How to Increase the RAM on a Laptop

Lee Stanton May 20, 2022

Is your laptop becoming increasingly sluggish? If so, it’s most likely an issue with your RAM (Random Access Memory.) Fortunately, you can increase the RAM on your device and have a speedy computer that can perform multiple tasks concurrently.

In this article, you’ll learn how to increase the RAM on your laptop. Stick around to find out more.

How to Increase the RAM on a Laptop

Increasing your RAM is a reasonably inexpensive and straightforward procedure. All you’ll need is a RAM card (which should only set you back a few dollars) and a few minutes out of your time.

Here’s how to increase the RAM of your laptop.

Determine the System Specifications of Your Laptop.

Should you consider increasing the RAM on your laptop, you should first learn about its system specifications. These are the properties of your laptop that determine how much RAM it can accommodate.

To find out about your system specifications, follow these steps:

Press the Windows Key + X.
You should see a pop-up menu on the left.
From the menu, select “System”.
A new window should open up with all the information related to your device specifications.
Take note of the “System type” and the “amount of RAM installed” on your system.

A 32-bit operating system can support up to 4 GB of RAM. On the other hand, depending on the version of Windows you’re running, a 64-bit operating system supports up to 2TB of RAM. However, some computer hardware only supports up to 32 GB of RAM. As a result, you may encounter some hardware constraints when trying to increase your RAM.

Alternatively, you can use a RAM scanner to determine the amount of RAM available on your laptop and what amount is recommended. One such tool is Crucial.

A quick scan with Crucial will show you how many RAM slots are available on your device, the maximum RAM it can handle, and what amount of RAM is available.

Purchase a RAM Card Compatible with Your Laptop

Proceed to buy a suitable RAM card for your laptop based on Crucial’s suggestions. You can purchase the RAM card directly from Crucial or any other online shops and computer stores.

RAM cards typically cost between $70-$200. For a solid module, be ready to spend on the high end of the spectrum and vice versa.

Installation of the New RAM

To install the new RAM, follow these steps:

Switch off your laptop by navigating to “Windows > Power>Power Off.”
Detach any external cables from your laptop. These include charging cables, USB cables, and headphones.
Put on an anti-static wristband to avoid demagnetizing some sensitive parts of your computer. In addition, wearing this band protects you from electrical shocks.
Detach your laptop’s back panel. Ensure you follow the instructions in your user manual to make sure you’re opening the right panel.
Detach the old RAM cards from their respective RAM slots.
Insert the RAM cards into their respective RAM slots. The notches on both the slot and the card should help you through this process.
Close up the back panel of your laptop.
Turn on your computer. It should automatically detect the new RAM.
Your computer will automatically start using the new RAM, and you won’t be required to take any additional action.

Note: Touch the RAM cards on the edges to avoid tampering with the circuit system.

Voila! Your laptop should now work as fast as a brand-new machine with these new upgrades.

What You Should Do if Your Laptop Doesn’t Allow Upgrades

Some laptops have a sealed back panel that won’t allow you to modify your RAM. If you don’t have an SSD card and your RAM is below 4GB, then your best choice is to use an external USB drive as RAM.

To use an external USB drive as RAM, ensure it is free of viruses.

Plug your external USB drive into one of the USB slots on your laptop.
Go to your file explorer, right-click on your USB, and select properties.
You should see a widget pop up. On the navbar, navigate to “ReadyBoost.”
Select the radio button that says “use this device.”
Select the amount of memory you want to use by dragging the small blue icon across the bar.
Click “OK” and apply changes.

You should now be able to use ReadyBoost to increase your RAM with the above steps. Be sure to eject the USB drive safely, however, to avoid any data corruption that might happen along the way.

Why You May Want to Increase RAM on Your Laptop

As mentioned, the amount of RAM on your laptop directly impacts its performance. With low RAM, many aspects of your computer may become too slow. Naturally, a fast RAM provides impeccable benefits. Here are some of them.

Smooth Gaming Experience – Modern games feature more realistic and intensive graphics that require sufficient RAM. Even with the most basic laptop, you can gain a flawless gaming experience as long as you have sufficient RAM.
Faster Browsing and Network Speeds – If you have low RAM, you’ve probably noticed how slow your computer runs when you open multiple browser tabs. With sufficient RAM, you can effortlessly solve this problem. Also, you’ll see immense improvements in network speeds.
Flawless Running of Concurrent Programs – Do you cringe every time your computer performs slowly just because a few programs are running? With more RAM, you don’t have to worry anymore.
General Improvement in Graphic Intensive Activities – Increasing your RAM, will vastly improve the performance of your programs, whether you’re an illustrator, video editor, graphic designer or simply a creative. As these actions necessitate keeping the source files open and re-rendering graphics on the screen constantly, they take a significant amount of RAM. Hence, increasing RAM on your computer should solve the problem.

Enjoy Your Fast Computer

A slow laptop doesn’t do as much, it will just slow down your everyday tasks. Hopefully, you now know how you can increase the RAM on your laptop and can now enjoy the convenience of a much faster device.

Have you ever had an experience with a slow laptop? Did you ever consider increasing its RAM? Let us know in the comments section below.