DDR3 vs. DDR3L Compatibility | RAM upgrade on Aspire E5-473

DiscoDingo

Hey guys, need help. I just bought two (2) Samsung 4GB 2Rx8 PC3-12000S DDR3 1600MHz for a combined 8 gigs for an Acer Aspire E5-473-P8RB laptop. It's got a Pentium 3556U processor on v1.10 BIOS firmware. Unfortunately, the laptop doesn't appear to post with both sticks installed, only stuck on a continuous running fan with a blank display. Testing each module on slot #1 yields the same result. Reverting back to the OG 2GB Kingston PC3L-12000S DDR3L 1333MHz module, the laptop boots fine into Windows. As a test, mixing one 4GB stick with the 2GB only results with the 2GB one being seen by the BIOS.

Any advise you can give me? Upon checking and research, the processor should run with a DDR3 non-L module up to 1600MHz, but on some forums, they said otherwise, as it might be a board compatibility issue. Thank you for your help!

DiscoDingo

Attached are photos of the RAM modules:

brummyfan2

Hi,
I think your motherboard and CPU support only DDR3L modules.
https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/76621/intel-pentium-processor-3556u-2m-cache-1-70-ghz.html

Commodore_1995#

brummyfan2 said:

Hi,
I think your motherboard and CPU support only DDR3L modules.
https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/76621/intel-pentium-processor-3556u-2m-cache-1-70-ghz.html

The service manual also posts some misleading information. However, note that only 1.35v voltage is mentioned:

DiscoDingo

brummyfan2 said:

Hi,
I think your motherboard and CPU support only DDR3L modules.
https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/76621/intel-pentium-processor-3556u-2m-cache-1-70-ghz.html

That was my first thought as well. But seeing as the CPU supports DDR3 standards, I thought it would be just fine, as I've already done this before and it surprisingly worked (it was an old Dell with DDR3/3L compatibility). The motherboard was what I didn't consider, as both DDR3 and DDR3L do use the exact same SODIMM slots. This really confuses people who aren't really familiar, even some who do apparently (silly me!).

egydiocoelho said:

brummyfan2 said:

Hi,
I think your motherboard and CPU support only DDR3L modules.
https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/76621/intel-pentium-processor-3556u-2m-cache-1-70-ghz.html

The service manual also posts some misleading information. However, note that only 1.35v voltage is mentioned:

Exactly my thoughts, sir @egydiocoelho. The voltages were the only thing that differentiates them, apart from the tiny part numbers and variant descriptions on the module itself. Looks like I'll just to have to return these for the correct ones.

Commodore_1995#

@DiscoDingoOK! Accept my answer that helped you.