Solved! Laptop upgrade suggestion

[arshd06]

My HP Laptop has

RAM : 2GB DDR3
PROCESSOR : AMD A4 3330 MX
OS : Windows 7 32 bit

If I use some big software editors ,almost 90 % of my physical

memory got occupied and my system slows down but still could work

. My question is do I have to upgrade my ram ,does that solve my

problem or If I buy a laptop with RAM 4 gb and latest processor ?

Thanks In Advance

 

[kanewolf]

MERGED QUESTION
Question from arshd06 : "Laptop upgrade suggestion"

My HP Laptop has

RAM : 2GB DDR3
PROCESSOR : AMD A4 3330 MX
OS : Windows 7 32 bit

If I use some big software editors ,almost 90 % of my physical memory got occupied and my system slows down but still could work . My question is do I have to upgrade my ram ,does that solve my problem or If I buy a laptop with RAM 4 gb and latest processor ?

Thanks In advance

 

[kanewolf]

4GB RAM is not enough today. 8GB would be the minimum recommended and if you use "some big software editors", 16GB would be recommended.

You have a 32bit OS which is limited to 4GB RAM. You probably need to upgrade the entire laptop.

 

[jsmithepa]

Bump to 4ram will make the machine somewhat usable vs now unusable.

So if u got the gist, we are telling you a new heart/full transplant is in order.

 

[jaguarskx]

You have an old laptop from 2012... or at least the AMD A4-3300MX is from 2012 (announced release in Dec 2013). Back then, 2GB was the minimum recommended amount of RAM; nowadays it is 4GB of RAM.

The AMD APU supports 64-bit Windows, but obviously only the Windows 7 32-bit is installed which limits you to around 3.4GB to 3.6GB of usable RAM assuming it had 4GB of RAM installed. You could install the 64-bit version of Windows 10 and install more RAM (8 might the max). But you are better off buying a new laptop that will have a lot better performance compared to the A4-3300MX which was somewhat weak even back in 2012.

If you have a limited budget for a new laptop, then I recommend the following Acer laptop with a dual core i3-8130u CPU, 6GB of RAM and 1080p screen for $360. It can easily outperform your current laptop.

https/www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-i3-8130U-Memory-E5-576-392H/dp/B079TGL2BZ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1540223332&sr=8-3&keywords=i3-8130u+laptop&dpID=41HfDkXXyeL&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch


If you can afford $510, then the following Asus Vivobook laptop is the least expensive laptop with a quad core i5-8250u CPU, it has 8GB of RAM and a 1080p screen. It is also pretty light weighing in a less than 4lbs.

https/www.amazon.com/VivoBook-Nanoedge-i5-8250U-Processor-Fingerprint/dp/B0762S8PYM/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1540223547&sr=8-8&keywords=i5-8250u+laptop


Alternatively, for $481, you can purchase the following Dell laptop with AMD's recent quad core Ryzen 5 2500u APU. It has 8GB of RAM and a 1080p resolution screen. The Ryzen 5 2500u is not as powerful as the i5-8250u and this laptop is certainly not as light as the Asus since this weighs in a a little less than 5lbs, but it is an alternative. The integrated Vega 8 graphics core is more powerful than the Intel UHD 620 so if you are willing to give up some CPU performance in favor of better integrated graphics performance for games, then the Dell could be an alternative. The Radeon Vega 8 roughly 2x more powerful than the Intel UHD 620 which makes the Radeon Vega 8 a little better than the somewhat dated nVidia 940m from 2015.

https/www.amazon.com/Dell-i5575-A217SLV-PUS-Inspiron-5575-LED-Backlit/dp/B07BPPS7CK/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1540223789&sr=8-5&keywords=ryzen+5+2500u+laptop&dpID=415VG3VrHML&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

 

[robert600]

My HP Laptop has

RAM : 2GB DDR3
PROCESSOR : AMD A4 3330 MX
OS : Windows 7 32 bit

Those new laptop suggestions are good BUT ...if you are on a limited budget you may be able to upgrade your current machine to something much better than it's current state for not too much money.

What is the model # of your HP laptop? The sticker is usually found under the battery.

 

[arshd06]

My HP Laptop has

RAM : 2GB DDR3
PROCESSOR : AMD A4 3330 MX
OS : Windows 7 32 bit

Those new laptop suggestions are good BUT ...if you are on a limited budget you may be able to upgrade your current machine to something much better than it's current state for not too much money.

What is the model # of your HP laptop? The sticker is usually found under the battery.

My Laptop Model is HP pavilion g4 1304 AU

 

[arshd06]

Mostly im using software Visual studio code, along with it when the Google browser is open, almost 90% physical memory is occupied.

Im on a limited budget, can't buy expensive

 

[robert600]

Im on a limited budget, can't buy expensive

Ok...I've been there. As others have pointed out you absolutely need more ram and to use more ram you need a new OS (a 32 bit OS will only use a max 3.5 GB of ram and that is not enough). You have 2 gb of ram currently ... do you happen to know if it is one 2gb stick or two 1gb sticks? I'm guessing it's one 2gb stick. If so, you might be ok with buying 1 stick of 4gb ram - this would cost around $20 and give you a total of 6gb ram. If it is the case that you currently have two 1gb sticks, I would replace them with two 4gb sticks ... this would cost around $40 and give you 8 gb of ram.

Now ... you have to change your OS to 64 bit to use the ram. The good news is that you can do this for free ... the bad news is you will have to reinstall all your software and data (your hard drive will be formatted). The OS I would recommend is win10 (it will run fine on your machine) and if you don't register it ... it is free ... it will be a bit cosmetically limited but will operate just fine. Be sure to get the 64 bit version. Here's a link explaining how to do it:

https/www.howtogeek.com/244678/you-dont-need-a-product-key-to-install-and-use-windows-10/

An optional upgrade you might consider is a better processor. I see on ebay there is quad core A8-3510MX for $30 and in fact, it is open to offers ... I think they would accept an offer of $25 and this would be quite a good deal. I'm a big fan of quad core ... if this is of interest, let me know and we can discuss it further. Here's a link to that processor:

https/www.ebay.com/itm/AMD-3510HLX43GX-AMD-A8-3500M-Series-1-8GHz-Laptop-CPU-Processor-D2-X3-e22/162408115972?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20131017132637%26meid%3Df29fd7715f3747c1b03d87f106a4a6dd%26pid%3D100033%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D8%26sd%3D163329185231%26itm%3D162408115972&_trksid=p2045573.c100033.m2042

 

[arshd06]

Im on a limited budget, can't buy expensive

Ok...I've been there. As others have pointed out you absolutely need more ram and to use more ram you need a new OS (a 32 bit OS will only use a max 3.5 GB of ram and that is not enough). You have 2 gb of ram currently ... do you happen to know if it is one 2gb stick or two 1gb sticks? I'm guessing it's one 2gb stick. If so, you might be ok with buying 1 stick of 4gb ram - this would cost around $20 and give you a total of 6gb ram. If it is the case that you currently have two 1gb sticks, I would replace them with two 4gb sticks ... this would cost around $40 and give you 8 gb of ram.

Now ... you have to change your OS to 64 bit to use the ram. The good news is that you can do this for free ... the bad news is you will have to reinstall all your software and data (your hard drive will be formatted). The OS I would recommend is win10 (it will run fine on your machine) and if you don't register it ... it is free ... it will be a bit cosmetically limited but will operate just fine. Be sure to get the 64 bit version. Here's a link explaining how to do it:

https/www.howtogeek.com/244678/you-dont-need-a-product-key-to-install-and-use-windows-10/

An optional upgrade you might consider is a better processor. I see on ebay there is quad core A8-3510MX for $30 and in fact, it is open to offers ... I think they would accept an offer of $25 and this would be quite a good deal. I'm a big fan of quad core ... if this is of interest, let me know and we can discuss it further. Here's a link to that processor:

https/www.ebay.com/itm/AMD-3510HLX43GX-AMD-A8-3500M-Series-1-8GHz-Laptop-CPU-Processor-D2-X3-e22/162408115972?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20131017132637%26meid%3Df29fd7715f3747c1b03d87f106a4a6dd%26pid%3D100033%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D8%26sd%3D163329185231%26itm%3D162408115972&_trksid=p2045573.c100033.m2042

Thank you for your suggestions. I think I have one stick of 2GB ram.

Also, Im thinking whether my current processor will work good after upgrading RAM( adding 4GB RAM).

Regarding changing the processor whether it will not cause any problems if I try to change the processor

 

[jsmithepa]

Regarding changing the processor whether it will not cause any problems if I try to change the processor

Laptop processors are often soldered on and cannot be updated, but u ask people who knows this laptop intimately. If this is a thin ultrabook, processor definitely not upgradable.

 

[robert600]

Thank you for your suggestions. I think I have one stick of 2GB ram.

Also, Im thinking whether my current processor will work good after upgrading RAM( adding 4GB RAM).

Regarding changing the processor whether it will not cause any problems if I try to change the processor

I think the best way forward is for you to get the ram (check to see if you have 1or 2 sticks by removing cover on bottom of laptop)... install the new OS ... install your software and data ... use the system and then based on it's performance decide about the processor (it's not soldered to MB so replacement is reasonably straightforward).

REMEMBER to get the 64bit OS! Install the ram before updating the OS ... The win10 installation with 2gb of ram would be very slow.