Dell 15R N5110 meanigful upgrade both RAM and HDD

Hello Everyone
I am planning to give a performance shake to my current laptop. After spending sometime over the net, I have nailed down two things (1. RAM and 2. SSD internal hard drive) that could really help boost the performance. My Laptop has the following configuration:
Dell Inspiron 15R - N5110
3 GB RAM SD DDR3
Intel Chipset HM67 with a core i3 processor
Windows 7 Ultimate 32Bit
My questions are following:
1. Current RAM is 3GB, normally my PC shows 60%-70% usage of RAM on an average, but also sometime it jumps to above 90%.
a. Would it make sense to upgrade the RAM to 4GB or 8GB, can I see any visible difference in performance? I understand the 32 bit win cannot recognize more than 4GB RAM, however if I upgrade my windows to a 64bit and add 8GB RAM, would it worth an investment?
b. What would be the maximum fastest RAM I can use on this laptop?
2. I guess for SSD no one would argue that it’s not going to give a boost in laptop performance. I am also guessing that my laptop can support SATA III. Which SSD drive would you recommend?
3. I do not have an original windows CD or recovery disc. Could anyone please guide or send a link that would help me plan how to replace the hard drive, format and install windows on the newly replaced hard drive and get the system up and running.
Thank you all for the help and advice in advance :thumbsup:

 

Welcome to the forum!

Your machine has a Sandy Bridge chipset and should be able to take up to 16GB of RAM, presuming both RAM slots are open.

You can legally download any version of W7 from here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/win...-digitalriver-windows-7-sp1-13-languages.html

Presuming that your laptop has a COA for W7, you can use either 32 or 64-bit version of the W7 release that matches it.

Now, before we go into the aspect of upgrading RAM and adding an SSD, two things:

a) How much space do you need - as in how big of an SSD are you looking at

AND

b) How much are you looking to spend altogether on these upgrades

Good luck and let us know.

 

Thanks ajkula for the quick response and encouragement. Please bear with me if it sounds stupid, but could you explain what do you mean by COA for W7??

Answer to your above questions are as follows:

a) I am looking in between 250 to 500GB, Since I already have a Synology NAS where I have all my large data like videos, music, pics etc, for the Laptop I do not need a big sized SSD.

b) I will be ready to invest 300€ or say 350$ if it will really make sense in the end i.e. real visible performance/speed boost.

 

This will give you an idea about the RAM, I prefer 8GB over 4GB ( I found it make system performance slightly higher): Computer upgrades for Dell Inspiron Laptops/Notebooks Inspiron N5110 from Crucial
My suggestion for SSD will be a Samsung Pro 256GB,or Crucial MX100 256Gb.
If you like to back up your current set up and install it on your SSD, use Macrium Reflect.
v5: How to restore a backup image (Restore, v5)

 

COA = Certificate Of Authenticity. It's the sticker with a serial number issued by Microsoft and attached to the bottom of the laptop of found in the battery bay. W7 = Windows 7.

You can definitely do both RAM and SSD for $300 Euros.

What's the price of Crucial MX100 512GB where you are?

 

Crucial MX100 512GB costs in between 185 - 200€.

One more question Is 64bit of Win8 better than 64bit Win7 performance wise? I mean would it make any diff if I update my PC with 64bit Win8 instead of 64bit win7?

 

That should leave you enough money for RAM upgrade.

I don't use W8.x so I can't advise you on what better fit for your machine would be BUT if your laptop has a COA for Windows 7 it costs you nothing to go for a 64-bit version, where you'll have to pay to get Windows 8.x

Your call.

 

In my experience, Win 8.1 Update 1 x64 Pro is a better O/S than Win7x64 Pro.

Better handling/installing of new devices, better handling of newer tech (e.g. SSD's) and the latest platforms (Haswell/Broadwell) and considering that Win7 is already past it's prime (it is on extended support now), it doesn't make sense to use Win7 when all those hours of install may be for naught.

See:
Microsoft Support Lifecycle Policy FAQ

See:
Microsoft Support Lifecycle

See:
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Sure, Win7 has another 5 years of Extended support. But that is like betting on a 50 year old 'athlete' to win the next Olympics instead of a young teen/20 something athlete that is hungry for their first win in the same time frame. Respect the oldie, but bet on the one with the best long term potential.


And yeah; I will be probably saying the same thing in a few months about Windows 10, depending on what MS actually delivers.

 

While I'm not disagreeing with you in principle, it would make more sense for OP in my opinion to spend the funds allocated for the upgrade on hardware (SSD and RAM) and keep on running W7 "for free" - presuming, of course that their machine has an appropriate COA - especially for the fact that he's dealing with a Sandy Bridge system which, when properly upgraded hardware-wise, should provide them with a few more years of trouble-free service using Windows 7.

Personally, I'd rather not spend $180 - or whatever the price tag is in OP's neck of the woods - on the OS without upgrading the hardware first, and I believe that you'll agree that both OP's RAM and storage system are in need of an upgrade.

My $0.02 only...

 

ajkula66,

I agree 100% with your last post. What I didn't make clear in my post is that in addition to the hardware upgrades, the O/S is also an important part of getting the most from a platform with the most current components available.