?

> I mean, if I decide to take out the 4 GB module in order to make room for two 8 GB modules. Would this be ok?

 

 

Definitely OK, but probably more expensive to buy 2 sticks (and set aside the original stick) than to buy just 1 stick.

  


Well, that's because, if I decide to upgrade the RAM, your answer to point 4 can represent a problem. As you said, "The best is one that exactly matches the manufacturer and speed of the current stick of RAM." Thing is, HP used a rather exotic type of RAM, Hynix Hyundai DDR-2400 with CL 18, which isn't easily available on the market. Since RAM is rather cheap, it's better to simply buy my own identical modules, to avoid any potential headaches. While I might be able to find a Hynix DDR-2400 "somewhere", I'm not willing to waste time scouring the deep pits of all the online sellers for what is basically a trifle.

HP Recommended

> Thing is, HP used a rather exotic type of RAM, Hynix Hyundai DDR-2400 with CL 18, which isn't easily available on the market

 

http://www.bing.com/search?q=Hynix+Hyundai+DDR-2400

 

1. $72 CDN -> http://www.memorydepot.com/detail/ACT4GHU64B8H1600H.html

 

2. US $28 -> http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hynix-4GB-PC3-12800-DDR3-1600MHZ-204PIN-SODIMM-Laptop-Memory-1600-Notebook-R... ("free shipping")

 

3. $21.58 -> http://www.memoryamerica.com/b4u36at.html

 

4. http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/ct102464bf160b  --->  Use the "will it work for my system" to search for 100% compatible RAM

 

QED

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