dstrakele wrote:
Here is a video of how to disassemble a G53SW: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ev8y8xlCdHE&feature=related

It shows how to remove the keyboard and bottom to access the dimms for a RAM upgrade, but they are installing a 2nd HDD in this video. Looks pretty involved to get to those dimms.... The first 2 dimms on the bottom don't look too hard to access, but if I'm not mistaken, the tech from Xotic says you need to remove a panel that will void the warranty to get at the 3rd dimm. I know I'd be farming this operation out to a knowledgeable shop rather than doing it myself.

Thanks for posting the video. So you have access to 2 dimms on the bottom side and 1 on the top side and the 4th is hidden beneath the metal shield under the keyboard. Is that right? Why did Asus hide the 4th dimm? I was hoping to add my 8gb ram to the existing ram, rather than swapping the existing ram out. Has anyone installed ram in the 4th dimm that could give me some insight on how difficult it might be?

Hopefully the one under the keyboard also is occupied. The 2 on the bottom are easy to access.

your 6 gigs of ram is probably the same as mine was. 3 2gig sticks. 2 in the back and one under the metal plate beneath the keyboard. Also, if your g53sw is anything like mine, if you mix and match any kind of ram or have them in awkward slot positions, you will be entering a world of hurt. BLUE SCREEN HELL. Took me months to figure it out. The disassembly procedure video from BTOtech in conjunction with the xotic pc video is the one I used to disassemble mine. Also, it was mentioned above that a full disassembly to access the 4th slot will void your warranty. THIS IS UNTRUE. If youll read the comments in the xotic pc video you will see that this concern is addressed. You will not void your warranty unless you mess with the gpu or cpu.

If you are trying to use all 4 slots, you WILL want to use 4 identical sizes, brands, speed, etc. of ram or you will regret it.


The combination of both the BTOtech video and xotic pc video will make the disassembly an easy job. The only thing I will caution on , which isn't described in either video, is the two ribbons on the top right of the mother board. These ribbons supply the power to the whole motherboard and are fastened using different style clips than the others (mouse pad ribbon, keyboard ribbon). They are held in place using downward pressure which allows the ribbon to make solid contact. They are a small clip and a large clip; they pull directly back, not upwards or to the side. you will see what could be clips (but arent) that are white. The two black retainers slide directly to the rear towards the screen. The removal of these two clips is not explained in the videos (the btotech video goes that far, but the guy from btotech is not very talkative and the xotic pc video doesn't go that far).


One more tip and ill let you go. Take 3 sheets of paper. Make drawings of each portion of the computer you are removing screws from and place the respective screws near the drawings. This will help in reassembly.



EDIT: I suggest using the xotic pc video as far as it goes before using BTOtech video. The guy from BTOtech likes to keep his secrets to himself for the most part.


Also, I would recommend doing the disassembly while you are watching the videos on a different computer. This way you can watch, pause and rewind as need be instead of trying to memorize all that is being said and done.

Just be sure to have a buddy video ya and then put it up on YouTube... ;>{)>

@azif
Thanks for all the help! So I'll end up leaving two of the original 2gb sticks and adding two more 4gb sticks for a total of 12gb ram. I saw in the manual it kind of explains which dimms to install which sticks into, so hopefully if I follow that correctly I won't have any blue screens going on. I'll be able to watch the video on my desktop as I open up the laptop, so that won't be a problem. I was considering setting up a tripod and recording myself as I take it apart that way if I get stuck when I go back to put it together I should be able to see where I set that screw I'm looking for. But with your drawing idea that should be sufficient, plus I don't have a good tripod (and apparently neither does BTOtech). My G53SW is waiting for me at home, UPS delivered it a few hours ago, can't wait to get into it!

just be warned that mixing and matching the sizes and brands of ram could be a potential problem. The intel boards in the g53sw are fickle in my experience (limited to one g53sw, but why would it be any different in an identical setup?) If you run into BSODs or crashes, you can pretty much be assured that it is the ram configuration. If you start getting BSOD that include, but aren't limited to: IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL, BAD POOL CALLER, BAD POOL HEADER< MEMORY_MANAGEMENT, etc, you will know its the ram. Running memtest86 overnight (will need to be burned and booted off a cd-r) will tell you whether there is a problem or not. I would recommend running memtest tonight after you swap everything out just to identify a problem sooner rather than later. It will need to be ran for over 8 hours. Ram configuration problems can be elusive and not readily apparent in my experience. Good luck to you.

azif wrote:
just be warned that mixing and matching the sizes and brands of ram could be a potential problem. The intel boards in the g53sw are fickle in my experience (limited to one g53sw, but why would it be any different in an identical setup?) If you run into BSODs or crashes, you can pretty much be assured that it is the ram configuration. If you start getting BSOD that include, but aren't limited to: IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL, BAD POOL CALLER, BAD POOL HEADER< MEMORY_MANAGEMENT, etc, you will know its the ram. Running memtest86 overnight (will need to be burned and booted off a cd-r) will tell you whether there is a problem or not. I would recommend running memtest tonight after you swap everything out just to identify a problem sooner rather than later. It will need to be ran for over 8 hours. Ram configuration problems can be elusive and not readily apparent in my experience. Good luck to you.

I'm not familiar with memtest86, where is a safe place to get it from? Not sure if I'll get into the RAM stuff tonight, probably tomorrow, I'll let you know how it goes, fingers crossed.

Also, I was planning on using a 128gb Crucial M4 SSD for my boot drive. This is my first experience with SSDs/boot drives. Can anyone point me to a reliable resource that explains the process. I want the user data and all data on the HDD, and just the OS and some specific programs on the SSD. I've read some articles online but I'm still not clear on how to make sure all the storage and media goes on the HDD and not on the SSD. Any help would be greatly appreciated.