Does a RAM upgrade make sense (ASUS K52F - web browsing/office)

VicVega1 · Feb 26, 2015

Hi, everybody!
I'm thinking about upgrading RAM on my laptop, but I'm not sure if it makes any sense. The laptop in topic is an ASUS K52F with an i3 M380 CPU and 3GB of RAM (Win 7 Home Premium x64). I use it mostly for web browsing, office stuff and occasionally I watch movies on it. It's performance is quite ok, but it can get a bit slowish from time to time, so I'm thinking - upgrade.
RAM's the first thing to upgrade so here are my options:
It supports up to 8GB of RAM but that's way too much for that laptop's purpose, right?
Second option - 6GB, but again I'm wondering will my laptop make use of that much memory. I mean 6GB is still enough for moderate gaming desktops, right?
Third option - 4GB and in this case, I'm wondering if adding that 1GB of memory will make a big enough difference, to make it worth the effort and money?
So what do you guys think? Which of those options makes most sense? Or should I just stick with 3GB that I have now.
I have also been thinking about a CPU upgrade and switching to a SSD, but checked benchmarks and swapping my i3-380m to an i5-540m/560m would make very small difference and I don't want to give up storage space or spend more money for a bigger SSD, so for now it's out of the question.

TheConsiderateIlliterate · Feb 26, 2015

For the RAM upgrade, how much of your RAM are you using? If you're just browsing, watching movies, and office stuff, you might not even be making use of your 3GB of RAM as it is. In that case, there is no need to upgrade.

As for a CPU and SSD upgrade, I recommend upgrading to the SSD and leaving your CPU as-is. Using a SSD is night and day difference and will show a drastic performance increase, much more than swapping CPUs.

VicVega1 · Feb 26, 2015

TheConsiderateIlliterate :

Ok, so I did some research on that and OpenHardwareMonitor reports a 92% maximum load on RAM, but that was a one time spike (don't know what caused it) - it usually circles around 62%/1,8GB. And that's with VLC, Firefox, Word, OHM, SpeedFan and uTorrent opened (plus some crap in the background). So yeah, I guess you're right about that.
I'll keep an eye on those charts, but it usually gets slow when I don't shut down Windows properly a couple of times in a row. I tend to just close the lid with for example firefox opened. So I should propably work on my habits, not RAM

TheConsiderateIlliterate :

Yeah, the CPU swap is pointless, I know. Minimal performance gain in benchmarks.
As for the SSD - I know that's the way to go, but like I said, I need my storage room and I can't afford a big enough SSD right now.

Thanks for the advice

VicVega1 · Feb 26, 2015

Vembutech :

Thanks, but that's not what I'm asking about. I know exactly what I can upgrade, i'm just wondering is there any sense in doing it.

VicVega1 · Feb 28, 2015

Ok, so I've been doing some testing and my RAM usage is usually at around 50 to 65%, but I do get those 98% spikes out of nowhere and my system catches a hiccup there. It's a very short moment, I don't know if it's something I do or is it the OS, I don't see a pattern yet.
But perhaps that 1GB extra would be useful in those moments.
What could be the reason for those spikes of RAM usage?

Levvy · Aug 26, 2015

Hey just wanted to suggest that you could get a SSD just large enough for the OS and some main things you commonly use and still keep your HDD and just plug it in as an external storage drive, that way its a cheaper upgrade and you overall get more storage. That's what i'm planning on doing with my K52f

The only impact this would really have is on the portability if you always need that external drive with you? The battery on mine lasts for 5 minutes before it dies now so I never move it anyway.

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