RAM Module Requirements For Aspire 1 A115-32-C28P. Can I just add that to boost the RAM to 12 Gb

hacker15
hacker15 Member Posts: 19 Troubleshooter
edited April 5 in Aspire Laptops
I understand the max RAM for this model is 16 Gb (some say 32 Gb).  The one I'm getting has 4 Gb (assume it's a single stick of DDR4, 2933 Mhz).  I have a spare 8 Gb stick of DDR4 2400 Mhz.  Can I just add that to boost the RAM to 12 Gb or do I have to buy another 8Gb of 2933 Mhz?  Will it accept sticks of different speeds and capacity or do they have to be matched?  Thanks for any help here!

[Edited the thread to add issue detail]

Answers

  • StevenGen
    StevenGen ACE Posts: 12,155 Trailblazer
    hacker15 said:
    I understand the max RAM for this model is 16 Gb (some say 32 Gb).  The one I'm getting has 4 Gb (assume it's a single stick of DDR4, 2933 Mhz).  I have a spare 8 Gb stick of DDR4 2400 Mhz.  Can I just add that to boost the RAM to 12 Gb or do I have to buy another 8Gb of 2933 Mhz?  Will it accept sticks of different speeds and capacity or do they have to be matched?  Thanks for any help here!

    Best is to do a Crucial System Scan as that will tell you all the upgrades for your laptop with RAM and SSD drives and its correct. 
  • hacker15
    hacker15 Member Posts: 19 Troubleshooter
    Thanks - I don't have the unit yet but will do that once it arrives (expected tomorrow).  I tried doing a manual search and Crucial indicates it has nothing available for this laptop by model number.  Once I get it I'll do the scan.
  • adam222
    adam222 Member Posts: 34 Troubleshooter

    it only accepts 8gb not 16gb or 32gb mine right now won't even accept 8gb

  • hacker15
    hacker15 Member Posts: 19 Troubleshooter

    I haven't been here in some time, but THANKS for the comeback on this. When I finally got the PC, I was quick to pop it open and install two (2) 8 GB DIMMs (I don't remember what speed/maker I used - I got them from the spare box on my testbench). Everything worked, no issues. It now runs Windows 11 Home, but it's still too slow for me. I let the kids play with it since it was bought for them and keeps them from demanding time on my 17" HP laptop with an 11th-generation i5 and 16 GB of RAM. The CPU on the ACER (a Celeron running at 1.1 G is the big limiting factor.

  • adam222
    adam222 Member Posts: 34 Troubleshooter
    edited April 4

    hacker15 i literally bought 4 ram sticks of different brands and none of them worked when i turn my laptop on the screen stays black and then the CPU fan runs high but no acer logo comes up im ordering the right ram but nothing will work other then what's in it now. i kind of feel like i bought a very low quality laptop. im kind of despising this one. what ram speed do you have in yours now if you still have it. mine takes 3200mhz

  • hacker15
    hacker15 Member Posts: 19 Troubleshooter

    I think I used 2166, but it's been so long since I've used it that I really don't remember.

  • adam222
    adam222 Member Posts: 34 Troubleshooter

    mine takes 3200mhz but i can't find any that works

  • adam222
    adam222 Member Posts: 34 Troubleshooter

    did you have this acer before i hate this thing

  • hacker15
    hacker15 Member Posts: 19 Troubleshooter

    I bought it about two (2) years ago and turned it over to the kids shortly after seeing how slow it was. They use it for schoolwork and complain about the speed. Nothing you can do with it, short of replacing the system board that has one with a faster CPU, will make it any faster and, for the price I paid, it isn't worth it. Simpler to get a used one off eBay. The CPU in this model is the limiting factor. Even running the simplest of tasks uses 100% of its capacity.

  • adam222
    adam222 Member Posts: 34 Troubleshooter

    so you can't upgrade the ram sticks on these laptops at all.

  • hacker15
    hacker15 Member Posts: 19 Troubleshooter

    Yes, you can. When you boot up, check to see what type of RAM you're currently using. If you have two RAM sockets, you can run up to 16 GB. Mine is. Unfortunately, the limit to increasing speed on this laptop is the slow CPU and the system board's inability to run dual-channel. If you're getting a black screen with two of the right type/speed RAM modules installed, you might have a bad system board with a bad socket. Download the free version of Speccy and see what it says.

  • adam222
    adam222 Member Posts: 34 Troubleshooter

    you know i bought 5 different ram sticks from ebay and all of them didn't work at all i'll turn my laptop on and the screen would just stay black and then the cpu fan runs high mine can only hold 8gb is what it saids what ram stick does this laptop take i'm tired of ordering ram sticks that don't work it takes pc4 3200mhz don't it

  • adam222
    adam222 Member Posts: 34 Troubleshooter
    edited April 8

    did 2166mhz work for yours. they don't sell 2166mhz

  • adam222
    adam222 Member Posts: 34 Troubleshooter

    i wouldn't be surprised if i have a bad socket i even tried an 8gb by itself and it did'nt work

  • adam222
    adam222 Member Posts: 34 Troubleshooter

    I might have to get a new laptop I believe there is something wrong with one of the ram slots or this laptop is junk how did you get your laptop to recognize the new ram

  • hacker15
    hacker15 Member Posts: 19 Troubleshooter

    I didn

    t have to do anything special. I removed the 4 GB SODIMM and plugged in two (2) 8 GB SODIMMs, one in each slot. The machine booted to BIOS and advised the RAM had increased to 16 GB - still only single channel (the CPU and chipset can't handle dual channel). Speed is still *****, so I reverted to two (2) 4 GB SODIMMs, increasing the total RAM to 8 GB. I have an INTEL NUC that came to me with 32 GB of RAM. One of the RAM sockets went bad, and the machine wouldn't boot at all. Once I removed one of the SODIMMs, it booted fine That's why I told you that I suspected a bad RAM socket on your PC. You can check by swapping the existing RAM from socket to socket and see if that's an issue. Nothing you can do to this model will increase speed, but you can try. Check eBay - lots of laptops are available for decent prices - and some will run WIN 11 and take increased RAM, so your investment in SODIMMs might be put to good use. Good luck!

  • adam222
    adam222 Member Posts: 34 Troubleshooter

    then the second slot is bad I’ll just buy a new one I’m not going to keep buying ram sticks and they not work thank you so much for your help I’m not going to buy any on eBay anymore seems like they always have issues

  • adam222
    adam222 Member Posts: 34 Troubleshooter

    I checked it before and obviously I found my problem it must be bad I even tried just an 8gb in the first slot and the screen stayed black so there’s definitely something wrong with it

  • hacker15
    hacker15 Member Posts: 19 Troubleshooter

    Glad you got the issue resolved. There are lots of laptops with zero issues for sale up there. You just have to look for the ones that offer free shipping AND free returns.

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