# 8GB vs 4 GB RAM (For 2-in-1)



## TheGreatGatsby (May 27, 2018)

I'm thinking about getting a 2-in-1 on a Memorial Day sale. I'm not a gamer. I just care about computer and programs opening quickly and for the internet to not run slow due to not enough RAM. I found a laptop I like with an Pentium I5 processor. The preliminary tests on new computers at Best Buy showed but split second differences on load times for Excel. But this could be different for a computer that is owned some weeks or months and when various windows are opened.

I am willing to pay more if I have to, but it's about double more to jump to 8GB and I'd prefer not to if I'm not gonna really have any buyer's regret for the 4 GB, which is crazily half the price for the minimum starting prices.

Anyone have an expert opinion?


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## Ringel05 (May 27, 2018)

TheGreatGatsby said:


> I'm thinking about getting a 2-in-1 on a Memorial Day sale. I'm not a gamer. I just care about computer and programs opening quickly and for the internet to not run slow due to not enough RAM. I found a laptop I like with an Pentium I5 processor. The preliminary tests on new computers at Best Buy showed but split second differences on load times for Excel. But this could be different for a computer that is owned some weeks or months and when various windows are opened.
> 
> I am willing to pay more if I have to, but it's about double more to jump to 8GB and I'd prefer not to if I'm not gonna really have any buyer's regret for the 4 GB, which is crazily half the price for the minimum starting prices.
> 
> Anyone have an expert opinion?


Yeah, I have a Lenovo Yoga 2 that you would just love to have...........  Relatively cheap.........  Fast as greased lighting.


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## fncceo (May 27, 2018)

4GB is a minimum for running a Windows 10 laptop. Even if all you do is browse.   Opening multiple taps in your browser or watching videos only (YouTube) will give you sluggish, painfully sluggish, response.

Get the 8MB, you'll be happy you did.


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## 007 (May 27, 2018)

TheGreatGatsby said:


> I'm thinking about getting a 2-in-1 on a Memorial Day sale. I'm not a gamer. I just care about computer and programs opening quickly and for the internet to not run slow due to not enough RAM. I found a laptop I like with an Pentium I5 processor. The preliminary tests on new computers at Best Buy showed but split second differences on load times for Excel. But this could be different for a computer that is owned some weeks or months and when various windows are opened.
> 
> I am willing to pay more if I have to, but it's about double more to jump to 8GB and I'd prefer not to if I'm not gonna really have any buyer's regret for the 4 GB, which is crazily half the price for the minimum starting prices.
> 
> Anyone have an expert opinion?


Check out a computer with an SSD. Lots faster, no moving parts. I just bought a couple new HP's both with an SSD. Not any room on the mother board to add anything, but they're fast. Came with 12GB of RAM installed anyway, with a 7400 rpm hard drive and i7 Intel CPU.


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## TheGreatGatsby (May 27, 2018)

Ringel05 said:


> TheGreatGatsby said:
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> > I'm thinking about getting a 2-in-1 on a Memorial Day sale. I'm not a gamer. I just care about computer and programs opening quickly and for the internet to not run slow due to not enough RAM. I found a laptop I like with an Pentium I5 processor. The preliminary tests on new computers at Best Buy showed but split second differences on load times for Excel. But this could be different for a computer that is owned some weeks or months and when various windows are opened.
> ...



I had a presumably earlier version in that series. Think it was 4 GB, but not SSD (or probably as fast as a processor), so I don't think it's comparable.

What specs do you have?


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## TheGreatGatsby (May 27, 2018)

I should mention that I'm in the market for the 11.6" screen over 13.3" screen and definitely not the 15.6". At that size, the options for quality are limited, and I'm guessing the higher RAM tends to be more costly. It tends to mean $450-$500 sale starting points vs. $730-$850 sale starting points.


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## TheGreatGatsby (May 27, 2018)

fncceo said:


> 4GB is a minimum for running a Windows 10 laptop. Even if all you do is browse.   Opening multiple taps in your browser or watching videos only (YouTube) will give you sluggish, painfully sluggish, response.
> 
> Get the 8MB, you'll be happy you did.



Well, some are still running on 2 GB actually; and they'll do stuff like Netflix. You just have to wait for the longer loads; but given my frequent use, that's not an option. I have gather 8 GB is probably solid in most cases. But I'm wondering if 4 GB with the SSD hardrive could be well enough too.


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## Ringel05 (May 27, 2018)

TheGreatGatsby said:


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Off hand I'm not sure, rarely use it.  Not even sure if it's an 11 or 13 inch though I know it has an SSD, boots up in a matter of seconds.  Bought it for the wife but she never used it so we would bring it on road trips and even then wouldn't use it half the time.  It's Win 10, upgraded from 8.1.  Been debating whether to sell it or keep it since it spends most of it's time in turned off in a travel bag, I take it out and from time to time to make sure it's charged up and up to date.   Basically the damn screen is too small for my liking, I have an 17" laptop and both my desktop monitors are 24".


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## Borillar (May 27, 2018)

TheGreatGatsby said:


> I'm thinking about getting a 2-in-1 on a Memorial Day sale. I'm not a gamer. I just care about computer and programs opening quickly and for the internet to not run slow due to not enough RAM. I found a laptop I like with an Pentium I5 processor. The preliminary tests on new computers at Best Buy showed but split second differences on load times for Excel. But this could be different for a computer that is owned some weeks or months and when various windows are opened.
> 
> I am willing to pay more if I have to, but it's about double more to jump to 8GB and I'd prefer not to if I'm not gonna really have any buyer's regret for the 4 GB, which is crazily half the price for the minimum starting prices.
> 
> Anyone have an expert opinion?


You can always get the cheaper computer and buy some additional RAM. DIMMs are cheap.


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## TheGreatGatsby (May 27, 2018)

Ringel05 said:


> TheGreatGatsby said:
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Well, if you're selling it, let me know what you might want for it. I'm in the market. If the deal's right I might could go for it.


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## fncceo (May 27, 2018)

TheGreatGatsby said:


> fncceo said:
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> > 4GB is a minimum for running a Windows 10 laptop. Even if all you do is browse.   Opening multiple taps in your browser or watching videos only (YouTube) will give you sluggish, painfully sluggish, response.
> ...



It all depends on what you want to put up with.  You'll probably have this purchase for a few years ... apps and media are getting larger all the time, never smaller.

Get as much as you can afford in RAM, disk space, and graphics capacity.  You won't regret it.


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## TheGreatGatsby (May 27, 2018)

Borillar said:


> TheGreatGatsby said:
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> > I'm thinking about getting a 2-in-1 on a Memorial Day sale. I'm not a gamer. I just care about computer and programs opening quickly and for the internet to not run slow due to not enough RAM. I found a laptop I like with an Pentium I5 processor. The preliminary tests on new computers at Best Buy showed but split second differences on load times for Excel. But this could be different for a computer that is owned some weeks or months and when various windows are opened.
> ...



What you think the 4 GB to 8 GB upgrade would cost?


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## fncceo (May 27, 2018)

Borillar said:


> TheGreatGatsby said:
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> > I'm thinking about getting a 2-in-1 on a Memorial Day sale. I'm not a gamer. I just care about computer and programs opening quickly and for the internet to not run slow due to not enough RAM. I found a laptop I like with an Pentium I5 processor. The preliminary tests on new computers at Best Buy showed but split second differences on load times for Excel. But this could be different for a computer that is owned some weeks or months and when various windows are opened.
> ...



But laptop memory is often specific to a model and upgrades are costlier.


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## TheGreatGatsby (May 27, 2018)

007 said:


> TheGreatGatsby said:
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> > I'm thinking about getting a 2-in-1 on a Memorial Day sale. I'm not a gamer. I just care about computer and programs opening quickly and for the internet to not run slow due to not enough RAM. I found a laptop I like with an Pentium I5 processor. The preliminary tests on new computers at Best Buy showed but split second differences on load times for Excel. But this could be different for a computer that is owned some weeks or months and when various windows are opened.
> ...



12 GB and I7. Guessing you paid at least $1,300 each.


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## 007 (May 27, 2018)

Borillar said:


> TheGreatGatsby said:
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> > I'm thinking about getting a 2-in-1 on a Memorial Day sale. I'm not a gamer. I just care about computer and programs opening quickly and for the internet to not run slow due to not enough RAM. I found a laptop I like with an Pentium I5 processor. The preliminary tests on new computers at Best Buy showed but split second differences on load times for Excel. But this could be different for a computer that is owned some weeks or months and when various windows are opened.
> ...


Thing is though, many new computers don't have a bunch of expansion slots like the older ones. You have to check that out before you buy.


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## 007 (May 27, 2018)

TheGreatGatsby said:


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$550... ebay.


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## Andylusion (May 27, 2018)

TheGreatGatsby said:


> I'm thinking about getting a 2-in-1 on a Memorial Day sale. I'm not a gamer. I just care about computer and programs opening quickly and for the internet to not run slow due to not enough RAM. I found a laptop I like with an Pentium I5 processor. The preliminary tests on new computers at Best Buy showed but split second differences on load times for Excel. But this could be different for a computer that is owned some weeks or months and when various windows are opened.
> 
> I am willing to pay more if I have to, but it's about double more to jump to 8GB and I'd prefer not to if I'm not gonna really have any buyer's regret for the 4 GB, which is crazily half the price for the minimum starting prices.
> 
> Anyone have an expert opinion?



So, I do......

My computer came with 4 GB stock.   There was clear evidence that lack of RAM was causing lag and slow downs.

It was really obvious.

I personally bought 8 GB of RAM, in the form of two 4 GB sticks.   My computer had two open ram slots, and it was quick and easy.

So my computer now has 12 GB of RAM.   Best investment EVER.  From a bang, for the buck, perspective $64, dramatically changed how the computer ran.  Slow downs, lag outs, sudden short freezes, all gone.

I can have a movie playing, have a graphic rendering, and notice no slow downs at all.

*So... here's the deal for you.   8 GB is the minimum.  If you want go to 12 GB, that's likely all you'll need.*

*If you have less than 8GB installed, do whatever it takes to get to 8GB or more.*

Once you get over 8GB, you likely won't see any benefit to adding more RAM, unless you intend to do really super complicated stuff like Graphic editing, 3D stuff, and doing rendering, editing movies (what I do), and whatever.

Excel is not a thing.  8 GB will be enough.

That is what I suggest.   Find out how much RAM your computer has now.  Then upgrade to 8GB.  Whatever that requires.


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## TheGreatGatsby (May 27, 2018)

007 said:


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That's a lot better than the going rates of the retailers. I guess you just have to trust random persons is all.


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## 007 (May 27, 2018)

Andylusion said:


> TheGreatGatsby said:
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> > I'm thinking about getting a 2-in-1 on a Memorial Day sale. I'm not a gamer. I just care about computer and programs opening quickly and for the internet to not run slow due to not enough RAM. I found a laptop I like with an Pentium I5 processor. The preliminary tests on new computers at Best Buy showed but split second differences on load times for Excel. But this could be different for a computer that is owned some weeks or months and when various windows are opened.
> ...


Sounds like you have an older computer. There's another thing to keep in mind when adding huge amounts of RAM, some computers CPU's aren't fast enough to handle that much either. You can actually overload your CPU.


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## WheelieAddict (May 27, 2018)

You don't necessarily need 8gb but it is really hard to not recommend it. The reason for the big price jump for more memory is because memory prices are insane right now.


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## TheGreatGatsby (May 27, 2018)

Andylusion said:


> TheGreatGatsby said:
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> > I'm thinking about getting a 2-in-1 on a Memorial Day sale. I'm not a gamer. I just care about computer and programs opening quickly and for the internet to not run slow due to not enough RAM. I found a laptop I like with an Pentium I5 processor. The preliminary tests on new computers at Best Buy showed but split second differences on load times for Excel. But this could be different for a computer that is owned some weeks or months and when various windows are opened.
> ...



I hear you on that. I should say that my main focus is typically to have MS Office and a handful of websites open maybe. The streaming isn't so important for this computer.

Awesome input though; stuff to keep in mind for sure.


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## 007 (May 27, 2018)

TheGreatGatsby said:


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ebay has buyer protection. If you get something that doesn't work from ebay, you can request a return even if the seller says no returns, even if it's used, ebay has a guarantee.

But when you buy something new on there, you can trust the seller 99% of the time. Check their feedback.


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## Muhammed (May 27, 2018)

TheGreatGatsby said:


> I'm thinking about getting a 2-in-1 on a Memorial Day sale. I'm not a gamer. I just care about computer and programs opening quickly and for the internet to not run slow due to not enough RAM. I found a laptop I like with an Pentium I5 processor. The preliminary tests on new computers at Best Buy showed but split second differences on load times for Excel. But this could be different for a computer that is owned some weeks or months and when various windows are opened.
> 
> I am willing to pay more if I have to, but it's about double more to jump to 8GB and I'd prefer not to if I'm not gonna really have any buyer's regret for the 4 GB, which is crazily half the price for the minimum starting prices.
> 
> Anyone have an expert opinion?


Every computer made today kicks ass. 

Don't worry about it.


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## Wyatt earp (May 27, 2018)

TheGreatGatsby said:


> I'm thinking about getting a 2-in-1 on a Memorial Day sale. I'm not a gamer. I just care about computer and programs opening quickly and for the internet to not run slow due to not enough RAM. I found a laptop I like with an Pentium I5 processor. The preliminary tests on new computers at Best Buy showed but split second differences on load times for Excel. But this could be different for a computer that is owned some weeks or months and when various windows are opened.
> 
> I am willing to pay more if I have to, but it's about double more to jump to 8GB and I'd prefer not to if I'm not gonna really have any buyer's regret for the 4 GB, which is crazily half the price for the minimum starting prices.
> 
> Anyone have an expert opinion?



*
I am willing to pay more if I have to, but it's about..*

What do you need it for? I used to be like that, buying the best computer around. And I realized I didn't need it


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## TheGreatGatsby (May 27, 2018)

bear513 said:


> TheGreatGatsby said:
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> > I'm thinking about getting a 2-in-1 on a Memorial Day sale. I'm not a gamer. I just care about computer and programs opening quickly and for the internet to not run slow due to not enough RAM. I found a laptop I like with an Pentium I5 processor. The preliminary tests on new computers at Best Buy showed but split second differences on load times for Excel. But this could be different for a computer that is owned some weeks or months and when various windows are opened.
> ...



Yea, back when computers were higher priced, I spent about $2500 on a laptop when I could've got by on a third of that. At the same time I bought a desktop for about $2,000 (overspent on that, but it lasted about twelve or thirteen years, so that one wasn't so bad at all).

I don't need fancy in a nutshell. But I don't want long load times for general net use and simple program use either.


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## WheelieAddict (May 27, 2018)

I wouldn't buy anything new without 8gb of memory but thats just my opinion. Shame memory price has doubled the last few years.


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## Wyatt earp (May 27, 2018)

TheGreatGatsby said:


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You should of been around when my first apple was 5 grand ..i always tried to get the best and fastest.

Now I figure it's a waste of money a cheap $100 dollar phone works for me and what I need


And now that I figured out I can get Wi-Fi almost everywhere..


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## WheelieAddict (May 27, 2018)

TheGreatGatsby said:


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Get 8gb and an SSD and be done with it.


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## Wyatt earp (May 27, 2018)

WheelieAddict said:


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But two months from now when it becomes obsolete ..

He could of gone to Tahiti with part of the money..


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## 007 (May 27, 2018)

WheelieAddict said:


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True... that would be fast and enough for any home computer.


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## 007 (May 27, 2018)

bear513 said:


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No way is it going to be obsolete in two months, or even two years.


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## WheelieAddict (May 27, 2018)

bear513 said:


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lol it sucks how tech prices change and how quickly your shiny new rig becomes "obsolete"


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## TheGreatGatsby (May 27, 2018)

WheelieAddict said:


> Get 8gb and an SSD and be done with it.



My thinking is how much could I regret $550 if I find it lags some? Then again on the other shoe, $400-$600 more to avoid that potential issue. I would honestly spend more to not have the issue. I am just seeing if there's a chance I won't.


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## TheGreatGatsby (May 27, 2018)

Anyone know why the chromebooks are considerably cheaper than other laptops and 2-in-1's with similar specs?


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## WheelieAddict (May 27, 2018)

007 said:


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For just "office" or playing vids and browsing type use 8gb should be good for awhile. You called it earlier with the SSD they really are worth it to speed up operating system and programs. They are good for speeding up an older system too but not a magic bullet as memory or even processor if its old enough can hold you back.


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## 007 (May 27, 2018)

WheelieAddict said:


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The only way you're going to get an SSD is if you buy a new computer with one installed on the mother board, and as far as watching videos, that depends greatly on your internet connection download speed. Cable is best. Even a slow computer can play video without digital lock up if it has a fast internet connection. Gaming is different, that requires RAM.


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## WheelieAddict (May 27, 2018)

TheGreatGatsby said:


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As long as you aren't doing demanding stuff like rendering or autocad or something a modern processor with 8gb memory and an SSD is going to be plenty fast for years.


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## WheelieAddict (May 27, 2018)

007 said:


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As long as you have an available sata connection you can install a SSD. Laptop I would buy with it installed though taking those apart isn't easy.


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## Moonglow (May 27, 2018)

I have a 2T Random Access Memory with forced air intake and nitro canisters.


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## WheelieAddict (May 27, 2018)

Moonglow said:


> I have a 2T Random Access Memory with forced air intake and nitro canisters.


Sounds like some expensive memory you should overclock it.


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## Ringel05 (May 27, 2018)

007 said:


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'Netbooks' have 1 or 2 (sometimes 3) USB ports and no optical drive though they typically have a SD card slot.


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## Borillar (May 27, 2018)

TheGreatGatsby said:


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Depends on the memory type. Most new laptops have DDR4 memory. You could probably get another 4GB stick for around $50. If it uses DDR3, probably around $35.


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## TheGreatGatsby (May 31, 2018)

Borillar said:


> Depends on the memory type. Most new laptops have DDR4 memory. You could probably get another 4GB stick for around $50. If it uses DDR3, probably around $35.



Seen DDR4 and DDR3 thrown around; haven't looked up what they mean.


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## TheGreatGatsby (May 31, 2018)

Although I suspect 4 GB Ram on SSD should do it, assuming original performance speeds don't diminish too much over time, I decided to play it safe and do 8 GB among other minimum specs I'm now looking for. But I may wait for prices to dip some, maybe after the summer.


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## Borillar (Jun 1, 2018)

TheGreatGatsby said:


> Borillar said:
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> > Depends on the memory type. Most new laptops have DDR4 memory. You could probably get another 4GB stick for around $50. If it uses DDR3, probably around $35.
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Over the years, there have been many advances in memory architecture which have lead to several distinct types of RAM, none of which are interchangeable. If you want to upgrade RAM on any computer, check the manufacturer’s specs for memory types and replace only with approved types. The DDR (double data rate) SDRAM modules all have different pin layouts, so DDR3 modules won’t fit in a slot intended for DDR4 and vice versa.


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