Dell XPS 9550 Ram Upgrade/Battery

Hey all got questions about my dell xps 9550.


My laptop is an i5 quad core laptop as oppose to i7. I notice the battery of it when unplugged probably is less than 40 minutes total. It might be 30 minutes only as I always have this laptop plugged in because i use it only inside the apartment etc. This is pretty normal right due to batteries wearing out? Also are you suppose to keep the charger plugged in all the time even if you are using it inside? The reason i did this is because i use to have it at 100 percent... then use it while on battery, the once it hit 10 percent or so, i plug it right back in to 100 percent. Then repeat etc. Is this the right way to do it or not? The reason i did not do this is because when im on the computer, im busy doing something and cannot have the battery go out and thus need all the battery there is. Because several times where im located at, there has been a short power outage and when thats the case, i have to have some battery on my laptop. But is the reason why my battery is much lower now due to wear and tear? Or its mostly due to me having it plugged in always? The thing is if this laptop had a battery where i could take it out externally easily, i would have done this instead. Thus take battery out, while plugged in. But the issue is this laptop has internal battery. But if im planning to use this battery only inside, i guess don't need a new battery right? How often you buy a new battery for this laptop?


I have lot of chrome windows open. I have less than 10 but the issue is many of the windows... i might have even 35 windows + opened for several of these. At the moment, it shows on task manager the cpu is 40 percent and memory is 93 percent. Basically the memory is almost always over 90 percent. Its close to 95 percent. But if i close all my chrome windows, it goes to 25 percent or less. But if i have just a few chrome windows where i do not have those 25+ windows in a few tabs, it would go to the 70 percent range. Is this normal or not? The thing is i do need those tabs though in my laptop. Is there another solution to this? I got message that it say to use microsoft edge because it uses less memory. The thing is my laptop slows down a bit because of all those tabs i got. So could i use another similar browser or do something else? Or is my only other solution get more ram?


I have 8gb ram. And if i get ram, i believe i have 2 sticks of ram. So would getting one 8gb stick be enough? Or would i need two of them for 16gb total? Because even though i have 8gb ram, im sure its 2 sticks. Thus if i have 1 stick only, i could get 1 stick of 8gb ram for 16gb ram. Also what ram brand to buy? I seen some on amazon that has very good reviews. But how do i know if that ram is compatible or not? The other thing is this. I read that you should always get 2 matching ram otherwise there might be issues... is that true? Thus if i get one 8gb ram, i should get another one but the same? There is no way im going to open the laptop up myself because i cannot do this and would have to go to a computer place for them to install the ram. This should be very easy for a computer place to open the laptop and do this right? The thing that worries me is im sort of worried if they opened the computer and install ram, the computer won't work because i read online there been cases where people installed new ram and computer does not work. Can someone tell me to those who installed ram, was this hard or not? And if there is ever an issue, what should i do etc? Also based on what i describe, should i buy 1 stick or 2 sticks of 8gb ram? 12gb ram should be enough? And it would certainly not show any lag then right? So instead of over 90 percent memory used, by having 12gb ram instead, it would go down to 60 percent or so? But if i get 16gb ram, then it would show 50 percent? And everyone here who recommend me to upgrade the ram right?


Also is it true that upgrading the ram would make battery performance better? This shows reduce consumption and increase battery life etc.

https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-PC4-...019FRDAY6/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8


Thanks all.

 

If you have been repeatedly cycling the battery between full and 10% then you have most likely worn it out. Regularly emptying the battery is recommended for Nickel-based batteries but isn't good for Lithium batteries as the greatest wear on the chemistry is as both ends of the charge range Most, if not all, recent computers stop charging the battery when it gets to 100% so you can just leave the computer plugged in. Better still, install Dell Power Manager and set up a custom charge range which limits the maximum charge to, say, 85%.

Run BatteryInfoView and see what it reports when on 100% charge as the current capacity and how it compares with the design capacity. This should confirm whether a replacement battery is needed.

8GB RAM on what is a performance notebook is very low and probably means that the system is making considerable use of the virtual memory on the storage drive. The RAM you have identified should work OK. 2133MHz DDR4 SODIMMs will also work and might be slightly cheaper. You also have the option of replacing one of your 4GB modules with a 16GB module to get 20GB in total (or put in 8GB to get 12GB total). This will run as dual channel for the first 8GB and single channel for the remainder.

John

 

Hi there. Well my laptop is 8gb and i didn't upgrade ram because i thought 8gb is more than enough for most computers. Okay so right now i have 8gb ram with 2 sticks. So is the best solution get 2 sticks of 8gb ram for 16gb? Thus make sure its the same brand/model? I read that if you use one 8gb ram and one 4gb ram, there might be some issues with it? Do you know if that is true or not? Also i don't think i would put 16gb ram and 4gb ram... that would be 20gb ram. I don't think that is necessary at all?

 

Incompatibilities between RAM SODIMMs is very rare, so I wouldn't worry too much about that. 16 GB should be more than enough unless you have some pretty intensive uses.

 

Also i notice they actually sell one 16gb ram as well as oppose to 2 pieces of 8gb each. Its actually cheaper if you get 1 stick. So would it be fine to get one stick of 16gb? Or its better to have 2 sticks of 8gb each? The thing is there are 2 slots there... so wouldn't it make sense to get 1 stick incase you ever want to upgrade it to 32gb?

 

You always want to fully populate the memory channels with the total capacity you need. Dual channel RAM is noticeably snappier than single channel - particularly for igpu usage modes. Highly recommend to buy a 'kit' of 2x XX GB's instead of two random sticks - unless you don't care about a solid and dependable platform for your use.

If your budget allows; I would max out the RAM on your system (32GB total) - even for mere 'web browsing' duties such as you describe. Otherwise 2x 8GB SoDimms will serve you better than a 1x 16GB module.

Where ever you buy the RAM from; they should be able to install it for free (if not, keep the total price in mind when shopping different merchants).

Myself? I've seen Edge with only 3 or 4 tabs open use 5GB+ of RAM on a 16GB system with the total RAM used over 12GB's - and with 32GB or more those same tests use over 18GB's of RAM on otherwise identical installs. The point here is that Windows is dynamically using the physical RAM as it has access to it. You can never have enough (the programs and system will use whatever you have and it will make the rest of the platform feel much more responsive too).

You don't mention what i5 generation you have - but anything recent will comfortably use greater than 16GB easily.

As for the battery life - don't expect it to last longer - you may do more (i.e. be more productive...) in that same time frame, but it doesn't affect battery life much at all, ime.

 

Hi there im buying ram online. So i dont know what you mean they install it for free?


I dont think 32gb is necessary. That is way too much. But say the computer is using 90 percent ram to make it simple. It would show 7.2/8.0gb ram being used. But most of the time its higher than that when i have these tabs. It does goes to the high 80 percent as well but thats rare. Do if i upgrade is 16gb, will it show 7.2/16gb ram used or not? Or would it show something like 11gb/16gb? Also the 16gb will solve this lagging issue right? The thing is even youtube lags a lot because of this. Of course if i close all those tabs, that would solve the issue.

 

If there is more RAM then Windows will use it to keep things available which would otherwise either be moved to the virtual memory on the storage drive or deleted. This is very likely happening with 8GB. However, I agree that 16GB should be enough for most situations. Task Manager tells me that I'm currently using 32% of 32GB but I sometimes (not at the moment) use software which likes loads of RAM.

Whether you get a single 16GB stick or two 8GB sticks is your choice. Personally I would likely get the 16GB and run it with one of the 4GB modules. The integrated graphics and core Windows software then get to use dual channel RAM while other things may have to make do with single channel RAM it's still much, much faster than an SSD (with an HDD somewhere trailing in the distance).

John

 

Compare to online prices plus cost of installing the RAM since you can't or won't do it yourself, to a local shop selling you the RAM and installing it for 'free' for you.

To install RAM yourself:

Do a full shut down of the computer (not sleep or hibernate).
Unplug the power cord.
Remove the battery (or disconnect it once inside, if it's not removable).
Open the case or access door for your RAM.
Push the clips apart on each side and let the module come up to about a 45 degree angle, then pull it out.
Insert the new module in the reverse order: at a 45 degree angle, push down until the clips 'snap' into place and then put the case back together and power the system up.
Done and Enjoy!​

It doesn't matter what you or I think is 'too much RAM' for your use. The only way to tell is if you try it with your workloads/workflows. Windows makes use of physical resources like RAM dynamically - we can't predict what the system will use if you're currently using 7GB with 8GB physical RAM that you'll be using 'XX'GB with 16GB of RAM or more...

One thing to keep in mind; the RAM by itself won't solve a 'lagging' issue if your processor isn't strong enough for your workload/workflows. I didn't see you mention which processor you have...

Any workload (even multiple browser instances with multiple tabs each) can bring a system to its knees. RAM may or may not solve the particular issue you're seeing (i.e. the 'lagging' you're describing). It will lessen it; but to what degree? Only you can determine. If it's worth it or not depends on your expectations, your budget, your actual processor and even things like your isp and router, for example.

In your situation, I would find a friendly local dealer that will let you try 32GB RAM and 16GB RAM in your system and let you decide by yourself which is enough for you.

John's suggestion above is great: buy 16GB and use one of the current sticks in your system too. It may also be enough to make the full 32GB option 'moot' for you and your workflows.

Good luck.

 

Hi. Quad core i5-6300 hq is my processor. Is that pretty good then?

Okay but if i only use 8gb and do not ever plan to use 32gb, then doing the 8gb each is fine then right? The thing is i dont want to increase any chance it would have an issue with my computer.

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BIWMWVS/ref=twister_B0765JJK12?_encoding=UTF8&th=1


Also if i get two 8gb ram, which one am i suppose to buy on amazon?


There is one that is 182 dollars with 2 sticks of 8gb

There is one that is 176 dollars with 2 sticks of 8gb but it says single rank.


Im confused which one is better here?

 

Your processor is capable of 64GB of RAM, if your M/B supports it.

See:
https://ark.intel.com/products/88959/Intel-Core-i5-6300HQ-Processor-6M-Cache-up-to-3_20-GHz


You can't plan to use only 8GB of RAM - as already explained in the posts above - please re-read.

As far as your cpu, it is above average for a mobile processor today.

With Windows 10 x64 (Pro recommended) and a good SSD with proper OP'ing, it should easily handle 32GB of RAM and give you meaningful improvements to your workflows (educated guess).

See:
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp[]=2632&cmp[]=892


To put your processor in perspective for me;

See:
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp[]=2632&cmp[]=892


The i7-3612QM from 2012 is slightly slower (single core ~9%) and slightly faster (multicore ~11%) vs. your processor - and this type of device has been relegated to 'light' chores such as web browsing, bookkeeping/invoicing duties, etc. with 16GB RAM and a 1TB SSD OP'd by 33%.