How to choose and install RAM on a PC?

My computer is slower

Whether your use is purely for office work, professional purposes, or for multimedia entertainment or gaming, having a computer that lags can quickly become irritating.

Several reasons can explain this slowdown, but it is often due to your RAM sticks. These may have been sufficient at the time of your PC's purchase, but updates and the evolution of your applications require more resources.

The team at Accessoires Asus offers their help and knowledge to assist you during this manipulation and to answer all your doubts and questions on the subject.

Why Change or Add RAM Sticks?

RAM (Random Access Memory) is the volatile memory of your PC, temporarily storing data and used to launch applications; various types of RAM exist, with laptops typically using SO-DIMM RAM.

Your PC's RAM is Saturated

With new, highly efficient software and programs, your computer is no longer as comfortable and struggles to be as effective in running these tools. In short, the RAM/volatile memory of your laptop is quickly saturated, and your computer then uses the hard drive as a secondary memory. However, the hard drive is much slower and less responsive, causing bugs or endless loading times.

Your PC's RAM is Defective

It's also possible that your computer is suffering from intensive use or the regular execution of numerous programs at the same time, which has made your memory slow, or could have caused system overheating, leading to the failure of memory bits, thus limiting the capabilities of your RAM.

Diagnostic de mémoire Windows

This is particularly evidenced by crashes or blue screens during the use of your computer.

How to Choose a New RAM Stick?

Buying a new RAM stick is not the simplest task; indeed, you will have to ensure its correct compatibility with your PC, as well as its complementarity with your existing RAM if you wish to double it. The choice of a RAM stick for an Asus PC depends indeed on your equipment

First, you will need to check if this upgrade is supported by your computer, in what quantity, and with what type of RAM, which varies according to the models and capabilities of the PC.

emplacement barrette de RAM sur PC portable

Be aware that some laptops do not allow for changing or adding memory because the RAM sticks are directly soldered to the motherboard. It's also important to check the number of available slots to know if you can add a second one or if you need to replace the existing one.

Identifying the Type of Your RAM Sticks

You can easily identify the type of your RAM sticks without needing to disassemble anything: go to the official CPU-Z website where you can download a ZIP file. In this file, you will find two .exe files corresponding to the two possible versions of your operating system, 32 or 64 bits. We recommend opening the 64-bit version, which is "cpuz_x64.exe". In case your system refuses to open it, choose the 32-bit version, "cpuz_x32.exe".

When you open it, it will provide you with various characteristics of your system with several tabs, the one of interest to you here is "SPD", then look for the line "Max Bandwidth".

CPU-Z site officiel

This section will give you the type of RAM stick present in your laptop. In our example, the stick is a DDR4 with 8192 MBytes (8 Gb) clocked at 2133Mhz.

Therefore, if you wish to change or add a RAM stick in your laptop, you simply need to find a new DDR4 stick with a frequency of 2133Mhz.

Moreover, on the same page, you will see the number of slots (placements) existing and whether they are still available or not for adding more RAM.

barrette de ram présente sur votre ordinateur portable

In this example, we observe that the PC has 4 slots, with slot 3 occupied by a DDR4 stick of 8Gb.

What Capacity of RAM to Choose?

Check Your Operating System Version

Before making your choice, check the version of the operating system on your PC. To do this, right-click on "Computer/This PC" and then click on "Properties".

système d'exploitation de votre Pc dans paramètres

In this case, the system in use is indeed a 64-bit. This is important to check because it is pointless to add RAM to a PC using a 32-bit Windows operating system.

ndeed, a 32-bit architecture will utilize a maximum of 3.33 GB of the installed RAM, so going beyond 3GB of RAM will hardly change the PC's performance.

Check the Capacity Accepted by Your Laptop

In addition to the version of your operating system, you also need to check what capacity can be accepted by your processor. To do this, find the model of the processor present in your computer using the same window as used previously:

Then, you can find the technical specifications of your processor on the intel.com website along with the maximum usable RAM:

Système d'exploitation et processeur

In our case, it is possible to install up to 64Gb of RAM.

Choosing RAM Capacity Based on Usage

Once all the previous elements are gathered, it's now about choosing the amount of RAM you will add. Here's a brief overview of the primary qualities by RAM capacity:

- Computer for office or multimedia use only: 4 GB minimum (standard)
- Computer for leisure and gaming with powerful games: 8 GB ideal
- Computer for professional use with demanding software (photo editing, streaming, video editing, design software) or latest generation games: 16 GB

You can now deduce the RAM you need. Let's imagine you are in the following situation:

• 1 Free Slot
• AM Type DDR4 2133Mhz
•Up to 32GB of RAM accepted by the processor
•Up to 32GB of RAM accepted by the processor

You can add an 8GB DDR4 2133Mhz RAM stick in the free slot. This will bring your computer's capacity to 16GB, which should allow you to play or work in excellent conditions.

How to Install RAM in My Asus Laptop?

There are two possible scenarios: either your RAM is located at the back of your PC or it is located under your keyboard. Note that in some models, one stick might be under the keyboard and another accessible through a hatch.

Before starting any manipulation, it is essential that your computer is turned off and unplugged from any power source.

RAM at the Back of the PC Accessible by Hatch

RAM is located at the back of your PC and is accessible through a screw-off hatch located at the back of your laptop. For our example, the principle is the same, but the Asus laptop used has a fully removable cover.

pc portable Asus trappe du X5DI

On the Asus, you first need to remove the battery cover to access the 5th screw of the cover:

PC Portable X5DI

After removing the 5 screws from the cover, we can remove it and access:

Asus X5DI ouvert intérieur des composants

By focusing on the part where the RAM sticks are located, we notice that there are two memory slots, one of which is free:

Barrettes à l'intérieur du Pc portable Asus X5DI

We can then add a second RAM module into the slot. You should push it all the way in as follows:

Finally, all that's left to do is press on the side of the module so that it snaps between the metal clips. You should push the module until you hear a "click"; this will indicate that it is properly installed.

The new RAM module is now installed. Before closing the cover, it's advisable to try starting the computer to check if it boots up correctly. It's possible that the RAM module is not properly seated, which could prevent the computer from turning on.

Once you've successfully started the computer, all that's left to do is shut it down and reassemble the cover or close the access panel.

The RAM is installed, and you can finally enjoy a fast and high-performance computer, just like on the first day!

RAM under the laptop keyboard

To access the memory storage located under the keyboard, follow these steps:

- First, unscrew the screws on the base of your laptop and remove it.

- Using a flathead screwdriver or a card, separate the keyboard's border from the bottom of your laptop by sliding your tool into the gap and going all around.

- Open your laptop and do the same carefully with the keyboard border (there are several cables connected on each side; you need to disconnect them from their connectors before fully opening), then remove this keyboard casing.

- You will then be facing your internal components, with the motherboard (large green board) on the left side of your laptop, and your RAM is located beneath it.

- Just like with the keyboard connection cables, you'll need to disconnect all the cables from the motherboard and remove all the existing screws.

-Gently remove the motherboard, take out the RAM from its slot if you wish to replace it or place it in the available slot if you want to upgrade it.

-Reverse these steps to reassemble your computer.

You can now easily boost your Asus laptop's RAM, extending its lifespan, gaining a noticeable speed improvement on a computer less than 5 years old, enhancing its performance, helping programs run faster and smoother, all while being the most cost-effective and straightforward way to enhance your computer's performance.

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