[SOLVED] Problem With Asus Laptop RAM MHz

[Volvith]

Hi everyone,

 

I am looking for RAM sticks to upgrade my laptop with.

The laptop in questions is an Asus N56JN-CN038H.

The current ram: ASU16D3LS1KFG/4G

These sticks are 800MHz, and i am unable to find any seller in the Netherlands that has 2x8gb SO-DIMM DDR3 RAM @800MHz and 1.35 volts.

 

So i was wondering exactly how bad of an idea it is to just buy 1600MHz ram, at 1.35 volts. :3

 

I'm just looking for a bit of added info, like whether 8gb sticks on 800mhz even exist, where to find them, maybe the maximum mhz supported by my laptop at 1.35mhz, product numbers of examples, etc.

Basically, whatever relevant info you have to add, add it, because i'd like to hear it.

 

Cheers!

[Archemedus939]

You may find the sticks that you have ARE 1600Mhz, but the OS shows it as 800Mhz, its the same with mine. I have 1866Mhz RAM but Windows only shows it as 933Mhz.

[WWicket]

Typically the worst that will happen using faster ram is it will underclock to the highest supported speed.

[Volvith]

Just now, Archemedus939 said:

You may find the sticks that you have ARE 1600Mhz, but the OS shows it as 800Mhz, its the same with mine. I have 1866Mhz RAM but Windows only shows it as 933Mhz.

I just found that out, in Speccy, after the mhz, it listed PC3-12800, which refers to 1600mhz memory.

Thanks either way, as this actually confirms my suspicions!

 

Cheers mate, thanks a lot! :3

[Oshino Shinobu]

Your RAM is 1600MHz effective clock. The actual clock is 800MHz, which is what a lot of system profilers will show. Once you take into account DDR (Double Data Rate), it becomes an effective clock of double the actual clock, in this case 1600MHz. 

 

EDIT: Basically, the RAM is running at 800MHz. However, because it is DDR memory, it performs two operations per cycle. Another way of interpreting that is by doubling the clock rate as if it were performing a single operation per cycle. In that sense, 800MHz DDR is the same as 1600MHz performing a single operation per cycle. Higher numbers sound better, so manufacturers advertise the effective clock. 

[Volvith]

Just now, WWicket said:

Typically the worst that will happen using faster ram is it will underclock to the highest supported speed.

Oh, i was under the impression that it just wouldn't run...

Well, in that case, that settles it. :3

 

Another question, actually, have you ever heard of Muskin Apple ram? o-0

Seems a bit shady, and i'm not gonna buy it as the crucial variant of the same type, which i need, is only 11 bucks more expensive, but still...

 

Thanks. ;)

[manikyath]

every time this comes up it reminds me of how much marketing BS DDR frequencies are, and how incredibly used we are to them

[Volvith]

2 minutes ago, Oshino Shinobu said:

Your RAM is 1600MHz effective clock. The actual clock is 800MHz, which is what a lot of system profilers will show. Once you take into account DDR (Double Data Rate), it becomes an effective clock of double the actual clock, in this case 1600MHz

Oh, so DDR2 @800 actual, would be 800 effective, while ddr3 would be 1600 effective.

Thanks.

[WWicket]

1 minute ago, Volvith said:

Oh, i was under the impression that it just wouldn't run...

Well, in that case, that settles it. :3

 

Another question, actually, have you ever heard of Muskin Apple ram? o-0

Seems a bit shady, and i'm not gonna buy it as the crucial variant of the same type, which i need, is only 11 bucks more expensive, but still...

 

Thanks.

Mushkin is a good brand. No idea what the 'Apple' is about, unless they are just marketing it as compatible with Mac Books (which tend to be  a bit picky with ram).

[Volvith]

Just now, manikyath said:

every time this comes up it reminds me of how much marketing BS DDR frequencies are, and how incredibly used we are to them

Sometimes i just wish that sometimes, just sometimes logic applied when it comes to hardware, but alas...

[Oshino Shinobu]

Just now, manikyath said:

every time this comes up it reminds me of how much marketing BS DDR frequencies are, and how incredibly used we are to them

It's even worse with GDDR5, which is 4x the actual clock as it's a type of QDR memory. 

[Volvith]

Just now, WWicket said:

Mushkin is a good brand. No idea what the 'Apple' is about, unless they are just marketing it as compatible with Mac Books (which tend to be  a bit picky with ram).

I'll take a look around just to be sure, thanks.

 

And Apple being picky is nothing new to my ears...

Just take a look at the price of an IMac.

Even i can create a build that outperforms it for less than 80% of it's price.

[Oshino Shinobu]

1 minute ago, Volvith said:

Oh, so DDR2 @800 actual, would be 800 effective, while ddr3 would be 1600 effective.

Thanks.

No, DDR2 with 800MHz actual is 1600MHz effective, just as DDR3 800MHz actual is. They are both Double Data Rate memory. 

[Volvith]

1 minute ago, Oshino Shinobu said:

It's even worse with GDDR5, which is 4x the actual clock as it's a type of QDR memory. 

404 logic not found.

Seriously, why not just stick to the ACTUAL speed, along with the (G)DDR identifier? T_T

[Volvith]

1 minute ago, Oshino Shinobu said:

No, DDR2 with 800MHz actual is 1600MHz effective, just as DDR3 800MHz actual is. They are both Double Data Rate memory. 

Oh well, i'm just gonna google this in that case...

Seems like there's more research to be done. :3

[Oshino Shinobu]

Just now, Volvith said:

404 logic not found.

Seriously, why not just stick to the ACTUAL speed, along with the (G)DDR identifier? T_T

Because 1600MHz sounds better than 800MHz. Same reason TV manufacturers advertise 600Hz (effective) refresh rates by the use of backlight strobing and post processing. Higher numbers sound better, even if you don't know what they mean. 

 

Also, in a sense, quoting the effective clock is better for consumers. For example, you could advertise 1000MHz (actual) DDR4 and 1000MHz (actual) GDDR5. If we assume people are informed about DDR's effective rate, they will likely assume that both are 2000MHz effective, which is not the case. DDR4 is 2000MHz and GDDR5 is 4000MHz as it's a type of QDR memory (quadruple data rate).

 

With effective clocks, the consumer doesn't need to know these things or calculate them. 

 

3 minutes ago, Volvith said:

Oh well, i'm just gonna google this in that case...

Seems like there's more research to be done. :3

The important part is DDR, not the revision (in terms of working out the clock speeds). Both DDR2 and DDR3 are revisions of DDR memory (as is DDR4). DDR (Double Data Rate) is the technology of performing two operations per cycle, allowing for the use of effective clocks. Both DDR2 and DDR3 (and DDR4) perform two operations per cycle, resulting in the same calculation for effective and actual clocks. They will almost always be advertised using their effective clock