Max RAM capacity---what happens if you exceed it?

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zenrunner92

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I have an Asus ULV-50VT and according to the Asus website, it supports up to 4GB of RAM, which is what it came with.

What would happen if I were to disregard that and install 8GB?

Has anyone here ever done that, exceeded the OEM's stated max memory capacity? If so, what happened? Did it refuse to boot up, read only 4GB, or was it actually ok?

Just wondering, because I don't want to fork out $30-50 for the 8GB for nothing...

Runs ok, but I would like to make it a little faster, and right now a memory upgrade seems to be a lot cheaper than an SSD.
 
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I've never installed more then the recommended amount of RAM. I would assume that it would either refuse to boot or only register 4 GB. However to use 8GB of RAM you will need to make sure you install Win 7 x64 if you laptop is using the 32 bit version.

Not very many programs will actually use 4+GB of RAM so you won't see much benefit just by having more.. IMO you'd be much better off with an SSD or even a faster HDD (like seagate's hybrid series.) Most laptops come with crappy 5400rpm drives which slow access.

farrengottu

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it will only see 4GB. ive heard cases where it sees 4.5GB but never seen it in person. SSDs do very little. programs start a little faster, games load faster. and windows starts faster but that movie will still take forever to convert. and your games still look the same.
 

PsyKhiqZero

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I've never installed more then the recommended amount of RAM. I would assume that it would either refuse to boot or only register 4 GB. However to use 8GB of RAM you will need to make sure you install Win 7 x64 if you laptop is using the 32 bit version.

Not very many programs will actually use 4+GB of RAM so you won't see much benefit just by having more.. IMO you'd be much better off with an SSD or even a faster HDD (like seagate's hybrid series.) Most laptops come with crappy 5400rpm drives which slow access.
 
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zenrunner92

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Thanks, guys...I guess I'm stuck with things as they are then, unless I switch over to Ubuntu and slap in an SSD.

@ christop: yes, Asus hasn't had any new bios updates since the time I bought it.

@ farrengottu: I thought that SSDs make a huge difference? I do zero gaming or movie conversion, just mundane Internet/Office/multimedia stuff. I may have gotten a little spoiled from using an Ubuntu laptop the last few months at work, though.

@ PsyKhiqZero: The Asus runs on Win7 x64 already, which is why I was hoping I could override the OEM's stated limit, but I guess that limit is based on the mobo not the OS. Have replaced the OEM 5400rpm Seagate HDD with a nice WD Caviar Black 7200rpm one, which did help a bit.
 

Pyree

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Not the same model, but I had 2x1GB DDR2 ram left after a laptop was broken (not ram fault) and I installed on a friend's laptop and which exceed the limit and it wouldn't boot until I put the old ram back in. The ram was then installed onto my sister's laptop. I won't rule out the possibility of a successful boot but with extra ram not recognized, but no boot is a real possibility.

If you can afford an ssd, go for it. I am much happier with my laptop's performance after ssd upgrade. The fast boot up gives you better mobility (e.g. 5 minutes until bus arrive, and you can boot it up within 30 seconds, go online to check email for 3-4 minutes and shutdown in 10, still gives you time to put it back to bag when bus arrive). You can most certainly not do that with HDD.

After my laptop got an ssd, I don't go back to HDD anymore and actually get an ssd for desktop as well and I have yet to meet a user on this forum who don't appreciate the performance boost of getting an ssd upgrade.

 

farrengottu

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the ssd is just a drive, once you load the program, its in your ram. and the ssd wont make it faster unless its a program that constantly uses the drive. which is rare. it wont make surfing the web any faster.
it will let you save faster in office, but really, how long does it take now. 2 seconds? and for multimedia the movie only needs to be faster if its skipping, and for the hard drive to be the problem. it would have to be 10 years old maybe older to be slow enough to not stream a 1080p movie. way older to not be able to stream a song. but even then most media players have buffers built into them. much like youtube so that skipping wont happen. like
if your using your drive a lot for something while watching a movie. you dont want it to skip so they put that buffer in.
 

Pyree

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ssd on a laptop is a special case. Don't think in a desktop usage mindset. Since laptop runs on battery and you are on the move, you often turn it on, complete your task, then turn it off. ssd make a big difference.

 

PsyKhiqZero

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Also SSD use less power (even if just a little less), considering that he has a ULV cpu that may help with batter life. Also since a SSD doesn't have spinning disk the laptop is safer to move around. Also if he indeed is using more then 4GB for what he does then his system is prolly using virtual memory which runs off the HDD. Since that is all random access SSD can really help there as well.

I would also like to ask if the OP tried using Ready Boost. It's been proven to show access improvement plus is a cheap upgrade if you have a small yet recent 2 to 4GB USB drive lying around.
 

Pyree

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^can't tell if using less power because I went from 1 HDD laptop to 1 SSD + 1 HDD. But just to name a few: applying system update, installing new program, window start up and program start up (1st time) is much much faster. The ready boost is not even close (had 4GB class 10 sd card, so no flash drive sticking out, for ready boost before going ssd). And yes, the operation shock and vibration limit will be greater (although no in my case because I have internal HDD for storage).
 

PsyKhiqZero

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Pyree did you notice an improvement with ready boost vs. running w/o it? I was only suggesting the OP give it a try on the account it's a cheap fix. I want to be clear that Ready boost is not a substitute in any way for a SSD.
 

misry

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You'll will see a big difference with an SSD, well worth the under $100 you can get a 64G for anymore. Of course you won't see a difference in *how* the program works or the speed of the Internet but you'll easily feel that things are much snappier now. Be sure to optimize the W-7 install for SSD's and feel the speed. If 64G isn't big enough for you get some memory sticks, my keyring of dongles gives me an excuse to have a lanyard that says "I <3 boobies!".
 

dyep

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I've upgraded my 2GB 1066 to 4GB 1333 and now to 8GB 1333. I thought I was stuck only on a 1066MHz but after trying these upgrades, nothing was lossed but much was gained. Using the Windows Experience Index, I used to have 5.7 and now it is 6.7 RAM rate and I used to have a VRam of 763MB now it is 1.7GB. The difference is not just numbers, you'll feel the speed.

May I then suggest to zenrunner to befriend your hardware shop dealer and ask if they can try in your laptop your desired upgrade and if it matches, you'll surely enjoy the benefits.

dyep
Asus Aspire 4740 i5 430M, 8GB 1333 DDR3
 

ttyyuu12345

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SSDs are geared towards faster data transfer rates and lower power demand. It will help your operating system run faster and conversions depend on the program you are using but SSDs make a huge differance.
Steady state drives Cannot make games look better because that is the job of the ram/video card/monitor
 
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