Question 1

Can this memory be used to upgrade a laptop that initially came with 8Gb RAM?

Accepted Answer

Key factors in the differential for laptop RAM upgrade eligibility:

Physical Slot Availability

How many SO-DIMM slots exist and how many are already populated.

Some laptops have one soldered module plus one slot, others have two slots, others are fully soldered.

Form Factor and Interface

DDR generation (DDR4 vs DDR5) and SO-DIMM vs LPDDR (the latter is soldered and not upgradeable).

Pin count and physical notch must match.

Chipset and CPU Support

Maximum supported memory per slot and in total, defined by the CPU’s memory controller.

Supported speed (e.g., DDR5-5600 vs DDR5-4800). Faster sticks may downclock to the controller’s limit.

Motherboard and BIOS Limits

Some boards impose stricter maximums than the CPU.

BIOS updates may expand or improve compatibility, but rarely beyond official chipset limits.

Rank and Density

Some laptops reject high-density modules (e.g., 32 GB single-rank sticks).

Check whether the system supports 1Rx8 vs 2Rx8 modules.

Thermal and Power Constraints

Higher capacity or higher frequency RAM may increase power draw and heat.

Ultrabooks in particular can be sensitive.

ECC vs Non-ECC

Most consumer laptops only accept non-ECC.

ECC requires chipset support, rarely present outside workstation-class laptops.

Practical Checks

Vendor QVL (qualified vendor list).

Community reports of successful installs.

OS recognition: some 32-bit OS or edition limits can cap usable memory.

Question 2

Why DDR5 RAM is so expensive now?

Accepted Answer

DDR5 Memory is pricey due to the surging demand from AI server farms and data centers, which has caused a global memory shortage. This has led memory manufacturers to prioritize more profitable server-grade memory like HBM (high-Bandwidth Memory) over consumer-grade DDR5, drastically reducing supply for consumers while simultaneously causing the prices for both DDR5 and DDR4 to increase.

Question 3

Will this reach 5600Mhz on systems that don't support XMP?

Accepted Answer

Yes, works flawlessly on Framework 16 which is JEDEC compliant

Question 4

Does it need XMP to reach 5600Mhz?

Accepted Answer

Yes, it supports Intel XMP 3.0, which is likely needed to reach the 5600MHz speed.

Question 5

Does it need XMP to reach 5600Mhz? I saw 40-40-40 is also jedec timings for 5600MT/s

Accepted Answer

Yes, the G.SKILL Ripjaws DDR5 SO-DIMM memory module supports Intel XMP 3.0.

Questions & Answers