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Acer Predator GX-792-77PF - 16 to 64GB RAM upgrade - Crucial Ballistix Sport LT

Good evening,

As of today I'm the proud owner of the new version of the Predator 17X, the GX-792-77PF. But it came with 16GB (2x8) RAM and I'll crank it up to 64GB.
Meaning the existing 2x8GB will be replaced, and I won't have to bother matching brands

So after looking around on tweakers and some other sites, I stumbled on these kits:
Ballistix Sport LT - DDR4 (32 GB: 2 x 16 GB - SO DIMM 260-PIN - 2400 MHz / PC4-19200 - CL16 - 1.2 V - niet-gebufferd - niet-ECC)

Would you recommend these RAM modules (I'll need two kits) or did I miss a better option?
The two kits will cost €700,- incl. TAX and shipping.

Cheers,
Michiel

Accepted answers

ven98

The ram modules are compatible with the laptop. Just a remainder, you have 4 RAM slots available, two of which are located on the other side of the motherboard.

ven98

The 17X isn't much different than 17. Only the subwoofer and the 3rd fans are different. The heatsink of the 17x is also larger. The disassembly process is the same as the predator 17.

Unfortunately, you have to remove the heatsink and the fans, in order to access the screws, that hold the motherboard to the back panel. This also means that you have to have a thermal paste that you should apply afterwards. NOTE: If there are warranty void stickers on the screws holding the heatsink, that will result in warranty void if removed.

Before disassembly, you should open the back door(upgrade panel), where the HDD, SSD and the 2 RAM slots are located. You have to remove these components. Then follow these steps:

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/r8/v1b9hubypmgh.png

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/3h/xvhajvpxyu2b.png

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/yp/s9sxyrdks1bh.png

The steps below show how to remove the motherboard after you have removed all components(wifi card, heatsink, battery, keyboard cables, touchpad cables, speakers, IO board etc.) from the motherboard:

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/dn/m43air78zkxr.png

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/0l/rdj7fysf9lbm.png

After removing the screws you are done and you can take the motherboard and install the 2 RAM modules and begin the assembly. If you find any difficulties with the assembly or disassembly(removing a component) don't hesitate to ask.

All comments

mdmaarschalk

I contacted Acer Support live chat (NL). The support agent told me that Acer can provide supported memory modules at a cost of € 930,- incl taxes and shipping. I think I'll contact the store selling the ballistix sport modules to see if I can test them and return them if not working. When that happens I can always order the more expensive modules from Acer.

ven98

The ram modules are compatible with the laptop. Just a remainder, you have 4 RAM slots available, two of which are located on the other side of the motherboard.

mdmaarschalk

Thanks for confirming the compatibility. The support agent is going to send an e-mail with photo's containing instructions on how to disassemble the motherboard. Should be fairly straightforward though. BTW, I noticed there are no good youtube video's yet about the disassembly of the GX-792 with the hexagon shaped maintenance door, they all cover the one with the rectangular maintenance door.

If you know of a solid instruction/manual covering things that might 'break' unless handled in some particular way let me know

ven98

The 17X isn't much different than 17. Only the subwoofer and the 3rd fans are different. The heatsink of the 17x is also larger. The disassembly process is the same as the predator 17.

Unfortunately, you have to remove the heatsink and the fans, in order to access the screws, that hold the motherboard to the back panel. This also means that you have to have a thermal paste that you should apply afterwards. NOTE: If there are warranty void stickers on the screws holding the heatsink, that will result in warranty void if removed.

Before disassembly, you should open the back door(upgrade panel), where the HDD, SSD and the 2 RAM slots are located. You have to remove these components. Then follow these steps:

The steps below show how to remove the motherboard after you have removed all components(wifi card, heatsink, battery, keyboard cables, touchpad cables, speakers, IO board etc.) from the motherboard:

After removing the screws you are done and you can take the motherboard and install the 2 RAM modules and begin the assembly. If you find any difficulties with the assembly or disassembly(removing a component) don't hesitate to ask.

mdmaarschalk

I've finally received the complete disassembly guide (24 pages pdf) for replacing memory from Acer Support. It contains the screenshots you already provided , just slightly more elaborate.

Then I watched the YouTube video titled "Acer Predator Helios 300: How to Open & Apply Thermal Paste - Teardown" for some more details on the thermal paste scenario.

So after reading through and watching through I ordered thermal paste, thermal pad 1.5mm, cleaner, primer, antistatic mat and a toolkit for disassembly.

I should be all set when it's delivered.

mdmaarschalk

It's done, this is the first boot with the 64GB Ballistix memory and I'm superhappy the operation was a success. I must say, it took me 1:15 hours to take it apart, 5 minutes to place the two ram modules on the "dark side" of the motherboard and take a picture, and 1:00 hour to put all the parts together.

I didn't see any warranty void stickers on the way and the disassembly guide is correct except for one additional screw in the first picture. Instead of 4 long and 15 short screws, it's 4 long,15 short and one very short screw, so there's an additional screw you have to remove but it's very self-explanatory and it's hiding in plain sight on the left side of the PCIe drive

Cleaning the thermal paste took some effort to do it properly. Although the laptop was assembled in december 2017 it had already settled nicely and was applied very generously.

One side-effect of 64GB ram I overlooked is that the hyberfil and pagefile files have just filled up a larger portion of my C: drive... Well, I guess that's what you get when you go to max ram.