I picked up this computer at Best Buy on 7/5/2015 when it was on sale. I know Toshiba says the RAM is not user upgradeable, but rest assured, it is. My biggest apprehension concerned how to open the chassis, as I had watched a YouTube video for a different yet similar Toshiba Radius model and was on the lookout for screws located under the rubber feet closest to the hinges and/or a ribbon cable that connected the motherboard to the underside of the cover.
However, you need not be concerned about either of these things for this computer. Getting the cover off and performing the upgrades is so simple, pictures/video are not necessary at all (however, you are responsible for what you do - don't blame me if something goes wrong while you do any of this):
1) Make sure the computer is off. Flip it over and remove ALL the screws, including the ones on the hinges. I realize that it might appear that the cover ends just before the hinges, but it does not. The cover extends over the hinges as well.
2) Grab a piece or pieces of thin, study plastic. Some people use guitar picks or credit cards. I used a piece that I cut from the packaging of the Kingston HYPERX HX316LS9IBK2/16 R that I used for the upgrade. You can use another brand, of course...and you may even be able to use RAM that exceeds the recommended 1600Mhz specification (I didn't want to chance it)...but make sure you use low voltage DDR3 (DDR3L) modules.
3) Get that piece of plastic and insert it between the front and back cover, and gently slide it along the edge. As you do this, the tabs that hold the the covers together will unsnap. As always, be gentle, and use even more care when you are separating the hinges. I started at one of the corners near the keyboard, and worked it one way and then the other. if you do it properly, the cover will pop off...no tethers between the two sides to worry about...and you can just put it aside.
4) I did not disconnect the internal battery. I had seen videos where some people performing these upgrades (obviously, not motherboard upgrades) on computers of a similar design did disconnect the battery, while others did not. I made sure that I was grounded so as to not conduct any static electricity, and I made sure that I did not even go near the power button during this procedure. There appears to be more than one connection attaching the battery to the motherboard, and I did not want to get involved in all that. I've never owned a mid-range laptop before, and being used to Dell Precisions and Sager/Clevos, I've been spoiled by having a removable battery and easy upgradeability.
5) Each RAM slot is covered with a rectangular piece of soft material that looks metallic in nature (sort of Roswellian - for you UFO aficionados). The material is actually glued onto each slot, but does not need to be removed. Just pop the springs holding the modules in place and slide them out. You can lift the material to see what you're doing if you need to. Make sure your new modules are properly aligned, slide them in and push them down to snap them in place.
6) The 5400 RPM (I mean, really??) Hitachi hard drive is partially encased in a metallic material that adheres to its sides, and it is also surrounded by a plastic gasket. This assembly is not held in place by screws; rather, it is wedged in place inside the chassis. Disconnect the connector, and gently pry the drive out of the chassis. Remove the gasket. I elected to remove the metallic material and place it over the SSD, although I'm not sure if doing so was necessary. I upgraded to this one: SAMSUNG MZ-75E500B/AM R. Apply the gasket, wedge the SSD into the chassis, and reconnect the connector.
7) Snap and screw the cover back into place.
The performance difference from these upgrades is staggering. The SSD blows away the stock 5400 RPM drive. Boot time is almost instantaneous now. Apps run snappier and the whole touch screen experience is more responsive. I haven't run any benchmarks, and the Windows 8.1 Experience Index tool is now a command line tool, as I discovered this morning. But let's face it: I didn't buy this laptop to run SuperPi or play Crysis...;0
This computer is actually for my 9 year old, and he loves it. It streams video flawlessly (NOTE: I have not experienced any problems whatsoever with the wifi in this model); he can position it in all sorts of ways; he can use it as a tablet on road trips; he can play the only game he really cares about at this point (Minecraft); he can use it as a Kindle-type device; and he can use Microsoft Office for his homework (yep...these elementary schools kids today...doing PowerPoint presentations). And one of the reasons I love it is because it puts him on the cutting edge of technology with touch computing.
I'm not proficient with the whole 4K resolution thing, bit it is interesting. The Sharp IGZO UHD screen looks a little darker along the right edge when viewing a white screen, but if I shift the angle just a bit is does not. There is a very slight hint of backlight bleed along the upper and lower left edges, but nothing to get into a twist over by any stretch. Colors are gorgeous.
When I first checked the screen resolution settings the computer was on 4K, and the desktop icons on the screen appeared normal-sized for what you would expect on a 1080 screen. However, after running a streaming video out the HDMI port to a 1080 TV, and then later disconnecting the HDMI cord from the computer, the icons and labels shrank to a tiny size for no apparent reason. I'm not sure why, but the desktop appears normal again now. However, opening some apps now results in tiny text. Not sure if this is a driver or Windows 8.1 at work, as I have been an adherent of Windows 7 and this is my first 8.1 experience. Also, if I set the resolution at 1920 x 1080, the desktop looks great, but the text in, say, Google Chrome is huge. Once again, I'm not sure if this is an 8.1 issue, and I look forward to the free Windows 10 upgrade, coming soon.
Overall, I'm pretty pleased with it. It does what it is supposed to do; I got it at a good price, and the upgrades were well worth it...no complaints so far.
EDIT: One thing I forgot to mention...the sound. The sound on this machine is incredible. I've owned computers worth 3 times the price of this one, and their sound paled in comparison.
Satellite Radius™ 15 4K P55W-C5208-4K Laptop: RAM and SSD Upgrades, Thoughts.
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