Solid Works Worthy?

[*Chazz]

Hey there guys I had a question about my current system and its worthiness for working in a College level solid works class. I imagine that some of you out there likely are very experienced with this and may have possibly even taken the CWSP, which I hope to take and pass as well.

 

Here are my System Specs

Sony Viao Laptop (I basically inherited it)

 Processor:  Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-3337U CPU @1.8 GHz

Installed memory (RAM): 6.00GB

Intigrated Graphics Card: Intel(R) HD Graphics 4000

System Type: 64-bit

Model Number: "SVF15214CXB"

http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/compatible-upgrade-for/Sony/vaio-svf15214cxb

The computer was manufactured in mid 2013.

 

I think that is about all the spec info that I have for you guys. According to the crucial website it says that there is only one RAM slot in my computer. The largest stick of RAM the have available is 8GB which would meet the minimum requirements for the software. The real kicker with the 8GB is that it is about $80 on crucial. I found 8gb of ram for my laptop on Amazon though at about $45 dollars (https://www.amazon.com/Memory-Sony-Vaio-SVF15214CXB-DDR3-12800/dp/B00YEV7SB0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1483843467&sr=8-1&keywords=SVF15214CXB) I am hesitant because it may not work. There are no reviews on it.

 

 Preferable I would rather go with 12 or 16 (Actually I think that the limit on this computer is 12 according to the crucial website) but there is simply nothing available that will let me go that high with only one slot so I am stuck with 8.

 

I have heard reports from other students that they have been able to get by with 6GB of RAM but it does on the rare occasion crash. 

 

So I have 3 options as of right now,

 

-1 Do nothing and carry on, and just make sure that I don't have to many background programs running along with not to many browser tabs, and hope the integrated graphics and CPU can handle the program.

 

-2 Fork the 80 or 45 over and upgrade the RAM, and then hopefully the graphics card and CPU will be good enough to handle the program on their side of the table.

 

-3 Sell my current laptop and reinvest in a newer more beefy laptop that will meet my needs for the next few years and possibly into my professional career as well. I'd love to build a PC to met his need, but I need a machine that I can use in the class room. If you think this is right would you have any suggestions for moderately powerful laptop, that's affordable.

 

Thanks for your help in advanced looking forwards to your feedback!

 

 

 

[The Sloth]

save up more money if your laptop is doing well keep it.

[Mug]

Let's atart out by saying that the i5-3337 isn't a bad processor.

Now, my brother happens to have that laptop (although his I think is Haswell with the graphics card option). I was literally just about to install an SSD in his computer but then something came up and now I'm going tha have to do it in April. I'd open it to see if it really has just 1 ram slot and if it does then maybe your max is 8GB.

 

I think the best thing to do for you is see if it'll actually run it with what you want to do first. $45 seems fair for the ram but in reality, anything that's SO-DIMM DDR3 at 1.5V will work.

[*Chazz]

8 minutes ago, Mug said:

Let's atart out by saying that the i5-3337 isn't a bad processor.

Now, my brother happens to have that laptop (although his I think is Haswell with the graphics card option). I was literally just about to install an SSD in his computer but then something came up and now I'm going tha have to do it in April. I'd open it to see if it really has just 1 ram slot and if it does then maybe your max is 8GB.

 

I think the best thing to do for you is see if it'll actually run it with what you want to do first. $45 seems fair for the ram but in reality, anything that's SO-DIMM DDR3 at 1.5V will work.

Oh wow thanks. I wasn't to sure if there was ubiquitous selection ram that would work with my laptop. I guess crucial isn't telling the full story then. I did a search with that on Amazon and I came up with $38 for 8gb of ram.

 

But yes I do need to open up my laptop and see what is physically there. Are there RAM caps on certain computers. I thought all that mattered was the type of processor. From what I know a 64bit can handle 128GB of ram in theory. 

[Mug]

1 minute ago, *Chazz said:

Oh wow thanks. I wasn't to sure if there was ubiquitous selection ram that would work with my laptop. I guess crucial isn't telling the full story then. I did a search with that on Amazon and I came up with $38 for 8gb of ram.

 

But yes I do need to open up my laptop and see what is physically there. Are there RAM caps on certain computers. I thought all that mattered was the type of processor. From what I know a 64bit can handle 128GB of ram in theory. 

Crucial makes lots of money misleading people into buying their ram. Then again, they invested lots of money in a system catagorising pretty much all models of laptop.

 

In terms of the pricing, buy the cheapest. Just make sure it's from a reputable brand (ie: Corsair) and that it has a lifetime warranty (an industry standard), and that the voltages are correct, do not buy 1.65v ram, either 1.35 or 1.5.

 

I wouldn't really say there are caps per say (idk, maybe artificially in the bios) but your processor supports dual channel ram and up to 32GB. The limitation in this case is the number of slots on your motherboard.

[*Chazz]

3 hours ago, Mug said:

Crucial makes lots of money misleading people into buying their ram. Then again, they invested lots of money in a system catagorising pretty much all models of laptop.

 

In terms of the pricing, buy the cheapest. Just make sure it's from a reputable brand (ie: Corsair) and that it has a lifetime warranty (an industry standard), and that the voltages are correct, do not buy 1.65v ram, either 1.35 or 1.5.

 

I wouldn't really say there are caps per say (idk, maybe artificially in the bios) but your processor supports dual channel ram and up to 32GB. The limitation in this case is the number of slots on your motherboard.

Hey thanks for your response, I opened up the ram slot and I discovered 1 stick of 2gb ram and 1 stick of 4 gb of ram. So yes there are 2 slots. I think that I will upgrade to the single 8 gb stick and leave one slot open. It will make sure that I don't crash crash like others have experienced. 

[Mug]

11 hours ago, *Chazz said:

Hey thanks for your response, I opened up the ram slot and I discovered 1 stick of 2gb ram and 1 stick of 4 gb of ram. So yes there are 2 slots. I think that I will upgrade to the single 8 gb stick and leave one slot open. It will make sure that I don't crash crash like others have experienced. 

You could also go for 16GB if you wanted to. Just make sure you get a kit of 2x8 GB.

If you wanted to go 12GB just get ram which is exactly the same specification as your 4GB module (should be on the label)

[*Chazz]

19 hours ago, Mug said:

You could also go for 16GB if you wanted to. Just make sure you get a kit of 2x8 GB.

If you wanted to go 12GB just get ram which is exactly the same specification as your 4GB module (should be on the label)

Awesome! After thinking it over a bit I think that 16GB may be a bit overkill for this laptop. I reckon 8GB would be good enough. I would suppose that an even cheaper way to upgrade the RAM is to replace the 2GB stick with a 4GB stick. My only concern is compatibility. I look over the numbers closely on the products and do my best to verify that they will work together. I assume that some of the specifications that will allow them to work together are the ones that you have mentioned previously correct?

 

[Mug]

15 hours ago, *Chazz said:

Awesome! After thinking it over a bit I think that 16GB may be a bit overkill for this laptop. I reckon 8GB would be good enough. I would suppose that an even cheaper way to upgrade the RAM is to replace the 2GB stick with a 4GB stick. My only concern is compatibility. I look over the numbers closely on the products and do my best to verify that they will work together. I assume that some of the specifications that will allow them to work together are the ones that you have mentioned previously correct?

 

 

Yeah, for maximum compatibility, I'd ensure that everything is the same.

 

Like for example, if it's 1600MHz, CAS 9 9 9 24 and 1.5v ram then make sure you get exactly the same. If you manage to get the same then you'll save yourslef $20.

[*Chazz]

Allright hey thank you guys for your help much appreciated. I got a 4 gb stick and popped that in and it worked right off the bat. Different brands, but I believe the clock speed is the same. So for though I have not even come close to using 8gb of ram while using solid works. But, it may be possible in the future to have larger projects that require much more RAM. For now I am doing simple modeling.