RAM Update

[AWOOD888]

Hello! I recently acquired HP Laptop 14-fq0xxx (SERIAL:5CD1037WJ8) , and I decided to upgrade the ram because it only has 4GB. In the manual it says I have 2 ram slots, and I require two 8GB rams to bring it to max (16GB). Upon opening the laptop, I could only see one slot for ram. Is there somewhere else the 2nd slot is? Can i just put in a 16gb RAM instead? Any insight on this would be appreciated! 

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Unfortunately, the service manual for that model series has a couple of inaccuracies in it.

Notebooks with the AMD 3020e processors only have one memory slot, and the manual indicates the max memory is 1 x 8 GB.

I do believe that other folks have installed a 16 GB memory chip in notebooks with that processor and it will work.

The other thing the manual indicates is the notebook's M.2 SSD slot will support NVMe SSD's but not so in the models that come with the 64 GB eMMC drives like yours has.

Your notebook's M.2 slot only supports SATA SSDs.

There are many posts documenting that discrepancy.

Here's how you can check if your notebook could potentially support a 16 GB memory chip in the single memory slot:

1. In the search box, search for cmd and click Run as administrator.

This will open the command prompt.

2. After the command prompt is opened, type wmic memphysical get maxcapacityEx and press the enter key.

There it will show the maximum RAM capacity your PC's motherboard can support.

The capacity is shown as Kilobytes, so you have to convert it to Gigabytes by dividing the number provided in the report by 1,048,576.

If the report indicates 33,xxx,xxx, then your notebook should support a 16 GB memory chip.

It reports 32 GB because it is picking up the circuitry for the missing second memory slot.

[AWOOD888]

Thank you so much!  I divided 33554432 by the number you gave me and i got 32. So I guess I'll give a 16gb ram a shot? I just wanted to make sure before i spent the money on another RAM. Sorry, I don't know a crazy amount about computers 😅 I really appreciate your guidance!! 

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

You're very welcome.

Yes, I would definitely give a 16 GB chip a shot since the report indicated 32 GB was supported.

This should be a compatible 16 GB memory chip.

Crucial 16GB Single DDR4 2400 MT/s (PC4-19200) DR x8 SODIMM 260-Pin Memory - CT16G4SFD824A : Amazon....