Wrong type of RAM? Aspire A515-43

apos
apos Member Posts: 8

Tinkerer
in Aspire Laptops

Hello, i have the Aspire A515-43, with 2 8GB RAM (2x4GB DDR4). I bought a Corsair Vengeance 16GB DDR4-2666Mhz, SO-DIMM 260 pin. I removed both old RAM sticks (since i read that this model supports 16GB at most) and installed the new one, but my laptop won't boot.

I put the old RAM sticks in again, and the laptop works fine as before (8GB RAM with 5.9GB usable).

Did i buy a wrong type of RAM? Does this laptop not support 2666Mhz? Or is it maybe the size of the single RAM stick? Should i return it and get 2x8GB at 2400Mhz?


Thanks for any answers!

Best Answer

  • apos
    apos Member Posts: 8

    Tinkerer
    Answer ✓

    Just got my new RAM, installed it and it works perfectly. Had to be the RAM frequency or that a single 16GB module was too big for my laptop.

    Anyway, just writing the results for future reference. Thanks to everyone, especially @JackE


    viber_image_2022-08-29_18-38-20-949.jpg
    esgrdhtf.png
    esrdht.png


Answers

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,873 Trailblazer

    Yes, the two 8GB Corsairs should work fine unless you got two lemons.

    Try this, gently wipe the gold colored contacts on the Corsairs with a soft cloth slightly dampened with rubbing alcohol to help remove any residual packing preservative or oils that might be used. Pat them dry with another soft cloth.

    Then insert them in the sockets a few times to help clean the socket pins as well.

    Then turn the laptop on and immediately start tapping the F2 key to enter the BIOS menu. Then simply press F10 to save settings and exit the BIOS.

    If it doesn't boot immediately after exiting the BIOS menu, then press and hold the the power key again to shut it down.

    Then turn it on again.

    Jack E/NJ

  • apos
    apos Member Posts: 8

    Tinkerer
    https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1142180#Comment_1142180

    Thank you very much for your reply! I am no expert in computers but i have been searching all day, because i don't want to make another bad purchase. I used the CPU-Z application and this is what it showed me about my RAM (i am currently using my old 2x 4GB):

    1.png

    I googled the part number (MTA4ATF51264HZ) and it says this is a DDR4 SDRAM SODIMM.

    So, should i get 2x 8GB DDR4 SDRAM? Is that why the Corsair 16GB RAM didn't work, because it was not SDRAM? And what about the MHz? 2400MHz or 2666MHz?

    Thanks again for your answer, i am going crazy searching all day, i thought the RAM i bought would've worked and i just can't understand why it didn't.... I don't want to waste another 60€ for nothing, that's why i am trying to go into all this detail (sorry to everyone if i all these specs ain't making sense, i am just kind of a noob and trying to provide as much info to people that would know how to interpret it).

  • Balatekie
    Balatekie ACE Posts: 1,353 Pioneer

    Hello!!

    @apos,

    I would like to share list of RAM modules released by Acer. Below is the RAM module list tested with this unit & confirmed as working fine.

    mem 1.png


    Hope this helps you.

    Regards,

    Balatekie

     :) If you think I've answered your question, please hit the Accept Answer:)

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,873 Trailblazer
    edited August 2022

    Two 16GB Corsairs should also work fine as your laptop should support up to 32GB maximum RAM. Did you clean them up yet and try again by going into the BIOS after installing them ?

    Jack E/NJ

  • apos
    apos Member Posts: 8

    Tinkerer

    @JackE Yes, i cleaned the stick with alcohol, i got into BIOS and saved. When the laptop boots up again it is stuck on the ACER logo (i left it there for more than 15 minutes hoping it was calibrating the new RAM or something). I tried the module on both motherboard slots, but it was always the same thing.

    I've repackaged it now and i am going to send it back, so i am now looking for the right type of RAM to order.

    I think i am going to go with 2 x 8GB SODIMM DDR4-2400MHz. Do you think that's a good choice?

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,873 Trailblazer

    Out of curiosity, were the Corsairs a matched pair kit of nominal 2666MHz sodimms? The reason I ask is that your machine is dual channel capable but may only work properly with a matched 2666MHz pair or 2400MHz pair. Dual channel mainboards can be finicky without a matched pair.

    What a matched pair means is that if one 2666MHzl sodimm actually runs at 2600MHz and the other at 2700MHz, they may not work properly because there actual running frequencies are 100MHz apart. Too far apart.

    This is why companies like Crucial offer matched pair kits that have closer tolerances. So one 2666MHz sodimm might actually run at 2660MHz and the other at 2670MHz. Only a 10MHz difference that a dual channel mainboard likes better.

    I suggest that you go to https://www.crucial.com and run their scanner on your machine for their RAM recommendations on matched pair 16GB and 32GB kits. Crucial guarantees what their scanner recommends will work. https://www.crucial.com


    crucialscan.jpg


    Jack E/NJ

  • apos
    apos Member Posts: 8

    Tinkerer

    @JackE I purchased a single RAM module, not a pair (the Corsair Vengeance 16GB DDR4-2666Mhz, SO-DIMM 260 pin). My current RAM consists of 2x4GB sticks, so i removed both of them and then installed the new module (i tried it in both slots when it didn't work on the first one). So it wasn't anything like MHz conflicting between 2 sticks.

    I went to the crucial website like you said and did the scan and showed me this:

    01.png

    I thought my laptop has a maximum 16GB RAM capacity (that's where the store where i bought it said and the official ACER website as well). Do i trust crucial withi this or the store/acer website? i.e. should i buy a Corsair pair of 2x16GB at 2666MHz or should i get 2x8GB at 2400MHz?

    I am not even sure for the MHz, because CPU-Z shows me this:

    er.png

    and i think it means my RAM works at 2400MHz, right? Because 2 cycles at 1197MHz is approximately 2400MHz.


    Like, i am completely lost right now, for both the RAM capacity and RAM frequency....😅

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,873 Trailblazer

    >>>and i think it means my RAM works at 2400MHz, right? Because 2 cycles at 1197MHz is approximately 2400MHz.>>>

    Yes, you are correct. Your mainboard's maximum double-date rate RAM speed is 2400MHz. It should work fine with 2400MHz, 2666MHz, 2933MHz and 3200MHz sodimms. All these DDR4 modules will automatically downshift and run at the maximum 2400MHz speed allowed by your mainboard

    Also, if the crucial scanner did NOT offer a 32GB option with two 16GB sodimms, then you should trust the crucial scanner and only install 16GB with two 8GB sodimms either 2400MHz or 2666MHz whichever is cheaper or available.

    Jack E/NJ

  • apos
    apos Member Posts: 8

    Tinkerer
    edited August 2022

    Crucial did offer 32GB. If you see the first pic, it says it recommends 2 x 16GB DDR4. But ACER and the store i bought it from says 16GB is the maximum capacity. That's why i don't know if i can trust crucial's analysis. And it also confuses me why the single 16GB DDR4 2666MHz i bought didn't work.

    I think the safer option is to go 2 x 8GB 2400MHz. I will order it tomorrow, hopefully have it by next week. I will try it and report back the results for future reference (if that doesn't work either, then i don't know, i am all out of ideas)...

    Thanks again for all your answers @JackE !

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,873 Trailblazer

    Sorry, I thought the Crucial pic was for the 16GB kit, not 32GB kit. However, $95 for a 32GB Crucial matched pair kit seems like a great price if they work. If it was mine, a matched pair from crucial would be too hard for me to pass up. I'd have to try it since the official specs say 32GB is max for the mainboard. But you're not me. So you have to decide. for yourself after your experience with the unmatched Corsairs and despite the claims of the store. 🙂

    ramkit.jpg


    Jack E/NJ

  • apos
    apos Member Posts: 8

    Tinkerer

    @JackE I just don't wanna risk it, because the single Corsair 16GB didn't work. Otherwise i would obviously have gone for a 32GB RAM system, lol.😄

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,873 Trailblazer
    edited August 2022

    Just want to make sure you're geting a pair of 8GB sodimms. In other words, not trying to mix one of your old 4GB sodimms with a single 8GB sodimm. This machine definitely likes both RAM sockets populated with identical or matched sodimms, whether 4+4, 8+8 or 16+16 configurations. And it also can be finicky with only one socket populated.

    Jack E/NJ

  • apos
    apos Member Posts: 8

    Tinkerer
    https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1142403#Comment_1142403

    Yes, i will order a pair of 8GB!

  • apos
    apos Member Posts: 8

    Tinkerer
    Answer ✓

    Just got my new RAM, installed it and it works perfectly. Had to be the RAM frequency or that a single 16GB module was too big for my laptop.

    Anyway, just writing the results for future reference. Thanks to everyone, especially @JackE


    viber_image_2022-08-29_18-38-20-949.jpg
    esgrdhtf.png
    esrdht.png


  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,873 Trailblazer

    Congratulatios. Thanks for reporting back on your success! 🙂

    Jack E/NJ

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