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bmpx · ‎02-24-2013

I want to upgrade my memory from it's current stock 8gb (4x2gb) to 16gb (4x4gb) and after researching this extensively the past few days I am unable to determine if this is even possible and what the pros/cons of upgrading to 16gb would be.

Also of note: I bought my G73JH-X3 brand new from TigerDirect back in 8/2010 and I have never upgraded any of the hardware in it - meaning everything in it at this time is all fully stock components.

The ASUS website and all literature/information I can find regarding the G73JH-X3 all say that it has a maximum of 8gb of memory. The i7-720QM Clarksfield cpu that comes stock with the system has an integrated memory controller that also is reported to have a max memory limit of 8gb and a total of two memory channels. So all of this so far would would tell me that even though the motherboard could support 16gb of memory (4x4gb) the cpu cannot see all 16gb, only 8gb and thus I would be wasting money and resources by installing 16gb of memory.

All of the Intel Mobile i7 Clarksfield 45w cpus (this group includes the i7-720QM, i7-740QM, i7-820QM and i7-840QM - and excludes i7-920XM and i7-940XM because these chips are 55w) are identical in regards to having only two memory channels supporting a maximum of 8gb of memory - so even if I were to upgrade my cpu to say an i7-740QM I'd still have the max 8gb memory limit.

But what I find interesting (and confusing) is that ASUS released a limited-edition G73JW-ROG laptop that used the exact same motherboard as the G73JH with a stock i7-740QM and 16gb filling 4 sockets of DDR3 1333hz SODIMM memory chips. As I stated above the i7-740QM has a max 8gb memory limit (as reported by Intel) - so I wonder if either ASUS was advertising 16gb even though the cpu could only use 8gb (which seems like false advertising to me) or that there is something here I am misunderstanding regarding the max 8gb limit either in regards to the cpu, ASUS system - or both.

Any information regarding this would be very helpful - I have searched the web for days to no avail - I read of people getting 16gb to work in their system, but I wonder if all 16gb are being utilized by the cpu and if not what they are doing with the extra 8gb. Any information too on cons to running 16gb over 8gb would be helpful too - all I can gather is that when shutting down/starting up (and sleeping/waking) - those times could be slightly longer because the OS is caching/saving the memory to disk and takes slightly longer than if only caching 8gb. Also, assuming I get the same volt chips (1.35v I believe) would having 16gb take about the same amount of resource power as 8gb (sorry this isn't a well formed question - I just wonder what cons I would have to running 16gb both in time and power/resources). I understand that most people don't need 16gb and 8gb is enough but I use my laptop professionally and multitask a lot - watching current memory usage I see I bump up against the 8gb limit often and could see a great benefit from upgrading to 16gb.

Some links to reference for what I've stated above:

Intel's i7 Clarksfield CPUs:
http://ark.intel.com/products/codename/29898/Clarksfield

ASUS G73JH-X1 Specs (from TigerDirect):
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5725517
ASUS G73JH-X1 Spects (from ASUS website):
http://rog.asus.com/notebook/17-inch/g73jh/

Limited Edition ASUS G73JW-ROG Specs (from Amazon website - comes stock with 16gb):
http://www.amazon.com/G73JW-ROG-Limited-Edition-Republic-17-3-Inch/dp/B004BA73XW/ref=cm_cd_ql_qh_dp_...

Thanks - any help here would be greatly appreciated.

Pitcher1 · ‎02-24-2013

if you want to upgrade it, it is ok, but ASUS will not promise it is using normal, because it is over our spec.

bmpx · ‎02-24-2013

Mike, thank you for the reply. I understand it is over spec - but I'm curious, will it "work"? Meaning, will I get the full 16gb of memory that can be used normally, exactly like the current 8gb I have installed (and with this I also assume that the new ram I get will be identical in every way to the stock ram - except will be 4gb instead of 2gb). If it won't work exactly the same (ie all the cpu will see is 8gb) then what is going on with the additional 8gb?

And is there any explanation to why the i7 Clarksfield CPUs - defined by Intel to have 2 memory channels and a max of 8gb memory - is there an explanation to why the G73JW-ROG laptop would have stock 16gb of ram? How would this be possible?

Sorry if I'm not very clear - I assume I can put 16gb in my motherboard - I believe this is 100% true and it will accept it - but what will happen if I do? Will my cpu only use 8gb - and if so what happens to the other 8gb?

bmpx · ‎02-28-2013

I thought I would report what I found for anyone pouring through the posts across the web on this subject.

The short answer I found to this is: "Yes" - it will work. And I am planning to purchase an additional 8gb (2x4gb) memory modules and will report if they "work" in my system or not.

I ended up calling ASUS, Intel and Crucial on this. Intel's response to this was most important to me too because if their CPUs onboard memory controller couldn't see more than 8gb of ram then an upgrade over 8gb wouldn't be worth it. But - Intel support did tell me that when they produced their specs it was based on current available HW - AND (big one here for me) theoretically it could see more than 8gb, even up to 16gb, if the software drivers from my laptop manufacturer were written to support this. Thus he clarified - the limitation was in software, and not in hardware. This pretty much told me, along with all the other research I've found on the web regarding this subject, that it is possible to upgrade past 8gb and up to 16gb.

Then also I called Crucial - on their website they stated that the G73JH was capable of having up to 12gb of ram (more on this in a second). So I called Crucial and they stated very definitively to me that because they rigorously test all computers they have on their site - that they assured me that as far as their tests showed that the G73JH could have up to 12gb of ram. This told me again that the 8gb Intel limit wasn't true as well. The catch here with Crucial and their 12gb is - the G73JH has 4 memory slots but only 3 are accessible from the back panel. To get to the 4th slot you'll have to dissemble your entire laptop to flip the motherboard over and replace the memory slot. OH - and in regards to this, I would recommend referencing how the memory slots are paired on the G73JH (ie I think it's 1 and 3 - 2 and 4) - this way if you have 4x2gb in it (as I do) you can keep the hard to get slot as a 2gb and make sure it's paired 2gb ram module is also in the right slot.

Secondly I called ASUS - they didn't tell me for sure if I could or could not, but they said it was theoretically possible. Probably the least informative of the phone calls I made. I understood this to mean: "We don't support you going over spec, but it's your laptop and it could possibly work - You're on your own.".

Anyway - I hopes this helps someone here with this - I read so many posts and never read one definitively either way. I'll report back as well when I get my new 2x4gb modules installed.

jim2527 · ‎04-12-2013

bmpx wrote:
I the G73JH has 4 memory slots but only 3 are accessible from the back panel. To get to the 4th slot you'll have to dissemble your entire laptop to flip the motherboard over and replace the memory slot. OH - and in regards to this, I would recommend referencing how the memory slots are paired on the G73JH (ie I think it's 1 and 3 - 2 and 4) - this way if you have 4x2gb in it (as I do) you can keep the hard to get slot as a 2gb and make sure it's paired 2gb ram module is also in the right slot.

Let me sart by saying i'm an extreme novice when it comes to computer tech and jargon. Long story short.....while cleaning my G73 (it was overheating with the fan constantly running at extremely high speeds) I stubled upon the memory slots.

Under the cover only 2 of the 3 slots have memory installed, i pulled one out and it appears each slot has 2gb of memory. when i check my system spec with windows it say i have 6gb of memory. Does this mean I have 2gb in visible slots 1, 2 and hidden slot 4?

So my main question, if I want to bump up my memory how should I go about it? I'm absolutely am NOT going to take my laptop apart. I understand 'slot pairing' so I'm a little confused because if I have 3 2gb chips then somethings not paired. And how are the slots numbered? From upper to lower or lower to upper?

Any recommendation on brand or is it all the same?

Thanks,

Jim

Cjseanz · ‎03-18-2013

Hi I just read the issue above and I had a question I was wondering if I can change the hard drive to an a SSD ,if that is a es which one do you recommend ? I heard that it drastically change the way that the laptop booted ( from 114 seconds to 33 seconds) . Please help me,let me know if its correct or not or what kind of upgrades should I do to optimize my machine. Thank you!! 🙂

indianacarnie · ‎12-21-2013

Cjseanz wrote:
Hi I just read the issue above and I had a question I was wondering if I can change the hard drive to an a SSD ,if that is a es which one do you recommend ? I heard that it drastically change the way that the laptop booted ( from 114 seconds to 33 seconds) . Please help me,let me know if its correct or not or what kind of upgrades should I do to optimize my machine. Thank you!! 🙂

Yes you can. The performance boost is very noticeable too. My boot time is under 20 seconds now. Upgrading to an SSD is the best bang for the buck imho. More memory helps, but with an SSD your machine will FLY. I use and recommend the M4 from Crucial, but the Samsung Pro series is faster and will be my next upgrade.

G74Sx BBK-8 Crucial M4 128GB.SSD/W.D.500Gb.@7200 HHD 16GB. RAM Stock otherwise.

An End,even with Terror is better than Terror without End. F.Nietzsche

jwilfong · ‎01-08-2014

I upgraded my G73JW to 16GB (4x4GB) with 1866Mhz Corsair Vengeance memory. Works great!

LDBeshear · ‎01-12-2016

Cjseanz wrote:
Hi I just read the issue above and I had a question I was wondering if I can change the hard drive to an a SSD ,if that is a es which one do you recommend ? I heard that it drastically change the way that the laptop booted ( from 114 seconds to 33 seconds) . Please help me,let me know if its correct or not or what kind of upgrades should I do to optimize my machine. Thank you!! 🙂

I recently cloned the existing mechanical HDD to a Samsung 850 EVO 1TB (they're $340 right now, but the Pro 850 [$480] version is probably a better choice if you can afford it). I used a free cloning (and backup) program called EaseUS TODO Backup Free 9.0 (but others will work). The G73JH has two internal drive slots so you can put the target drive into the extra bay and clone away. It took several hours, but it was successful. You should verify that the optional drivers for AHCI have been pre-installed by the OS. This a good link to an explanation, but there are others:
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/61869-ahci-enable-windows-7-vista.html
I found that the drivers were installed, but the BIOS was running the drive in IDE mode. Be sure to change the BIOS to use AHCI if it's not already enabled. I did both of these fixes and found the HDD boot time decreased by a factor of 2-3. Once this change was made, I then used TODO to make the clone and shut the machine off when the cloning was complete. I switched the drives (removing the HDD and installing the SSD in its place), and the SDD booted 2-3 times quicker than previous increase by using AHCI. My G73JH now boots with Steam and Outlook starting up at boot in around 2.5 minutes. Much better than the 18-20 minutes before the changes.

pineappleXpress · ‎03-28-2013

I just installed 16gb's in mine. Freaking awesome and windows reports they are all there.

Stock G73JH-X3 CPU and Memory Upgrade Advice