Helios 700 - upgrade from 16GB to 32GB RAM - mixing different chips

Hi. My Helios 700 only came with 16GB RAM, and I want to upgrade to 32. There should be 2 slots free according to various reviews. The installed memory are 2 SK Hynix chips, according to CPU-Z. The store I use only has 2 compatible chips for my laptop, and the best one is this:
https://www.komplett.no/product/1141336/datautstyr/pc-komponenter/minnebrikker/hyperx-impact-ddr4-2666mhz-16gb

HyperX Impact DDR4 2666MHz 16GB

2x8GB 2666MHz DDR4 CL15

It doesn't appear to have the same timings (fairly close though), but it's the same speed and of course voltage. I've never mixed RAM chips before, but it shouldn't be a problem, right?

Accepted answers

JordanB

@Sehnsucht

Your existing Hynix ram benchmarks as "excellent".
The specs of your existing hynix is 2666 CL=19 JEDEC timings 19-19-19
The crucial ram in link below will work fine with your existing hynix in dual channel @2666 CL=19

https://www.komplett.no/product/1117071/datautstyr/pc-komponenter/minnebrikker/crucial-ddr4-2666mhz-8gb-sodimm#

https://www.skhynix.com/products.view.do?vseq=2488&cseq=75

https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/17147693

All comments

xapim

@Sehnsucht should always get sodimms same size/clock/cl and preferably brand to match what you already have for dual channel also you said I have 16gb I'm assuming that's 1x16 or is it 2x8?

Because if its 2x8 I would just try to sell them or just keep them as spare and I would get 2x16 instead don't mix 8 with 16

Sehnsucht

2x8 currently, yeah, so it can run dual channel. I was hoping to avoid having to dig way down in the laptop for the 2 chips that reside there now. I heard they sit further down than the maintenance hatch. But yeah, ideally I should just get 2x16 chips. I'm not much of a fan of cracking open brand new laptops, unless it has a simple maintenance hatch like the Helios 700.

But getting 2 similar chips is not an option, since no stores in my country sell them. Doesn't look like they are very good either.

Edit: looks like one just has to remove the entire back cover to expose the secondary (or primary) RAM slots.

JordanB

@Sehnsucht

Your existing Hynix ram benchmarks as "excellent".
The specs of your existing hynix is 2666 CL=19 JEDEC timings 19-19-19
The crucial ram in link below will work fine with your existing hynix in dual channel @2666 CL=19

https://www.komplett.no/product/1117071/datautstyr/pc-komponenter/minnebrikker/crucial-ddr4-2666mhz-8gb-sodimm#

https://www.skhynix.com/products.view.do?vseq=2488&cseq=75

https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/17147693

Sehnsucht

Hmm, yeah I thought about those but with no heat shields and slow timings, I figured they were poor quality compared to the ones I linked first. Then again, as far as I know, the fastest chips will run at the same timings as the slowest ones anyway.

Also, I was wrong about the second set of RAM slots being right under the cover. They are apparently hidden behind the frigging motherboard. Which means disassembling the cooling solution and basically everything. That's not going to happen. So my only option is to purchase as similar chips I can find as the ones already installed. I'll go for the Crucial ones - thanks!

xapim

Sehnsucht yes youre probably right in the 2019 models acer did the mobos reversed in some models that means some of the upgrade options are under the keyboard itself you would have to completely disassemble it to get to them

Sehnsucht

Yeah that's complete bs if you ask me. Only reason I can see for it is because they want the primary RAM slots as close to the CPU as possible (better performance and lower latency the closer they are physically to the CPU). Learned a bit about it at school, and it's very interesting.
But at least they kept the 2 easy to get to slots free. I ordered 2 of the chips JordanB recommended, last night. Also cracked open the laptop for the first time and threw in a 1TB 2,5" SSD. I have never worked on an easier laptop before. Literally just 2 screws to access the top 2 RAM slots, M.2 and a couple more screws for the 2,5" bay.

Finally starting to like the laptop now since I have fixed all the issues, to a degree. Really loving the built in 5.1 surround sound too - works surprisingly well in games. Speakers are quite useless for music though, but I have a proper HiFi setup for that, in my office.

RapidRanger66

Which RAM did you go with that works, as I want to upgrade my ram to 32GBs but no clue what to get.

Sehnsucht

RapidRanger66 said:

Which RAM did you go with that works, as I want to upgrade my ram to 32GBs but no clue what to get.

Crucial DDR4 2666MHz 8GB SODIMM

8GB 2666MHz DDR4 CL19 Unbuffered SODIMM

2 of these along with the existing 2 that came with the laptop. I've ran tens of benchmarks and memory stability tests, and no issues yet.

talon1812

I noticed the posting about having a 4TB Samsung SSD in the Helios 700. I just got mine yesterday and upgraded the 2 easy ram slots, but I don't see where there is an SSD. Where is it? I know to upgrade the ram fully to 64 GB, you have to take off the keyboard. Is the SSD also under there? I want to max mine out as much as possible. Can someone please tell me this? I wanted to buy an Acer Predator 21X, but apparently, no one one earth is selling one. I wanted to get the Helios 700, but thought it was too much. So I bought an MSI GF75 thin, to upgrade the memory and drives. Then I saw a used Predator 17 on E-bay and I bought that. So last week, I found a Helios 700 and bought that. So I've bought 3 gaming laptops in a month. The MSI upgrade went smoothly and I cloned the boot drive. However, after doing the ram and hard drive upgrades, my speakers stopped working. Nothing was damaged, so I don't know why they quit working. I had to send it back to MSI after only having it a week. I would sure like to know where the SSD bay is on the Helios 700, because it doesn't look to me like there is any room for one. So many speakers and the battery takes up almost half the space.
Thanks for any info on this.

Sehnsucht

talon1812 said:

I noticed the posting about having a 4TB Samsung SSD in the Helios 700. I just got mine yesterday and upgraded the 2 easy ram slots, but I don't see where there is an SSD. Where is it? I know to upgrade the ram fully to 64 GB, you have to take off the keyboard. Is the SSD also under there? I want to max mine out as much as possible. Can someone please tell me this? I wanted to buy an Acer Predator 21X, but apparently, no one one earth is selling one. I wanted to get the Helios 700, but thought it was too much. So I bought an MSI GF75 thin, to upgrade the memory and drives. Then I saw a used Predator 17 on E-bay and I bought that. So last week, I found a Helios 700 and bought that. So I've bought 3 gaming laptops in a month. The MSI upgrade went smoothly and I cloned the boot drive. However, after doing the ram and hard drive upgrades, my speakers stopped working. Nothing was damaged, so I don't know why they quit working. I had to send it back to MSI after only having it a week. I would sure like to know where the SSD bay is on the Helios 700, because it doesn't look to me like there is any room for one. So many speakers and the battery takes up almost half the space.
Thanks for any info on this.

Just remove the bottom cover and you'll find it. Don't remember if there are 2 covers on it or not; been a while since I did anything to it. But it's an extremely easy laptop to work with.

So to clarify, no keyboard disassembly required.

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