Upgrade your laptop for better performance.
Upgrade your laptop for better performance.
You're evaluating laptop upgrades with limited choices. Consider adding an eGPU, swapping the slow 1TB HDD for a faster SSD, or boosting RAM from 4GB to 8GB or 12GB. The 4GB stick is soldered and you have only one expansion slot. Based on your specs—Windows 10 Home, Intel Core i5 @ 2.30GHz, ASUSTeK X556UV motherboard—choose between 4GBx2 or 4GBx1 paired with 8GBx1 for better performance across general tasks, gaming, and video editing. The higher RAM option will likely offer a noticeable improvement in multitasking and application responsiveness.
It seems there aren't many options to boost your laptop's speed. Adding more RAM can help store more information and may improve performance in certain games, so consider upgrading to the maximum capacity available. Swapping an HDD for an SSD should speed up Windows startup and file transfers. If you can afford it, go ahead. Otherwise, investing in a more powerful laptop might be the best choice.