Dell Inspiron 1545 RAM Upgrade

Gumbo

Guys, I have a 2010 model Dell Inspiron 1545.
I've upgraded to Windows 10 and all is fine, relatively speaking.

I use my laptop mainly for AutoCAD 2017 and i've noticed that it feels sluggish at times.

I'm thinking its because the original 4GB RAM is still in there.
From a google, it seems that the 1545 can take 8GB max so i'd like to upgrade to 8GB RAM.

I am assuming its in 2 chips, so I will need 2x4GB RAM Modules.

I want to make sure I order the correct items, so just wondering if anyone can tell me exactly what modules to order or tell me where I can confirm what modules to order.

Thanks in advance.

Joshua J

kceire wrote: »

Guys, I have a 2010 model Dell Inspiron 1545.
I've upgraded to Windows 10 and all is fine, relatively speaking.

I use my laptop mainly for AutoCAD 2017 and i've noticed that it feels sluggish at times.

I'm thinking its because the original 4GB RAM is still in there.
From a google, it seems that the 1545 can take 8GB max so i'd like to upgrade to 8GB RAM.

I am assuming its in 2 chips, so I will need 2x4GB RAM Modules.

I want to make sure I order the correct items, so just wondering if anyone can tell me exactly what modules to order or tell me where I can confirm what modules to order.

Thanks in advance.

Run the system scanner on Crucials website and it gives you a list of compatible components.

SickBoy

kceire wrote: »

Guys, I have a 2010 model Dell Inspiron 1545.
I've upgraded to Windows 10 and all is fine, relatively speaking.

I use my laptop mainly for AutoCAD 2017 and i've noticed that it feels sluggish at times.

I'm thinking its because the original 4GB RAM is still in there.
From a google, it seems that the 1545 can take 8GB max so i'd like to upgrade to 8GB RAM.

I am assuming its in 2 chips, so I will need 2x4GB RAM Modules.

I want to make sure I order the correct items, so just wondering if anyone can tell me exactly what modules to order or tell me where I can confirm what modules to order.

Thanks in advance.

You're looking for DDR2 667MHz SODIMM

https://www.memoryc.com/computermemory/ddr2sodimm/8gbgskillddr2pc25300laptopdualchannelmemorykit.html

That price seems on the high side but shop around for something with similar spec and you'll be fine.

Gumbo

Thanks lads.

Gumbo

sugarman wrote: »

DDR2 will be expensive new as they've more or less phased it out. We're at DDR4 now.

Have a look in CeX, Adverts, eBay etc..

I presume the DDR4 would not work in mine?

TerrorFirmer

kceire wrote: »

I presume the DDR4 would not work in mine?

Nope, only DDR2.

Also, in your case, you have to remember that your CPU is very old, out of date, and very low-end, possibly (rather, absolutely) you should be looking at a new laptop to improve AutoCAD performance.

These days, entry level i3's with 8GB ram (ddr3) can be had for around €350, and it would be a massive upgrade on your current laptop.

Gumbo

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

Nope, only DDR2.

Also, in your case, you have to remember that your CPU is very old, out of date, and very low-end, possibly (rather, absolutely) you should be looking at a new laptop to improve AutoCAD performance.

These days, entry level i3's with 8GB ram (ddr3) can be had for around €350, and it would be a massive upgrade on your current laptop.

Thanks, deffo something to consider when funds allow.

Would this RAM be ok for my machine?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Komputerbay-DDR2-SODIMM-200pin-Laptops/dp/B003Z978NU/ref=sr_1_11?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1485180890&sr=1-11&keywords=667mhz+ddr2+sodimm+8gb

Lu Tze

kceire wrote: »

Thanks, deffo something to consider when funds allow.

Would this RAM be ok for my machine?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Komputerbay-DDR2-SODIMM-200pin-Laptops/dp/B003Z978NU/ref=sr_1_11?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1485180890&sr=1-11&keywords=667mhz+ddr2+sodimm+8gb

That ram should be ok, but it may only provide a minimal performance boost, or not at all unless you are maxing out the 4GB you have already. If task manager isnt showing you maxing out or nearly maxing out your existing ram when autocad is sluggish i wouldnt expect to see any difference. Its not a magic bullet.

That £110 might be better put toward a new laptop. You could also make a few quid from selling your own.

I presume its mostly 2D small files you work on?

Gumbo

Lu Tze wrote: »

That ram should be ok, but it may only provide a minimal performance boost, or not at all unless you are maxing out the 4GB you have already. If task manager isnt showing you maxing out or nearly maxing out your existing ram when autocad is sluggish i wouldnt expect to see any difference. Its not a magic bullet.

That £110 might be better put toward a new laptop. You could also make a few quid from selling your own.

I presume its mostly 2D small files you work on?

Yes. 2D planning applications.
I don't do BIM or anything on it.

Any recommendations for a good laptop?

Lu Tze

kceire wrote: »

Yes. 2D planning applications.
I don't do BIM or anything on it.

Any recommendations for a good laptop?

Your requirements aren't that high in that's case. A modern i3 or i5 should be fine, with 8GB of ram. An ssd can be helpful as well, particularly loading xrefs if they are large. What's your current CPU?

Gumbo

Lu Tze wrote: »

Your requirements aren't that high in that's case. A modern i3 or i5 should be fine, with 8GB of ram. An ssd can be helpful as well, particularly loading xrefs if they are large. What's your current CPU?

Pentium (R) Dual-Core CPU T4400 @ 202GHz

Cuddlesworth

kceire wrote: »

Pentium (R) Dual-Core CPU T4400 @ 202GHz

And it only feels slow to you now? I'd slit my wrist if you made me use that, even when they came out they were slow.

Gumbo

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

And it only feels slow to you now? I'd slit my wrist if you made me use that, even when they came out they were slow.

Yeah, to be honest. It handled autocad 2006 fine, then 2010 and 2012 fine. On upgrade to 2016 I noticed a slow down and that continued over to 2017 autocad.

Other than that it doesn't get any use, not with smart TVs and iPads etc

Cuddlesworth

I'd say put some extra ram and a SSD into it, but the true value option would be to buy a new machine(example) and use that for another couple of years. Upgrading the current machine at 8 years is throwing money down the drain for a short burst of speed.

TerrorFirmer

Yeah, even to buy new these days, you can get a new Skylake i3, 8GB ram, and a 128GB SSD for €350 for thereabouts. Laptopsdirect are a good place to start. The link above is refurbished rather than new, so just be aware about what you're buying as laptopsdirect do have a lot of b-grade stock.

I'd just sell your current one as is for €100 and pick up something like I've outlined above for €350 and call it a day. You might also see great benefit in getting a full HD screen for AutoCad, which will set you back around €50+ extra on the above.

Cuddlesworth

Only downside to going down the SSD path is any older platter hard-drive is painful to use afterwards. <-- Hardcore SSD user since 2009 I think.

Gumbo

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

Only downside to going down the SSD path is any older platter hard-drive is painful to use afterwards. <-- Hardcore SSD user since 2009 I think.

My issue would be storage space then but I suppose I could use an external drive?

Cuddlesworth

kceire wrote: »

My issue would be storage space then but I suppose I could use an external drive?

If you want. I've gotten used to not storing crap on my pc like tons of movies.

TerrorFirmer

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

If you want. I've gotten used to not storing crap on my pc like tons of movies.

Ditto. I have a 240GB M2, enough for the OS and the 3 or so games I play at any one time - everything else goes on external drives.

K.O.Kiki

I have a 120Gb SSD for Windows.

A 240Gb SSD for games.
...another 700Gb SSD for more games...