Which of my laptops would see the most benefit from a RAM upgrade?

ryams27

Honorable
Aug 29, 2012
12
0
10,510
I have two Lenovo laptops, each currently with 8 GB of RAM. Due to budgeting constraints, I can only upgrade one of them to 16 GB at this time. Which one of these two laptops would see the most performance improvement?

(1) Lenovo Y50: 2.8 GHz Intel Core i5-4200H Processor (Dual Core), 1 TB HDD (5400 RPM), Nvidia GTX 860m, 8 GB DDR3L 1600 RAM

(2) Lenovo IdeaPad 700: Intel Core i5-6300HQ 2.3GHz (Quad Core), 1TB HDD (5400 RPM), Nvidia GTX 950M, 8 GB DDR4 2133 RAM.

Follow-up question, if it's the IdeaPad 700, would you have any concerns about simply adding a compatible 8 GB stick to the open slot? Or would you insist on a brand new 16 GB kit?
 
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Barty1884

Retired Moderator
It really depends what you're doing with them. In a simplistic sense, I'd suggest either the primary laptop, whichever one that may be (I assume the 6300 + 950M) or the one that is exceeding 8GB in daily usage (if either of them are).

Looking at those those, both having 5400rpm (never heard of 5200rpm) drives, either/or would likely benefit (in the sense that they'd feel like a new machine!) from an SSD over a RAM upgrade. 8GB is still more than capable, especially in a laptop.

As for +8GB or new 16GB, a kit is recommended - but laptops are a little less 'tricky' (in my experience) than desktops, so the addition of 8GB *should* be fine.
 

ryams27

Honorable
Aug 29, 2012
12
0
10,510


Thanks for the helpful response.

Yes, they are 5400 RPM drives -- a silly mistake on my part.

I'm actually not sure whether either of them are exceeding 8 GB in daily usage. How can I tell?

Both laptops are mutli-use: one stays at home, the other at my office. I use both for web surfing, email/Office and gaming. I guess I was most interested in whether I'd see any gaming performance improvements by upgrading the RAM.

Thanks for the recommendation on the SSD -- that definitely sounds like the way to go, though I'm not yet sure whether the Y50 has an open spot for an SSD or if I'd have to replace the current HDD. I believe the IdeaPad 700 actually has an open M.2 slot but I need to confirm.
 


even with gaming you will not see much deference if any with that increase in ram. going with an SSD drive would be the best idea

 
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