Upgrading memory from 4GB to 8GB?

Hi guys

I have just started my bachelors degree in mechanical engineering. Since the project we will begin with aren't that complex, i'd like to keep my Samsung Q530-star for another year and buy a new notebook/workstation later. I am considering to buy 2x4 GB of RAM for my Samsung to increase its power. Do you think that upgrading ram will make a big difference, since the other specs aren't that good? Is it worth the 100 bucks? Is it easy to replace the RAM?

I have a Samsung Q530-Star with the following components:
Intel Core i3 Quadcore at 2.27 GHZ
4GB of RAM
Nvidia Geforce 310M

 

That won't increase power but it may improve performance provided you're operation in an 64 bit environment?

It may. But that depends on the software you're running. You didn't specify.

It won't hurt. And for a hundred bucks more is always better.

That depends on your system. Some are very easy: the ones underneath the laptop. Others can be a nightmare: the ones under the keyboard. Someone experienced with your laptop will have to answer that.

Your Windows Index score should increase.

 

While increasing the RAM will increase the work (not quite 'performance') that the system can do in a given amount of time, it will depend if your programs and projects are complex 'enough' to use the extra RAM for you to notice a performance increase.

There is no i3 Quad Core as far as I know - do you have the HM55 based i3 350M by any chance? (A Dual core/Quad thread processor).

If you're running Windows 7 64bit or even better Windows 8 64bit, then 8GB will not be 'wasted' and it shouldn't cost you $100 either (sell your old RAM after you've verified/tested the new RAM overnight).

What it will do for your specific program(s) and projects is hard to say. Not very forthcoming with those specifics in your first post.


Good luck.

 

Did anyone notice what CPU does he have? He has I3 by the way.

@alprausch, your I3 is I3-350M DUAL Core CPU. Pretty weak, I would say very weak. You think it is quad core but trust me, quad core would shown 8 threads in Task manager due to Hyperthreading technology (1 core = 2 threads).
The weak part in your laptop is CPU.

More RAM is always better but for your laptop 8GB are not worth 100$ IMO. Although you could specify what software you are using. Perhaps it is not CPU dependent.

Also, you must note that more RAM will be useful only if You have x64 (64 bit) Windows 7. What type of OS do you have now? x86 or x64? 32 bit windows (x86) will show only ~3.6GB available of 4 and above. So in this case you need to think if you really need that RAM otherwise you need to buy new OS.
How much RAM в you have now? 3GB or 4GB?

If you really want to spend money then buy 1 4GB stick of RAM and make it 6GB total (your 2GB stick + new 4GB instead of current or 2+1 i you hvave only 3GB). THAT would be worth for this laptop.

 

I would say it all depends on what software he is using. An i3 isn't that weak, and there were days when Photoshop/Maya/Solidworks were run on single core and Core 2 Duo CPU's. Also a GT310M is a weak GPU.

 

Yeah, an I3 (mobile) chip is pretty weak - especially one based on SNB and the HM55 chipset/platform.

James D - you repeated what I said, lol...

 

Yeah but you have to put it into comparison. A HM55 i3 vs a i7-4700, sure the i3 is weak. But just doing normal tasks, an i3-350M is perfectly fine for normal work. Watching Youtube, playing Facebook flash games, those do not require an i7.

 

Honestly, i have an i3-550 in my desktop and a i7-4700MQ in my laptop, and i can't tell the difference. Go figure

 

Require an i7? Maybe not. Able to see a difference. Easily.


Not talking about comparing Desktop processors to mobile ones - when you compare apples to apples - the difference is there to see (easily). Desktops don't need the same kind of compromises that a notebook demands: w/regards to power, cooling and BIOS optimizations.


What I'm most disappointed with my HM55 chipset based i3 350m notebook is the huge drops in responsiveness (with Win8, 8GB RAM and 240GB SSD) that the power saving 'defaults' entail.

I'm still enjoying the up to 7-8 hour battery life though... :^)

 

Same as those do not require 8GB of RAM I am not telling him to throw away laptop or upgrade CPU (I believe it will be too complicated for him). I just tell that with his hardware 8GB for 100$ is not worth.

By the way prices in Germany look very high.

 

Thanks alot for all the replies.
My Laptop is running at 64bit so it can use the additional RAM.
At school we use Siemens NX for CAD and some other math tools like mathcad and matlab.

I have been talking to some teachers at school and they told me that right now, we don't need a high performance machine for our work so I think I'm gonna stay with my 4GB untill I buy my new notebook. but thanks anyway =)

For my new laptop I'm looking at the Samsung Ativ 8 right now. It has a AMD Radeon which performs like 5 times better then the NVIDIA GPU's in Siemens NX benchmarks. Any thoughts on that Notebook? I know that it won't perform as well as a firepro or quadro card, but my teacher told me that such pro cards weren't needed for the school at all.

alprausch

 

speaking about desktop AMD 7970/7990 vs GTX Titan yeah, more than 5 times in SNX. I believe mobile GeForce is the same for SNX, however not sure how mobile AMD performs with that in compare with desktop AMD: same or worse.

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/best-workstation-graphics-card,review-32728-14.html

 

I don't have hard numbers, but I suspect that the 8870m will murder any equivalent GeForce cards. If OP is not going to opt for a CUDA/Firepro, the Book 8 seems like a fine (only?) choice, though I'd still opt for a proper workstation notebook.

 

Hmm yeah I thought about the M3800 for a while and I was pretty certain that I'll buy it because its slim and light (not as bulky as the regular workstations). But it seems like its keyboard doesnt offer a numpad, that's a killer criteria for me. And since the Ativ Book 8 comes at a much lower price (difference about 800 bucks) I changed my mind pretty fast^^ I dont think that a Quadro K1100M is worth an additional 800 bucks or is it?

The thing I miss in the Ativ Book 8 is the SSD, but I think I can replace the HDD with an SSD when needed...

Does anybody know a similar Notebook to the Ativ 8 that also features an AMD Radeon and a numpad but has a SSD built in? Because i can't find anything similar...