Acer Aspire 5 A515-51G-83QA ram upgrade, single or dual rank?

dancal
dancal Member Posts: 8

Tinkerer
edited August 2023 in 2019 Archives
Hi, I want to upgrade my ram adding another 4gb ram, I have this data of my current ram stick

DDR4 SO-DIMM
Manufacturer: : Samsung
Freq: 2400 mhz
Cas latency: CL17


I can´t find if the ram is Single Rank or Dual Rank,
Neither the RAM voltage

I have tried with Speccy and CPU-Z (run as ADM) but I can't get the info

Anyone can help me? I dont want to open the laptop to find out the memory serial number

Answers

  • ven98
    ven98 ACE Posts: 4,073 Pathfinder
    The RAM inside the laptop most likely is single rank. The ranks of the RAM has to match if you want it to run in dual-channel.

    You can use HWiNFO to find the voltage and rank, and other information as well.
    Always post the following characterisitcs of the device:
    -Model number
    -Part number(not required, but helpful)
    -CPU
    -GPU
    -Operating system

    Helios 300 and Nitro 5 users DO NOT update the BIOS to version 1.22 if you don't want the keyboard's backlight to turn off after 30 seconds even when the device is plugged in.


    Hit 'Like' if you find the answer helpful!   
    Click on 'Yes' if the comment answers your question!

  • dancal
    dancal Member Posts: 8

    Tinkerer
    Hi, tanks for your answer but I can't find the info I need, this is what HWinfo shows me about the ram


  • ven98
    ven98 ACE Posts: 4,073 Pathfinder
    You should expand the memory section(click on +) and then click on what appears underneath it.
    Always post the following characterisitcs of the device:
    -Model number
    -Part number(not required, but helpful)
    -CPU
    -GPU
    -Operating system

    Helios 300 and Nitro 5 users DO NOT update the BIOS to version 1.22 if you don't want the keyboard's backlight to turn off after 30 seconds even when the device is plugged in.


    Hit 'Like' if you find the answer helpful!   
    Click on 'Yes' if the comment answers your question!

  • dancal
    dancal Member Posts: 8

    Tinkerer
    Sadly I don't have that option, do you know another app that I can use to find out that info? besides speccy and cpu-z

    Thanks for your help!

  • ven98
    ven98 ACE Posts: 4,073 Pathfinder
    I've used others before, but I don't remember their names.
    Always post the following characterisitcs of the device:
    -Model number
    -Part number(not required, but helpful)
    -CPU
    -GPU
    -Operating system

    Helios 300 and Nitro 5 users DO NOT update the BIOS to version 1.22 if you don't want the keyboard's backlight to turn off after 30 seconds even when the device is plugged in.


    Hit 'Like' if you find the answer helpful!   
    Click on 'Yes' if the comment answers your question!

  • Rob99
    Rob99 Member Posts: 25 Enthusiast WiFi Icon
    The memory section in HWinfo64 will only expand when the spare memory slot is occupied. It may be the case that your system was only supplied with 4GB soldered to board?

    Have you tried the Crucial scanner tool (link below)

    Download the scanner tool and allow it to scan your system for compatible memory. My guess is you'll require single ranked

    https://www.crucial.com/usa/en/systemscanner?cm_re=us-top-nav-_-us-flyout-upgrades-_-us-upgrades-scanner
  • ven98
    ven98 ACE Posts: 4,073 Pathfinder
    That is correct, this device has on-board memory and one free memory slot that supports up to 16GB.
    Always post the following characterisitcs of the device:
    -Model number
    -Part number(not required, but helpful)
    -CPU
    -GPU
    -Operating system

    Helios 300 and Nitro 5 users DO NOT update the BIOS to version 1.22 if you don't want the keyboard's backlight to turn off after 30 seconds even when the device is plugged in.


    Hit 'Like' if you find the answer helpful!   
    Click on 'Yes' if the comment answers your question!

  • dancal
    dancal Member Posts: 8

    Tinkerer
    Thanks for all the responses. yes one slot is soldered.....Why you assume that is single ranked?
  • ven98
    ven98 ACE Posts: 4,073 Pathfinder
    Because it is 4GB. I don't think there is dual rank DDR4 memory that is dual rank and usually you can rarely find a laptop that comes with a dual rank memory(just my experience every device that I have opened had a single rank).

    As the memory is soldered on the motherboard it doesn't really matter whether you purchase single or dual rank.

    Why did you want to know whether the memory is single or dual ranked. Is it because you wanted dual-channel?
    Always post the following characterisitcs of the device:
    -Model number
    -Part number(not required, but helpful)
    -CPU
    -GPU
    -Operating system

    Helios 300 and Nitro 5 users DO NOT update the BIOS to version 1.22 if you don't want the keyboard's backlight to turn off after 30 seconds even when the device is plugged in.


    Hit 'Like' if you find the answer helpful!   
    Click on 'Yes' if the comment answers your question!

  • Rob99
    Rob99 Member Posts: 25 Enthusiast WiFi Icon
    Hi Dancal,

    Ven98 is correct. Considering you have 4GB soldered on board memory and only 1 free slot then you don't need to worry too much about single or dual ranked memory. As long as you ensure the RAM module is compatible with your system then you'll be just fine. The Crucial scanner tool will assist you greatly with that.

    Dual Ranked (and Single Ranked) memory refers to the configuration of the memory chips on the RAM stick. Generally, single rank is memory with chips on only one side of the RAM stick and dual rank is memory with chips on both sides of the RAM stick. There are various sources who will say single ranked memory is slightly faster than dual ranked and some sources who will say the complete opposite. I'd say you'd be hard pressed to notice the difference. It all comes down to cost, single rank tended to be dearer than dual ranked although nowadays they are about the same. Personally I'd go for single ranked.

    Dual Channel and Dual Ranked are two totally different terms and not to be confused with each other. This link will help to explain Dual Channel memory
    https://uk.crucial.com/gbr/en/what-is-dual-channel-memory

    Your system should already be able to run memory in dual channel mode automatically, as long as you install compatible RAM. At the moment  HWinfo64 is telling you that you are running in single channel mode but only because you haven't populated the free memory slot yet. As soon as you install the additional RAM you should run HWinfo64 again and it should show you as running in dual channel mode.

    Run the Crucial scanner and post back here with the results if you need further help.




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