Why is it hard to find laptops with big RAM memory?

I need a laptop for web development and RAM is a crucial requirement. I always wandered why most laptops stop at 8GB, and then you have to go to top of the higher end to find 16GB RAMs or go gaming laptops. I don't need gaming laptops, just need a laptop with at least 16GB RAM, should I buy just a normal 8 GB RAM laptop and then change the ram to 16GB or even 32GB? Are there any limitations I should be wary of? How difficult is the RAM changing operation?

 

It depends on which model you are looking at. I am currently on a Surface Pro 4. While mine has only 8GB RAM, it has higher option of 16GB which I found unnecessary for my need at this moment or in near future. If I wanted a gaming laptop, I wouldn't go for a Surface Pro 4. It is designed for professional work, but also work great for any other work/study. If money is not a concern, I suggest you to look at the Surface Pro 4 or Surface Book. They are powerful and very thin/light at the same time. You can use them as a laptop and a tablet at the same time depend on if you detach the keyboard or not.

 

Be careful when you try to upgrade the ram in any laptop. Some motherboards will only accept and top off at predetermined amounts. If you want to go as high as 32gigs, then make sure that laptop can do that amount. Just go to the manufacturers website and see what the specifications say about the maximum levels of ram that it can handle.

 

I agree with you. There was a time that the unrecognized RAM was an issue in our office. One senior officer had requested for a bigger memory and the tech didn't fully understand so he just replaced the existing RAM with a bigger capacity (I don't remember if it was 2gb wanting to be 4gb). And when the application did not run properly, it was discovered that the added memory capacity was not being recognized by the OS (or is it BIOS?). So maybe if you would add memory, ask for a guarantee from the computer shop, better yet, test the new RAM properly.

 

Sometime there is even memory type issue. I remember over a decade ago when I tried to upgrade my desktop PC from 128MB to 512MB RAM, I bought the wrong memory and it would not be recognized by the BIOS at all (even though it was the same frequency and have the same pins. I sold it off to someone else on ebay and made sure he understand what he was getting by listed the actual type of the memory.

 

If you are developing web products that are that ram hungry you are doing the rest of us a disservice. What exactly are you doing that requires 16 gigs of RAM to develop?