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Laptop RAM question (1 Viewer)

Mr.Pack

Mr.Pack

Footballguy
Do I need two sticks of RAM?

I want to upgrade, from 3GB (1- 1GB and a 2GB)

I'm just looking to go to 4GB for now just to make sure my problem is the RAM and am wondering if I can just throw one 4GB stick in, or do I need two 2GB?

TIA

 
If you are using the laptop for gaming or other intensive projects, you will want to go 2x2 to take advantage of small dual channel changes in performance that only become apparent under stress.  If you are just opening email, looking at pron, and streaming Netflix, it doesn't matter.

Check to make sure that your laptop does indeed have room for two sticks.  On some laptops, one stick is soldered to the board and cannot be changed and you thus can only upgrade in one spot.

 
You have to get the right type and no more than the processor can handle. And it sounds like your machine is pretty old, so GL with that

 
How many GB does it hold? If it's older you are probably limited in options.

Minimum nowadays is 8 GB and I'd put in 16 for a new machine if available. 

 
It's not that old, 3-4yrs. Asus K52F with 3GB in from the factory. Two sticks (1GB stick and a 2GB Stick)

Upgradeable to 8GB

It's DDR3 1333....... Can I jump to 1600? Thinking probably not but it's about $10 cheaper than the 1333 for 8GB (Two 4GB sticks)

No gaming, just pron and basic surfing and excel, word stuff.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Rustoleum said:
If you buy a 4 GB chip, why wouldn't you leave the existing 2 GB chip in there and upgrade to 6?
Click to expand...
This computer had water spilled on it last December. It wasn't working correctly so I switched the memory sticks around and it seems to be working ok now. I'm just not sure if it's that, or if its only one of the sticks, or even that at all. So I want to change them out cheaply to see if that truly is the problem.

 
Mr.Pack said:
Do I need two sticks of RAM?

I want to upgrade, from 3GB (1- 1GB and a 2GB)

I'm just looking to go to 4GB for now just to make sure my problem is the RAM and am wondering if I can just throw one 4GB stick in, or do I need two 2GB?

TIA
Click to expand...
What problem? Best bet is to reformat, reload everything AND upgrade to 8 GB RAM. Nothing better than a clean install. 

 
Mr.Pack said:
This computer had water spilled on it last December. It wasn't working correctly so I switched the memory sticks around and it seems to be working ok now. I'm just not sure if it's that, or if its only one of the sticks, or even that at all. So I want to change them out cheaply to see if that truly is the problem.
Click to expand...
Gotcha. Maybe stick 1 4GB in there, run it for awhile, then stick the 2 GB back in if everything seems good?

 
Mr.Pack said:
It's not that old, 3-4yrs. Asus K52F with 3GB in from the factory. Two sticks (1GB stick and a 2GB Stick)

Upgradeable to 8GB

It's DDR3 1333....... Can I jump to 1600? Thinking probably not but it's about $10 cheaper than the 1333 for 8GB (Two 4GB sticks)

No gaming, just pron and basic surfing and excel, word stuff.
Click to expand...
No

 
msommer said:
No
Click to expand...
Another no vote here unless the ram manufacturer or the laptop retailer expressly tell you it's okay. Usually ram latencies are based on motherboard specifications.  

 
TheAristocrat said:
If you are using the laptop for gaming or other intensive projects, you will want to go 2x2 to take advantage of small dual channel changes in performance that only become apparent under stress.  If you are just opening email, looking at pron, and streaming Netflix, it doesn't matter.

Check to make sure that your laptop does indeed have room for two sticks.  On some laptops, one stick is soldered to the board and cannot be changed and you thus can only upgrade in one spot.
Click to expand...
Solid post right here.

I'll add that you can use Crucial.com's Memory Advisor tool.. http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/advisor?cm_re=top-nav-_-flyout-memory-_-us-memory-advisor

This will help you easily identify which type of RAM you need and can upgrade to.   If you want to shop around just copy and paste the specs into Amazon, google shopping, etc. but Crucial does have great support, products and they are pretty competitive with price. 

Another upgrade you may want to consider is swapping out your hard drive for a solid state drive, which will help performance more than the RAM.

 
So I bought the 4GB (2Gbx2) and installed them. The computer works pretty good, but when the load gets too much, it starts lagging again. I checked to see how much RAM it recognized, and it's only seeing 2GB so I'm guessing one of the slots is bad.

I'm pretty sure 8GB is the max upgrade. Can I use one 8GB stick? Can the slot be fixed? What do I have to do to upgrade to an SSD?

 
Mr.Pack said:
So I bought the 4GB (2Gbx2) and installed them. The computer works pretty good, but when the load gets too much, it starts lagging again. I checked to see how much RAM it recognized, and it's only seeing 2GB so I'm guessing one of the slots is bad.

I'm pretty sure 8GB is the max upgrade. Can I use one 8GB stick? Can the slot be fixed? What do I have to do to upgrade to an SSD?
Click to expand...
First off, I'm just going to say that trying to upgrade a laptop piece by piece is a rabbit hole.  Especially considering the water damage and unknowns from that.  I highly recommend getting a new laptop.

That said, the laptop may only be able to register X GB on X stick/slot.  The OS may not be able to register X stick/slot.  The memory could be fine and your laptop could be shot.

An SSD could improve things, but with the issues you are facing, it sounds like it would be a short term improvement that masks a long term problem.  That said, swapping hard drives is simple.

Can't offer much more advise because it sounds to me like you need a new laptop and then explore the possibility of making it better.

 
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