Hard drive upgrade option(s) possible?

[RFTMFJ]

Hi Paul. Just an update.

Following your comprehensive advice and recommendations I bought the drive you suggested and the enclosure for it.

The "Samsung Magician" software worked flawlessly, and the entire process was pretty seamless and uneventful even for a novice like me.

Just one additional question if I may please...Prior to this SSD upgrade I added an additional 8GB of memory (to the empty slot) to the original existing 8GB of memory that this notebook came with. So, I'm now at 16GB of memory.

Would it be advantageous to upgrade to 32GB of memory or do you think that's unnecessary? 

Your help which included product suggestions, links, and, videos was certainly invaluable and allowed me to have the knowledge and confidence to complete the SSD upgrade to my notebook and I sincerely appreciate it.

Alan

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome, Alan.

Glad to have been of assistance and that is great news you were able to successfully complete your notebook upgrading goals.

Memory...what I suggest you do beside running your notebook and deciding how much better you think it is performing with the 16 GB of memory, is to run the Windows Resource Monitor app.

See how much free memory you have with 16 GB installed.

If you have 50% or more free memory available, it is unlikely that installing 32 GB would make much of an improvement in performance.

Cheers,

Paul

[RFTMFJ]

So, with the computer "at idle" (just this internet page open) the "Windows Resource Monitor app" indicates 37% Used Physical Memory.

What say yee?

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Oh boy, that's a tough one.

My desktop PC has 48 GB of memory and at idle the report indicates that I have 36 GB free (87%), which tells me that I probably didn't need 48 GB of memory.

So, perhaps you will want to install 2 x 16 GB of memory if you find over the next week or two you believe you will benefit from the upgrade.

It certainly isn't going to hurt anything, just your wallet.

[RFTMFJ]

I just want to confirm...at idle my notebook is using 37% memory- so 63 % is free.

Is that still a close call?

[Paul_Tikkanen]

I think it is close enough because you don't know how much it is using when you are doing things with your notebook.

Now if you just watch videos, surf the web, read and send e-mails, then you are probably fine.

If you play video games or run other graphics-intensive programs such as Photoshop, video editor), then you may want to upgrade to 2 x 16 GB of memory.

[RFTMFJ]

Lol @  "It certainly isn't going to hurt anything, just your wallet."

I'm just a casual user, i.e. watch videos, surf the web, read and send e-mails.  I don't particularly play video games or run other graphics-intensive programs such as Photoshop, video editor. Would I still benefit from the upgrade. Would I notice anything if I did?

The memory I bought the other day was: "Timetec 8GB DDR4 2666MHz (DDR4-2666) PC4-21300 ((PC4-2666V) Non-ECC Unbuffered 1.2V CL19 1Rx8 Single Rank 260 Pin SODIMM Laptop Notebook PC Computer Memory RAM Module Upgrade (8GB)" from Amazon for $15.99- I just randomly made this selection. Are you a fan of this brand? Any other suggestions/

That same brand shows this "Timetec 32GB KIT(2x16GB) DDR4 2666MHz (DDR4-2666) PC4-21300 (PC4-2666V) Non-ECC Unbuffered 1.2V CL19 2Rx8 Dual Rank 260 Pin SODIMM Laptop Notebook PC Computer Memory RAM Module Upgrade"- $46.99- I guess "DUAL RANK" means two pieces?

Your thoughts overall?

Thanks

[Paul_Tikkanen]

I've never used that brand but there is one expert on this forum that always recommends it, and I have never heard anything bad about it, and I believe it has a much more reasonable cost than the Crucial memory I would have recommended.

The Timetek 32 GB kit you picked out should work fine.

Dual rank is the number of memory ranks the memory chips have and is usually compatible with all notebooks.

Notebook memory is normally single or dual ranked.

Single Rank vs Dual Rank RAM: Differences & Performance Impact (cgdirector.com)

I normally recommend this memory, but it costs more:  The 3200 MHz memory will automatically bridge to 2666 MHz.

Crucial 16GB DDR4-3200 SODIMM | CT16G4SFRA32A | Crucial.com

And since you know the Timetek memory works, there's no sense in installing something different.

[RFTMFJ]

I'll have to digest "Single Rank vs Dual Rank RAM: Differences & Performance Impact (cgdirector.com)" later but in a nutshell is Dual Rank or Single Rank preferable or are there too many variables?

[Paul_Tikkanen]

The article provides some of the pros and cons for each type

I personally don't care as long as the memory works.