Under 15 minutes.

Probably 10 to 15 minutes, including the time it takes to find a screwdriver. Desktops are easy—no wrestling with back panels or ribbon cables like laptops. Most cases just pop open, and RAM slots are right there.

You power down, unplug, ground yourself on the case (or touch a metal tap), pull the old sticks out by releasing the clips, line up the notch on the new sticks, push until they click. That’s it. Close it up, boot, check the BIOS or system info to confirm the new memory is recognized.

If you run into trouble, it’s usually software-related: enabling XMP for rated speeds, or a compatibility hiccup where the motherboard doesn’t like the new kit. That might add another five minutes of digging in BIOS. But the physical swap? Genuinely almost never takes longer than making a cup of coffee.

Future you will wonder why you put it off for three months.