I have a Asus laptop x552vl-sx031d and I have pushed it up to 8GB DDR3 (2x4GB). Since I'm a software developer I really need more than that.

So I wanted to buy 8GB DDR3L modules to replace my DDR3 modules, but I have two questions about that before I do.

1) Will it even work

I know that DDR3L should be backward compatible with DDR3 in terms of voltage, so it should work both on 1.35 and 1.5V as I understand.

2) Will it be recognized and addressed correctly by my motherboard

Not much to add here. Just want to be sure not to buy modules and have them working but only to realize that my computer still only uses 8GB instead of 16GB

Any help is appreciated

1 Answer

DDR3L is backwards compatible by design, manufacturers use the same integrated circuits for DDR3 and DDR3L. The highest quality ICs are tested for operating at 1.35 volts and are branded as DDR3L if they run properly. Other than that, there's no difference between them.

1) Yes, it will work

2) Yes, it will recognize and address them properly, in fact according to Acer's X552VL Specifications page, all X552VL models ship with DDR3L memory installed.

If you had problems it would be trying to go the other way, a computer that has DDR3L slots is in general not compatible with standard DDR3 RAM. It all depends on how the motherboard tolerates the higher voltage requirement and if the BIOS can adjust for it, but it fails in most computers and won't even boot.

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Sign up using Google Sign up using Facebook Sign up using Email and Password Submit

Post as a guest

Post Your Answer Discard

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy