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Question

Lenovo Ideapad 510S - Ram/SSD Paging Questions Before I Buy

Aug 2, 2016 5:46AM PDT

I'm looking to buy a laptop before university and have decided on this one: http://www.johnlewis.com/lenovo-ideapad-510s-laptop-intel-core-i7-8gb-ram-256gb-ssd-14-full-hd/p2839973

Specification wise everything is perfect for my needs (music recording/production), but I have a couple of queries that I'd really appreciate an answer to before I buy.

1: I've heard that paging to an SSD drive will wear it out very quickly, and obviously I'd rather this didn't happen! Would 8GB RAM be enough to prevent this from happening? I'd have storage on a uni-wide database/a personal portable hard disk available. Most intensive applications I'd be running would be my DAW (presonus studio one) and maybe a couple games - and not at the same time. If not then this brings me onto question 2:

2: Could I upgrade the amount of RAM on this laptop? I know it can be done on other laptops but does anyone know the maximum upgradable RAM capacity on this laptop?

I don't know too much about the technicalities of laptops/computers so sorry if I got any technical descriptions wrong and please correct me if I have.

Many thanks in advance

Discussion is locked

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Answer
EDIT TO ORIGINAL POST
Aug 2, 2016 5:59AM PDT
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Answer
Re: storage
Aug 2, 2016 6:01AM PDT

Portable hard disks as not really suitable for "storage", unless you have another place at hand for a frequent backup.
And why not upgrade to a 512 GB SSD? Gives you extra space for relatively not so much money.

Post was last edited on August 2, 2016 6:04 AM PDT

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Re: Storage answer
Aug 2, 2016 6:31AM PDT

Hi, thanks for the reply!
Ok, I will be able to use the university database to store my files, so I guess I'll use the portable disks for backups and stuff.
Regarding that, I'm probably going to actually buy the laptop off the Lenovo official site, and they do allow for upgrades/mixing and matching but maximum SSD storage factory built is 256GB. Of course I could buy one and install it separately, but I can't really afford it, and from the size of all my files on my current home pc, 256GB plus the university database storage should be enough for my needs.
My real issue is whether the stock 8GB RAM is enough to minimise virtual memory/paging on the SSD in order to maximise the SSD lifespan.

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Re: SSD
Aug 2, 2016 6:36AM PDT

A modern SSD lives longer than a laptop.

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Today's SSD should outlast the laptop.
Aug 2, 2016 7:43AM PDT

And I'm stress testing this at the office with an Inspiron 2006 e1505 with 2GB RAM, Windows 10 and an 120GB SSD.

This old thing boots and gets a web page up on screen in 35 seconds.

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Ram
Aug 4, 2016 5:33AM PDT

If crucial says the machine can support 16GB of ram I'd take that to be true.
Those folks get deep into that stuff.

As to whether you need more than 8GB run your apps and watch your ram usage.
Watch physical ram usage and not that cached stuff.