Question on Upgrading RAM for Dell PC

[bran987]

Question on Upgrading RAM for Dell PC - 10,000 Karma for help

We have an older Dell PC at our office (Pentium 4, but older i.e. only have 256 MB of RAM). We have two slots to stick RAM in, and I want to buy 2 512 MB sticks. Is there a certain kind I have to buy? I just took out the one we have and it says this:

256MB, SYNCH, 133MHz, CL3

K for help!

 

[hamstershaver]

yes you have to buy a certain kind, and you need to find out how much you can put in

 

[Mr. Black]

Best bet is to talk with Dell and go with their recommendations. Although it is possible to use other Non-Dell supported ram, it's not worth the risk (blue screen of death/system crashing).

 

[Dial_tone]

Go to http://www.crucial.com/ and use the memory advisor tool. You don't have to buy it from them but they have good prices.

 

[bran987]

Best bet is to talk with Dell and go with their recommendations. Although it is possible to use other Non-Dell supported ram, it's not worth the risk (blue screen of death/system crashing).

holy crap are you serious?

 

[drrman]

holy crap are you serious?

you DO NOT have to use DELL ram, hell dell doesn't make ram, they buy it from other manufacturers........and i've seen dell and HP use different kinds at different times, depends on which they get the cheapest.


here is the cheapest place i found(from a reputable dealer) and they offer free shipping

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820146024

actually here is another place a bit cheaper i've used

http://www.buy.com/retail/Product.a...=CJ&Keyword=10322604&Category=Comp&adid=17662

 

[drrman]

trust me bro, order that, thats all you need.......and i do IT work for a living

 

[drrman]

Best bet is to talk with Dell and go with their recommendations. Although it is possible to use other Non-Dell supported ram, it's not worth the risk (blue screen of death/system crashing).

RAM is RAM, if it meets the specs it will work, dell doesn't require any special kind of ram, plus if its 133mhz ram the system is relatively old, and no need in buying any expensive memory for it as dell would have you do im sure

 

[Mr. Black]

RAM is RAM, if it meets the specs it will work, dell doesn't require any special kind of ram, plus if its 133mhz ram the system is relatively old, and no need in buying any expensive memory for it as dell would have you do im sure

I didn't say he had to buy from Dell, rather he could simply get the rights specs/recommendations and go from there. And yes if the RAM is not to spec....your system will crash. I used to work in IT as well.

 

[Devastation]

look at the ram inside and make sure it's not RAMBUS ram. if it is, you HAVE to add two more sticks of rambus ram to the other two

 

[bran987]

it's a Dell Dimension 4300 1.6Ghz, I think I found a site that says the max RAM it can have is 512MB. I don't want to buy 1 gig if the computer can't use it, my company wouldn't like that very much. 256 to 512 will be a nice jump though, i wonder how I can find out if it uses more. I'm trying to find our Dell account #

 

[Dial_tone]

it's a Dell Dimension 4300 1.6Ghz, I think I found a site that says the max RAM it can have is 512MB. I don't want to buy 1 gig if the computer can't use it, my company wouldn't like that very much. 256 to 512 will be a nice jump though, i wonder how I can find out if it uses more. I'm trying to find our Dell account #

If you'd used the link I gave you then you'd know 1GB is the max.

 

[bran987]

If you'd used the link I gave you then you'd know 1GB is the max.

damn, I totally missed your post. I called Dell and they told me 1 gig too and tried to sell me 2 of these:

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04&sku=A0601452

I told them I would call them back. So this is the kind of RAM I need to find! So I need to find this cheap. Will Crucial Memory do that DT?

 

[bran987]

ooohhh, it does do it

 

[salemlot]

I have a Dell you need to use Rambus ram (RDRAM) or it won't work for your computer, at least that what a website memory store told me.

 

[drrman]

I didn't say he had to buy from Dell, rather he could simply get the rights specs/recommendations and go from there. And yes if the RAM is not to spec....your system will crash. I used to work in IT as well.

bro, he PUT HIS SPECS on his post....he got the specs straight from the RAM that was in the machine

 

[drrman]

damn, I totally missed your post. I called Dell and they told me 1 gig too and tried to sell me 2 of these:

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04&sku=A0601452

I told them I would call them back. So this is the kind of RAM I need to find! So I need to find this cheap. Will Crucial Memory do that DT?

AGAIN....bran, that link i gave you is the SAME RAM..........you guys can question it all you want, but thats the best deal to get your machine to 1gb......also check the dell website and see if there is a BIOS update for your machine as it may need it if you go to 1gb ram

 

[drrman]

I have a Dell you need to use Rambus ram (RDRAM) or it won't work for your computer, at least that what a website memory store told me.

NOT all dell computers use RDRAM bro........

 

[bran987]

Thanks for the help everyone, tried to hit everyone with some K . That is a great price drrman, thanks, and I'll check on the BIOS update.

 

[hamstershaver]

why didnt i win?

 

[bran987]

why didnt i win?

drrman told me exactly which kind I needed and found me a price that saved me over $60 off of what Dell would've charged me and posted like 5 times to help lol, so he obviously won! I'll hit ya tomorrow dude .

 

[hamstershaver]

i was kidding