Whether your older laptop is feeling sluggish or your newer system starts chocking up when you have too many tabs open, adding more RAM could solve the problem. (Most office apps won’t see any improvement from increased memory bandwidth.). Copyright © 2020 IDG Communications, Inc. Crucial’s Memory Scanner will tell if you have open memory slots in your laptop and what kind of RAM you can run. It shouldn’t budge. The memory module should sit flat and will be locked in place by the metal arms (in color on this image) on each side. Some older models require the entire bottom cover to be removed. Gently lift each side of the module a tiny bit to make sure it’s locked in. And the process of swapping out RAM chips should take between 5 and 10 minutes, depending on how many screws you have to remove. Please refresh the page and try again. But your CPU might not support those higher speeds—an 8th-gen Core i3 for example supports DDR4/2400—and will ratchet anything higher down to that speed. After entering in your brand and exact model of laptop, you should get a screen that shows the maximum amount of memory and how many slots your laptop has. This is the case with most affordable laptops being sold, as it adds to the flexibility of manufacturing and lowers the cost. If you need to remove the module, just use your fingernails to bend out the metal arm on each side of the module a millimeter or two. Upgrades of more than 16GB of memory capacity are advisable for users running resource-intensive games, creative applications and various computer-aided design solutions. Before you touch any component in your PC, though, touch any metal surface inside the computer (e.g., the back of the hard drive or a metal connector for another component). Simply right click the taskbar and select Task Manager (in Windows 7, hit the Windows key and type "task manager" in the search field). This particular laptop has been the top seller on Amazon for months and months. One of founding fathers of hardcore tech reporting, Gordon has been covering PCs and components since 1998. To plan for the upgrade, determine what type of memory the computer has, the maximum amount of memory the computer can use, and the amount of memory … Note: Not all Aspire E 15s are designed this way. Also, when there are two ram slots on your laptop’s motherboard, it has an additional advantage for certain types of tasks. It's also possible that the system just can't recognize more than a certain amount of memory and you could already be at the max. This particular Acer Aspire E 15 model allows easy access to the storage and memory bays. Laptop designs vary, including which components are accessible and upgradable. Enjoy your upgraded memory! One thing to note: Even if there is an open slot, there may not be easy access to the memory slot. Note the speed and type of RAM you need, which is usually either DDR2, DDR3 or DDR4 with a particular speed next to it (ex: "DDR3 PC3-12800"). And if you wanted to upgrade to 16GB, two pieces of 8GB of each and you’re done. Next, try to discharge any built-up static electricity by touching a nearby metal object, such as a file cabinet. If your computer doesn't have enough physical memory, it starts swapping data to your hard drive or SSD, which is infinitely slower than even the slowest RAM chip. © However, most also come with a single piece of memory, which hobbles memory bandwidth. If you want to add more RAM than that, say, by adding an 8GB module to your 4GB module, it’ll work but the performance of a portion of the 8GB module will be lower. It’s easy to see why: for $350 (and below $300 during Christmas) you get a 7th-gen Core i3 processor, 4GB of DDR4 RAM, a 1TB hard drive, and a 15-inch 1080p screen. We saw a 28 percent boost in graphics performance by moving from single-channel to dual-channel on a Core i3-7100U budget laptop. Tilt the memory at a slight angle and then use your thumbs to carefully push it into the slot until you can barely see the gold contacts. Receive news and offers from our other brands? Ultralight laptops almost never have user-accessible memory. 69 Click System Information App from the result list. A budget laptop, by design, is generally far more modular and leans on easily available PC parts that are more likely to be upgradable. Cyber Monday deals: see all the best offers right now!