Hello, I just finished reading the article on single vs dual rank ram and was redirected to this forum by the "ask our expert forum" link. I have a Dell inspiron 3168 laptop that I just upgraded from 4gb to 8gb ram. I'm not very knowledgeable about ram or all the various specs to consider, so I did alot of homework before making a purchase finally by creating a chart to match up the specs of various alternative brands and modules. First I tracked down all the details of the 4gb module the laptop came with, as follows:
SK Hynix 4gb DDR3L SO-DIMM
Part number HMT451S6BFR8A-PB
Serial number 0C7B23BA
SK Hynix HMT451S6BFR8A 4GB 1Rx8 DDR3 SO-DIMM PC3-12800 1600MHz 204-Pin Non-ECC CL11 1.35V Laptop Memory Module HMT451S6BFR8A-PB.
Model: HMT451S6BFR8A
Part Number: HMT451S6BFR8A-PB
Compatible Part Numbers: PC3L-12800S-11-13-B4
Memory Capacity: 4GB
Memory Type: DDR3 SDRAM
Pins: 204-Pin
Speed: 1600MHz
Bus Type: PC3-12800
Rank: Single (1Rx8)
CAS Latency: CL11
Memory Clock: 200Mhz
Error Correction (ECC): Non-ECC
Voltage: 1.35V
Form Factor: SO-DIMM
Then after looking at alot of options I identified the specific categories that seemed to represent the most variations. I went on other tech forums seeking guidance and eventually drew up the following chart. the first row lists what seemed to be the specs from my existing ram that I needed most to match up with the new 8gb module for upgrade. The single vs dual rank question was and still is a big question, as I found prospective 8gb modules that matched every spec EXCEPT for rank. Or I had one that matched every spec except for the latency. I really wanted to know if specs like rank or latency had to match exactly my current ram or whether there was room for say a change from my current CL11 to CL9 in latency, which was the only difference with one Gskill module I was interested in. But I was unable to find a definitive answer and after studying and asking questions from here to kingdom come, I followed the most conservative advice and purchased the only affordable 8gb module I could find that matched every spec exactly, a teamgroup product.
| hynix have now | teamgroup | timetech | A-tech | G skill 1 | g skill 2 | nvtek |
| Bus Type | PC3-12800 | y | y | y | y | y | y |
| Rank | Single (1Rx8) | y | dual (2Rx8) | dual (2Rx8) | | y | |
| CAS Latency | CL11 | y | y | y | y | CL9 | |
| Error Correction (ECC) | Non-ECC | y | y | y | | y | |
| Voltage | 1.35V | y | y | y | y | y | y |
| Form Factor | SO-DIMM | y | y | y | y | y | y |
| Pins | 204 | y | y | y | y | y | y |
| Memory Type: | DDR3 SDRAM | y | y | y | y | y | y |
| speed | 1600MHz | y | y | y | y | y | y |
The TeamGroup module I purchased on Amazon was model: TED3L8G1600C11-S01 and here is the Amazon listing:
As you'll see, this TeamGroup module is listed in the Amazon product description as single rank. Again, I chose it because it matched the specs of the ram this laptop came with, not because I actually understand how or why any of these parameters work or what would be optimum for my system. So the new ram arrived last night and I was excited to put it in and watch this slow old machine leap to life.
So I got it installed and the first thing I did was run the cpu-z scan. Looking over the results I was immediately alarmed to see this:
The thing is, I didn't know this until after I'd installed it, obviously. So did a chat with tech support at Amazon who convinced me dual was going to be even better than single rank would have been. Actually they are the ones who directed me to your article. But even after reading it I'm still unclear as to really what would be best for this laptop. Dell won't give me any advice because their guidelines state that this laptop's max ram is 4gb so no upgrade advisable. Of course I found any number of enthusiasts who had concluded Dell's guidelines were incorrect and had upgraded to 8gb with great success. So here I am.
Bottom line, that's a long winded way of asking what should I do now? Would I be better off with the single rank module as I had intended to purchase? If so I can return this one. Also, if that turns out to be the case, my next question would be, do I need to stick to the CL11 I have now or would CL9 work, allowing me to look again at the Gskills module mentioned on my chart. Gskills does have a CL11 8gb stick but I was unable to determine the ECC status or rank on that one. Plus it was out of stock on Amazon.
Or am I better off with the dual rank stick I got sent? It's already installed and functioning but I don't know really if it's functioning as well or better or worse than the single rank one would. Apologies for such a long winded opening post. I'm just eager to get this resolved one way or the other. Thank you for your patience if you've read all this and I look forward to your advice. Thank you again and Happy Holidays!
Kenny
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So the only cost that I have are the import fees. I just received a AMD Motherboard with an 1100T PCU and all that goes with it (AM3+) 
. My question is now, can I combine 2 different kit's i.e. a 
