Looking for the "best" (as in fastest) laptop (SODIMM) DDR4 RAM (preferably 2x 32gb per module)

[T-Cat]

Not an emergency or anything but I would like to have spare laptop SODIMM memory in the very rare instance my current RAM fails that's all (and DDR4 modules seem to be gradually phasing out so getting a spare is becoming now or never unless I want to gamble with ebay). Yes I know 64gb of ram is overkill but its my preference since I do archiving and sometimes load a TON of web pages at a time (usually 20-30 but sometimes more).

My laptop is an acer 11th gen intel laptop but I don't think I can mess with XMP from checking the bios (though my current RAM is running at 3200mhz and is SK hynix ddr4 so it might allow overclocking automatically? but again from what I can tell I can't load up memory XMP profiles or anything like that from the bios).

There are a surprising number of options but they seem to all have different timings and other stuff well beyond my expertise. There is crucial, corsair, mushkin, sabrent, teamgroup and probably more that made 2x 32gb 3200mhz ddr4 laptop ram but again my bios won't let me change speeds (unless I flashed a self-made custom unlocked bios to do that and risk bricking my laptop amoung other issues. Maybe I'll mess around with that idea when the laptop needs replacing.)

So far I think I will probably get the Kingston Impact 3200mhz 64GB (2 x 32GB) Model KF432S20IBK2/64 unless there is something "better" (maybe the Mushkin RAM kit model MRA4S320GJJM32GX2 if it works at 3200 out of the box. Though the Mushkins are 1.35volt while my current RAM is 1.2 so I'm not sure if thats a good idea).

RAM is such a rabbit hole for something so basic. Also if there is a complete list of RAM modules with all the timings, post the link since I imagine people might want that sort of thing.

I found a good site for finding laptop ram but you might need to look up each individual RAM for the full specs

link: https://pcpartpicker.com/products/memory/#ff=ddr4_sodimm&Z=65536002&b=ddr4

 

[W1zzard]

If you don't have XMP, you need to look for modules with JEDEC specs, especially voltage

 

[T-Cat]

If you don't have XMP, you need to look for modules with JEDEC specs, especially voltage

Oh yeah I forgot about to mention JDEC since I have had a hard time finding that information as the JDEC website has been difficult to find accessible information. My big two questions now are where do I even find JDEC specs and will a higher voltage (1.35 volts) be problematic? (currently my memory is running at 3200Mhz with 1.20v. The specific module I have is HMAA4GS6CJR8N-XN)

 

[T-Cat]

Ok after some stupidity in not understanding JDEC among other things it seems the Kingston ram is the "best" JDEC DDR4 RAM that runs at 3200mhz without needing XMP and runs at CL20 compared to everyong else running CL22 (which to be fair isn't much and not considering other timings). When I get the RAM ill post more information about it.

 

[TUF FX506HEB]

Ok after some stupidity in not understanding JDEC among other things it seems the Kingston ram is the "best" JDEC DDR4 RAM that runs at 3200mhz without needing XMP and runs at CL20 compared to everyong else running CL22 (which to be fair isn't much and not considering other timings). When I get the RAM ill post more information about it.

You're right. I bought that ram kit last year for my 2021 TUF F15 laptop and it does run at the advertised CL without having to use XMP profiles.

 

[A&P211]

The problem with laptop memory is the very high memory timings. Most 3200mhz ddr4 ram runs at cl 22 timings, yuck!! If your laptop had XMP, which very few laptops have, there are a set of ram sticks that runs at 3000mhz cl 16. I dont know if 3200mhz cl16 is available. I had a set of that ram with a MSI laptop with XMP, got it down to cl 15.

 

[T-Cat]

The problem with laptop memory is the very high memory timings. Most 3200mhz ddr4 ram runs at cl 22 timings, yuck!! If your laptop had XMP, which very few laptops have, there are a set of ram sticks that runs at 3000mhz cl 16. I dont know if 3200mhz cl16 is available. I had a set of that ram with a MSI laptop with XMP, got it down to cl 15.

It is available but only through XMP. There are mushkin DDR4 3200mhz ram sticks that run at that speed but they are single rank only sadly (dual rank is superior to single rank RAM in many cases even if the timings on double rank RAM is slower).
link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-...iewpnt?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B08QHMYCK3#R2LELSRNDCGAC5

 

[T-Cat]

OK got the Kingston ram and it automatically ran at CL-20. Granted this is because my laptop can run to 3200M/Ts so your laptop might not have such luck if its old. If your laptop can run this speed then this is THE best JDEC DDR4 3200 M/Ts RAM you can get as everything else is CL-22 (which is kind of negligible but still).

There is definitely faster laptop ram out there but it requires XMP so if you don't have XMP, this is (probably) the fastest DDR4 RAM out there for your laptop (and its 1.2v standard). This should be the end of my problems but if I have an issue Ill note it but so far no issues.

Probably going to buy a second kit as a emergency backup since this will be the last time DDR4 will be widely available (especially laptop RAM).