RAM MEMORY SPEED UPGRADE Predator Helios 500 PH517-61

Any chance you could post a link to this Reddit thread??

Also, do you think it might be at all possible to be able to remove the 2 original (back side) sticks of RAM without having to completely remove the heatsink?  As in, could the heatsink remain screwed on the board, and still be able to get the board to a point it can be lifted JUST ENOUGH that there is space to be able to just REMOVE the sticks??  I want to attempt populating the two "B" channel DIMMs with 2x32gb 2666 and leave "A" empty.  I just need to get just enough space to be able to disconnect and remove those 2 DIMMs, and won't need the extra space normally needed to put in new DIMMs in their place..  Do you feel that this is at all possible or are there necessary connectors/screws/attachments that hold the board in place that can only be accessed after the heatsink is completely removed, making it impossible to remove the DIMMs with the heatsink still attached?? You have the first hand experience, so I trust your judgement..

So actually ended up having this video playing while I was disassembling the system, as well as having that collection of photos from, what I'm assuming, is some sort of Acer tech manual posted earlier.  While the video is of the Intel variant, both are nearly identical in how they are constructed and there really wasn't anything in it that confused me or made me mess up since, luckily, there wasn't any instance where, for example, they might require on one variant to be done in A, B, C, D order, but on the other variant it had to be A, C, B, D order, so luckily this video can be followed by Helios 500 owners in general regardless of which version.

So, here is an update as to what I've experienced so far....  I disassembled nearly the entire system and removed the stock RAM from the underside (channel A) DIMMs and removed the stock Killer 1550 WiFi m.2 networking card.  I then installed a Killer 1650 m.2 WiFi card as an upgrade and installed my new 2x32GB 2666 Hyper X SoDIMMs into the 2 DIMMs accessible when you simply remove the back plate (channel , hoping that if "channel A" was left empty, I could populate B for convenience (also wondering if there is any temp difference for one side over the other)..  So after getting the system to post and boot, i check my RAM and see (according to CPUZ) that I'm running at 1063 or roughly at 2133...  No bueno... Assume that this result is because I used "Channel B"... COMPLETELY disassemble again, remove the DIMMs out of "channel B" and get them into "Channel A", repaste my CPU and GPU, reassemble... No change...  After much stress, was able to manually get it running at 2400 at 16 16 16 thru Ryzen Master, but can't get it to the 2666 speeds I was so excited to be able to reach that the diagram alluded to... Since then, have poked around, checking if it was a result of not doing something correctly or if I overlooked anything, but ultimately it makes me question the diagram.  Saw another post elsewhere that IS definitively from the -61 version's documentation that seems to allude to 2400 being the top speed for the AMD version... So then, is that diagram exactly from the ph517-61 manual, or is it from the -51 tech manual/specs, or, if it IS in the AMD version's specs, was it simply copied over directly from the -51 to the -61 but the data is only fully applicable to the -51 and the necessary edits not getting made were just an oversight???

The previously posted diagram reads like this:

1 of 2/CH (xR-0) : SR(2667), DR(2400-2667)MT/s

2 of 2/CH (1R-1R): 2133-2400 MT/s

2 of 2/CH (2R-xR): 1866-2133 MT/s

(going to put my personal interpretation of exactly what I believe it's saying in parentheses. If I'm misinterpreting, someone PLEASE show me where I've screwed up) To me, this says that Chan 1 of 2 (interpreting that as long as 1 channel, not both, is occupied) xR-0 (interpreted as it doesn't matter what Rank (single or dual) the DIMMs are, but only that one is occupied and that the other channel is empty) : SR (2667) , DR (2400-2667) MT/s (i'm interpreting this as "if its single rank DIMMs, then JEDEC 2667 is the speed it will run, but if it's dual rank it will run off either JEDEC specs for 2400 to 2667). then the others with 2 of 2/CH are for if both channels, as in 4 DIMMs, are occupied then if both are single rank, you get 2133 to 2400 and if you have dual rank exclusively or a mix of dual and single rank, you top out at 1866-2133 speeds. Ultimately, this leads me to believe that it's completely possible to upgrade my RAM, regardless of single or dual rank, as long as I only occupied either channel A or B, used DIMMs that had the appropriate JEDEC tables for 2666 specifically, not anything higher or lower, and the system would go off the built in SPD tables and simply run at 2666mhz stock.  This made me think that I could get a 2x32GB JEDEC 2666 kit to achieve 2666 (1333mhz) speed AND have 64GB at a higher speed than others using the method Acer says to get 64GB by using 4x16GB DIMMs. While SOME using this method still had the stock 2400 their stock RAM ran at, most saw that by occupying 4 DIMMs they were also getting a speed reduction ranging from 1866-2133mhz, and sometimes even much lower in very rare scenarios.  When the table shown above was posted, from how I have interpreted the information, this seemed to explained why some experienced one scenario while another person would have a completely different outcome.  Now, as I also saw that RAM rated for 2666 was also used in this model's memory testing, I assume this means that 2666 speeds are possible and that the stock RAM only ran at a slower 2400 bc the JEDEC 2400 SPD tables are what are programmed in. 

knowing that I purchased high quality performance RAM that has specifically JEDEC 2666 rating and 2666 SPD tables, and installed them both in the "A" and "B" channels but the system initially clocked down to the 2133 speed and not even 2400, I'm very confused...  Thoughts?? Suggestions?? Did I misinterpret something???  Any help/guidance, and any methods known to achieve 2666 would be VERY appreciated.  I'm NOT going to return them, UNLESS they fail and it's unavoidable, I got them for a KILLER Black Friday sale price that likely won't be repeated anytime soon and they are both functioning and will just use alternative means to get higher speeds if possible.

With the technique I used to keep the heat pipes attached, I was able to spare myself from having to repaste as least 4, maybe 5, times as there wouldn’t have been much choice for me otherwise since I had to repeatedly get to the board’s underside. 

ALSO, BE FOREWARNED!! After you are at the point where you should be capable of simply lifting the board out, there is a plastic “guide” of sorts on the chassis that is going thru a hole in the board located near the USB c ports that is putting enough force on the board that it can feel like you missed a screw or connector and could possibly cause someone to damage their board while attempting to either remove it or getting it back into its proper place. As this was the part of the whole process where I felt I was at greatest risk of causing damage to my motherboard, and hadn’t seen any mention of it in anyone else’s posts where the subject of removing the motherboard was addressed, I felt that I needed to at least make sure I included it somewhere in mine. Hopefully, if someone uses my posts for their own tear down, they won’t be unaware of it and know where it is and what they are looking for. If I ever need to fully take it apart again, I’m going to thoroughly check to see what exactly this small “guide” is doing and how it benefits the system and also if it is ultimately capable of being removed without causing a major problem. There were a couple times that I truly felt like I was on the verge of cracking or snapping the board from the pressure I needed to use to either remove it or get it reseated....

And as far as from looking at the photo of under the board, it appears that only one of those screws for the whole heat pipe assembly goes thru into the chassis: the one located in the bottom right of the GPU, but could possibly be the bottom left of the CPU, at least that’s my best estimation from trying to gauge from the photo.. as I don’t see another nearby point where a screw could be anchoring the motherboard from, unless I’m simply not noticing another.... so it would seem that would be the only one that really needs to be loosened. But I could be completely wrong and the heat pipe screws don’t anchor the board at all and are technically not imperative to remove at all. Again, be mindful of the ribbon cables connected UNDER the heat pipes when it is still attached, as you won’t see them if only looking from above. 

1. What memory models are you currently using? 

- (example model: HX******IB2K2/16)

- quantity of modules? 

- Single or Dual rank of this modules (if you know)?

- installation slot?

DIMM A1 (internal slots under topcase)

DIMM A0 (internal slots under topcase)

DIMM B1 (external slots)

DIMM B0 (external slots)

1. I purchased kit model: HX426S16IBK2/64    https://www.kingston.com/dataSheets/HX426S16IBK2_64.pdf

    --its 2 modules of Dual rank 32GB SODIMMs (64GB total) My particular kit has Micron chips

  They are currently occupying the A DIMMs. 

2.  As it relates to this question, I'm going to briefly provide some details.  The night I installed my RAM and new WiFi 6 card, initially I followed the teardown COMPLETELY.  This included removing the entire CPU/GPU cooling assembly. (Note: Despite never noticing any change in operating temps since getting the system, I found a LOT of my cat's fur had collected in the radiators so I used this opportunity to thoroughly clean everything and have made a mental note to try to do so again every 3 months or so as part of regular maintenance.) I removed the original RAM and ORIGINALLY installed my new kit in the B slots.  Carefully reassembled, replugged in cables, utilized some high quality thermal compound for my CPU and GPU, and powered the system back on.  Initially, I must have missed something, still not clear what, but likely a loose cable, however I basically tore it down to the point of heat sink, but didn't remove them and instead worked my way back to reassembling.  Finally booted.  Found my RAM had downclocked when I had believed I would be capable of achieving the 2666 speeds as shown in that information provided from that technical manual as this this kit had the proper Jedec tables.  As a result, this is when I again disassembled, HOWEVER, I did NOT remove the CPU/GPU heatsink from the motherboard as I did NOT want to have to go thru the process of repasting, especially as I didn't have enough left to do as nice of a job as I had originally, and instead made sure that there was NOTHING connecting the board to the case and instead of going "by the book" took a VERY LONG time being EXTREMELY careful and was very delicate with every movement as I lifted the board just enough to get underneath and install the both sticks into the A DIMMs.  OH, and I didn't do this alone and had my best friend that is also very experienced with computer builds (in fact, likely has built more than I have) with me to lend a hand, and he was extremely helpful with this "technique" being a success.  I didn't want to risk damaging anything, especially if the thought pops in my head that I've recognized as a warning sign: "Wish humans had (insert number over 2 here) hands about right about now..."  As that thought coming to mind is a signal to myself that a possible mistake happening if I don't get more hands has grown exponentially.. Anyway, after AGAIN reassembling, I still was clocked down from the EXPECTED speed of 2666.  I decided to at least attempt to bring it up using Ryzen Master to see if I could just FORCE it up.  While I couldn't get it to 2666, I was able to reach 2400, which I wasn't going to complain about since this was still better than what it booted at, so I wasn't any slower than my original 16GB kit, and it wasn't likely that I was ever going to find better quality 32gb DIMMs at a better price. Also, I've managed to adjust my timings to a point I'm EXTREMELY impressed with, which makes me believe this kit happened to be one of those better than most "silicon lottery winners."

Besides my kit possibly being a "winner", I'm also glad I didn't complain/return them and attempt to make that printed 2666 speed work because IT WON'T!!  I've been doing LOTS of research into the topic and found out that the printed 2666 speed is only possible with the 2700 CPU using dual rank DIMM's IF your motherboard only HAS 2 total SLOTS!!  With 4 slots, you MAX out at 2400mhz and that this system can only achieve 2666 speeds if you install no more than 2 SINGLE RANK DIMM's!!  So, until a company actually makes a SINGLE RANK SODIMM available to purchase, it's currently IMPOSSIBLE with this system to have 64GB of RAM clocked at 2666mhz, despite what Acer's document says..  

And, my system's temps are a bit better than prior to the disassembly (roughly 2-3 degrees lower), MAYBE from the high end paste, but likely more from the removal of cat hair clumps from the radiators increasing air flow.  However, prior to "surgery" the highest I would ever see my temps get during a long and particularly heavy workload was around 67-68 degrees, so no real noticeable signs that any kind of problem existed or that it was developing a problem.  Temps have been low since day one and I rarely, if ever, hear my fans get loud enough to even really notice them.

I know this is WAY more info that you wanted, but figure I'd be detailed so that you get as accurate a picture as possible and hopefully benefit from what I've learned.  Also, I haven't seen this information about the RAM on any other posts I've read thru, so hopefully by posting it here, it will start getting passed along.  I'll try not to write you another novel next time, if you still have any questions for me.  Finally, from one Beast owner to another: I wish you a Happy New Year!!  And the best of luck with any upgrades you are planning