Updating laptop hardware for 3d modelling and rendering

As flavallee noted, we know nothing of your computer, other than it is a laptop. But that alone may be enough to quash your hopes. Laptops are notorious for being proprietary with very limited, and often no upgrade options.

For modeling and rendering, a PC is really the way to go if for no other reason than the very limited cooling capabilities of a laptop case.

Garken said:

but when I checked I found that GPU is the same as VRAM.

Click to expand...

Where did you see that because that is not true - in fact, it makes no sense.

GPU = graphics processor unit. That is the main processor used by the graphics solution. It is similar to the CPU, but dedicated for graphics processing. It may be mounted on a separate graphics card, or integrated with the CPU.

VRAM = video random access memory. VRAM is/are the memory device(s) used by the GPU. It is separate from the GPU therefore not the same. Some graphics solutions have dedicated VRAM devices used exclusively by the GPU. This is always the case with graphics cards.

Integrated graphics solutions (the more expensive ones) may have dedicated VRAM. Less expensive solutions do not and instead steal... err... share some of the motherboard's system RAM.

Many laptops these days use "surface mounted" components. This means the devices (such as RAM, GPUs, CPUs, etc.) are directly soldered to the mainboard and cannot be upgraded. You are stuck with what came in the box.

But without knowing more about your system, we don't know your options.

@flavallee Okay.

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Tech Support Guy System Info Utility version 1.0.0.9
OS Version: Microsoft Windows 11 Home, 64 bit, Build 22000, Installed 20211210204248.000000+180
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-7200U CPU @ 2.50GHz, Intel64 Family 6 Model 142 Stepping 9, CPU Count: 4
Total Physical RAM: 6 GB
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
Hard Drives: C: 229 GB (26 GB Free); E: 246 GB (178 GB Free);
Motherboard: LENOVO Torronto 5C1, ver SDK0J40700 WIN, s/n PF0P5JN4
System: LENOVO, ver LENOVO - 1, s/n PF0P5JN4
Antivirus: Windows Defender, Disabled

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Just a note about anti-virus, I have premium Malwarebytes subscription.

OS Version: Microsoft Windows 11 Home, 64 bit, Build 22000, Installed 20211210204248.000000+180
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-7200U CPU @ 2.50GHz, Intel64 Family 6 Model 142 Stepping 9, CPU Count: 4
Total Physical RAM: 6 GB
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
Hard Drives: C: 229 GB (26 GB Free); E: 246 GB (178 GB Free);
Motherboard: LENOVO Torronto 5C1, ver SDK0J40700 WIN, s/n PF0P5JN4
System: LENOVO, ver LENOVO - 1, s/n PF0P5JN4

Click to expand...

According to your log, you have THIS Lenovo IdeaPad 510-15IKM Machine Type Model 80SV00MMAX Laptop.

According to its support site, it was originally purchased in December 2016 and came with Windows 10 Home 64-bit.

According to its product specifications section, it came with:
Intel Core i5-7200U 2.50 GHz dual core processor

6 GB(4 GB + 2 GB) DDR4-2133 MHz RAM
1 TB(931 GB) SATA 5400 RPM hard disk drive
NVIDIA GeForce 940MX graphics (4 GB video memory)

From what I can determine, its 4 GB module is soldered to the motherboard and is not removable.
However, its 2 GB module is removable and can be replaced with an 8 GB module so it can run with 12 GB of RAM.

According to your log, it appears to have a 512 GB(476 GB) SATA hard disk drive or solid state drive which is divided into 2 partitions.
Is that correct?

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Yes. If I add both partitions I have this number (476) GB.
I don't know the details exactly, but a friend recommended upgrade so I think I have an SSD now.

Click to expand...

Go into the Device Manager, then expand the "Disk drives" entry.

What is the exact name of the storage drive(s) listed there?

Once we have that information, we can confirm if your laptop's storage drive(s) is HDD or SSD.

So, I assume you mean I cannot have a memory higher than 12GB. Where I'm looking to have 16 GB RAM at least.

Click to expand...

With the exception of the Crucial site, all the well known memory sites that I've checked say your laptop supports a maximum of 12 GB(4 GB + 8 GB) of DDR4-2133 MHz RAM.

If you want to spend the money and take a chance that a 16 GB module will be accepted and work, that's your choice.

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Garken said:

I generally know that a laptop isn't upgradable as a desktop is, and it is not recommended for work.

Click to expand...

On the contrary, laptops tend to make great "work" computers and are often ideal for "Office" tasks like creating Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, and PowerPoint presentations. And of course, being portable, are often ideal for work and school where the computer needs to go to work and come home every day.

They just often don't make good "desktop replacements" despite how they are marketed in part for the reasons stated above, but also because laptop cases are so restrictive when it comes too cooling.

Garken said:

I cannot have a memory higher than 12GB. Where I'm looking to have 16 GB RAM at least.
Which means I should switch to a desktop, correct?

Click to expand...

There are laptops that support 16GB and more. It just appears yours does not. That said 12GB is typically considered a big chunk of RAM.

I recommend you run the Crucial System Scanner. This will scan your computer, tell you what you have for RAM and recommend possible upgrades. If you buy from them, they guarantee compatibility. This may be particularly important this time since, as flavallee noted, when manually entered it says your system will accept adding a 16GB stick for 20GB total. If the scanner says the same thing, that may be a good option for you. But if the scanner says you can only add another 8GB, check to make sure you have the latest BIOS firmware version.

Also note last time I used this tool was for my MSI laptop, and Crucial's price was $10 less than Amazon's!

Most other RAM makers have similar RAM wizards as do some RAM retailers.