Acer Aspire 5 A515-56-36UT RAM Upgrade in 4 Easy Steps

Acer has been doing a great job as of late launching student laptops. The company has managed to conquer that space with affordable yet balanced devices that offer great value to the user. However, many of their student's laptops skimp on two key features: RAM and Storage. It's with that in mind that today we talk about one of the companies most popular student laptops and specifically how to upgrade the RAM on it.

We're talking about the Acer Aspire 5 A515-56-36UT, one of the breakout models of 2021, a laptop that features a good processor, lightweight design, and stellar connectivity but that falls short with only 4 GB worth of memory. But fear not, today we're going to walk you through the very easy process of upgrading the RAM on the Acer Aspire 5 A515-56-36UT.

Acer Aspire 5 A515-56-36UT Memory/RAM Upgrade

What type of RAM can I use? How much RAM can I install?

Before getting your screwdriver you should know the exact type of memory you're going to need for the Acer Aspire 5 A515-56-36UT. Specifically, this notebook makes use of DDR4 PC4-25600 3200MHz Non-ECC SODIMM memory. This means you need to buy DDR4 RAM that operates at 3200 MHz and has the SODIMM form factor.

As far as the amount of RAM, you should know that that notebook features 4 GB of RAM soldered onto the motherboard and a single available slot which you should be able to easily see once you've opened up the laptop.

As far as the RAM accepted on said slot, you can insert up to 16 GB of compatible RAM. We would recommend at least upgrading to 8 GB with an additional 4 GB compatible module. However, the ultimate decision is going to depend on your needs and your budget. For an average user who likes to have several tabs open 8 GB should suffice. The more intensive multitaskers would likely benefit more with a 16 GB upgrade to a total of 20 GB, 4 onboard, and 16 installed.

How Do I Upgrade the RAM on the Acer Aspire 5 A515-56-36UT ?

Make sure you've got a screwdriver on hand as well as something not metallic that you can use to pry open the laptop such as a guitar pick or something of that nature. I would also like to point out that the pictures below are of another model within the same series, the laptop is identical with the exception of the color of the chassis.

Step 1: Before you start removing the screws on your laptop make sure it's turned off and it's disconnected from the power source. RAM upgrades are fairly straightforward procedures but it never hurts to have the laptop completely turned off. Once you've made sure it's off place the laptop upside down, remove all the screws attaching the bottom case to the chassis, and with the help of a prying tool open up the laptop like so:

Step 2: Once you've opened up the laptop you will be able to quickly locate the RAM slot on the upper-right side of the laptop, just above the battery. In this case, there's no RAM installed so you're going to go ahead and insert the RAM module you've bought at a 45-degree angle making sure the notch on the module and the notch on the slot align perfectly.

Step 3: Once the RAM is properly inserted onto its slot with the notches aligning you're going to press down on it so that it can attach itself to the slot properly. You'll hear a "clicking" sound which is the sound of the metallic levers on the side clutching to the RAM.

Step 4: Once the RAM has been inserted you're going to place the bottom case back in its place and screw it to the laptop. Following that you should turn the laptop on and under "Device Specifications" you should be able to see the amount of RAM you've upgraded to under "Installed RAM". And that's it. That's all it took for you to upgrade the memory and unlock a new world of multitasking possibilities.