How much RAM can my notebook handle?

STZ9

Reputable
Oct 9, 2014
4
0
4,510
Hey everybody, this is my 1st inquiry on Tom's hardware :V So, I have an Acer Aspire E1-571-6837 laptop, & I've read on different sources that the max memory it can handle is 8GB of DDR3 (2x4GB, 4gigs per slot), but, I read here that the max memory the CPU can withstand is 32gigs -> http://ark.intel.com/products/72056/Intel-Core-i5-3230M-Processor-3M-Cache-up-to-3_20-GHz-BGA , & now I'd like to know for sure what's the true max memory for said laptop, of course, depending on my system specs. But ok, the main question is, can the laptop handle 16GB (2x8GB, 8gigs per slot) of PC3-12800 DDR3 memory? or can it only withstand 8GB? (2x4GB, 4gigs per slot)

The system specs are the following:

-Motherboard: Acer EA50 HC CR with one of two memory slots available. One of the slots reads "DDR3", so I'm guessing it can only take that memory type. It also reads on the slot "1.5V" so I'm guessing too that's the max voltage it can handle.

-CPU: Intel Core i5-3230M @2.60GHz with turbo boost up to 3.2GHz

-RAM/memory: Currently it has 1x4GB DDR3 PC3-12800 memory module with a max frequency of approximately 800MHz in one of the slots. The brand of the memory module is Hynix (I read it's owned by Hyundai Electronics).

-GPU: Intel HD Graphics 4000 with up to 1824 MB (1.8GB) of graphics memory (that's the max graphics memory with dynamic/shared video memory included)

-OS: Windows 8.1 64-bit

One more question: The motherboard has a total amount of memory it can support right? So, even if the CPU can handle 32gigs of memory, that doesn't mean the motherboard can handle 32gigs as well right?
 
Solution
a simple way to answer this is to see how many ram slots you have. if you have 2, your motherboard an only support that amount regardless of you cpu's capabilities.... if you have 4 then you can support all 32gb of ram...or you could just google the motherboard and see how much ram it supports

STZ9

Reputable
Oct 9, 2014
4
0
4,510


Ok so you're saying that even if the CPU can handle 32gigs max, that doesn't mean the same for the mobo?
 

STZ9

Reputable
Oct 9, 2014
4
0
4,510


Have you tried that yourself specifically on an Acer Aspire E1-571-6837 notebook? Do you have a source page you can share here to give your statement more depth?
 

rannon

Honorable
May 24, 2014
143
0
10,710
it depends on the number of slots you have. 2 slots will only allow a maximum of 16GB (2x8) if you have 4 then you can go all the way upto 32GB (4x8) also have sure you have a 64 bit operating system because 32-bit based OS only support 4GB max no matter how much you add. cheers!
 

STZ9

Reputable
Oct 9, 2014
4
0
4,510


Also Paul, I forgot to mention, the motherboard chipset on my laptop is Intel HM77. Does that help in determining the true max memory it can handle? or is it just useless info. in this case?
 

rannon

Honorable
May 24, 2014
143
0
10,710
a simple way to answer this is to see how many ram slots you have. if you have 2, your motherboard an only support that amount regardless of you cpu's capabilities.... if you have 4 then you can support all 32gb of ram...or you could just google the motherboard and see how much ram it supports
 
Solution