how do I add memory to my pc?

[mumonahottinroof]

my pc is becoming ridiculously slow. It's 4 years old, so not surprising but it still works fine apart from this and I really don't have the cash for a new one right now. Is it easy to add memory to a pc with a card or would that just be daft? Thanks.

Usually it's reasonably easy, but all PCs have an upper limit to the amount you can put in and some PCs are sold with all the memory slots full. You can look up your PC online and find out how much memory it can take and how many memory slots it has. If all the slots are full, but it can take more memory then you may have to replace the existing memory instead of just adding memory.

Read this and try the memory scanner linked at the bottom.

I read this as "how do I add memory to my DC"!!!!!! could do with an answer to that one

If it's a known brand like a Dell or an Acer then it's usually easy to find out. Just look it up on the Internet. Harder if it's a cheap clone build.

Half the battle is finding out which memory is required. Once you know that, it's usually a case of popping the case off and pushing it in.

Best thing to do is take the side off and see if it has any free slots. (If it doesn't, you can still upgrade, but you may have to throw some chips away).

Take a note of the make and model of the motherboard then you can google it to find the type of and maximum memory it can support.

tumteetum, me too

Thanks everyone, it's a Toshiba, believe it or not I have tried to google all this but just ended up confused. TBH, it's all sounding very confusing and I'm wondering if I wouldn't just be better buying a new laptop

The link given straight after your initial post really should help you !

While StroppyDad says something about throwing some chips away, you'd probably be able to sell them on Ebay at a price of say 75% of the price Crucial would charge for the same chips, which would mean your upgrade would be that much cheaper.

Many reasonably modern laptops have a number of small panels on the bottom so you can get to the removable items such as the memory chips. Even though searching online has left you a bit confused, the procedure should be quite easy if you buy from Crucial (or once you identify the chips you can use, you can do a search to see if someone is selling (eg on Ebay) or from another big supplier (eg Kingston www.kingston.com )

It should only be about 3 or 4 clicks of the mouse (that includes the 'add to basket') and then after you've bought it, you fit it. Is that really so hard? It is important to be sure how much RAM is in, and the maximum your machine can take, and for that I think Crucial does a good job. It should be relatively straightforward, and a hell of a lot less than buying a new laptop (and trying to flog yours).

However, if you do go down the "buy a new one" route, there will be people here who might find a bargain, or recommend a machine depending on your needs.

Watch and if you're still not sure watch some of the related videos. They will show you how quick and easy it is.

Thanks, very much appreciated - if you know the right links to trust it is easy. I looked at one that suggested me buying special radiation proof gloves to do this and that had put me off.