Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by foxfaisal

The Maximum RAM for ASUS Tuf A15

foxfaisal — Mon, 31 Aug 2020 01:31:25 +0800

Good day,

I plan to buy a new laptop to be used in my university (mostly for MATLAB simulation). This time, I would like to go for the 4th gen AMD mobile APU instead of the 10th gen Intel mobile CPU.

So far, the laptop with the most powerful AMD APU but still within my budget is the ASUS Tuf A15 with Ryzen 9 4900H and GTX1660Ti (I think I don't need the RTX2060 variant). However, the official ASUS website below says the Tuf A15 can detect only up until 32GB of 3200MHz of ram:
https://www.asus.com/my/Laptops/ASUS-TUF-Ga...specifications/

I did search for the keyword 'tuf a15 maximum ram' on google. Some search result claims that the Tuf A15 (or other laptop brands with the Ryzen 4000 series APU) can detect 64GB of ram, but most of the websites/videos only make the claim without giving any photo/screenshoot/video evidence, so I am not sure whether I should believe that claim or not. For examples:
1) This OPTIC PC online laptop seller allows its customers to customise the Tuf A15 (Ryzen 7 4800H and RTX2060) that they buy with up until 64GB of RAM.
https://xoticpc.com/products/asus-tuf-tuf506iv-as76
2) This seller on Newegg also allows its customers to customise the Tuf A15 (Ryzen 7 4800H and RTX2060) that they buy with up until 64GB of RAM.
https://www.newegg.com/gray-asus-tuf-a15/p/2WC-000N-01SY9
3) This crucial.com website claims that the Tuf A15 can detect up until 64GB of RAM.
https://www.crucial.com/compatible-upgrade-...-tuf-gaming-a15
4) This XMG (a TongFang ODM reseller) allows their Core 15 laptop (Ryzen 7 4800H) to be customised with up until 64GB of RAM.
https://www.xmg.gg/en/xmg-core-15-amd
5) This Illegear (another TongFang ODM reseller) also allows their ONYX V RYZEN laptop (Ryzen 7 4800H, might be similar with the Core 15 from XMG) to be customised with up until 64GB of RAM.
https://store.illegear.com/onyx-series/226-...yx-v-ryzen.html

Is there any reliable but cost-effective way for me to confirm whether the Tuf A15 can detect 32GB or 64 GB of RAM?

I bought a used Dell Optiplex 7010 Small Form Factor last year with i7-3770 CPU. The official user's guide and service manual stated that the maximum RAM that the Dell Optiplex 7010 Small Form Factor can detect is up until 4 x 4GB of DDR3 1600MHz, but I accidentally found some people in a few forums claiming that they did try to install 4 x 8GB of DDR3 1600MHz and can be detected by their Dell Optiplex 7010 Small Form Factor. Since 16GB of DDR3 is quite affordable, I didn't have any problem buying used 4 x 8GB of DDR3 1600MHz to test it myself. Luckily, my Dell Optiplex 7010 Small Form Factor can really detect the 4 x 8GB of DDR3 1600MHz.

The 2 x 32GB of DDR4 3200MHz however is too expensive for me to buy just for testing. In addition, I would like to avoid buying the Tuf A15 if it is really confirmed that it can only detect up until 32GB of RAM. Instead, I will go for the 10th gen Intel if the 4000 series Ryzen APU because at least all of the laptop that comes with i7-10750H that I've seen so far from Dell, HP, MSI, Acer, ASUS, Gigabyte/Aorus, Clevo, TongFang etc do claim that their laptops can detect up until 64GB of RAM.

Thank you.

MSI GP65 vs Dell G7 15 vs Level51 Forge 15

foxfaisal — Thu, 26 Dec 2019 02:59:38 +0800

Good day,

I would like to ask a question regarding the laptop models below:
1) MSI GP65 9SE 245MY LEOPARD, RM7,099.00
https://mystore.msi.com/product/gp65-9se-24...2060-6gb-gddr5/
2) Dell G7 15 Gaming Laptop (7590), RM 5,999.00
https://www.dell.com/en-my/shop/laptops-and...170152710pmyw10
3) Level51 Forge 15 Pro, RM4935.00
https://www.level51pc.co/welcome/Productcon...ec/forge-15-pro

These laptops has the same specs in terms of CPU and GPU (i7-9750H and RTX2060). May I know why is the MSI is RM1100 more expensive than the Dell even though the CPU and GPU are the same? Is it because of the MSI is overpriced or because the MSI's build quality and materials are better than the Dell? And may I know why is the Level 51 (and also Illegear Raven SE-R) is RM1064 cheaper than the Dell (and RM2164 cheaper than the MSI)? Is it because the Level51 has a better value for money or because the build quality and materials are lower than the Dell (and the MSI)?

Thank you very much and have a nice day.

Interested to purchase Illegear Prodigy

foxfaisal — Wed, 24 Jul 2019 19:08:07 +0800

Good day,

The ASUS A52JK that I've been using for 10 years (from 2010 until 2019) broke down a few weeks ago. The information about the laptop is available in the link below:
https://www.asus.com/my/Laptops/A52JK/

Besides repairing the broken down laptop, I am also considering to purchase a new laptop. Currently, Illegear is making a Mid Year Mega Sale until the 3rd of August. I am interested to buy the Prodigy model (comes with i7-9750H and GTX1660Ti) as shown in the link below:
https://store.illegear.com/portable-perform...ar-prodigy.html

Before making the decision to purchase, I would like to ask a few questions regarding Illegear:
1) Whether their products usually last long or not.
2) Whether it is easy to get spare parts at an affordable price after the warranty expires or not.

I would like to use my laptop as long as possible (just like how long I used my ASUS laptop). I will consider purchasing other common brands like Dell, MSI, HP, ASUS, Acer, Lenovo, etc. with similar CPU and GPU (i7-9750H and GTX1660Ti) if these brands usually last longer and easier to get spare parts at an affordable price after the warranty is over.

Thank you and have a nice day.

P/S:
1) I have asked the same question in the thread below, but someone replied telling me to start a new thread instead. That is the reason why I start this thread.
https://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopi...&#entry93381717
2) Beside Illegear, I've also been looking at Level 51 and Tech Armory. However, I still haven't found any model from Level 51 and Tech Armory that comes with i7-9750H and GTX1660Ti.

Intel Q33 Express Compatibility with Windows 10

foxfaisal — Tue, 27 Mar 2018 00:54:07 +0800

Good day,

Many months ago, I restored an old HP Business dc5800 Small Form Factor, as shown in the link below:
https://www.cnet.com/products/hp-bu...0-3gh...business/specs/

The desktop is based on Intel Q33 Express Chipset. Below is the summary of the desktop's components before and after the restoration:

Before restoration:
1) Pentium E2200
2) 2 x 1GB DDR2 800MH
3) Intel GMA 3100 integrated graphics
4) Windows XP
5) Western Digital 60GB HDD.

After restoration:
1) Core 2 Quad Q9650
2) 4 x 2GB DDR2 800MHz
3) NVidia GeForce GT 1030
4) Windows 10 Pro
5) Intel 1TB SSD

However, the northbridge becomes overheat, causing the CPU fan to spins noisily. The noise level is only reduced after I replace the thermal paste at the heatsink of the northbridge. I installed the NVidia GeForce GT1030 to lessen the burden of the northbridge, but I think it does not give too much effect. Usually, the CPU fan becomes noisy when I open certain websites on google chrome, such as facbook (when there are too many videos on the newsfeed), certain video streaming websites etc.

I suspect that this happens because one of the following things"
1) The Q33 Express northbridge is faulty.
2) The Q33 Express northbridge is not compatible with windows 10.
3) The driver for Q33 Express northbridge is not compatible with windows 10.
4) Other faulty components (processor, RAM, etc) causes the northbridege to overheat.

My last resort is to replace the existing OEM fanless northbridge heatsink with the aftermarket heatsink that comes with fan, such as below:
1) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEbXQQY0KAs
2) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pf60mlGNqEA
3) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIXi4pgMd7g

If this aftermarket heatsink that comes with fan does not improve anything, I think I will just dispose the PC and transfer the CPU to a used P45/P43 chipset based motherboard to build another custom PC.

Another option is to downgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 7, but then the desktop will not be usable after Windows 7 expired by the year 2020. In addition, only PC with Windows 10 will be able to use Ms Office 2019, which will be released in few more months.

Please advice if there is anything that I could do to save this baby

Thank you and have a nice day.

Would Like to Upgrade ASUS A52JK from i5 to i7

foxfaisal — Tue, 26 Apr 2016 21:22:34 +0800

Good day ladies and gentlemen,

I am a newbie here and would like to ask a question. I own an ASUS A52JK that was bought in 2010. It comes with Intel® HM55 Express Chipset & Intel® Core™ i5 430M Processor. The specification for the laptop is available in the link below:
https://www.asus.com/Notebooks/A52JK/specifications/

Beside the Intel® Core™ i5 430M Processor, this laptop model also comes with different processors (according to the link above), which are:
a - Intel® Core™ i5-540M Processor
b - Intel® Core™ i5-520M Processor
c - Intel® Core™ i5-460M Processor
d - Intel® Core™ i5-450M Processor
e - Intel® Core™ i3-370M Processor
f - Intel® Core™ i3-350M Processor
g - Intel® Core™ i3-330M Processor

My laptop is still in good condition, however lately it feels slows whenever I'm running newer programs such as Ms Office 2013 & 2016. At first I decided to buy a newer laptop (an MSI GE62 6QD Apache Pro, an ASUS ROG GL552VW or an ASUS ROG G501VW. Before purchasing the new laptop, my friend of mine suggested me to upgrade the HDD in the laptop to SSD. After upgrading to SSD, another friend of mine suggested me to upgrade the CPU to i7 (provided that the socket is the same).

According to ark.intel.com website, the processors that are compatible with Intel® HM55 Express Chipset are listed in the link below:
http://ark.intel.com/products/43183#@compatibility

Out of all the processors listed in the link above, I am interested with the following processors:
a - Intel® Core™ i7-940XM Processor Extreme Edition (8M Cache, 2.13 GHz Base Frequency, 3.33 GHz Turbo Frequency, 4 Cores, 8 Threads, 55 W TDP)
b - Intel® Core™ i7-640M Processor (4M Cache, 2.80 GHz Base Frequency, 3.46 GHz Turbo Frequency, 2 Cores, 4 Threads, 35 W TDP)

I have 1 question - can I simply remove the existing Intel® Core™ i5 430M Processor and then replace it with either one of the 2 i7 processors above (Intel® Core™ i7-940XM Processor Extreme Edition OR Intel® Core™ i7-640M Processor)?

If not possible, can I replace the existing Intel® Core™ i5 430M Processor with the fastest i5 processor that is compatible with Intel® HM55 Express Chipset? According to the http://ark.intel.com/products/43183#@compatibility link, the fastest compatible i5 processor is:
a - a - Intel® Core™ i5-580M Processor (3M Cache, 2.66 GHz Base Frequency, 3.33 GHz Turbo Frequency, 2 Cores, 4 Threads, 35 W TDP)

If still not possible, I think the only possible thing that I can do is to replace the existing Intel® Core™ i5 430M Processor with the fastest i5 processor that comes together with ASUS A52JK model. According to the https://www.asus.com/Notebooks/A52JK/specifications/ link, the fastest ASUS A52JK model is:
a - Intel® Core™ i5-540M Processor (3M Cache, 2.53 GHz Base Frequency, 3.066 GHz Turbo Frequency, 2 Cores, 4 Threads, 35 W TDP)

I hope I can get advice and guidance from all of you regarding this matter. Thank you very much.