ConceptD CN516-73 Laptop faces taskbar freezing and performance issues, seeking RAM upgrade

SKRest

Hello! I have a ConceptD (Model: CN516-73, Part: NX.C7DAA.002, Win 11 Pro 64-bit, Core i7-12700H 2.70 GHz, 32 GB RAM) laptop, which I purchased from B&H Photo Video in February of 2023, so it's two years old. For the most part I've been pretty happy with it, however within the past few days, it is suffering from a major issue whereby I get the spinning circle cursor indefinitely whenever I hover over the taskbar and am unable to select or do anything until I open Task Manager and shut down some programs I was using. As you can imagine, this repeated phenomenon makes it very difficult to be productive. So I wanted to reach out to the community to ask: (1) If I replace the RAM sticks with new ones, do you think that would address the issue, and if so, what is the fastest, highest quality RAM you'd recommend to help me achieve the best performance (manufacturer and model)? (2) If you think replacing the RAM would not help with the issue, can you suggest any other things I might try to make it perform quick and snappy again? Thanks sincerely for your input and recommendations!

[Edited the thread to add model name to the title]

Sharanji

@SKRest

The CN516-73G comes with 32 GB of LPDDR5 RAM, which is soldered to the motherboard and not user-upgradable. Unfortunately, this means you cannot increase the RAM beyond the pre-installed 32 GB.
You can upgrade the storage by replacing the existing SSD or adding an additional SSD if there is an available slot. The laptop supports PCIe NVMe SSDs, which offer high-speed performance.

External Upgrades: Consider using external storage solutions like USB-C or Thunderbolt 4 external SSDs for additional storage capacity.
You can also use external GPUs (eGPUs) via the Thunderbolt 4 port to boost graphics performance if needed.

Sharanji

@SKRest

The CN516-73G comes with 32 GB of LPDDR5 RAM, which is soldered to the motherboard and not user-upgradable. Unfortunately, this means you cannot increase the RAM beyond the pre-installed 32 GB.
You can upgrade the storage by replacing the existing SSD or adding an additional SSD if there is an available slot. The laptop supports PCIe NVMe SSDs, which offer high-speed performance.

External Upgrades: Consider using external storage solutions like USB-C or Thunderbolt 4 external SSDs for additional storage capacity.
You can also use external GPUs (eGPUs) via the Thunderbolt 4 port to boost graphics performance if needed.

Sharanji

@SKRest

Here are a few other steps you can try to resolve the spinning circle cursor issue and improve your computer's performance.
Disable Startup Programs: Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager. Go to the Startup tab.Disable unnecessary startup programs by right-clicking and selecting Disable.
Update Drivers: Open Device Manager by pressing Win + X and selecting Device Manager. Expand the categories and right-click on your devices, then select Update driver.`
Run System File Checker: Open Command Prompt as an administrator.
Type sfc /scannow and press Enter. This will scan and repair corrupted system files.
Update Windows: Ensure your Windows is up to date by going to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update and checking for updates.
Check for Background Processes: Open Task Manager and look for any processes consuming high CPU or memory. End tasks that are not essential.