If you're looking to improve your laptop's performance the safest bet will always be to upgrade the memory. The memory or RAM, in a laptop, is responsible for managing all its tasks at a time. Therefore, the more RAM you have the better your laptop will perform whilst working on numerous tasks at a time. Often times users will complain that their laptop crashes and lags behind. This is generally due to the fact that what they're doing requires more memory than the laptop offers.
Fortunately for us, most manufacturers will offer the user the ability to easily upgrade the RAM and the Acer Aspire 5 A515-43-R5RE is no different.
The Acer Aspire 5 A515-43-R5RE is a pretty good laptop as it features a solid mid-range Ryzen processor, Full HD display, 256 GB of SSD storage, and a very competitive price. However, as is often the case, Acer has shipped this model with only 8 GB of RAM. Good enough for casual or "normal users" but very limiting to powerhouse multitaskers.
Today we're going to help you bypass that limitation with our step-by-step tutorial for the Acer Aspire 5 A515-43-R5RE RAM Upgrade. A very straightforward process that will have you in and out in under 5 minutes.
How to Upgrade the RAM on the Acer Aspire 5 A515-43-R5RE
Before we start opening up this bad boy. You should know that not every laptop will take the same RAM module. Most laptops have their own requirements and for best performance, we find it's best to follow them and get the RAM that's compatible with the laptop in terms of generation, clock speed, and format.
What type of RAM does the Acer Aspire 5 A515-43-R5RE use? How much can I Install?
The Acer laptop at hand makes use of the DDR4 PC4-19200 2400MHz Non-ECC SODIMM memory module. It features two slots and there's no RAM soldered onto the base like we saw with the Acer Aspire 5 Slim A515-54-59W2 RAM Upgrade, for example.
To translate this to English. This means that this laptop takes DDR4 memory modules that clock in at 2400 MHz of the SODIMM form factor.
As far as how much RAM you can upgrade towards. Each of its two slots available can take up to 8 GB of compatible RAM each. That means that the maximum memory for this laptop is 16 GB. Since it already comes with 8 GB of RAM, we recommend upgrading to the full 16 GB to be able to truly notice a significant boost in performance.
As far as keeping the RAM that comes with the laptop and only buying one stick. That's definitely an option but it's not recommended. Because this laptop is compatible with dual-channel memory, that means that if you have two identical memory modules the laptop will split the workload between the two making it that much faster. However, if the modules aren't identical, it won't work in dual-channel mode and while you'll have more memory you won't experience the full power of the upgrade. The decision will be yours but that's our recommendation.
Step-by-step RAM Upgrade of the Acer Aspire 5 A515-43-R5RE
Step 1: Before doing absolutely anything to the laptop we would recommend making sure that the laptop is turned off - not hibernating - and disconnected from the power source. Once that's out of the way you can flip the laptop on its back and start removing all the screws attaching the bottom case to the notebook.
Now that you have removed the screws. You're going to make use of a prying tool to separate the bottom case from the rest of the laptop. Many people will use a combination of guitar picks and plastic sticks like the ones in this kit.
Step 2: Once you have successfully separated the bottom case you will see the laptop's internals. You could go ahead and upgrade the RAM straight away but, as an extra safety measure, we would recommend disconnecting the battery before moving forward. It's a simple step that adds to the safety of the upgrade and won't take you more than 10 seconds.
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| Use a plastic prying tool to disconnect the battery for extra safety |
Step 3: You'll notice that one RAM slot is occupied and the other one is empty. If you followed our recommendation and you're going to go ahead and replace the current module to get the full dual-channel boost in performance then you're going to have to remove the onboard RAM. To do that simply pull outwards on the metallic clasps located on the sides of the slot.
Step 4: Once you've pulled on the clasps the RAM will be released at a 45-degree angle. That's how you should retrieve it.
Step 5: Finally, you're going to grab your RAM modules and introduce them into the memory slots at a 45-degree angle as well. Make sure that the notch on the RAM and the notch on the slot align. Otherwise, you won't be able to insert the RAM properly since the pins won't match up. Here's what that would look like in this illustrative image.
Step 6: Now that the RAM has been introduced onto both slots you're going to gently press down on the modules. When doing so you will hear a "clicking sound" which means you have successfully inserted the RAM as the clasps have grabbed onto it.
And that's it! Go ahead and connect the battery you've disconnected at the beginning of this RAM upgrade tutorial. Now simply attach the bottom case once again with the screws you removed in the first step and turn the laptop on. Don't stress if it takes a bit longer to boot up. That's perfectly normal since the BIOS is scanning the device to integrate the new memory onto the system.
Once the laptop is booted you should be able to see a message that says that your memory has changed. Otherwise, you can confirm that the upgrade went as planned by heading over to "Device Specifications" where you'll see the full amount of RAM.
Congratulations! Now go ahead and enjoy multitasking to your heart's content. Hopefully, you've gone ahead and upgraded both modules to 8 GB each being able to take full advantage of all the possibilities that the RAM in dual-channel offers you.