I have a Lenovo P15 Gen1 laptop with easily accessible ram slots. I have never purchased parts for a PC or done any upgrades myself. I think I understand the process well enough, but I’m lost in all the RAM types and model numbers. How can I tell which sticks will fit and work with the P15, and where’s the best spot to order them in the US? Thanks for any help with such a basic question.
For laptops, the most important thing is to check how many ram slots your laptop has. If you’re sure that there’s enough slots, then continue on.
For RAM, there’s a handful of important aspects to keep in mind:
Size: either SO-DIMM or DIMM. Laptops almost exclusively use SO-DIMM, so you’ll probably want to search for SO-DIMM
Generation: you’re probably using DDR4 (4th generation). Generations aren’t interchangeable, so stick with DDR4. (DDR5 won’t fit in your laptop)
Memory size: depends on what you want, tbh. But I expect 16 GB or 32 GB to be fine. Try to split the memory across multiple RAM sticks if possible (ie, 2 sticks of 8 GB is usually better than 1 stick of 16 GB)
Memory speed: not a particular concern, but the standard is 2133 MHz. Any higher than that and you’ll need to go into your BIOS to turn off the memory speed limit (the BIOS automatically caps your memory speed at 2133 MHz unless you turn off the limiter). If you don’t know how to do that, then honestly anything 2133 MHz or higher would be functionally equivalent
Memory latency: really not a concern, but it’s usually listed as CL14 or CL16 or whatever. It’s the time that if takes for the RAM to give information after being prompted. Smaller number is better, but again, it really doesn’t matter
Price: DDR4 is getting pretty cheap these days, so I wouldn’t expect this to be a big concern. But higher speed, higher size, lower latency RAM tends to be more expensive. Just keep that in mind.
This is super helpful information, thanks a ton!
I’d get CPU-Z and run it on the laptop as it is now. It’ll tell you what type of RAM your machine uses and what voltage it takes. I know with DDR3 there were multiple different voltages for laptop memory, but that may not apply to DDR4. Personally I’d get the largest possible stick I can, two 8G may be faster than one 16G, but if you buy one 16G you can get another 16G later to get to 32, instead of needing to buy two 16G when you want to upgrade.