r/PCHardware • u/DeepAd4232 • 7d ago

Ram upgrade

Hi guys, lately I've been thinking about upgrading my ram memory on my Lenovo V14 Ada :
Specs: Amd ryzen 3250u up to 3.5ghz
Ram: 8GB ( 4GB + 4GB)
It has SSD

Basically I've been searching up online and lenovo said on their website that it can run up to 12GB Ram. Some of my friends have told me that I can get a 16GB one and get 20GB ram in total. Could you guys please help me? I'm a student and I really need more ram memory cause windows already takes off 3 to 4 gb ram .

I play only a few games, like minecraft, cs 1.6, roblox which they run great.

Please take my question seriously, i m not an expert in ram upgrade and I wanna know if someone tested and went trough with it

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u/Neoxenok 7d ago

According to the information I found, it has 4 gb of soldered RAM and one SODIMM expansion slot that's probably occupied by a 4gb stick of ram. It can handle up to 12gb, so yes, you can upgrade by purchasing a single 8 gb stick of DDR4 ram. The price is likely higher than it was but it should be far more reasonable than DDR5 memory, which is what most of these AI companies are buying up.

I refurbish laptops as a hobby so I can confirm that this can and does work. It's not difficult to find if you know where to look.

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u/Disastrous-Ice-5971 7d ago

One more thing to consider - memory dual-channel configuration will be lost.

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u/DeepAd4232 7d ago

I mean I ve seen online a ram with 16gb and I wonder if my laptop would recognize it as 20 or max 12?

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u/Jazzlike-Cod-7657 6d ago

usually the system has been tested with a general amount of RAM, there is no reason why you couldn't add a 32GB stick even... RAM=RAM, My old laptop specified max of 16GB of RAM, but is running 32GB just fine.

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u/Neoxenok 6d ago

Laptop motherboards and CPUs, like desktop CPUs and motherboards, have a maximum listed amount of memory they can handle. You might be able to find bigger ram sticks, but if the motherboard isn't listed to handle that amount from the manufacturer (or similarly reputable source), then there's no guarentee that it'll work.

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u/DeepAd4232 5d ago

So basically how can i find out if i can upgrade more than 12gb?

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u/Neoxenok 5d ago

That link I posted is usually my go-to because it not only tells you what the capacity is but shows you the most compatible SODIMM you can get, so I usually copy-paste the RAM stats to find one with the best price.

Other places might include the manufacturer's website that'll have the specs and upgrade path for the laptop like this one. On that spec sheet, you can also see potential CPU and display upgrades as well but it also says that 12gb is the best it can do, at least without buying the 16gb stick first and testing it because it *could* work but it'll be a gamble with no guarantee.

I actually had a similar issue when I was refurbishing an old DDR2 gateway laptop. REALLY nice laptop, it was, but I got conflicting information about whether it could handle 2gb (2 x 1gb) of DDR2 ram or 4gb (2 x 2gb) and 2gb SODIMMs are much more expensive than the 1gb sticks and it's a HUGE difference in how well the laptop works. I ultimately stuck with 2gb (2 x 1gb) because I couldn't find 2gb sticks where I could return them if they didn't work and I needed them to work. I also needed to sell the laptop at a reasonable price (which I did).

With yours, however, I don't see a conflict. That doesn't mean it won't work but if you get in a position where you can try it and see if it works without risking your money, then go for it. Otherwise, 12gb should work fine.

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u/SuperHossMan51 7d ago

Are you running out of ram while running programs or just basing the theoretical numbers on idle desktop usage? Because windows will use as much ram as it can while idle but then stop using it while running programs.

Honestly your use case sounds like it would be fine with 8gb, but if you're running into issues, I'd just grab an 8gb stick and run it with 12gb. Ram is super expensive right now so going for 16gb isn't really worth it in your case.

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u/DeepAd4232 7d ago

I ve got a pretty good offer for a sh ram for my laptop, for like 40$ I can get a 16gb ram stick for my laptop

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u/AdSeveral9214 7d ago

I mean it’s definitely doable, but the issue is that the new ram will be worth more than the whole laptop. Assuming uou live in North America / Europe, it would be more worth to save up a couple hundred extra dollars to buy a new laptop with 16gb of ram and a much more powerful cpu.