Vostro 1000 supports 4GB of RAM

[Gareth]

I thought I would test 4GB of RAM on my Vostro 1000, and to my surprise, it posted and all recognized correctly! DELL claim a maximum of 2GB RAM on this machine, but I can confirm, Crucial DDR2 800 2GB Sticks work flawlessly inside the laptop, and it is much faster than it previously was.

Just thought id pass on this bit of information for you.

 

[Gareth]

Ill add my CPU-Z dump to back this up.

http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=526085

I needed however to get the 64bit version of Vista. The theoretical maximum memory for the Vostro 1000 is 8GB.

Edit: I use BIOS 2.5.2 which was standard on my laptop when I received it.


Edit 2: Here is a picture of the laptop, showing the 4GB of RAM detected, and fully working.

 

[evh5150]

Gareth,

I'm also a Vostro 1000 owner, and I'm considering doing exactly what you did (upgrading to 4GB RAM).

Since you are also from the UK, do you mind letting me know where you purchased your RAM? Also, how easy was it to upgrade to Windows Vista 64? I'm currently running Vista 32 bit. What costs were involved in that?

Thanks!

 

[Gareth]

Hi, I did my upgrade when I lived in the United States, but on ebuyer, you can get the memory for £22/stick http://www.ebuyer.com/product/158634.

Upgrading to Vista x64 requires a new license since the Vostro ships with a x86 license only. I luckily had my old Vista Basic x64 license not in use, so I used that on it, so unless you do not have a x64 license. Id recommend waiting to Windows 7 and getting Premium 7 x64.

I hope that helps you =)

 

[evh5150]

Thanks, it does!

Obviously I don't really want to have to pay for a new Vista (at the moment I'm running Windows Vista Business 32bit), so this may have to go on hold. Before you upgraded to 64bit, I believe you were only getting 2.6GB RAM usage?

I'm questioning whether the 0.6GB RAM extra is worth the upgrade at all, if I only intend to run Vista 32bit.

 

[Gareth]

Yeah, I was only getting the 2.6gb of RAM, it may be different with you though, I am not too sure why it was locked at that? The .6 is probably not worth it, but if you do go 64bit, the computer is much more responsive and reliable on 4GB of RAM.

 

[evh5150]

I'm told that 32bit can handle 4GB minus the memory your onboard cards use. I'm running modest sound and video cards, so hopefully I do ok. Just picked up some of that memory from Crucial UK.

Thanks.

 

[foreigndude]

Gareth, thank you for this information. I've had a Vostro 1000 for a few years now and I was just about to replace it with a newer laptop when I decided to do some research just for the hell of it...

I have a question for you - You said that theoretically, Vostro 1000 can support up to 8GB of RAM. Why did you decide to go only with 4GB? I'm thinking about doing exactly what you did (except with Windows 7 64-bit), but if I could, I'd rather upgrade all the way to 8GB. Will it really work?

I recently got into video editing and I have a decent desktop, but I'd like to make my laptop "usable" as well.

Thank you for your time!

 

[Gareth]

Hiya!

The only thing stopping me at 4gb of RAM was money, I could not afford to go the full 8GB. I can't guarantee the full 8GB will work, but I got that information from researching the chipset, however, I do know that 4GB works great and it shows a huge beneficial upgrade over 2GB in Windows alone.

 

[foreigndude]

Gareth, thanks a lot for such a quick response. I see what you're saying..they are pricey, but maybe I can work up a reason to justify spending money on such an upgrade...it might be worth it.

 

[voyagerfan99]

Just so you know, you don't have to block out your product ID. Nobody can do anything with it.

 

[foreigndude]

@Gareth, I finally decided to go with 2 x 2GB sticks for my Vostro1000. They're on the way and I can't wait to pop those babies in!

Now I need a bigger drive

 

[Gareth]

Just so you know, you don't have to block out your product ID. Nobody can do anything with it.

Oh really, I didn't realize that, I always thought it was the product key, as I know it was on Windows 95/NT 4.0 Rather embarrasing

@Gareth, I finally decided to go with 2 x 2GB sticks for my Vostro1000. They're on the way and I can't wait to pop those babies in!

Now I need a bigger drive

Great, hope all goes well for you

 

[bkribbs]

Is it possible any other computers would do this? I have a Dell Inspiron 6000 and would love to kick it a kick to get it flying.

 

[foreigndude]

BKRIBBS, I found a forum posting (at a different board) that has to do with DELL Inspiron 6000. The person claims they tried putting 2 x 2GB sticks in there and that the PC shut off instantly.

The post is here.

Intel page confirming that: Here

 

[bkribbs]

BKRIBBS, I found a forum posting (at a different board) that has to do with DELL Inspiron 6000. The person claims they tried putting 2 x 2GB sticks in there and that the PC shut off instantly.

The post is here.

Intel page confirming that: Here

Dang. Thanks for finding that for me though.

 

[foreigndude]

Bad news - I received my 2 x 2GB RAM sticks (2GB 2Rx8 PC2 - 6400S - 666 - 12) and when I put both of them in my Vostro 1000, the laptop won't even power on.

When I put only one 2GB stick and one of my old 512MB sticks, it works just fine and recognizes it. My laptop has BIOS ver 2.6.3 (latest available).

ANY IDEA WHY?

MANNNN, I WAS SO LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS!!!

 

[foreigndude]

Bad news - I received my 2 x 2GB RAM sticks (2GB 2Rx8 PC2 - 6400S - 666 - 12) and when I put both of them in my Vostro 1000, the laptop won't even power on.

When I put only one 2GB stick and one of my old 512MB sticks, it works just fine and recognizes it. My laptop has BIOS ver 2.6.3 (latest available).

ANY IDEA WHY?

MANNNN, I WAS SO LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS!!!

Nevermind, I think one of the 2GB sticks is faulty. I tried swapping the two, and sure enough, the laptop powers up normally with one, and doesn't power up at all with the other.

 

[Gareth]

Oh thats a shame with the faulty stick, should be able to RMA it though and get a replacement which works?

 

[MarvinHC]

Gareth, thanks a lot for such a quick response. I see what you're saying..they are pricey, but maybe I can work up a reason to justify spending money on such an upgrade...it might be worth it.

Hi,

have you tried the upgrade in the meantime? I am considering myself now to treat my Vostro to 4GB, I have Vista (32 bit) and want to make sure that it is worthwile the spend, i.e. Vista uses the full 4GB and it speeds up the system.

I was thinking about using the Kingston Value Ram KVR800D2S6/2G which currently goes for £22.99 on Amazon
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001322Z1Q/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Is 800mhz too fast for the Vostro and should I better go with 533 or 667?

Thanks for all feedback!