Question Installing more RAM and SSD

[Giulio Sincovich]

Hi everyone!

I'd like to install more ram to my laptop (4GB right now) and switch from HDD to SSD.
On the back of the laptop I read "Acer e5 573g33vr".
Since it's the first time I try to open a computer, I found out this video on youtube to help me see how the process is done:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzMaCv2H16U


Now: the video's description says "You can upgrade with a maximum of 16GB RAM on a E5-573 laptop. Use SO-DDR3L RAM 12800S with 1600Mhz".
Since I'm a total noob and those numbers mean nothing to me, I need some clarification.
My laptop should have 2 RAM slots, right? The video says 16GB max, for now I'd be ok with only 8GB ram, so that would be 2x4GB. I found these 2:

1) https://www.ebay.it/itm/Samsung-4GB...96:m:mYmZ0RK3UA_JyTHOCzlVAYA&var=622068440250
4GB - 15.80€

2) https://www.hw1.it/crucial-pc3-12800-4gb-memoria-ddr3-541529.html
4GB - 20.60€

Are they the same? Can I just buy 2x 4GB sticks from the first cheapest website?


Second part of this thread, about the SSD: is there any specific value I need to look for?
For now I found this:
https://www.ebay.it/itm/HARD-DISK-S...hash=item4d56b440ef:m:mQAQhJKkgWrAHXkxkbG88rw
480GB SSD - 134€

I'm open to any tips and opinion since my knowledge is very limited 😁
Thanks in advance!

 

[Lutfij]

I would suggest that you invest in a dual channel ram kit, since they will be matched from the factory. Second hand dual channel ram kits will also work. The ram you're looking for should at least hold DDR3-1600MHz 1.65v(or 1.5v). Seeing how you have two slots, you are good to go with a 2x4GB layout.

Make sure your BIOS is up to date prior to performing any hardware updates.

Pertaining to your SSD, what sort of a budget are you looking at? If you can, just settle for a cheap SSD, something like a Transcend 230s 256GB would do you fine. As for the OS installation, please don't clone, reinstall the OS from scratch. Considering that you have an optical drive, you can take advantage of an SSD caddy to have the HDD in. How thick is the ODD in your laptop, 12.5mm or 9.7mm?

 

[Giulio Sincovich]

Uhm lots of unknown tech terms here haha
Sorry but really, my knowledge of this is close to 0, sadly.
"Dual channel ram kit" no idea what this means.
"should at least hold DDR3-1600MHz 1.65v(or 1.5v)" same here.
I don't want to over-do anything, I just want to give this cheap laptop a little boost. I think that upgrading the RAM and switch to an SSD is doable by someone like me with close to 0 knowledge, if this is wrong I will just go to a computer shop to get it done. I like to do things on my own but this isn't my territory

So let's try to sort it out:

1) You suggest "DDR3-1600MHz 1.65v". Does the 2 RAM links I pasted here meet this requirement?

2) SSD budget: well if the SSD capacity is all my laptop is gonna have after I swap to SSD (correct me if I'm wrong), I would like to still have 500GB of space, like I have now with my HDD. Therefore, the SSD I linked has 480GB for 130€, that's ok for me considering I'll also have to spend 40€ for the 2 RAM sticks. So let's say under 200€ is ok. I can also move all my stuff to an external HDD of 1TB (which I already own) and just buy a smaller SSD of like 240GB (70ish €).

3) How thick is the ODD: no idea to be honest (the button to open it isn't working, I have to put a small stick inside the little hole to force it to open) and I didn't fully get the meaning of your sentence about keeping both SSD and HDD. Can I use an "SSD adapter" to put the SSD in, in place of the ODD? If the answer is yes, this means I will have 500GB + 480GB but no ODD? This doesn't look very good to me, too much disk space and no ODD. I would prefer to keep just 500GB of space plus the ODD. So again, is the SSD link I provided ok for my purpose?


I know it can be hard to give some kind of tips to someone who doesn't know anything about this world but to be honest, I am just trying to find a cheap easy way to give this laptop a little more speed and responsivness. If it's possible of course 😇