Computer nerds - laptop upgrade info request

[BehindBlueI's]

Acer Nitro AN515-53
Benchmarks: Game 16%, Desk 69%, Work 13%
CPU: Intel Core i5-8300H - 64.6%
GPU: Nvidia GTX 1050 (Mobile) - 24.6%
HDD: HGST Travelstar 7K1000 2.5" 1TB - 45.4%
RAM: Micron 8ATF1G64HZ-2G6E1 1x8GB - 34.9%
MBD: Acer Nitro AN515-53


I ordered a SDD drive and am going to upgrade the RAM. Any point in going to 2x16 vs 2x8 given the rest of the specs? Used for light gaming (Civilization 6, mostly) and general computing stuff. Planning to get a new laptop or desktop before too long and make this my travel computer.

 

[Hoosierdood]

I have that exact same computer. No need to go more that 2x8 on the RAM based on what you’re using it for.

 

[KLB]

I have that exact same computer. No need to go more that 2x8 on the RAM based on what you’re using it for.

Need to go more than that period these days.

Get 32Gb BBI.

 

[actaeon277]

What's 'good enough' now, might not be 'good enough' next year.

 

[blain]

The SSD will make a great splash in that system.
If this rig is going to be relegated to a travel computer in the future, 2x8GB of memory should work out fine.
After the OS is reloaded try and shut down as much bloatware running as possible.

 

[Hoosierdood]

Like I said, I have the same computer. I have 16Gb RAM in mine. I just opened up 15 browser tabs, and 12 different programs that would typically be used for work. Teams, Word, Calculator, Paint, and a game that would rely on the GPU. So I would say for what you're using it for, you typically wouldn't have much more load on the resources that I do now. Here is what all that did to my RAM.



To be fair, you really can't have TOO MUCH RAM. But for what you're using it for, it should be sufficient. That being said, if you're already upgrading and the RAM is cheap enough, throw more in it. But I wouldn't spend too much on it.

 

[Hop]

You might not need it now but I'd max out the RAM. The SSD will make the biggest performance increase.

I'm not sure if your motherboard can be over-clocked. Maybe google that for a tiny extra bump.

 

[WanderingSol07]

A SSD will make the biggest impact, if your system can use a NVMe SSD that would be the best. But even a SATA SSD will be better than your HD.

 

[ben142266]

Hoosierdood is right, 2x8 is enough and I would put the money I could towards the SSD more than anything. Especially if you're making it the travel computer. I wouldn't mess with overclocking either, just means more heat and laptops already have atrocious cooling no matter the brand.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

SSD is in and did make a big difference. Programs load quite a bit faster now and the entire system is sped up dramatically.

UserBenchmarks: Game 21%, Desk 77%, Work 18%
CPU: Intel Core i5-8300H - 74.3%
GPU: Nvidia GTX 1050 (Mobile) - 24.7%
SSD: Samsung 870 EVO 1TB - 96.5%
RAM: Micron 8ATF1G64HZ-2G6E1 1x8GB - 33.1%
MBD: Acer Nitro AN515-53


Side note: Samsung Magician is a charlatan. Twice it got to 99% then failed in the cloning process. I used Macrium, which has a free trial, and it did it the first go with no issue and was much faster.

 

[sadclownwp]

What's 'good enough' now, might not be 'good enough' next year.

It will be if he is gonna upgrade his whole laptop. But for that processor, 2x8, and an SSD will be the best he can do for an upgrade.

 

[indyblue]

SSD is in and did make a big difference. Programs load quite a bit faster now and the entire system is sped up dramatically.

UserBenchmarks: Game 21%, Desk 77%, Work 18%
CPU: Intel Core i5-8300H - 74.3%
GPU: Nvidia GTX 1050 (Mobile) - 24.7%
SSD: Samsung 870 EVO 1TB - 96.5%
RAM: Micron 8ATF1G64HZ-2G6E1 1x8GB - 33.1%
MBD: Acer Nitro AN515-53


Side note: Samsung Magician is a charlatan. Twice it got to 99% then failed in the cloning process. I used Macrium, which has a free trial, and it did it the first go with no issue and was much faster.

Clonezilla is a great tool as well.

Clonezilla.org

 

[ZurokSlayer7X9]

Hoosierdood is right, 2x8 is enough and I would put the money I could towards the SSD more than anything. Especially if you're making it the travel computer. I wouldn't mess with overclocking either, just means more heat and laptops already have atrocious cooling no matter the brand.

I couldn't have said it better myself. It's one of the reasons I only recommend desktops for higher end needs (gaming, rendering, creative work, CAD), while laptops are great for office work and web stuff. Not only that, but you'll likely see less performance when overclocking due to thermal throttling, making the process irrelevant.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

I ended up doing the extra 8GB stick of RAM, using the same brand/model that was already in there. Results:

UserBenchmarks: Game 26%, Desk 86%, Work 23%
CPU: Intel Core i5-8300H - 79.6%
GPU: Nvidia GTX 1050 (Mobile) - 24.7%
SSD: Samsung 870 EVO 1TB - 100.4%
RAM: Micron 8ATF1G64HZ-2G6E1 2x8GB - 75.7%
MBD: Acer Nitro AN515-53

It's doing everything I want it to do pretty quickly now. Boot up and programs loading are both remarkably faster.

 

[HoosierLife]

RAM is so cheap. I have 64 in my desktop.

I have like 8000 chrome tabs opened all the time though.

Can never have enough RAM in my opinion.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Something is up with the new RAM. I'm getting a crash about an hour in or so. I did a memory check with windows and it didn't see an issue. The computer reboots fine each time. I've taken the original stick out and put the new stick in it's place, returning to 8GB for the moment, and will see if it still crashes. If so, I'll chalk it up to a bad stick and return it.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

With just the new stick it ran fine. There's no relevant BIOS settings, so I'm kind of at a loss. I think I'll put the old stick back in the other slot and see what happens with that.

 

[indyblue]

Maybe a timing or other mismatch between old and new RAM. That is why it is recommended to buy matching pairs of RAM from the same batch at the same time to use in the same DIMM bank.

RAM, especially newer fast DDR3/4 can be finicky. If you can avoid mixing old with new I would. Windows blue screens mean it doesn't like something about that combo of hardware.

 

[wtburnette]

I had a similar issue. Bought a stick of RAM that had the same specs to add into my Dell laptop and kept getting a random crash whenever playing YT videos. Tried everything I could think of (updated/rolled back drivers, disabled one of the two video cards, moved to a new OS), but nothing helped. Removed the new stick of RAM and haven't had the issue since (after 2 months).

 

[blain]

With just the new stick it ran fine. There's no relevant BIOS settings, so I'm kind of at a loss. I think I'll put the old stick back in the other slot and see what happens with that.

Did you add a Micron 8ATF1G64HZ-2G6E1 1x8GB?
You might try shooting some contact cleaner in the slots.