I keep buying the wrong RAM

[s1ice]

Dear Broadbanders,

I keep buying the wrong F-ing notebook RAM! Twice now I've gotten a RAM stick that fits but just doesn't work. I basically just need another stick to complement the 4GB bugger that I have:




The other sticks I bought fit in my notebook, but neither work by themselves, nor together with my existing stick. Here's one I bought from Takelot. In the picture, it looks much more similar to my working one. But IRL it looked really different and also didn't work.

Where can I find this guy a soul mate? I don't mind (actually, I prefer) secondhand.

 

[ichigo]

Did you force the ram in or did it slot in easily and did you check the bios settings if it is reading it in there?

 

[nicbst]

I have two Transcend 4G 2Rx8 DDR3 1333 SO units, if you are in Pretoria and want to try them despite being a bit slower.

 

[ponder]

Laptop make & model?

 

[Corelli]

It's called being an idiot

Sorry but it is.

Have you tried to check for the Kingston memory compatibility or Transcend memory compatibility sites. Each provider has its own one as to which ram works with what.

So you get 1.5v vs 1.35v.
You get single side or double sided.
Then you get different speeds.

And although it may be the same looking chip it may not work. Also firmware only allows for a certain limit of ram. Some older ram supports upto 2gb, others to 4gb, others much more.

So the real question is what laptop make and model you have. All notebook ram are small generally. So they will all basically look the same if you don't know which to get exactly.

 

[Corelli]

https://www.transcend-info.com/Support/compatibility


I have always been a big transcend fan in specific system pcs.

But if you like adata.

http://www.adata.com/us/support/mcs/

 

[sajunky]

So you get 1.5v vs 1.35v.

^This.
Your memory is DDR3L (low voltage) 1.35V. A new module is a standard voltage DDR3 1.5V. If your laptop require DDR3L, it won't work.

Search for DDR3L module. If you get dual rank module (some call it double sided), it will work in dual channel mode (slightly faster). Frequently is marked 2Rx16 instead of 1Rx16 somewhere on the sticker.

 

[s1ice]

Thanks for the the really useful feedback everyone! I'll go ahead and buy some DDR3L then.

 

[Pitbull]

Thanks for the the really useful feedback everyone! I'll go ahead and buy some DDR3L then.

Also make sure you have 64x Windows.

You will only be able to see the other 4GB in the bios if on a 32x OS.