The problem you have is that the studio 17 has only two RAM sockets, so you will need to purchase 2x4GB RAM modules. A quick web search shows 4GB DDR3 modules are about $250 each (Crucial). Best is to get the 17 with minimum RAM and buy the 8GB from Crucial for the same price as the upgrade from Dell. Then you can either keep the original RAM or sell it. If you need Dell warranty service, you will need to put the original RAM back in, or they might not honor the warranty if you send them the laptop for service. In addition, RAM from third parties is warrantied for life. From Dell, it is the period of the purchased warranty.
I am residing in Canada and I will be purchasing a Studio 17 (i7 processor) Laptop from Dell soon. The base model starts with 4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz, and is customizable to 6GB and 8GB. Each memory upgrade is costing me $250.00. For my ideal laptop I would want at-least 8GB of memory, and this upgrade is costing me an additional $500.00.
Now I know I can purchase a 3rd Party 2GB memory stick for under $100.00. Would be sensible to give Dell $500 for the 8GB memory upgrade when I can simply go for the 4GB and upgrade the additional 4GB for $200.00 myself? Hopefully I will have the available slots and the 3rd Party DDR3 memory would be compatible with my purchase. Unless Dell uses they own "special" memory sticks? Any suggestions?

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