Buy a new laptop.

You can’t upgrade soldered RAM anyway, so this decision is already made for you. If the RAM is soldered, there’s no slot to swap or add sticks — you’re stuck with what you bought five years ago.

Even if your laptop had upgradeable RAM, a five-year-old machine is probably showing its age in other ways: slower processor, smaller battery, maybe a screen that’s not great by today’s standards. Throwing $50-100 at more RAM might buy you another year of tolerable performance, but you’re still running old hardware on a dying battery.

That said, if the laptop has a socketed RAM slot and you’re only unhappy with memory (everything else is fine), then upgrade. Check your model first — don’t assume. Most thin-and-lights from five years ago soldered it.

But odds are you’re better off putting that RAM money toward a new machine. Future You will appreciate the faster everything — not just more RAM.