How to upgrade RAM in Lenovo's Legion Pro 5 and 5i (2023)

Upgrade the RAM in your Legion Pro 5 and Pro 5i (2023) gaming laptops to maximize performance.

Lenovo's Legion brand is home to some of the best gaming laptops on the market, and its AMD-based Pro 5 and Intel-based Pro 5i models from 2023 can deliver some incredible performance at a competitive price. I awarded both of these laptops an XDA Recommended badge in their respective reviews, noting the lack of any thermal throttling issues, stellar performance, and the slight redesign that brings rounded corners to the chassis.

Many of the same hardware options are available across the two killer laptops, including the memory. Lenovo offers either 16GB or 32GB of DDR5 RAM in these laptops, and you can save some money by opting for a lower amount of RAM and upgrading later. These laptops should have no problem supporting 64GB of RAM in a dual 32GB setup, which is likely the most that you'll want to install unless you're getting into specialized work that requires a huge amount of RAM. When it comes to gaming, 32GB and especially 64GB will be enough for most people.

Lenovo built its laptops to be accessible, and the RAM upgrade process for the Legion Pro 5 and Pro 5i should take about 15 minutes once you have collected all the hardware required. Here's everything you need to know about upgrading the RAM in Lenovo's eighth-generation Legion Pro 5 and Legion Pro 5i for 2023.

Before beginning any laptop repair or modification, it's important to have all the right tools. The iFixit Essential toolkit has the screwdrivers and pry tools needed for the most popular devices, making it a crucial part of the upgrade. The anti-static wrist strap is less important if you aren't dealing with a lot of static electricity, but it's still a cheap accessory that can save your laptop from accidental damage.

Kingston's Fury Impact DDR5 5600MT/s RAM with CL40 timing is relatively affordable and comes in a bunch of different configurations. Two 32GB modules (64GB total) cost about $220. If you're just looking to upgrade from 16GB (the lowest amount of RAM that Lenovo offers from the factory), you can pick up two 16GB modules (32GB total) for about $126.

It's always a good idea to back up any data on your PC before going ahead with any upgrades.

Now that you have all the right hardware in hand, you're ready to upgrade the RAM in your Lenovo Legion gaming laptop. As mentioned, this process will work for both the Intel-based Pro 5i (Gen 8) and AMD-based Pro 5 (Gen 8) for 2023. Set up a well-lit workspace clear of clutter and power down your laptop before proceeding with these steps.

You can now power on the system to see if the RAM upgrade was a success.

You should be able to see the total amount of RAM installed in your Legion Pro 5/5i under the device specifications section.

When I reviewed the Legion Pro 5i (2023) with 13th-generation Intel hardware, I noted, "You can rest assured that you're getting a high-performance gaming laptop that doesn't throttle and that doesn't get too hot to handle even under heavy load." The same goes for the AMD-based Legion Pro 5 (2023) I also reviewed, and I went on to say that "there's hardly any difference between the Intel Core i7-13700HX and AMD Ryzen 7 7745HX chips."

Lenovo charges about $70 to make the jump from 16GB of RAM (2x8GB) to 32GB of RAM (2x16GB) from the factory, with no option to hit 64GB. That's where the DIY RAM upgrade will be particularly useful, but you can still check out with the lowest amount and upgrade later to something like 32GB to push performance. These are some of the best laptops that Lenovo makes and should last you for years to come.

The Lenovo Legion 5 Pro is a powerful gaming laptop with the latest hardware from AMD and NVIDIA, plus a tall 16-inch display.

The 2023 Lenovo Legion Pro 5i packs 13th-generation Intel Core HX series processors and powerful Nvidia RTX 40 series graphics.

Cale has been testing and reviewing laptops, PC hardware, and accessories for more than six years, with hundreds of reviews to his name. He is a multi-platform user with no real staked allegiance, though he does have a soft spot for Windows laptops and PC gaming.