Upgrading Asus X550C and CA Series Laptop RAM

by Jake-Jones in Circuits > Computers

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Upgrading Asus X550C and CA Series Laptop RAM

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Total time required: about 15 mins.

Step 1: Gathering the Required Parts

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Before we start, a quick disclaimer: Doing this upgrade is at your own discretion and risk. I take no responisbility for system failures or incompatabilities while upgrading this laptop! (Having said that, if you follow this guide well, you shouldn't have any issues.)

The required parts and tools for this instructable are as follows:

An ASUS X550C Series laptop (obviously).

A PZ.0 Philips screwdriver.

And 4GB of DDR3L-1600 SODIMM RAM.

Now an important note; I used Crucial's RAM as it is advertised as compatible with this computer, but you can (at your own risk of potential incompatability) use another brand. It shouldn't make any difference, however you can never be too careful.

When shopping for RAM you NEED to buy DDR3L SODIMM's. Because this computer runs on Low Power memory and as such, standard DDR3 SODIMM's WON'T WORK!

But for those of you who like to play it safe, here is the RAM I used:

Crucial CT51264BF160B 4 GB (DDR3L, 1600 MT/s, PC3L-12800, SODIMM, 204-Pin) Memory

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005LDLV6S/ref...

Now the fun begins :)

Step 2: Removing the Battery

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Push the right side switch to the right until a red bar shows (pictured), then fully push and hold the left side switch and push the battery away from you until it slides out of the computer (pictured).

Then completely remove the battery and place to one side for now.

Step 3: Removing the User Access Panel

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1: Using your philips screwdriver from earlier, remove the two screws (circled in picture 1) from the panel and place somewhere safe.

2: Push the user access panel towards you until it stops and there is a visible gap between the top of the panel and the laptop.

3: Grab the bottom of the panel and pull up by 90 degrees and lift away from the laptop. place somewhere safe for now.

Step 4: Identifying the RAM Slot

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1: Locate the RAM slot and remove your RAM from its packaging.

Step 5: Installing RAM

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1: Identify the Key in the DIMM and the Key in the socket and orient the two together,

2: Insert the DIMM into the slot at 45 degrees. It should stay at 45 degrees if you let go.

3: Push down on the ram until the two arms at the side of the slot click and you can see that the RAM is securely fitted. (or looks like the included picture.)

Step 6: Reassembly

Ignoring steps 4 and 5, reassemble the laptop by doing steps 3,2,1 - but in reverse.

Step 7: Turning the Laptop On

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The laptop should boot to the lock screen normally, with no changes.

Finally, to double check everything was a success, open control panel (Right click on an empty part of the taskbar), and navigate to performance. Click on the box labled "Memory" and it should say "8.0GB DDR3" in the top right corner (Picture included for reference). If that is shown then...

Congratulations! You just upgraded your ASUS laptop!


Hope you liked this tutorial, its my first!