Can you upgrade my RAM — and will it actually help?

Sometimes yes, and when it’s the right fix it’s a very good one. But more memory only helps if memory is what’s holding you back — and often it isn’t.

Two questions decide it: can your machine be upgraded, and would it help.

Can it be upgraded?

This has changed considerably over the last decade, and not in the customer’s favour.

Desktop PCs — almost always yes, usually straightforward.

Older laptops — generally yes. Anything with a removable panel on the underside is usually a simple job.

Newer thin laptops — often not. Manufacturers increasingly solder memory directly to the board, which makes it physically impossible to change. Whatever it shipped with is what it has for life.

Apple silicon Macs — no. On M1 and later the memory is part of the chip itself. It cannot be upgraded by Apple, by us, or by anyone. The specification you bought is permanent.

That last point catches people out regularly, and it’s worth knowing before you buy your next Mac rather than after.

Would it help?

Here’s the honest bit. More memory fixes one specific problem: running out of memory. It does nothing for anything else.

Memory is likely your problem if: the machine slows badly once several things are open; it’s fine with one browser tab and struggling with twenty; switching between programs involves a pause and disk activity; you’re editing photos or video, or running virtual machines.

Memory probably isn’t your problem if: it’s slow from the moment it starts, even with nothing open; it takes minutes to boot; it’s equally slow doing one small thing; it makes whirring or clicking noises.

That second list usually points at the storage drive, not memory.

The upgrade most people actually need

If a machine still has a mechanical hard drive, fitting an SSD will do more for it than any amount of memory. It isn’t a marginal gain — boot times drop from minutes to seconds and the whole machine stops feeling like it’s wading through treacle.

We say this often enough that it’s worth putting plainly: if you have to choose one upgrade on an older machine, choose the SSD. From £84.

Memory upgrades start from £180 plus the drive, and where both are worthwhile we’ll do them together — that combination on a five-year-old laptop is genuinely transformative, and a great deal cheaper than replacing it.

How much do you need?

As a general guide for ordinary use — browsing, email, documents, streaming — 8GB is workable and 16GB is comfortable. For photo editing, video, or a lot of browser tabs, 16GB is the sensible floor. Beyond that you’re into specialist territory and it’s worth a conversation rather than a rule.

Going beyond what you need doesn’t make a computer faster. Memory you aren’t using does nothing at all.

How to find out where you stand

Bring it in, or ring us with the make and model. We can usually tell you in a couple of minutes whether the machine can take more memory, how much it has, and — more usefully — whether memory is actually what’s slowing you down.

If it isn’t, we’ll tell you that rather than selling you memory you don’t need. The diagnosis is free, and we’d rather fix the right thing.

Workshop on Station Road, or 01753 884700.