What is the maximum ram and SSD size for ph18-72-924c?

I want to upgrade my ram to 2x32gb SODIMM sticks and my second SSD to WD SN850x 4tb.

On the crucial website it says the ph18-72-924c is compatible with 64gb and 4tb SSD, but when I asked Acer chat they said 32gb ram is the max and 1tb SSD is the max.

I've seen posts from people on this forum that have upgraded to 64gb ram and 4tb SSD just fine, so naturally I'm very confused.

Has anyone here upgraded to 64gb ram and 4tb SSD?

Here is the crucial site I'm talking about.

https://www.crucial.com/compatible-upgrade-for/acer/predator-helios-18-ph18-72-924c

[Edited the thread to add issue detail to the title]

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Alejandro_AC

Hi @mandrew27 I leave you the data offered by the service manual, it has two slots and a maximum total of 32GB:

All the best.

mandrew27

That's for the Nitro 5 AN515-58

I'm talking about the Predator Helios 18 ph18-72-924c

Jack22

@mandrew27

Below is the details for PH18-72

Alejandro_AC

Sorry, look again.

All the best.

Jack22

@mandrew27

Below is the SSD details

FrEaZeR

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/706470/ph18-72-924c-maximum-ram-and-ssd-size

It should support 64GB , at least i see the model on sale with 64GB installed . As for the SSD i don't think there is a max supported limit , but keep in mind that Slot 1 has no space for double sided SSD , Slots 2 does have space .

mandrew27

Thanks, everyone. I've seen other people on here say they got 2x32GB to work, so I'm gonna try it anyway.

I bought a 2tb SN850x as well. I'm looking forward to my laptop being delivered on Thursday, Best Buy has it for $350 off and it's a really good price compared to other Laptops with 4090s and 14900hx.

Can anyone tell me what brand or type of SSD the main 1TB SSD that comes installed is? Or does it vary?

FrEaZeR

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1277928#Comment_1277928

Most probably Hynix , mine came with Hynix RAM and 2TB Hynix single-sided .

mandrew27

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1277933#Comment_1277933

Thank you. I'll find out for sure when I get my laptop on Thursday.

Thanks for the help everyone.

Alejandro_AC

You are welcome.
All the best.

mandrew27

I have another question. Does air intake from the bottom of the laptop?

I want to get an IETS GT600 Cooler.

https://www.ietstech.com/product/iets-gt600-gaming-laptop-cooling-pad

FrEaZeR

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1278055#Comment_1278055

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=772g9-vngZw

You can see in the video where , i also had a similar cooler llano or something like that it was too loud and small from my point of view and returned it , now i have a thermaltake massive 20 . A NZXT Cryo LX laptop cooler was nice to get but they don't make them anymore , i still have mine after 15 years of using it sits under my Acer Aspire 8940G =)) .

PlayerGab

Good afternoon to everyone here. Just to inform, the maximum RAM you can put in your notebook depends of two things, mainly:

The CPU: in this case, according to Intel, the Core i9-14900hx have the maximum support of 192GB RAM, DDR5 or DDR4 (depending of the Chipset in the motherboard).
The Operational System: if the system have the 32-bit architecture, it can only use 4GB RAM. In the 64-bit systems (used by default nowadays), the limit is in the level of Terabytes, so you don't have to worry with this one...

mandrew27

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1278059#Comment_1278059

I was going to get the Llano one, but I went with the IETS GT600. I always have a box fan and an air purifier running in my room, it helps me anxiety, so I actually like that it's really loud. Lol

teddb

Assume the OP has already figured this out, but I was in the same boat, when looking to upgrade my system to 64GB RAM.

I even called Acer support to ask the same question, where the support person flat out LIED to me and told me:

1 - 32GB is the max memory that the laptop can support and

2 - that it would NEVER support more than 32GB

For the record, this is the config I have: https://store.acer.com/en-us/predator-helios-18-gaming-laptop-ph18-72-90c9

The first thing the support person told me, about 32GB being the max working RAM, is demonstrably a lie since Acer sells a model (for $700 more) that ships with 64GB (link here: https://www.acer.com/us-en/predator/laptops/helios/helios-18/pdp/NH.QSTAA.001 )

I have no idea why Acer would have their support team lie to customers about something so easily disproven, but that's what happened. Not sure who at Acer thinks treating their customers like idiots is a good idea, but that's apparently the policy.

Regarding the question about never supporting more than 32GB, the PH18-71, which was released a year earlier, did eventually include a BIOS update (I think it's 1.10 released in Dec) that provided XMP support, which is why I asked if the PH18-72 would ever receive such support. And the support person was adamant that my machine spec would NEVER support 32GB.

As noted above in this very thread, Crucial lists a RAM kit that is supposed to work in the PH18-72, and that's what I ordered. I'm running Crucial part # CT2K32G56C46S5, which is a 64GB kit with 2x32GB modules and have had no issues with it. Besides reporting 64GB, the system shows it's running at 5600MT as desired.

Here's a screenshot from CPU-Z showing one of the 32GB modules - timings table is identical for both modules:

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/706470/what-is-the-maximum-ram-and-ssd-size-for-ph18-72-924c

While I had the case open, I also replaced the 2 x 1 TB NVME SSDs with a single 4TB NVME SSD (Samsung 990 PRO). I didn't know until I opened the case that the 2TB drive volume was composed of 2 x SSDs in RAID 0) as I had hoped to simply add 4TB of storage to the system and make the existing 2TB volume (assumed to be a single 2TB SSD) the boot drive. Samsung Magician says the drive has been working fine since install.

FWIW, I've had the updated RAM and new SSD in my PH18-72 for about 6 weeks or so and haven't noticed any issues.

Also, if I had known before purchasing this system that Acer would tell me the RAM was not upgradable - and for no good reason, I probably would have gone with a different vender. I've never had PC hardware that I didn't upgrade or otherwise change to suit my purposes, so for an OEM to claim that their system can't be upgraded - and for no reason - does not sit well with me.

FrEaZeR

Are you sure it runs at 5600MHz ? can i see a task manager screenshot ?

teddb

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1280938#Comment_1280938

As requested.

FrEaZeR

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1280941#Comment_1280941

Nice to know , thanks :P . About Acer Support i also contacted them when i tried to change my RAM (since i don't like the stock) but i bought a pair of 2x16 with 6000MHz and it was running at 4800MHz when i asked why aren't they going down to 5600MHz the last reply i got was that : your laptop doesn't need to run at 5600MHz . =))) so i bought a pair with 5600MHz (Kingston Fury and also changed to 2x of Kingston Renegade SSD) . I don't think they are lying about what they told you with 32gb max , i think they just don't know and they are just following what they are told to do (something like copy paste from a list) .

BTW since you have a PH18-72 can you tell me if you are using Auto/GPU/Optimus ? and if you noticed that the brightness is lower when you start it with GPU ? same with starting with Auto but on Auto after windows loads the brightness is low and after 10-30 seconds or so it lights up to it's normal value .

teddb

It was my first time ever contacting Acer support about anything. The last time I owned an Acer product was a long while back - an Acer Travelmate 800LCI in 2003 (kickass laptop at the time!) that I really liked.

Price for this 18" 4090 powered monster was pretty reasonable considering the spec, and here I am. So, while I'm disappointed with the response I got from Acer Support, I'm happy with the product.

Can't say I've experimented with the nVidia driver mode settings. Auto is preferred to manage limited battery life (no gaming laptop I've ever owned has had good battery life), and heat as well. I use this system daily on a desk connected to a shared external display, and it's on that external panel that anything the 4090 is driving would show up.

But I did just disconnect the external display and do a cursory comparison on the laptop display, first launching a game first using Auto, changing the setting, rebooting, and then launching the same game in GPU mode (didn't bother trying with the Optimus setting). Can't say I noticed any real difference in launch brightness between the two. The game main screen in both cases was very brightly lit. I did notice though that the nVidia GPU's mininum brightness setting is quite a bit brighter than the Intel integrated graphics. Also, the brightness when using integrated graphics seemed to lag more when I adjust it up or town - it took a few seconds to 'settle'. The brightness control seemed a bit more responsive & real-time when running on the GPU.