Want A Laptop RAM Upgrade? Here’s What To Do

Did you know that one of the fastest gaming laptops out there is the mighty Alienware 17 R5? this beast has no less than 32GB of RAM and it’s ideal for professional gamers who want to run any PC game on “Ultra” details.

At the same time, the 15-inch Apple Macbook Pro also has 32GB of RAM and it’s preferred by creative professionals who want to make music on design logos on their websites.

As you can see, RAM memory plays an important role in the processing speed of your beloved laptop. Probably now it’s the best time to think about a laptop RAM upgrade since it’s not that difficult to do it.

But how to add more RAM to your computer? And how much memory is enough? Keep reading to find out!

Laptop RAM Upgrade – Covering The Basics

Upgrading your laptop’s RAM memory has numerous benefits. Not only that you’ll be able to run programs, applications, and games faster, but your machine will also keep up with the latest software demands. Why buying a brand new and more expensive laptop when you can upgrade the current one at a much smaller cost? Here’s what you have to do.

1. Check To See If You Have Empty RAM Slots

If you’ve never seen a RAM memory card, it looks like a knife’s blade with multiple integrated circuits built into it. This memory card is inserted in special slots in your laptop. There are no cables to connect, no buttons to press, no secret codes to enter, you just insert the memory card and the operating system will use it immediately. The RAM slots are mounted into the motherboard and they’re easy to find.

However, if you don’t have an additional memory slot available, you might not be able to upgrade your RAM memory. Look on your laptop’s specs sheet and check to see how many slots are available and how many are occupied. Usually, every laptop has 2 slots and one is occupied. You can use the other one to expand your RAM memory and make your laptop faster.

If you don’t have the laptop’s specs sheet handy, you can install a program from the internet which automatically checks the available RAM slots. Just Google “how to detect free RAM slots” and go from there.

2. Get A Compatible RAM Memory Card

RAM memories are slightly different one from the other. They vary depending upon memory space available and type of memory card. For example, you can find 4GB RAM memory cards, 8GB cards, 16GB cards, and even 32GB cards. As a general rule of thumb, you might need a 4GB or 8GB memory card for your upgrade process.

At the same time, look at the type of memory card. There is DDR3 which is an old model rarely used today, DDR4 which is the most popular and DDR5 which is expended to be released in 2020. most likely, you’ll need a DDR4 memory card to upgrade your machine.

3. Install The RAM Memory Card

Now on to the exciting stuff. Today’s laptops are usually built just like smartphones – they have a closed design with no way of accessing the battery compartment or RAM memory without using a screwdriver. If your model also looks like this, you need a special type of screwdriver to carefully remove the bottom part of your laptop. You can find one at most electronics stores or get one from the internet.

Make sure that you turn off your laptop completely – not have it on sleep or hibernate. Unplug it from the power source and turn it upside down. It’s important for the laptop to be shut down properly, so that the operating system detects the new RAM memory card when you restart it.

Use the screwdriver to detach the bottom part of your laptop and then look for the empty RAM slot. Carefully insert the new RAM memory card in the empty slot. The best way to do this is to insert one end of the card first and then gradually push the other end in place. There are no lights that turn green when the card has been inserted, you’ll know you’ve done it correctly when the memory card is fixed in place and symmetrically inserted.

4. Power Up Your Laptop and Enjoy More Processing Speed

Once you have inserted the RAM memory card correctly, your operating system should see it immediately. Do another check similar to the one you did to see empty slots. If now your system shows 8GB of RAM instead of 4GB or something similar, you have successfully upgraded your RAM memory!

As a rule of thumb, it’s great to go for identical memory cards when doing the upgrade. For example, if you already have 4GB of RAM, go for another 4GB. If you already have 8GB of RAM, go for 8GB more. Combinations such as 4GB with 8GB or 8GB with 16GB are not common and might lead to problems.

5. How Much RAM Memory Is Enough?

The answer depends on a wide variety of factors. Do you want to run complex applications such as Photoshop for editing pictures or FL Studio for making music? Do you want to play the latest games? In that case, then you might want to go for as much RAM memory as you can afford and your laptop can support. 16GB of RAM or even 32GB is usually sufficient for most of today’s software programs and applications.

Ready to Upgrade Your Laptop?

Now you know the basics when it comes to laptop RAM upgrade and you’re ready to take the processing speed of your machine to the next level.

If you want to know more about laptops and computers in general or your machine needs repairs quickly, make sure that you check out our computer repair services. We specialize in computer repairs of any kind and our prices are affordable!