Need help and advice on upgrading my old laptop.

[Metam0rph33]

Hello everyone, 

Every advice will be helpful. I would love to upgrade some things on my HP Pavilion Intel Core i5-6300HQ Notebook. It has 8GB of physical memory(RAM) and Nvidia GeForce GTX 960M at the moment. I know that I can not upgrade some things but I would love if anyone can tell me and steer me to some upgrades that I can make to better up performance. Thank you in advance! Ps. OS is windows 10.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

What is the full model number or product number of your notebook?

Find Your HP Laptop Name, Product Number, or Serial Number | HP Notebooks | HP Support

[Metam0rph33]

Hi Paul, 

Product number is: Y0W35EA#BED

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

Hi:

Below is the link to the service manual for your notebook:

HP Pavilion Notebook PC Maintenance and Service Guide 

Chapter 1  has the memory upgrade information.

Your notebook can probably support more than 2 x 8 GB of memory since it has an Intel Intel Core i5-6300HQ processor, but the cost of memory is so high right now, it is not a very good time to buy memory.

You can run this command in Windows Powershell as administrator to confirm that your notebook will support 2 x 16 GB of memory.

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_PhysicalMemoryArray | Select-Object MaxCapacityEx, MemoryDevices

If your notebook has a 2.5" mechanical hard drive, chapter 1 indicates you can install a much faster performing M.2 NVMe SSD, or you can replace the 2.5" mechanical hard drive with a 2.5" SATA SSD.

The processor and graphics adapter can't be upgraded since they are integral parts of the motherboard.

The other device you may be able to upgrade would be the Wi-Fi adapter.

The manual indicates that your notebook has the Intel Dual Band wireless-AC 7265 Wi-Fi adapter which you can probably upgrade to this model:

Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200 ax 2×2 + Bluetooth 5.0 MU-MIMO M.2 2230 non-vPro 160 MHz PCI-e + USB WW with 2 antenna(s)   HP part # L35282-005/Intel SPS # L35282-005.

[Metam0rph33]

Thank you for your help and information Paul. You made my day! Thank you.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

For your notebook, if you just want to add another 8 GB memory chip for now, buy an 8 GB DDR4-2400 CL17 memory module which will run at 2133 MHz.

Cheers,

Paul

[Metam0rph33]

Sorry if I am bothering you with re-opening this thread. I read some of manual that you sent me in a first reply via link. It says that my memory cant be upgraded. Is that case or am I reading it wrong? and I would love if you have some spare time and can send me some recommendations for ssd and ram? For wi fi adapter I found "Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200 M.2 1216 - Bluetooth5.0, 802.11ax". Is that product good option? and is it compatible? 

[Metam0rph33]

If it is not bother can you send me link or picture for refrence of brand that you think is best upgrade for RAM and ssd? how much storage for ssd should i take?

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

I can't 100% guarantee the Intel AX200 will work but I can't think of any reason why it shouldn't.

Whatever AX200 you buy, it must be non-vPro and it must have the Intel L35282-005 SPS number showing on the Intel label on the front of the Wi-Fi card.

Such as on this eBay listing...you can see the Intel  L35282-005 SPS number showing on the Intel label on the front of the Wi-Fi card.

HP Pavilion 15-dk0055nr 15.6" OEM Wireless WiFi Card AX200NGW 02HK705 L35282-005 | eBay

Memory:

Either this brand:

Timetec Premium 8GB DDR4 2400MHz (DDR4-2400) PC4-19200 (PC4-2400T) Non-ECC Unbuffered 1.2V CL17 1Rx8...

Or this:

Crucial 8GB, 260-pin SODIMM, DDR4 PC4-19200, at Amazon.com

You can see how expensive even an 8 GB memory chip is today.

In January, these chips were about $14 USD.

They say it has to do with all the AI data centers being built.

'This Is Insanity': DDR RAM Prices Soar Due to AI Demand | PCMag

[Metam0rph33]

Once again you saved me with your reply. Thank you very much. Have a nice day.