Testing ram before upgrading to 64-bit.

Hi. I am going to buy 8 gigs of ram for my laptop which is currently running windows 7 32-bit. However, some sites say that my maximum is 4gb. Is there a way to check if the 8gigs of ram will work on my computer first before i have to do a clean install of 64-bit to see if it works?

Thank you!

 

Sometimes a google search is all you need: Computer memory upgrades for Lenovo IdeaPad Y530 (405168U) Laptop/Notebook from Crucial.com

Also, what does the manufacturer specs have to say about max RAM?

Next time, posting your actual laptop model will help too, i had to dig up another one of your threads to find it.

EDIT: Also sometimes, while the manufacturer says otherwise you can put more memory in your laptop. Technically, my G73 doesn't support moe than 8GB, didn't prevent me from running it with 16GB.

 

Ic thanks. Yea I didn't know the exact model of my laptop. I know it is a Y530 but it is (4051...something) there are so many lol.

 

Usually, the last numbers after Y530 are only making reference to the particular cpu, hard drive and various other hardware. The motherboard and bios should be the same across all Y530 so they should all support the same amount of memory.

 

hmm weird because it didnt find my specific model when i scanned with crucial.com, however it did find out that I currently have 3gb ram installed and it said my maximum was 4gb.

 

Might be because of the 32 bit OS, by the way my N50 supposedly maxes out at 4GB, but it works with 8. I haven't upgraded it because 2x4GB DDR2 SODIMM is so darn expensive, it would cost me more than what i paid for 16GB of DDR3.

What are your full system specs?

Also, i find 4GB more than enough for any normal computing, i only go over 4GB when i'm being lazy and don't close apps and when i run software that are memory hogs. Especially if you have DDR2 memory, does your laptop have DDR3 memory or DDR2 memory, it seems there were Y530 models with both.

EDIT: In any case, wait till you get more opinions to be on the safe side of things.

 

ahh. well btw, do you think there will be any difference going to 8 gigs from 3 gigs? and would you recommend me buying the ddr3 pc8500 or ddr3 pc10600?

 

There will be a difference going to 8GB from 3GB depending on how you use the OS and programs that go along with it.
For one thing, Windows will have much more space to cache more and responsiveness might increase as a result.
Having numerous tabs open in Crhome or other browsers can be a RAM hog, and with 8GB you simply give yourself a lot more breathing room.

Aside from that... CAD based programs like 3d Studio Max along with Photoshop and the likes will benefit greatly from 8GB, plus this positive effect might also translate to games (which is possible if your OS has been hogging a lot of RAM for itself).

As for to go with pc8500 or pc10600... If that Crucial web page is any indication, I'd go with pc10600 because they are the same price.
Keep in mind that generally speaking, Mhz RAM speed does little for system performance unless we are talking about software that uses it intensely (and even then, the difference will be around 5% max, but likely lower).
Always go with the cheapest RAM, unless the faster one is within the same price range of the slower one - in this case, the pc10600 from Crucial website appears to be the same price like the pc8500, so no reason not to get that one