I also had the same question as everyone else so on a whim I ordered one 8GB dimm for $36.  It arrived today so I put it in the laptop and my 17R (7720) recognized immediately at 12GB total in both the BIOS and Windows 7.  I will now go ahead and order a second 8GB dimm and max out my laptop at 16GB.

I also had the same question as everyone else so on a whim I ordered one 8GB dimm for $36.  It arrived today so I put it in the laptop and my 17R (7720) recognized immediately at 12GB total in both the BIOS and Windows 7.  I will now go ahead and order a second 8GB dimm and max out my laptop at 16GB.

What brand of the 8 GB SODIMM did you buy?

And please remember to flash your BIOS to A08. It was released on October 22, 2012 (see image below)

And if you are planning to install Microsoft Windows 8, I am pleased to let you know that device drivers for the upcoming OS are available for download for your machine.

I purchased off Amazon -- Kingston ValueRAM 8GB 1600MHz DDR3 (PC3-12800) Non-ECC CL11 SODIMM Notebook Memory (KVR16S11/8) at the following link:  www.amazon.com/.../ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00

I bought the Inspiron 17R SE and switched the factory installed 2GB ram module to a 8GB module (SODIMM DDR3 8GB 1x8GB 1600 CL11 - Kingston). Kept the other factory installed 4 GB and ended up with a perfectly running system with12GB ram.

I have the A11 version of BIOS running on a fresh WIN 8 (stand alone) install after formatting and erased the original factory software setup. The Inspiron 17R SE is a wonderful laptop, and with this mild tweak gives a fantastic performance for its price.

i thought that too, but i guess Dell are trying to cover themselves

I bought some GEIL ram and after about an hour of use my screen scrambles and I have to reboot.

Really sorry to hear that what was the model part number ? And do you have the specs I though it had to 1600MHz DDR3 (PC3-12800) Non-ECC, CL10< or less  but the guy above used some Kingston which is CL11

I'm currently on BIOs ver A02. I think the current version is A11.

Should I update the BIOS before upgrading the RAM ?

The ram which is included in the 7720 is CL=11 - never change the type or access of ram unless you like debugging weird failures ... the Kingston stick is the way to go (other brands will work but INSURE they are the same format: non-ecc and CL=11). CL-10 or lower is too fast at 1600mhz; our motherboard expects a latency of 11 at 1600mhz.

Let me know in case there are any other.....

Like a parrot, and just like calling Dell Tech Support. They don't listen, they don't answer your question, and they believe themsleves to be very very smart.

Just another update that has already been confirmed....

This morning I got my 2) 8GB SODIMMs from Amazon $89 made my Crucial. Specs listed at

Crucial 16GB Kit (8GBx2) DDR3 1333 MT/s (PC3-10600) CL9 SODIMM 204-Pin 1.35V/1.5V Notebook Memory Modules CT2KIT102464BF1339

Link here:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005LAYH3K/ref=oh_details_o01_s02_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I did upgrade to the latest BIOS release, and during BIOS boot it shows 16GB available, and Windows Task manager shows that 16GB available with lots of ram left for prefetch and other storage caching  that windows tends to use the spare memory for. It really amazes me that Dell sells a system with the chipset and hardware capable of handling more memory, and then tells people on their forums that installing the max memory could damage the motherboard. Nothing but an attempt to get you to buy their more expensive models.

Next I'll be tempted to buy an mSata add on drive to speed things up a bit. But not for a while. I'm not going to pay more than $25-$30 when I do it.That or I will buy a SSD and move the included 1TB drive into the second bay to use it as extra storage and get the wonderful speed boost for my main OS drive.

This laptop is really amazing considering I got it for $550 via a deal on http://fatwallet.com  (note mine is not the special edition, just the i5 17R. No video card or anything) 

Note the 1.15Ghz speed is the speed step technology keeping things running low since I'm not doing anything taxing. The i5-3210M goes up to 2.88ghz if I remember right. Overall the laptop stays pretty cool and the main fan only comes on when things get intense, but I do also have it sitting on a USB powered dual-fan cpu cooler just for the heck of it. I also run HDMI to my 42" TV as a second monitor so I can play movies/netflix/etc on it and the HD4000 gfx chipset seems to handle both the built in laptop monitor and the TV @ 1080p without breaking a sweat.

One last note - it pays to have a bigger laptop. The on board audio on this laptop is really quite good. It is an extra speaker on the bottom the I am guessing handles the lower frequency audio. It is pretty well sized for a laptop speaker.

Good luck everyone.

Here is an image of it running OCCT stress tester.

And a comparison of the Windows Experience Index between it and my i7 desktop @ 3.4ghz 12GB ram with AMD 4870 video card and SSD

Inspiron 17R after memory upgrade. I thought there was a small chance I'd get a higher memory operations per second bump, but I guess the laptop still runs in dual channel mode even with different sized DIMMs (the stock configuration had 1) 4GB stick and 1) 2GB stick.

And my i7 desktop

Sorry to dig up an old thread, but this is the only one I could find. I have the Inspiron 17R (1764). I tried upgrading the memory to 16GB and it just reboots. Flashed memory to A13. It wouldn't even boot with a single 8GB chip in it. I got the KIngston 1600MHz DDR3.

Anyone have any ideas, or am I stuck wiith 8GB?

Thanks

Thanks, Steve