Soldered vs Non-soldered RAM: How to Tell?

daddycork -  
jumulka Posted messages 12090 Registration date   Status Membre Last intervention   -
Hello,

I'm starting to look for a new laptop (PC), and I want to have the option to upgrade the RAM and SSD when necessary.

The problem is that many laptops now have soldered RAM (or a vacant slot with soldered RAM). I've been caught out before, and I would like not to be caught out again. I would like to have two RAM slots to benefit from dual channel.

Second issue: when purchasing, whether in-store or online, it's difficult to know the number of slots and if the memory is soldered. Do you have any tips for quickly identifying models that do not have soldered memory? Are there currently any not too large laptops with non-soldered memory?

Thank you in advance for your response.

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3 réponses

jumulka Posted messages 12090 Registration date   Status Membre Last intervention   4 619
 
Hello,
check the Crucial website, it's quite reliable
> https://www.crucial.fr/store/advisor

generally, a soldered RAM + one slot work in dual channel
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daddycork
 
Thank you for the site.

If there is a soldered RAM stick and an empty slot, both sticks need to be of the same type for dual channel to work, am I wrong? So, I deduce that if I decide to upgrade the RAM using the available slot, if I put, for example, 16 GB instead of 8 GB while the soldered 8 GB stick remains in place, it will break the dual channel?

Will it still provide a gain anyway?
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jumulka Posted messages 12090 Registration date   Status Membre Last intervention   4 619
 
I know that I have a computer with 4GB soldered and 2GB in sticks that work in dual channel, and that was installed by the manufacturer.
I can't tell you if dual channel will work with a 16 + 8, laptops are a bit of a mess.

Dual channel basically allows you to go faster overall, having more RAM allows you to go faster if your system is saturated in RAM; if you don't exceed 8GB of usage, having 24-32-64GB of RAM won't make a difference.
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daddycork > jumulka Posted messages 12090 Registration date   Status Membre Last intervention  
 
OK, thanks for the answer. So we can have an 8GB stick and a 16GB stick if we want.
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jumulka Posted messages 12090 Registration date   Status Membre Last intervention   4 619 > daddycork
 
Yes, it will work, but not necessarily in dual channel.
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epango Posted messages 37195 Registration date   Status Membre Last intervention   Ambassadeur 4 270
 
There is no way to know if a RAM module is soldered without opening the laptop, so without having the laptop in hand. The only solution is to look at the specifications to see if it is stated that a module is soldered or not.

--
To misname things is to add to the misery of the world (Albert Camus)
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daddycork
 
Well, it's still incredible that this information is not mentioned given how ESSENTIAL it is!
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epango Posted messages 37195 Registration date   Status Membre Last intervention   4 270 > daddycork
 
In most cases, it is mentioned in the specifications.
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daddycork > epango Posted messages 37195 Registration date   Status Membre Last intervention  
 
Yes, sometimes yes, sometimes no... actually, I wonder if there’s a place where they list computers based on this parameter, to avoid wasting time searching and ultimately finding out that the RAM is soldered.
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