Choosing RAM in a laptop

[dream_2508]

Greetings to all forum members!

I am contemplating the choice of RAM for my future Lenovo laptop and decided to share my thoughts and seek advice from experienced users. I have several options, each with its own pros and cons.

1. 16 GB DDR4 2400 MHz (1x16 GB):
- Pros: Cost-effective solution, allows for gradual memory expansion.
- Cons: Low clock speed, which may impact performance in certain situations.

2. 8 GB DDR4 3200 MHz (1x8 GB):
- Pros: High clock speed, positively affecting overall system speed.
- Cons: Limited memory capacity, which may pose challenges when handling resource-intensive tasks.

3. 32 GB DDR4 2666 MHz (2x16 GB):
- Pros: Maximum RAM capacity, exceptionally useful for multitasking and resource-intensive applications.
- Cons: Higher in price and not always fully utilized in everyday tasks.

My tasks mainly involve everyday operations - internet surfing, working with office applications, and multimedia content consumption. However, in my free time, I enjoy photo and video editing, so I want my laptop to excel in handling these tasks.

What RAM configuration would you recommend in this situation? Perhaps someone has experience with similar setups on Lenovo laptops? I appreciate any advice and personal experiences in advance!

 

[Deleted member 48726]

Always always buy min. two stacks of RAM to make use of the Dual Data Rate.

 

[rdenney]

In my experience, more memory improves general performance more than faster memory—nothing slows stuff down more than paging memory onto the storage medium. Memory is either fast enough or it isn’t. Gamers may have specific speed requirements—I’m not a gamer.

16 GB has been abundant for anything I’ve done with audio. My system for large photo editing using Photoshop has 64 GB in it, and I expect video editing is the most demanding of all.

Rick “Windows is the bigger hog than any audio application” Denney

 

[twsecrest]

Get two matching ram sticks.
Dual Channel.

 

[Barrelhouse Solly]

2 x 8 GB should be adequate for most things.

 

[Beershaun]

Photo and video editing are ram intensive. If your budget allows the the 2*16. If it doesn't get the 2*8 and upgrade later. Most stuff will be switching to ddr5 ram so your ddr4 should get very cheap quickly.

 

[Music707]

Always always buy min. two stacks of RAM to make use of the Dual Data Rate.

Did you confuse DDR with dual channel?

 

[Music707]

Greetings to all forum members!

I am contemplating the choice of RAM for my future Lenovo laptop and decided to share my thoughts and seek advice from experienced users. I have several options, each with its own pros and cons.

1. 16 GB DDR4 2400 MHz (1x16 GB):
- Pros: Cost-effective solution, allows for gradual memory expansion.
- Cons: Low clock speed, which may impact performance in certain situations.

2. 8 GB DDR4 3200 MHz (1x8 GB):
- Pros: High clock speed, positively affecting overall system speed.
- Cons: Limited memory capacity, which may pose challenges when handling resource-intensive tasks.

3. 32 GB DDR4 2666 MHz (2x16 GB):
- Pros: Maximum RAM capacity, exceptionally useful for multitasking and resource-intensive applications.
- Cons: Higher in price and not always fully utilized in everyday tasks.

My tasks mainly involve everyday operations - internet surfing, working with office applications, and multimedia content consumption. However, in my free time, I enjoy photo and video editing, so I want my laptop to excel in handling these tasks.

What RAM configuration would you recommend in this situation? Perhaps someone has experience with similar setups on Lenovo laptops? I appreciate any advice and personal experiences in advance!

There is one classic wisdom when upgrading computer hardware: Q: What is better that more RAM? A: Even more RAM!

Don't be too concerned with RAM speed. Faster RAM will typically give you only a small improvement in overall performance.

 

[voodooless]

Did you confuse DDR with dual channel?

Yes he did!

Never ever buy single stick configurations! They hamper performance significantly.

If you do photo and video editing, go for 32GB. Prices are low right now.

 

[Multicore]

- Cons: Higher in price and not always fully utilized in everyday tasks.

Full utilization is not usually a goal and especially not with memory. When a system is blocked on CPU or IO or network then apps typically slow down to the corresponding physical limit and that's often acceptable. When you're out of memory ... depends on the OS and the workload. It can be nasty. I always get the largest memory config I can afford. I like to have about 10 dB headroom on memory :>

 

[Deleted member 48726]

Did you confuse DDR with dual channel?

Yup!

 

[JeffS7444]

Unless your budget is such that +/- ~40 USD is a big deal, I'd simply spend the ~80 USD for 2x16 GB DDR4-3200 SODIMMs.

 

[Berwhale]

Choosing RAM on it's own is a bad idea, you need to consider the rest of the system and what is the most cost effective way of providing the most performance for your workload.

But generally, speaking, assuming you are running Windows, then I would choose 2x8GB as the minimum, avoid single SODIMM configurations, especially if the CPU is an AMD one.

 

[Ruhled]

Make absolutely sure you have ssd hard drive. Beyond that 16gb is fine for almost everyone. The difference between one vs two modules is at best maybe 20 percent under certain controlled tests and probably much, much less in real world use I wouldn't sweat it. The single biggest possible bottleneck is a hard drive that isn't ssd so if you have that covered anything else is just splitting hairs.

 

[twsecrest]

For all the time spent working with video editing, sending a few extra dollars for 32GB of 2X16GB of memory is what I would do.

 

[Titmouse]

16gb minimum in my opinion. I'm at 7gb in use with a few browser tabs open and one music player.

 

[sam_adams]

If you are considering a Lenovo product you should limit yourself to the P and T series business-grade Thinkpads. You should budget for the model that has the largest screen with a minimum 1920x1080 resolution. If the Thinkpad model offers a secondary GPU as an option, you should buy it. You should look at models that support 32GB - 64GB RAM—max out the RAM at time of purchase. All of the Thinkpads will come with SSDs—buy the largest on you can afford. I would not recommend buying anything with less than a Core i7 processor—buy the fastest one you can afford or a Core i9 if available.

The business-grade Thinkpads are much better built and have a greater range of options and accessories compared to the consumer-grade ideaPads. They will last longer and perform better and there will be plentiful repair parts available for them if needed.

 

[wwenze]

It's not easy to buy memory for laptops nowadays. Especially for laptops weighing less than 1.6kg, they tend to come with either 1 RAM slot or no slot at all. Only gaming or higher tier everyday laptops have 2 slots, and even that is not always true for 14" and below.

tl;dr check your individual laptop model

 

[Beershaun]

If you are considering a Lenovo product you should limit yourself to the P and T series business-grade Thinkpads. You should budget for the model that has the largest screen with a minimum 1920x1080 resolution. If the Thinkpad model offers a secondary GPU as an option, you should buy it. You should look at models that support 32GB - 64GB RAM—max out the RAM at time of purchase. All of the Thinkpads will come with SSDs—buy the largest on you can afford. I would not recommend buying anything with less than a Core i7 processor—buy the fastest one you can afford or a Core i9 if available.

The business-grade Thinkpads are much better built and have a greater range of options and accessories compared to the consumer-grade ideaPads. They will last longer and perform better and there will be plentiful repair parts available for them if needed.

The tempering counterpoint is battery life. Getting an i9 and a discreet gpu will make a laptop with approximately 2hours of battery life. My work laptop is a HP Z machine with a 12th gen i7 and an rtx3070. It gets two to three hours of battery life off power. I feel like I've taken a step backwards in utility. I really want 6-8hours minimum. Which is still getting lapped by a comparable MacBook pro.

 

[EJ3]

In my experience, more memory improves general performance more than faster memory—nothing slows stuff down more than paging memory onto the storage medium. Memory is either fast enough or it isn’t. Gamers may have specific speed requirements—I’m not a gamer.

16 GB has been abundant for anything I’ve done with audio. My system for large photo editing using Photoshop has 64 GB in it, and I expect video editing is the most demanding of all.

Rick “Windows is the bigger hog than any audio application” Denney

I've been running the max 32 gig of RAM in my custom by me desktop for many years. I still consider it adequate for most things.
When I change desktops again, I will go with 64 gig if it will work with my other requirements.
On my LAP Top (which is quite old & can play Blu Ray disc over it's HDMI connection, I am good with 8 Gig of Ram).
It's portable & I can play my Blu Rays on board ships & the many other places I go where, if you have no physical media, you have nothing.