If upgrading laptop, would you opt for SSD or more RAM?

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
B

bswee365

Prominent
Jan 22, 2018
7
0
510
Hi, I want to speed up my Win10 Laptop, Is it better to move to SSD to achieve good results or upgrade RAM? I don't use it for gaming but I simply want a snappy machine -
fast boot, fast program loading etc. Current specs: Win10 Home, Intel i7 Quad Core Q740, 4GB RAM, Hitachi 5400rpm HDD. Which of the two options would yield the more noticeable results? Seperately, I read that a machine can have an upper limit on the amount of upgraded RAM it can 'handle'. How do you know what your limit is - what do you check? Thanks!
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
geofelt

geofelt

Titan
Oct 9, 2006
54,295
4,145
174,240
I have upgraded to a SSD on every laptop my family owns. I highly recommend it.
To do it simply, buy a Samsung ssd and use the ssd migration aid to move your C drive to a ssd.
You may need a usb to sata adapter cable to do the job.
Google your laptop and ssd and you should see a tutorial on how to access and change the hard drive.

On ram, yes 4gb is a bit small.
If you think you can handle the cost of an upgrade as well, , go to a ram web site such as Kingston or crucial.
Access their ram upgrade app.
Enter the make/model of your laptop and you will get a list of supported upgrade kits.
Some laptops have the first 4gb soldered in but still allow an extra 4gb or 8gb to be installed.
 
Upvote 1 Downvote
B

bswee365

Prominent
Jan 22, 2018
7
0
510
Thanks everyone! My memory is removable so maybe both is indeed the way to go after all. I can go to 8GB RAM so thanks for the pointer on that jgustin. It's great to get opinions from people who know more than I do about tech :p Cheers again
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
ex_bubblehead

ex_bubblehead

Titan
Moderator
Aug 24, 2012
16,248
1,517
87,240

Straight to a "new laptop" without even knowing whether or not the current one meets, or exceeds, the user's current needs. New system is NOT always the correct answer.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
vapour

vapour

Champion
Aug 28, 2017
12,398
98
57,540
OP wants to boost performance, I simply asked what budget he has and a new laptop could be an option too. I supported SSD and ram upgrade in the first place. Do you have a second sata slot or just the one with HDD?

@ OP

What is your major usage? Anything makes you unhappy about the performance other than booting and program loading?

For the booting and program booting, have you cleaned up dust inside laptop? cleaned system trash? Sometimes, a dust cleaning and reinstall OS will make those much faster. Is the slowing down occurring recently or existed from the start?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
B

bswee365

Prominent
Jan 22, 2018
7
0
510
Usage is browser and video to TV via HDMI mostly. It got incredibly slow some weeks ago, scans later removed malware and speeds improved hugely. I'm a bit of a fiend in terms of having quite a number of browser tabs open, I know that can use a good deal of RAM and I should probably try get out of that habit. Nothing is hugely bad with the laptop, it's not dire but i just want to give it some spark. I'm getting more impatient with slow loading so I wanted to either go SSD or RAM and wasn't sure. I'm now considering both, though I think I'll start with the SSD and see how that goes first. I wouldn't opt for new laptop right now - despite the problems described, it's been a workhorse and I would like to resolve the issues as inexpensively as possible. Thanks for all the inputs :)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom