I'm having a hard time figuring out whether or not a certain laptop/computer's RAM can be upgraded or not. Is there a rule of thumb that determines how much max RAM one could add to a system without looking it up via external websites?
A little bit of a background information: I work in computer sales at a computer electronics store, so it is virtually impossible for me to install any sort of software that would detect computer specs, and I get a lot of customers who wonder what laptop/desktop RAM upgrades usually are. It's frustratingly annoying to have to constantly search the web for information.
Is there a certain rule that adding more RAM entails? Does it make a difference if it's a 32-bit or 64-bit machine? Are other factors, such as the OS, hardware, and other things matter?
Answer
There is no easy way to find the maximum amount you can upgrade the RAM to without doing some reading of manuals, opening the computer or using some hardware reporting software.
There are many limiting factors on how much RAM you can install and use. Main ones are:
Motherboard:
Physically, the number of free RAM slots
Logically, the ability of the BIOS and memory controller to detect and address your RAM
Operating system:
Windows 7 has imposed artificial limits
- Starter: 2GB (32bit only)
- Home Basic: 8GB
- Home Premium: 16GB
- Professional: 192GB
- Enterprise: 192GB
- Ultimate: 192GB
Linux doesn't have these sort of arbitrary restrictions.
There is no easier way to tell the maximum type, configuration and amount of RAM that the motherboard will accept without looking up the specifications in the manual.
You can however say that if they are running a 32bit OS and have 4GB of RAM, that they cannot upgrade further without at least first upgrading their OS.
That said, in Linux you can query the BIOS directly. It's not 100% accurate (e.g. BIOS might report that it supports 4 DIMM slots but your board may only physically have 2) but will give you a rough idea.
As root, run:
# dmidecode -t memory
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