Will increasing RAM of my laptop with Core i3 processor, from 3gb to 8gb, speed up my laptop?

laptop memory performance cpu upgrade

15,101

Yes it will help. No, it won't become twice as fast.
Don't expect miracles: That Core-i3 it is fitted with isn't the fastest CPU around.

You most likely have 2 SO-DIMM's installed (2GB and 1GB) and you will need to replace both with a 4GB SO-DIMM to get the full 8GB. Just replacing the 1GB with a 4GB will get you 6GB in total and will, in your case, make no real noticeable difference with 8GB. So this is a little cheaper for more or less the same benefit.

The other thing to do, to speed the thing up, is replacing the classic harddrive with a SSD. That will also help a great deal.

Ideally you do both upgrades: RAM and SSD.

15,101

Solace

Updated on September 18, 2022

Comments

Solace over 1 year

I have a Dell Inspiron n5110. It has a Core i3 processor, and 3gb RAM. I have been told that I can install a maximum of 8gb RAM in my system.

When I run Android Studio on it (while a Google Chrome browser with like 5 tabs open, and a Genymotion emulator are running as well), it is PAINFULLY slow. Eclipse used to run fine.

So if I increase the RAM of my system, will it let me run Android Studio smoothly? That is to say, can increasing the RAM increase my laptop speed by (ideally, atleast) 3 folds?

NOTE: If the information I have provided is not enough, please tell me what other information should I provide?

Note: If this can not be answered here, where should I go? who can answer that for me accurately, so that I can make a decision?

EDIT:
- TheKB almost 8 years
  
  Check the RAM usage in task manager.
- Carl B almost 8 years
  
  What OS are you running? 3 gb seems an odd amount
- AppleDash almost 8 years
  
  The system is probably painfully slow when you launch Android Studio because you are swapping (using very slow HDD as RAM) very much. In this case, more RAM would help.
- Solace almost 8 years
  
  @TheKB Thank you. I edited the question to add screenshots of system specs and Task Manager. Sorry couldn't respond promptly due to a power outage.
- Solace almost 8 years
  
  @CarlB Thank you. Windows 7 Ultimate. I edited the question to add screenshots of system specs and Task Manager. Sorry couldn't respond promptly due to a power outage.
- Solace almost 8 years
  
  @AppleDash Thank you. I don't understand those things, but how would I know if I am swapping, what is it that I am doing wrong which is resulting in that swapping, and how do I stop it from happening! I edited the question to add screenshots of system specs and Task Manager. Sorry couldn't respond promptly due to a power outage.
- Tonny almost 8 years
  
  @solace Your programs are using more RAM than the system has available. As a result Windows is using harddisk-space as a substitute for RAM. That is swapping and it makes everything slow. If you are serious about developing you better learn about swapping. It is something any developer should now about so he can avoid it (if possible) in his own written software.
- Solace almost 8 years
  
  @Tonny Thank you so much, especially for the suggestion. I will try to learn it soon.
NPSF3000 almost 8 years

Worth noting that if you have to pick between upgrades, do RAM first.
Tonny almost 8 years

@NPSF3000 Yes, with less than 4GB RAM should be first. If RAM is 4GB or bigger then the SSD first will give the biggest boost.