Wish to improve performance by increasing memory on my HP 15-DW0038WM 15.6" 1TB Processor i3-8145U

[Manuel_00]

My HP 15-DW0038WM 15.6" 1TB Processor i3-8145U laptop seriously underperforms and it lags terribly. It self-upgraded to Win 11 operating system a couple years ago. It has 8GB of RAM.

QUESTIONS:

1) Can i add additional RAM and where do i purchase it.

2) Will adding additional RAM solve the lagging issue?

3) If not will anything improve performance?

[Huffer]

The laptop can take up to 32 gigs of DDR4-2400 SO-DIMM. You have an 8 gb module and an open slot. You can add a second 8 gb module to have 16 gb which likely would offer some improvement. But the real bottleneck is the slow 5400 rpm mechanical hard drive. You can replace it or keep it and also install a gumstick type solid state drive (SSD) preferably the NVME kind. Post back if you want to discuss further. SSD is a gamechanger and your laptop would be quite zippy even with 8 gb of memory if it ran Windows from an NVME SSD. 

[Manuel_00]

@Huffer Thats superb. Im so glad for your feedback. And yes i wish to proceed and buy that SSD and I might as well get 8GB more if im going to open the back. Would you provide the exact full name of the SSD NVME and 8GB module name for my specific model HP? My biggest fear is ordering the wrong ones. Thank you in advance.

HP 15-DW0038WM 15.6" 1TB Processor i3-8145U

[Huffer · Accepted solution]

Here is the Service Manual:

Manual 

Pages 30-39 show the operation to get to the SSD and memory slots. Page 32 has a good shot of the inside and you can see the SSD and memory slots. 

Fortunately there is no single correct part for this upgrade. So I can make a specific recommendation but you do have other options:

I have had good results with this Timetec memory. Its made by Hynix specially for amazon.com and is stock OEM product so works well with HP notebooks and is fairly priced:

https://www.amazon.com/Timetec-PC4-19200-Unbuffered-Notebook-Computer/dp/B07FF92ND3/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?...

Very good quality SSD. I use this in my own laptop. Various capacities sold at this one link:

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-970-EVO-Plus-MZ-V7S2T0B/dp/B07MFZXR1B/ref=sr_1_4?crid=RVU3ISKKF1E5&ke...

Post back with any more questions and please accept as solution if this is the info you needed. 

[Manuel_00]

I ordered both SSD and memory. I plan to leave the hard drive in place unless you feel i should remove it. If i remove it i will not have Windows 11 for install.

[Huffer]

Windows 10 or 11 are available for free download at the Microsoft Media Creation Tool site and will install with no need for a Key Code. The credentials are embedded in the BIOS. HP Cloud Recovery is also available to restore the computer to an out of box state.  Yes keep the hard drive for pure storage but remove it just for the initial installation of Windows, and put it back in after you have the computer running the way you want.. Its also possible to clone the installation now on the hard drive over to the SSD. Post back if you want to discuss any of that further. 

[Manuel_00]

Unfortunately i dont see a SSD connector. I only have the HD slot. Im not sure how to proceed with the SSD NVME.