Dell Inspiron Laptop With 12 GB Ram, What's The Best Way To Upgrade To 16 GB?

Hello All!

I have a Dell Inspiron 15 5000 (5547) laptop (see it on Dell's Website). My particular model, which I bought from Costco, came with 12 GB ram. I want to upgrade my ram to 16 GB but I need to know what my current configuration is. I don't know if it's 8 + 4 GB, 6 + 6 GB, etc.

My first question is, how can I check the memory slot configuration? Is there a software program that will do this or do I have to physically open the panel and check?

My second question is, should I not worry about my current configuration and just buy 2 x 8 GB modules and toss out the old ones? I think I read somewhere that it's better to match memory modules anyway. The thing is, however, I just checked Newegg.com and it's about $150 for 2 8 GB memory modules. If one of my laptop's slot's already has 8 GB I would save some money.

Let's assume for now that my laptop is configured with 8 + 4 GB modules and I decide to toss the 4 GB and buy 1 x 8 GB module. Is there anything I need to be careful of? Do I need to find out all the information I can about the current 8 GB module and then use this information to make sure my new 8 GB module matches? If they don't match 100% does it really matter?

Thank you!

Jan

 

tackyjan, there ain't such thing as 6GB memory modules. You have 8GB+4GB. You should either download service manual for your notebook, or, if it's obvious, get access to memory slots to see if there are memory modules and not soldered memory chips. If you have 4GB module, you simply swap it for 8GB one. If you have it soldered and 8GB as a module, or both soldered, memory upgrade is most likely a no-go. Using the same module as you already have means reducing incompatibility risk, however it is reasonable to try the cheapest one available and return if it refuses to work. For memory testing you can use Prime95 Blend test for couple of hours. Good luck!

 

Primarily find out if it is 1.35V or 1.5V RAM, and what speed. CPU-Z is a good app to check without actually opening your laptop, but opening it to confirm is a good idea. From the link it looks like it uses a ULV CPU so it is very likely 1.35V RAM.

It is also very likely 8GB + 4GB because RAM is binary and only comes as 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, 8GB, 16GB... etc (well 16GB SoDIMM's for laptops aren't quite ready yet).

Also before you make the purchase, evaluate why you need/want to do this. It will only really help you if your RAM is being over 80% consumed, and using over 10GB RAM is usually not the normal for a laptop like this.