Memory and Storage Question

[southstarBOOM]

Hi

 

I currently have a Lenovo IdeaPad 520-15IKB, and I am looking to upgrade the from 8gb to 16gb, as well as upgrading from the HDD to roughly a 500gb SSD.
I looked around and contacted a few computer stores about how I should go about this and how much they would charge if I were to give them my computer. I was quoted around $260 for the following:

 

2x8gb ddr3 ram: $120
480 gb ssd: $95
windows installation on new ssd: $40 
(Prices include service rates)

 

do you think this is a reasonable price to pay for the upgrade? although I have no experience in hardware installation, I am considering installing these things myself. I am currently looking for ram sticks and ssds' to buy, and after running my computer through the 'Crucial system scanner', I have became confused what to buy in order to upgrade the ram.

 

At the top it states that I only have ''1 slot (1 bank of 1)'' but after looking in task manager it says I have 2 slots. It also says that my maximum memory is 16gb, and that my standard memory is 4gb and removable, so would that mean that only one 4gb stick is removable, and the other 4gb is stuck to the motherboard? If this is the case, what ram stick should I buy?
Or if actually both ram sticks are removable, should I just buy 2 x 8gb ddr4 ram, or just 1 x 16 gb ddr4?

 

Also, is there a way I can transfer all Windows and User files from my HDD to the new SDD with an adapter, then just install the SDD, while preserving all files and folders in the same place, settings, themes, wifi passwords, etc the same?

Please excuse my lack of knowledge in this area, I am new to computers.

 

Thanks

[Necrovarius]

I am not familiar with that laptop itself, but installing ram is easy. Just slot it in, same with SDD, installing Windows can get tricky without a CD Drive, so you may need another PC to get a USB install for your Windows.

As far as price goes, its not bad. If I were to do that I normally quote parts plus 70$ for this.

[mariushm]

You have a single 4 GB stick installed, you can install a 8 GB one and end up with 12 GB in total, but it's better to install 2 x 8 GB sticks and just set aside the 4 GB stick.

If the sizes are not matched, the laptop may not be able to use the memory in dual channel mode and that's something that increases the performance a bit. You would be able to use 12GB but it could be a bit slower.

 

You can get any DDR4 SO-DIMM memory, running at 2400 Mhz or higher - but keep in mind if you buy something with higher frequency, the motherboard will most likely automatically configure it and use it as 2400 Mhz.

 

You mentioned 2 x 8 GB DDR3 for 120$ , but you currently have DDR4 installed and that CPU works only with DDR4. You need DDR4.

 

You can buy a 2 x 8 GB kit for 64$ : https://www.newegg.com/crucial-16gb-260-pin-ddr4-so-dimm/p/0ZK-0070-00010?Item=0ZK-0070-00010

 

As for SSD, you will probably need a regular 2.5" SATA SSD, as you now have a mechanical hard drive.

Not sure if that laptop has a M.2 connector, but there's little benefit to using M.2 in a laptop. Stick to  SATA SSDs.

 

I'd suggest these:

65$ 512 GB : Adata XPG SX850 https://amzn.to/35BWcfm

76$  512 GB : Adata SU800 https://amzn.to/2ORsld1

60-70$ 500 GB  WD Blue : https://pcpartpicker.com/product/LRkj4D/western-digital-blue-500gb-25-solid-state-drive-wds500g2b0a

75$  500 GB Samsung 860 Evo : https://pcpartpicker.com/product/6yKcCJ/samsung-860-evo-500gb-25-solid-state-drive-mz-76e500bam

 

You also have 1 TB for 98$ : ADATA USA Ultimate Su800 1TB 3D Nand 2.5 Inch SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (ASU800SS-1TT-C)

 

What I would suggest is using a part of that money to buy a USB adapter which would allow you to connect the SSD to the laptop using USB, in order to clone the mechanical drive to the SSD before you install the SSD in the laptop.

 

Here's a couple examples :

 

17$: StarTech.com USB312SAT3CB USB 3.1 (10Gbps) Adapter Cable for 2.5" SATA SSD/HDD Drives - Supports SATA III (6 Gbps) - USB Powered

 

19$: Rosewill USB Type C to SATA Adapter Cable for 2.5" SATA SSD HDD, Support SATA III / II / I and UASP

 

Then, simply use free software to clone your current hard drive to the SSD.

 

You may need to create a bootable USB stick using the software you plan to use and then boot from usb stick - if this is needed the software will have some kind of wizard to guide you through creating the usb stick. Afterwards, it's very easy just go in bios and select to boot from usb stick instead of hard drive...some laptops will even have a key combination (for example F8 or F12) that when pressed will ask you to choose where to boot from, without going into the BIOS.

 

You may need to delete some stuff from your mechanical drive to get the total size below the size of your SSD

 

As for software , Samsung's data migration software should work even if your SSD is not Samsung : https://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/ssd/download/tools/

For something completely free, you can check out Macrium Reflect : https://www.macrium.com/reflectfree

 

It should be doable to do the cloning directly from Windows, without any risk.

 

Once you're done, you can simply shut down the laptop, turn it around and replace the mechanical hard drive with the SSD.

[southstarBOOM]

Thanks for the replies!

 

I had called a pc repairs store near me, and I was told that I only have one slot, and that I should install a 16gb ddr4, instead of a 2 x 8gb ddr4 as it wont fit. I am currently looking at a Patriot Viper 4 Series DDR4 16GB single PC module, which goes for around $70 USD (I'm in Australia). Would this be possible to install, or should I instead purchase 2 x 8gb DDR4?

 

For the SSD, I have found a cheaper one going for $50 USD, which is the Crucial BX500 480GB SSD. Would this be a good enough SSD or should I play it safe and purchase a more expensive one?

Lastly, for the adapter I have also found a substantially cheaper product which is going for less than $4. Is there any reason I should go and buy a higher priced one, or will this cheap adapter run just fine?

 

Thanks for the helpful instructions, I will be sure to use them once these products are shipped to my house!
 

Thanks

[mariushm]

2 hours ago, southstarBOOM said:

Thanks for the replies!

 

I had called a pc repairs store near me, and I was told that I only have one slot, and that I should install a 16gb ddr4, instead of a 2 x 8gb ddr4 as it wont fit.

 Ok, did some more research and looked at a review on Youtube where the guy opened it up and indeed you have just one memory slot. Yes, 16 GB stick will probably work

 

2 hours ago, southstarBOOM said:

 

I am currently looking at a Patriot Viper 4 Series DDR4 16GB single PC module, which goes for around $70 USD (I'm in Australia). Would this be possible to install, or should I instead purchase 2 x 8gb DDR4?

 

For the SSD, I have found a cheaper one going for $50 USD, which is the Crucial BX500 480GB SSD. Would this be a good enough SSD or should I play it safe and purchase a more expensive one?

 

That SSD is just OK, it will work, but it's just designed to be cheap, it will wear out faster than the other drives I suggested. If you're not gonna write lots of stuff on it often, it's gonna last you but the others will have longer warranties, higher endurance values, some will have some cache memory on them to improve speed when reading and writing lots of small files and to extend the lifetime of the Flash memory chips on the SSD.

2 hours ago, southstarBOOM said:

Lastly, for the adapter I have also found a substantially cheaper product which is going for less than $4. Is there any reason I should go and buy a higher priced one, or will this cheap adapter run just fine?

 

It's a generic noname usb to sata adapter, who knows how good it is. For a one time use, if it doesn't die on you while you're cloning the hard drive, it would have done its job and it's a good 4$ investment then.

Make sure it's an actual Australian seller and not just some Asian company with a tiny office in Australia, or one that just lies about location - you may be surprised when they say it will arrive it a week or two.

The ones I suggested were a bit better in the sense that they were from some known brands and one of them had USB Type C connector, and the other was usb 3.1 gen 2 (10gbps) allowing you to get faster read and write speeds if you connected that to a usb 3.1 gen 2 (10gbps) port (though that laptop probably doesn't have such a port, so it would work at regular USB 3 speeds)

There are Australia stores that have those adapters for cheap, here's some examples:

https://www.mwave.com.au/product/simplecom-sa201-usb-30-to-sata-external-adapter-cable-converter-ac07099

https://www.mwave.com.au/product/alogic-usb-31-usbc-to-sata-adapter-cable-for-25-hard-drive-ab88784