4 ms·

What's the generally hold-up with 32GB RAM being a standard option(or even possibility) in this form factor?

dajohnson89 8y ago
Seriously. This Dell would be perfect if we could get 32GB of ram. fwiw: I have a System76 ubuntu laptop with 32gb of ram. It's bulky, but the performance is good. I can't imagine making space for 32gb of ram would compromise the XPS form factor much.
- nrclark 8y ago
  which System76 laptop? I've been toying with the idea of getting an Oryx during the next round of upgrades at work.
  - dajohnson89 8y ago
    Yeah I got the Oryx Pro 15". Default options, except 32G of ram. I'm generally happy with it because I do data-intensive java development, and it handles that well (+ multitasking with chrome etc). There are two cons you should be aware of: It's heavy, and the battery life isn't great at all. but if you use it like a desktop, or minimal carrying, it's good.
  - lovehashbrowns 8y ago
    I have the Galago Pro with 32gb of ram. Bad battery life, terrible speakers and trackpad. But overall decent. I like the build and PopOS makes me happy as pie as to how well it all works out-of-the-box. Great price, too. But I think I picked up a few Christmas discounts.
ambulancechaser 8y ago
Totally agree. This is why I'm going to get a T480 thinkpad with 32GB for my next linux laptop next week rather than this.
- bdcravens 8y ago
  The XPS 15 also supports 32gb.
- ahnick 8y ago
  That's what I've been rocking for 7 months now and it is my best laptop ever. Highly recommend it!
- storrgie 8y ago
  beware (if planning to do linux): - only the thunderbolt dock works, all other docks have complications - the LTE card will not work (exposed wrong, needs to be on usb) - the webcam will not work (IR based) otherwise it seems like a nice laptop
jandrese 8y ago
Intel's memory controller on their -U (Ultrabook) chips had a 16GB limitation last generation (or was it the one before?) but I think that's been lifted in Whiskey Lake. But in general if you're doing heavy processing Intel doesn't usually recommend the Ultrabook class chips. They are optimized for battery life and low thermal load, not performance.
- jsjohnst 8y ago
  > Intel's memory controller on their -U (Ultrabook) chips had a 16GB limitation To be more specific, they don’t support LP-DDR3 with over 16gb. All laptops which support 32gb use regular DDR memory, not the low power variant. DDR4 is about the same as LP-DDR3 in power consumption under heavy load, but when not, LP-DDR3 is significantly less power usage. So while Intel is to blame for the cause of forcing a choice, ultimately the decision to prioritize battery life numbers is the reason you don’t see more 32gb laptops.
- chx 8y ago
  Intel Ark claims 32GB limit in the first place for Kaby Lake Refresh chips but Campuspoint tested 32GB sticks (64GB) with the T480 and it worked. Indeed, it seems every Intel chip supporting DDR4 SO-DIMM supports 32GB sticks.
anuragsoni 8y ago
It might be their use of LPDDR3 memory. I haven't seen anyone with a 16GB LPDDR3 memory stick. Edit: Looking at the specs it looks like whiskey lake did not add support for LPDDR4. [1] [2] [1] https://ark.intel.com/products/149091/Intel-Core-i7-8565U-Processor-8M-Cache-up-to-4-60-GHz- https://ark.intel.com/products/149091/Intel-Core-i7-8565U-Pr... [2] https://www.anandtech.com/show/13275/intel-launches-whiskey-lake-amber-lake https://www.anandtech.com/show/13275/intel-launches-whiskey-...
ramenmeal 8y ago
Back in 2012 I got a maxed out macbook air w/ 8gb of ram, and waking from sleep was noticeably slower than the other machines I've had. Never did any testing to see if that was actually the cause, but I'm curious if large amounts of memory can be hard for quick sleep/wake actions.
- jsjohnst 8y ago
  > I'm curious if large amounts of memory can be hard for quick sleep/wake actions No, because sleep mode keeps the memory powered (albeit in idle mode which with LP-DDR3 is less than 10% of the power draw normally). Hibernate is where the ram gets flushed to disk and the ram is powered down, which could impact startup times with more RAM, but that isn’t the issue in your case I believe. I’m guessing your case is due to an app you have running.
wongarsu 8y ago
It's available on the (still current but older) XPS 15, so I guess it's some sort of space limitation?

Seriously. This Dell would be perfect if we could get 32GB of ram. fwiw: I have a System76 ubuntu laptop with 32gb of ram. It's bulky, but the performance is good. I can't imagine making space for 32gb of ram would compromise the XPS form factor much.

nrclark 8y ago
which System76 laptop? I've been toying with the idea of getting an Oryx during the next round of upgrades at work.
- dajohnson89 8y ago
  Yeah I got the Oryx Pro 15". Default options, except 32G of ram. I'm generally happy with it because I do data-intensive java development, and it handles that well (+ multitasking with chrome etc). There are two cons you should be aware of: It's heavy, and the battery life isn't great at all. but if you use it like a desktop, or minimal carrying, it's good.
- lovehashbrowns 8y ago
  I have the Galago Pro with 32gb of ram. Bad battery life, terrible speakers and trackpad. But overall decent. I like the build and PopOS makes me happy as pie as to how well it all works out-of-the-box. Great price, too. But I think I picked up a few Christmas discounts.

ambulancechaser 8y ago

Totally agree. This is why I'm going to get a T480 thinkpad with 32GB for my next linux laptop next week rather than this.

bdcravens 8y ago
The XPS 15 also supports 32gb.
ahnick 8y ago
That's what I've been rocking for 7 months now and it is my best laptop ever. Highly recommend it!
storrgie 8y ago
beware (if planning to do linux): - only the thunderbolt dock works, all other docks have complications - the LTE card will not work (exposed wrong, needs to be on usb) - the webcam will not work (IR based) otherwise it seems like a nice laptop

jandrese 8y ago

Intel's memory controller on their -U (Ultrabook) chips had a 16GB limitation last generation (or was it the one before?) but I think that's been lifted in Whiskey Lake. But in general if you're doing heavy processing Intel doesn't usually recommend the Ultrabook class chips. They are optimized for battery life and low thermal load, not performance.

jsjohnst 8y ago
> Intel's memory controller on their -U (Ultrabook) chips had a 16GB limitation To be more specific, they don’t support LP-DDR3 with over 16gb. All laptops which support 32gb use regular DDR memory, not the low power variant. DDR4 is about the same as LP-DDR3 in power consumption under heavy load, but when not, LP-DDR3 is significantly less power usage. So while Intel is to blame for the cause of forcing a choice, ultimately the decision to prioritize battery life numbers is the reason you don’t see more 32gb laptops.
chx 8y ago
Intel Ark claims 32GB limit in the first place for Kaby Lake Refresh chips but Campuspoint tested 32GB sticks (64GB) with the T480 and it worked. Indeed, it seems every Intel chip supporting DDR4 SO-DIMM supports 32GB sticks.

anuragsoni 8y ago

It might be their use of LPDDR3 memory. I haven't seen anyone with a 16GB LPDDR3 memory stick. Edit: Looking at the specs it looks like whiskey lake did not add support for LPDDR4. [1] [2] [1] https://ark.intel.com/products/149091/Intel-Core-i7-8565U-Processor-8M-Cache-up-to-4-60-GHz- https://ark.intel.com/products/149091/Intel-Core-i7-8565U-Pr... [2] https://www.anandtech.com/show/13275/intel-launches-whiskey-lake-amber-lake https://www.anandtech.com/show/13275/intel-launches-whiskey-...

ramenmeal 8y ago

Back in 2012 I got a maxed out macbook air w/ 8gb of ram, and waking from sleep was noticeably slower than the other machines I've had. Never did any testing to see if that was actually the cause, but I'm curious if large amounts of memory can be hard for quick sleep/wake actions.

jsjohnst 8y ago
> I'm curious if large amounts of memory can be hard for quick sleep/wake actions No, because sleep mode keeps the memory powered (albeit in idle mode which with LP-DDR3 is less than 10% of the power draw normally). Hibernate is where the ram gets flushed to disk and the ram is powered down, which could impact startup times with more RAM, but that isn’t the issue in your case I believe. I’m guessing your case is due to an app you have running.

wongarsu 8y ago

It's available on the (still current but older) XPS 15, so I guess it's some sort of space limitation?