[Nexus 9 General] Need4Sneed:
COMMUNITY IS ALL ABOUT SHARING, AND I HAVE SOME GREAT NEWS TO SHARE WITH MY FRIENDS HERE ON XDA!!​

I've have a 32GB Nexus 9 LTE for almost 2 years now, and she's been great, but, as most folks here will understand, I WANTED MORE RAM!! I picked up a Pixel C a month ago, and decided it was time to give the RAM upgrade a shot. Since I have the Pixel, if the worst happened during the upgrade attempt it wouldn't be the end of the world.

WELL, IT WORKED!! :D:D:D:D:D:D

I am working on a video tutorial, but wanted to share the good news with everyone!!

While I wouldn't describe my N9 as "laggy", it most definitely had it's bottleneck issues, especially on RAM intensive tasks like Chrome w/ multiple tabs open. Luckily, the LPDDR3 module is not stacked on the SoC in a SoP configuration . . THANK GOD TOO!! Because 2GB of RAM on a CPU this beastly is like putting a 100mph governor on an Indy Car. It took me a while, but I was FINALLY able to snag a 32Gb (514Mb x x64) single module (That's 4GB BTW). It's not that I couldn't find the right module; what held me back was waiting for Samsung to release the single module 64Gb (8GB) 253-Ball VFBGA LPDDR3. The Tegra K1 supports up to 8GB of LPDDR3 or DDR3L, but since the Nexus 9's board is built with support for a single VFBGA RAM module, you only have support for one. I got impatient and went with a 4GB module. The module is 1866MHz, but it runs at 1600MHz, so I don't think the K1 supports higher than 1600MHz (800MHz x 2), but I could be wrong. I didn't wanna push my luck with such an invasive upgrade, so I didn't look into pushing it to its rated 1866MHz. Besides, the stock module is 1600MHz anyway, and that's plenty fast for what I'm using my N9 for. I know it supports DDR3L, but I didn't wanna create compatibility insanity, so I played it safe, sticking with the exact same module brand (Elpida/Micron), type (LPDDR3), speed (800MHz x 2), and package size (VFBGA 253-Ball), but with a higher density (512Mb x x64 = 32Gb, or, 4GB). After removing the stock module, and careful placement and reflow, I was kinda surprised when I turned it on and it just worked. Not that I expected a problem, but y'all know how it goes. :fingers-crossed:

Props to Nvidia for an extremely flexible SoC. :good:

*(I will put the module details below if anyone wants to do what I did and upgrade their N9's RAM)*

After the upgrade, I decided to address the Tegra's heat issues. Long ago, I deduced that the cooling solution was lacking, if even there at all. So while I had her opened up, I spread some MX-4 between the SoC and an extremely thin copper square which acts as a heat-sink. Then I used a teeny-tiny vapor chamber heat pipe that was originally attached to a VRM cooler on a busted SuperMicro server board. After welding the heat pipe onto the copper plate, I cut out a small hole in the back cover and connected the condensing side of the heat pipe to a small, flat flat-finned VRM heat-sink. The heat pipe is obnoxiously long, so I had to get kinda creative with the spacing. I did consider using a teeny-tiny fan, but that seemed like overkill lol, not to mention the reduction in battery life. I made a small vented cover, but there is a noticeable bump on the rear cover, but with my case on it, and the fact that it's almost always on a stand, it hasn't been an issue.

Now, with a REAL cooling solution in place, I was able to use flar2's overclocking options on his kernel via his EX Kernel Manager app. With the CPU at 2.5GHz (up from 2.3GHz stock), and the GPU at 984MHz (up from 852MHz stock), along with several other tweaks, she has been AMAZING ever since, with zero lag, zero random reboots, etc. With fsync disabled, I consistently score between 120,000 and 130,000 on Antutu, depending on governor settings. I couldn't really push her prior to the cooling solution without some major throttling, but those days are OVER!! I don't know why Google/HTC didn't at least use SOMETHING as a cooling solution. Even a small thermal dissipation pad and a little piece of vented copper would've been more than enough to keep the throttling at bay. Not Nvidia's fault, I'm assuming their specs call for a specific Tcase for proper functionality, and I guess they didn't push her all that hard in the testing phase. :rolleyes:

;)

I'm working on a video tutorial & step by step guide for the RAM upgrade and the cooling solution, so if that's something you'd wanna do to your N9 (and if you're good with micro repair, I absolutely think you should do it!), I should have it up on the N9 forum by mid-week.

* The module I replaced the stock 16Gb (2GB) with is made by Micron/Elpida. The product number is:

- MT52L512M64D4PQ-107 WT -

There is another module with a VERY SIMILAR product number, with the same specs, but different BGA mounting & ball count: MT52L512M64D4GN-107 WT. I actually made this mistake and assumed the module was VFBGA, but it's actually WFVGA (256-Ball), and the voltage loop-back logic pads are NOT compatible with the N9's VFBGA module pads. Just stay away from any module that ends in 'GN' and you'll be alright.