New Asus netbooks have problems with DDR3 memory modules

I’ve tested some of the new Asus netbooks lately, the 10 inch 1018P and the bigger gaming netbook 1215N.

Both of them came with the maximum amount of memory supported, 2 GB for the 1018P and 4 GB for the 1215N. Plus, all the modules used were Hynix, which is what Asus usually equips their devices with.

However, in real life, there are problems.

The 1018P usually sells with 1 GB DDR3 Hynix 1333 MHz DIMM. Now, a bunch of guys tried upgrading them to 2 GB and bought random types of DDR3 1333 MHz modules. However, once those installed, devices were not able to boot anymore. Details in this thread on EEEUser forum.

Now, the same thing happened to the 1215N with a DDR3 2x2GB Corsair kit. Details in here.

So, what are the explanations. Well, there aren’t many. Asus say it is recommended to get 1066 MHz DDR3 for these devices. However, the ones i tested used 1333 MHz ones and worked just fine. Plus, they already ship their machines equipped with 1333 MHz chips. Of course, the ones shipped and the ones i tested, all use Hynix modules. For the moment, the guys at Asus say they cannot ensure compatibility with every bit of DDR3 module on the market, but since you’re buying something with the same specs as the ones pre-installed, they should work, ay?

However, they don’t. I’ve tried getting more official info from Asus on this matter, no reply yet.

Still, I find it bizarre that only Hynix chips seem to work on these machines. So why not buy a Hynix and solve the problem? Well, that’s easy: because you can’t buy those in stores (or they are harder to find).

Of course, these problems should get fixed with future BIOS updates. But for the moment, buying one of these DDR3 equipped netbooks from Asus might not be the best idea, especially if you plan to upgrade memory on them. Not to mention some still have drivers problems as well (the EEE PC 1215N).

Anyway, I’ll dig more into this situation and let you know as soon as I find anything new. Should get that reply from Asus and will update when I do. For the moment though, all the stories around this subject are confusing, but it seems these new machines are really whimsy when dealing with DDR3 memory modules.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Tags: Asus, Asus netbooks, DDR3 memory, netbook upgrades

Last updated: August 26, 2010 | Published: August 26th, 2010 | See the comments or add yours!