I need help with RAM

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I need help with RAM

2007-06-15 08:56:55

teek22: Add "teek22" on your PS3 fools!; +133|6852|Bromley, London

At the moment I have 2 512MB sticks of DDR2 RAM 533MHz

I want to get more and as I have Vista I think it would be more beneficial to get 2 1GB sticks at the same speed.

However I wasn't sure if I could have 2 512mb and 2 1GB sticks (which would give me a total of 3gb RAM) on the same computer as they are different values.

So could people just tell me if I bought the 2 1gb sticks and added them to my current RAM which is 2 512mb sticks, if it would run ok or weather it wouldn't work because they are of different memory sizes.

Last edited by teek22 (2007-06-15 08:58:12)

2007-06-15 08:58:48

genius_man16: Platinum Star whore; +365|7149|Middle of nowhere

it depends on if you have the slots for it, look in your computer manual, or look up your computer on the internet if you dno't know how to check by yourself

like, i have 4 1GB sticks in my computer, but that's b/c i have 4 slots, you might not have as many, so you'd better check

Last edited by genius_man16 (2007-06-15 08:59:16)

2007-06-15 09:12:03

Scorpion0x17: can detect anyone's visible post count...; +691|7237|Cambridge (UK)

What motherboard do you have?

2007-06-15 09:13:32

Bertster7: Confused Pothead; +1,101|7052|SE London

It'll run fine (in theory, stuff can go wrong, but it's fairly unlikely).

2007-06-15 09:18:31

Profitteroles: Member; +11|6710|Dartford

if you are going to go with 2x512's and 2x1gb's make sure you have 1 512 and 1gb in each channel therefore keeping your ram running dual channel

2007-06-15 09:21:18

Scorpion0x17: can detect anyone's visible post count...; +691|7237|Cambridge (UK)

Bertster7 wrote:
It'll run fine (in theory, stuff can go wrong, but it's fairly unlikely).

You can't just say that with any certainty what-so-ever - it very much depends on his motherboard - some are more flexible than others.

2007-06-15 09:26:44

genius_man16: Platinum Star whore; +365|7149|Middle of nowhere

Scorpion0x17 wrote:
Bertster7 wrote:
It'll run fine (in theory, stuff can go wrong, but it's fairly unlikely).
You can't just say that with any certainty what-so-ever - it very much depends on his motherboard - some are more flexible than others.

true dat, especially if you don't do what Profitteroles said and make sure you have 'em on different channels, otherwise you're kinda fucked

2007-06-15 10:20:36

teek22: Add "teek22" on your PS3 fools!; +133|6852|Bromley, London

I have a Dell Dimension E520 (dont flame it, i got it for free so im not complaining)
I am pretty sure it has 4 slots because when u buy it u can have the option of having 4 memory sticks in it. Also there are 4 slots in it when i open it up. There are 4 slots and it goes black white black white.

At the moment in the two white slots I have my 512mb sticks in them.

So if I buy them I would have to have move them around so I have a 512mb and a 1gb stick in whites, and then the other 512mb and 1gb in the other?

So if I have the slots, there is no reason why it wouldnt work then?

Edit: I have 4 Ram slots so it should work fine as long as I just mix and match the memory accordingly?

Last edited by teek22 (2007-06-15 10:24:32)

2007-06-15 10:33:00

Bertster7: Confused Pothead; +1,101|7052|SE London

Scorpion0x17 wrote:
Bertster7 wrote:
It'll run fine (in theory, stuff can go wrong, but it's fairly unlikely).
You can't just say that with any certainty what-so-ever - it very much depends on his motherboard - some are more flexible than others.

Yeah I can.

Why not. I'm assuming that he's not so stupid as to not have checked that he has enough slots for it. All motherboards are supposed to work with memory that is specified to run in them in all the slots.

Some boards have issues running 4 DIMMs in dual channel and some boards have difficulty running at high frequency. That doesn't mean it won't work, nor will it even have a huge impact on performance, unless OCing.

What extra flexibility are you talking about, this all sounds highly spurious to me.

It'll run fine!

2007-06-15 10:45:32

Scorpion0x17: can detect anyone's visible post count...; +691|7237|Cambridge (UK)

Dell wrote:
Choose the New Memory Configuration.

Before you can order your memory module(s), you need to decide how the memory will be configured.

NOTE: Dell recommends installing memory in pairs of matched size for best performance. Please be aware that memory comes in the following sizes:

Standard Memory Module Sizes
64 MB

128 MB

256 MB

512 MB

1024 MB (1 GB)

Table 1 - Common RAM Module Sizes

*
* Insert Memory Option
The easiest and most cost-effective method for upgrading memory is to insert a module in an empty slot. Order the standard memory module size that equals the additional memory to add.
*

NOTE: If the additional memory to add does not equal the currently installed memory, you have to replace an existing module; refer to the replace memory section below for more information.

*
* Replace Memory Option
Replace one or more memory modules with larger modules so that the combined total does not exceed the maximum memory. Dell recommends installing memory in pairs of matched size for best performance.

Refer to the following table for examples of some possible memory configurations.
Maximum Memory

Total Memory Slots

Possible Memory Configurations
512 MB

1
Replace with up to 1 (512 MB) Module
2
Replace with up to 2 (256 MB) Modules*
1024 MB

1
Replace with up to 1 (1024 MB) Module
2
Replace with up to 2 (512 MB) Modules*
2048 MB

2
Replace with up to 2 (1024 MB) Modules*

Table 2 - Various RAM Configurations

^(source)

So, Dell reccommend... erm... actually just realised I don't speak Dell - anyone care to translate?

I think it's saying he needs matched pairs... but I'm not sure...

Last edited by Scorpion0x17 (2007-06-15 10:46:49)

2007-06-15 11:51:00

teek22: Add "teek22" on your PS3 fools!; +133|6852|Bromley, London

kk I have decided to just buy 2 1gb sticks that are slightly overclocked and just remove my old memory sticks.

Thanks for your help though. +1 to all

2007-06-15 12:14:55

Zimmer: Un Moderador; +1,688|7227|Scotland

teek22 wrote:
kk I have decided to just buy 2 1gb sticks that are slightly overclocked and just remove my old memory sticks.

Thanks for your help though. +1 to all

May I ask what sticks?

2007-06-15 12:28:13

lxcpikiman: imbad @ bf2; +70|7066|Toronto-Canada

RAMs r so cheap right now u should go for 2x1 gig sticks 800mhz,those in here cost about 100 cnds

2007-06-15 15:04:22

teek22: Add "teek22" on your PS3 fools!; +133|6852|Bromley, London

Zimmer wrote:
teek22 wrote:
kk I have decided to just buy 2 1gb sticks that are slightly overclocked and just remove my old memory sticks.

Thanks for your help though. +1 to all
May I ask what sticks?

I am going to get these ones when I get some money which will be about a month and when they come in stock:

http://www.microdirect.co.uk/(11667)OCZ … 33Mhz.aspx

I am going to get 2 of those.

lxcpikiman wrote:
RAMs r so cheap right now u should go for 2x1 gig sticks 800mhz,those in here cost about 100 cnds

I have no Idea what my motherboard can handle as in RAM speed and I can't find out because I doubt Dell would tell me and I do not know how to find out what my motherboard is. Also I do not have a lot of money to spend as I dont have much.

Edit: anyone else have any other reccommendations for 1gb stick at 533Mhz DDR2, please tell me.

Last edited by teek22 (2007-06-15 15:08:39)

2007-06-16 14:25:05

[HOF]Mercenary: o_O; +53|6649

teek22 wrote:
At the moment I have 2 512MB sticks of DDR2 RAM 533MHz

I want to get more and as I have Vista I think it would be more beneficial to get 2 1GB sticks at the same speed.

However I wasn't sure if I could have 2 512mb and 2 1GB sticks (which would give me a total of 3gb RAM) on the same computer as they are different values.

So could people just tell me if I bought the 2 1gb sticks and added them to my current RAM which is 2 512mb sticks, if it would run ok or weather it wouldn't work because they are of different memory sizes.

Im Running 2x 512 and 2x 1gb, no problems at all

2007-06-17 00:17:16

Scorpion0x17: can detect anyone's visible post count...; +691|7237|Cambridge (UK)

teek22 wrote:
Zimmer wrote:
teek22 wrote:
kk I have decided to just buy 2 1gb sticks that are slightly overclocked and just remove my old memory sticks.

Thanks for your help though. +1 to all
May I ask what sticks?
I am going to get these ones when I get some money which will be about a month and when they come in stock:

http://www.microdirect.co.uk/(11667)OCZ … 33Mhz.aspx

I am going to get 2 of those.

lxcpikiman wrote:
RAMs r so cheap right now u should go for 2x1 gig sticks 800mhz,those in here cost about 100 cnds
I have no Idea what my motherboard can handle as in RAM speed and I can't find out because I doubt Dell would tell me and I do not know how to find out what my motherboard is. Also I do not have a lot of money to spend as I dont have much.

Edit: anyone else have any other recommendations for 1gb stick at 533Mhz DDR2, please tell me.

You need Crucial - they are a very good, but reasonably priced ram manufacturer - and they have a 'memory selector' tool on their website - you tell it you make and model of PC or motherboard (in your case, all you need to know is 'Dell Dimension E520') - and it tells you which RAM of theirs is compatible.

So, for example, you can use any of these (note: click on 'show all', next to 'We're now showing 4 of 14 compatible upgrades' to see the full range of compatible modules).

As you can see, they're reasonably priced - the yellow ones are 'high-speed' variants - non-yellow are 'standard' - especially when you consider they guaranteed to work in your Dell.

Also, should you have any problems, Crucial's Pre-Sales, Sales, Post-Sales and Tech Support is all extremely good.

^{(no, sadly, I don't work for them)}

2007-06-17 01:07:23

T.Pike: 99 Problems . . .; +187|6754|Pennsyltucky

teek22 wrote:
At the moment I have 2 512MB sticks of DDR2 RAM 533MHz

I want to get more and as I have Vista I think it would be more beneficial to get 2 1GB sticks at the same speed.

However I wasn't sure if I could have 2 512mb and 2 1GB sticks (which would give me a total of 3gb RAM) on the same computer as they are different values.

So could people just tell me if I bought the 2 1gb sticks and added them to my current RAM which is 2 512mb sticks, if it would run ok or weather it wouldn't work because they are of different memory sizes.

I can just share MY experience with you.

I have a Dell Dimension E510, it came with 2 512K sticks installed (533 Mhz) and two slots available.

For performance I added 2 1Gig strips of G-Skill 833 Mhz.

Initially I removed the OEM RAM thinking it would slow the G-Skill. Turns out from what I can figure the Front Side Bus limits any memory I have to 533 Mhz.

So I put the 2 512 sticks back and added the 2 1Gig strips.

Haven't had any problems what-so-ever. It acts like a totally different system.

I keep BF2, BF2CC, Messenger, Teamspeak and usually one Internet Explorer browser open with no problems.

In the past it would take forever to load a map and then even longer for it to "verify". Now I'm usually one of the first players to load in to a map. Before if I tried to Alt-tab into Teamspeak it would take 5-10 seconds of blank screen before switching. Now it's instantaneous.

I got my memory from Newegg and they too have a memory selector with a guarentee. http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductCo … nfigurator

Hope this helped.

Last edited by T.Pike (2007-06-17 01:11:23)

2007-06-17 03:04:19

Zimmer: Un Moderador; +1,688|7227|Scotland

Crucial is not "extremely" good. There are many compatability problems surrounding it.

It is not as good as corsair or OCZ ram. Nowhere near it. Crucial is just some cheap RAM.

2007-06-17 03:08:55

kylef: Gone; +1,352|6964|N. Ireland

Zimmer wrote:
Crucial is not "extremely" good. There are many compatability problems surrounding it.

It is not as good as corsair or OCZ ram. Nowhere near it. Crucial is just some cheap RAM.

Ballistix is alright, but not the best.

2007-06-17 08:24:36

Scorpion0x17: can detect anyone's visible post count...; +691|7237|Cambridge (UK)

Zimmer wrote:
Crucial is not "extremely" good.

Sorry, what was it I said again?

Scorpion0x17 wrote:
...Crucial - they are a very good, but reasonably priced ram manufacturer - and they have a 'memory selector' tool on their website - you tell it you make and model of PC or motherboard (in your case, all you need to know is 'Dell Dimension E520') - and it tells you which RAM of theirs is compatible.

So, for example, you can use any of these (note: click on 'show all', next to 'We're now showing 4 of 14 compatible upgrades' to see the full range of compatible modules).

As you can see, they're reasonably priced - the yellow ones are 'high-speed' variants - non-yellow are 'standard' - especially when you consider they guaranteed to work in your Dell.

Also, should you have any problems, Crucial's Pre-Sales, Sales, Post-Sales and Tech Support is all extremely good...

Ah yes,

very good, but reasonably priced

and,

Support is all extremely good

Does that equate to me saying that "Crucial is extremely good"?

No. It does not.

It does equate to me saying "Their RAM is very good. Their support is extremely good. Their prices are reasonable" - overall I'd rank them "One of the better manufacturers, for those looking for good performance, on a budget".

Zimmer wrote:
There are many compatability problems surrounding it.

Not in my experience.

I've always bought Crucial.

And have never had any issues with the RAM modules themselves.

The motherboards they were meant to be going in, yes, the modules, no.

In fact, that is why I rate their support so highly - the only times that I have had to return RAM to Crucial have been due to the motherboard not liking the RAM, not the RAM itself being broken or faulty - but Crucial have always been extremely helpful and done no-quibbles swaps until I was able to find a configuration that worked OK.

Of course, as with all things, mileage may vary between territories/ram types/over time/etc/etc/etc...

Last edited by Scorpion0x17 (2007-06-17 08:37:56)

2007-06-17 08:52:21

teek22: Add "teek22" on your PS3 fools!; +133|6852|Bromley, London

K thanks but I have decided to but the following RAM and remove my old RAM:

http://www.microdirect.co.uk/(11778)OCZ … -Dual.aspx

I do not see why it wouldn't be compatible as it is same speed as current RAM.

Please tell me your opinions on this choice and compatibility?

Edit: Someone said I NEED crucial RAM. Surely any RAM will work won't it?

Last edited by teek22 (2007-06-17 08:56:11)

2007-06-17 12:25:12

Scorpion0x17: can detect anyone's visible post count...; +691|7237|Cambridge (UK)

teek22 wrote:
K thanks but I have decided to but the following RAM and remove my old RAM:

http://www.microdirect.co.uk/(11778)OCZ … -Dual.aspx

I do not see why it wouldn't be compatible as it is same speed as current RAM.

Please tell me your opinions on this choice and compatibility?

Edit: Someone said I NEED crucial RAM. Surely any RAM will work won't it?

Sorry, I didn't mean 'need' in that sense - yeah, any make of RAM, as long as it is of the correct type (speeds, timings, sidedness, etc), should work.

I meant 'need' in the sense of 'if you put your details into Crucials RAM selector, they will tell you exactly what type is most suitable for your system'.

What you buy and who you buy from is then entirely upto you.

However if you do use the Crucial RAM selector and then buy through their site, the modules you receive are guaranteed to work (assuming you put the correct details into the selector) and they will replace them, no questions asked, if they don't work.

Other manufacturers have a similar 'RAM selector' style features on their websites, others also guarentee the ram when purchased that way, and many also offer good support, reasonable prices and reliability.

I've not used either OCZ or microdirect.co.uk specifically, so can not comment on them.

Buy whatever RAM you want from whomever you want - your choice appears to be of the correct type. Well, you could get a faster kind, but that should be fine.

The only way your going to find out how compatible they are with your PC is to buy some and try them out.

edit:
One final point - with the OCZs your paying some extra for the fancy heatsinks, which you simply do not need unless you're overclocking - which, judging from your knowledge level, I would guess and hope you're not.

Last edited by Scorpion0x17 (2007-06-17 12:36:35)

2007-06-17 12:38:20

Bertster7: Confused Pothead; +1,101|7052|SE London

Scorpion0x17 wrote:
I've always bought Crucial.

And have never had any issues with the RAM modules themselves.

I have. A few times.

That OCZ stuff looks like a good buy.

Last edited by Bertster7 (2007-06-17 12:39:36)

2007-06-17 12:39:57

Scorpion0x17: can detect anyone's visible post count...; +691|7237|Cambridge (UK)

Bertster7 wrote:
Scorpion0x17 wrote:
I've always bought Crucial.

And have never had any issues with the RAM modules themselves.
I have. A few times.

Mileage varies with everything.

2007-06-17 15:37:12

teek22: Add "teek22" on your PS3 fools!; +133|6852|Bromley, London

Cheers for the Help Scorpion. I did a compatibility test on OCZ's website with the E510 and it was compatible mine is an E520 so it should work. I do not know of any major difference.

Also it turns out the RAM without that stupid copper stuff is more expensive. Which is weird as on the OCZ website the copper one built for moderate gaming. Oh well I am not complaining

I have used microdirect before so I trust them as a company to deliver the goods.

Edit: Will buy as soon as i get money together which will be a few weeks. Thanks to all for helping.

Last edited by teek22 (2007-06-17 15:41:03)

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Bertster7 wrote:

Scorpion0x17 wrote:

Bertster7 wrote:

Scorpion0x17 wrote:

Bertster7 wrote:

Dell wrote:

teek22 wrote:

Zimmer wrote:

teek22 wrote:

lxcpikiman wrote:

teek22 wrote:

teek22 wrote:

Zimmer wrote:

teek22 wrote:

lxcpikiman wrote:

teek22 wrote:

Zimmer wrote:

Zimmer wrote:

Scorpion0x17 wrote:

Zimmer wrote:

teek22 wrote:

Scorpion0x17 wrote:

Bertster7 wrote:

Scorpion0x17 wrote:

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