are Dells picky with RAM?

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Dash Riprock

New Member
I have a dell that's about 5 years old and i was hoping to get some more life out of it before i buy a whole new computer.
Right now it has 512MB pc2100 kingston value ram in it. I tried adding another 256 MB pc2100 a while back, and it wouldn't boot with it in. I was going to try again with a 512MB stick of pc3200 corsiar value ram, but before i spent $35 I wanted to ask if the last time it was a bad stick, or if I need a certian type of RAM? Thanks.
 
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One obvious answer to the failure to boot after the additional 256mb memory was added is whether or not the new dimm was single or dual sided. The Kingston value memory most likely is a single sided dimm. You never mix two different types. Now you are ready to go up from PC2100 to PC3200 without even knowing if the board supports the newer memory. In some cases if both PC2100 and PC3200 dimms are both the same type for instance single sided the newer memory will backclock to the speed of the PC2100. Providing the model for the Dell itself will be needed to look over board specifications before going any further.
 
PC eye is right about mixing RAM, it's usually not a good idea not only because of the 1 sided versus 2 sided issue, but also because there are different manufacturers of the actual chips as well.

You shouldn't expereince any problems with a stick of corsair PC3200 as long as you're not mixing RAM makes and the pin count is right. PC3200 is back compatible and will run at whatever the default speed settings on your board are.
 
You generall wouldn't mix 3200 with 2100 to avoid compatibility issues with the two different types in order to see the 3200 backclock to the 266mhz level. Before even trying any memory faster then what you are now using the specifications for the main board would have to be looked over first. On some boards a faster memory is out due to the lack of support on that model.

On a board that has the support you would install PC3200 in the first dimm slot in order for the board to detect it properly. But the main idea when adding memory to any system is to see the closet match possible. On a new board especially with dual channel you would want a matched pair(pretested together) of dimms of equal size and type.
 
Again that will depend primarily on what memory and type(single sided often) is supported by the board currently in use. What model Dell are you running?
 
Corsair is generally one of the better brands. And the faster memory seeing a better response and shorter load time is not surprising. When you do get into a new build you will probably want to go up to 1gb(pair of 512s) for the dual channel support there. Glad to see it worked out for you.
 
I still have the pc2100 stick in there, so its not actually faster. Oblivion just consistantly requires more than 512mb RAM during play.
 
You are going to find that to be the case with most newer action type games coming due to having the higher level of graphics where the card as well as 2gb of ram will see a big difference. Dropping another 512mb of PC3200 will make a difference on your machine. Too bad you didn't go with Kingston to increase the memory. For some reason Kingston seems to run better on Asus boards. But if you do grab another 512mb get a ssecond Corsair identical to the one you just added. They will work better together.
 
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