G74 and 8GB Memory DIMMs...

[fostert]

And the Lenovo with the 2630QM runs 32GB:
http://asia.cnet.com/product/lenovo-...m-45483516.htm

And as mentioned these guys http://www.powernotebooks.com/ASUS-C...ks-cat-65.html will outfit the G74 with 32GB (even the ones running with the 2670, which has identical specs according to ark.intel to the 2630, except 200 MHz more...).

BTW, until just a few weeks ago that same ark.intel page on the 2630 claimed that the max memory compatible with the 2630 was 8GB! Check out
http://communities.intel.com/thread/...art=0&tstart=0

so I'm not sure if ark.intel is trustworthy.
I think if it doesn't work it'll be a G74 BIOS issue, and not any crippling of the 2630's memory controller by Intel (I've never even heard that they do that!).

So, we'll see when I get around to this. Looking like a weekend thing.

[bsawchuk]

Remember that the information released by intel is only information current at the time of release, they do not update once BIOS updates are released so only the defaults are posted.

[fostert]

Well I spent the AM installing and testing various configs of 4GB SODIMMs and my new 8GB SODIMMs from NCIX. The results are in...

The G74SX and core i7 2630QM **CAN** use 32GB of RAM! Attached are two screenshots (from my point-and-shoot camera) to prove it: one is a shot of my BIOS (v 203) front screen showing the amount of RAM detected by the BIOS, and the second is a shot of memtest+ testing my new sticks. Linux boots fine and happily reports all 32GB to be present and accounted for, and stupid Windows HP of course can see the 32GB but reports only 16GB usable. No matter-its a windows limitation.
Also tested the system with 2x8GB and 2x4GB in the other two slots (total 24GB): works terrific as well in the G74.

I haven't let memtest run through a single whole pass yet, but will be doing the standard 3-pass test this afternoon (testing 32GBs will take several hours) to make sure these sticks are good.

For everyone here who may be interested in the upgrade to 32GB one day, the sticks are Corsair (CMSO8GX3M1A1333C9) 1x8GB DDR3-1333 MHz 9-9-9-24 204 pin. I realize its overkill for most users, but for my purposes with this notebook (data processing and research) it moves the G74 from desktop-replacement to the realm of workstation-replacement.

I had a feeling....the $400 risk was well worth it.

4x4GB Samsung 1333 DDR3 for sale...!

[BrodyBoy]

Linux boots fine and happily reports all 32GB to be present and accounted for, and stupid Windows HP of course can see the 32GB but reports only 16GB usable. No matter-its a windows limitation.

That's the published limit for Windows Home Premium, so not a surprise or legitimate criticism.. Simply upgrading takes it to 192Gb.

[fostert]

Further to my experiment: the sticks all check out fine with memtest86, and surprisingly the bandwidth (14GB/s) is the same with 32GB as it is with only 8 or 16GB of installed. There was some chatter around the intel forums that for programs that use above 16GB the 2630QM would run the RAM in single-channel mode (which should mean a drastic penalty in bandwidth), but that does not seem to be the case: my fortran compile test uses 36GB of real and virtual memory (32GB physical +4GB swap) and timing indicates the same bandwidth even when all 32 is being used.

So it looks like good news all around for 32GB and the G74SX...now if only ASUS would release a BIOS to allow performance seekers to use 16GB of the performance DDR3 out there, like the stuff corsair has just released in their vengeance line!

[MarshallR@ASUS]

Color me surprised! Great find fostert!

[eurgbp2011]

Great research I am going to upgrade too!
I really need 32GB Ram for large data processing in strategies generator software
I though 16GB RAM is a lot, but turned out
RAM IS NEVER ENUFF!

[AQUASTEVAE]

i love it when someone stands up to the powers that be, and proves them wrong. most of the time, they are just trying to protect their roadmap, so that they can maximize the value of extended releases. thanks for taking the chance fostert! i wish i would have seen this before coming back to fiji.

[fostert]

i love it when someone stands up to the powers that be, and proves them wrong. most of the time, they are just trying to protect their roadmap, so that they can maximize the value of extended releases. thanks for taking the chance fostert!

< blush > kind acknowledgements! Yeah, I can imagine why ASUS would underrate their notebooks, to discourage owners from future upgrades of their old hardware and encourage them to upgrade to totally new hardware! Especially those that buy the best to begin with...companies assume then that you'll always want the best and be willing to abandon your old systems completely.

i wish i would have seen this before coming back to fiji.

Actually I wish I hadn't done this for a few more days...I paid $120 per stick to NCIX, now less than a week later the cursed things are down to $90 each. Blast.

[GottiBoi55]

Yes, I agree .....you put 32g in the G74, but only 16g of that will be used
as per asus it's not supported
see spec. page
http://www.asus.com/Notebooks/Gaming...specifications

I guess I didn't make myself very clear......sorry
I meant I agree 32G will work, but per "Asus" only 16G is supported