What type of RAM do i have and should i upgrade with a DDR3L or DDR3 SODIMM?

[yoonghan]

I am currently having 8GB of RAM on my PC. How do i know if my current RAM is a DDR3 or DDR3L? 

If I want to upgrade, should i upgrade to a DDR3 or DDR3L? I'm afraid of the compatibility issues. I want to upgrade to 16GB since the maximum memory of my PC is 16.

[CherylG]

Your laptop uses DDR3L:

https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/hp-pavilion-15-ab000-notebook-pc-series/7771366/model/8189566/d...

[yoonghan]

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@CherylG wrote:

Your laptop uses DDR3L:

https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/hp-pavilion-15-ab000-notebook-pc-series/7771366/model/8189566/d...

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Even if it states only DDR3 here? And if i want to upgrade, which would be the best option

[CherylG]

DDR3 and DDR3L are basically the same- Except L is lower voltage ram which is what your laptop uses. DDR3L-1600.

http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/pavilion-15-ab071tx/CT9044098

[iomare · Accepted solution]

Hi,

DDR3L has lower voltage requirement than DDR3. However it can also run at 1,5V which is the voltage of DDR3. So DDR3L will run in systems which take DDR3 or DDR3L. However DDR3 will not always work in systems which were built for DDR3L.

Your computer supports max 16GB of DDR3L-1600Mhz (2x8GB) and not DDR3 which has higher voltage.

You can see on spec page for your device:

https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/hp-pavilion-15-ab000-notebook-pc-series/7771366/model/8189566/d...

You can also see the various configuration and steps to upgrade RAM on pages 2and 55 of service manual

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c04642845

Hope it helps,

David

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[yoonghan]

Does it mean I cannot upgrade to anything beyond 160MHz as well?

[iomare]

Correct. The RAM will always run at 1600Mhz. So even if you inserted faster RAM and if it worked it would still run at 1600Mhz. So the best option id to purchase DDR3l 1600Mhz RAM.

Hope it helps,

David

[yoonghan]

I see. Now I'm not sure if the type of RAM affects much on my PC performance, because I've seen a few especially between the Kingston HyperX impact and an ordinary ValueRAM.  I'm not sure which to go for, when some say that the HyperX is for overclocking? 

[iomare]

Yes, I would go with the value RAM from Kingston or Crucial as it will not make any difference to system performance.