Advice Upgrading Razer Blade (2018) Regarding Conflicting Information?

[Wiredchild]

I have a Razer Blade 15 2018 GTX1070 (RZ09-02385) with 16GB RAM, but have recently been having programs I use telling me I've run out of memory, particularly since upgrading to Windows 11.

I've therefore decided I need to upgrade the RAM but there seems to be lots of confliciting information regarding compatability. The Razer website says the unit supports up to 64GB 3200MHz, but I've read lots of conflicting information claiming it will only support up to 16GB and that the processor (Intel Core i7-8750H) only supports 2666MHz RAM, with some reports of people buying RAM for the laptop which is running slower than listed at 2400MHz.

So I'm pretty confused, especially as I'm not very experienced with these things. I'm fairly inclined to max the unit out to prevent any memory issues as long as possible, but am worried I will buy something that is incompatible or waste money on something that won't run at the speed it should/could.

Is someone smarter than I able to provide some clarity on this? And perhaps be kind enough to point me in the direction of a suitable RAM module for the upgrade.

Any help appreciated.

 

[Wiredchild]

Hi thanks so much for the detailed response, it is really appreciated. Is there a way I can check the chipset/die of the CPU and the BIOS, and would this indicate the capability of the laptop to utilise 3200MHz modules? As said the Razer website does say the laptop will take 64GB of 3200MHz (https://mysupport.razer.com/app/ans...”-advanced-(2018)-|-rz09-0238x-support-&-faqs)

I've had a look at the Kingston link and it does list '32GB DDR4 3200MT/s Non-ECC Unbuffered SODIMM' modules, although they are more expensive than on Amazon. It also says it is 'ValueRAM', does this imply an inferior quality or does it not really matter? I did read elsewhere to buy 'HyperX' RAM.

I'm also considering just buying 2666MHz RAM, as I know it will be compatible. Would there be a considerable difference in performance between the 2666MHz and 3200MHz (if compatible)?

And similarly, is 64GB overkill? For your information I use the computer for Autodesk BIM software (Revit), Adobe Creative Suite, occasional rendering software and casual gaming.

Thanks again.

 

[Wiredchild]

Thanks all for the responses, it's much appreciated. Particularly Tetras for the further detailed information.

I've done some further digging this week and concluded that my bios version (1.08) does not support XMP and thus any memory faster than 2666MHz will not be utilised at full-speed. It sounds like a sore subject reading across a few forums, which Razer introduced with this bios version. It's odd how they say on their own website that the unit supports 3200MHz, as that is apparently only on older bios.

Furthermore, I've decided I likely don't need 64GB after checking the task manager usage and don't work on massive BIM models which would utilise this either. I also read that games don't utilise more than 32GB.

So I've decided to go with 2666MHz 32GB, potentially this RAM as it has the lowest latency (CL15):

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kingston-I...efix=ddr4+2666+sodimm+32gb,aps,123&sr=8-12&th

Can I expect this module to work OK? Is it worth paying more for the faster latency over the valueRAM?