All dell specs for my Dell Dimension 4500 Series says it has 512Mb per (2) slot limit and a 1gig total limit, as do any other sites but...

I thought that the E210882 on my mobo was the model but found that isn't necessarily the case. Since I couldn't find the exact motherboard Dell used at the time of my 4500 (around 2002) I used CPU-Z as well as AIDAA32 and they BOTH say I'm using an Intel Corporation D845EPT2. I type this into Crucial.com and it tells me it has a 2gig limit. The manuel for that mobo states something kind of funny about the memory is made with 512Mb technology, allowing for 2gig, but hasn't been verified. Here is the link to the manuel if you are interested.

http://support.intel.com/support/motherboa...b/cs-008768.htm

But when I typed in Dell Dimension 4500 Series to double check Crucial told me 1gig limit. (That's the same site that stated the D845EPT2 can handle 2gig.)

Please, how can I verify any of this? I've spent 2 days trying to navigate Dell, and intel's sites and they will give me specs general specs on the 4500 and the manual for the D845EPT2, but will not verify what is exactly in the 4500.

P.S. I heard something about flashing your bios can get some mobos to recognize more memory, if my 4500 only does do 1gig now, could it do 2gig after a bios update?

TY for ANY help. (I would LOVE to be able to get 2gig in there.)

Kingston Technology Company indicates that 1 meg is the limit for a Dell 4500:
http://www.ec.kingston.com/ecom/configurat...;submit1=Search

I'm not surprised

Maybe I have a 4500S and don't know it.

The Kingston's site doesn't match up with my computer's specs exactly though. It says I should have a P4 2.26Gh (4500) or P4 2.53Gh (4500C). But for the 4500S it says that it uses a Celeron 1.7Gh, which also has the 2gig ram max by the way. None of these are my P4 2.0Gh, so something is changing, and if that can change why not the entire mobo for that series?

Plus why would 2 independant programs tell me the exact same thing;

4500S
Intel Pentium 4 that runs at 1.70, 1.80, 1.90, 2.00 GHz internally and 400 MHz externally; 2.26, 2.40, 2.53, or 2.66 GHz internally and 533 MHz externally; or Intel Celeron that runs at 1.70, 1.80, or 2.00 GHz internally and 400 MHz externally
NOTE: Microprocessor offerings and front-side bus support vary by country.

4500C
Intel Pentium 4 microprocessor that runs at 1.70, 1.80, 1.90, 2.00, 2.20, or 2.40 GHz internally and 400 MHz externally; and 2.26, 2.40, 2.53, 2.80, or 3.06 GHz internally and 533 MHz externally

4500
Intel Pentium 4 microprocessor that runs at 1.60, 1.70, 1.80, 1.90, 2.00, 2.20, or 2.40 GHz internally and 400 MHz externally; and 2.26, 2.40, 2.53, 2.66, or 2.80 GHz internally and 533 MHz externally.

Okay, let's just say I completely believe the majority of the world (I'd be stupid not to) and say that my computer is exactly what a dell dimension 4500 is supposed to be.

WHY ARE TWO SEPARATE PROGRAMS TELLING ME THAT I HAVE A MOTHER BOARD THAT CAN SUPPORT 2 GIG!?!?!?! This is driving me crazy.

Also let's imagine I still give those two programs no credit... Could I flash my bios to get my computer to utilize more ram? I heard something about this. Is it true?

Last I knew Dell was using proprietary MoBo's. Those other programs are finding what ever is the closest they have in their data base. Perhaps the Dell board is based on the D845EPT2.

I would be surprised if 1 gig were not the limit due to hardware - bios updates can't change hardware.

ddeerrff
"I would be surprised if 1 gig were not the limit due to hardware"

If the mobo is based on the D845EPT2, and the D845EPT2 has a 2gig limit, then wouldn't that make most people believe that this proprietary board has that same spec?

I hope you guys can see how someone could get kind of (really) confused on this one.

Next to buying 2 gig of ram and sticking it in, (the mobo being proprietary even that isn't a good one) what would be a sure-fire way to find out what I got and its REAL specs?

And just because I'm losing hope...
What can I do to my system to optimize it for MMO gaming. (Hardware, Windows Settings, BIOS, etc)

Windows XP Home
Dell dimension 4500
P4 @ 2.0gh
AGP Nvidea gefore fx 5200 /w 256mb
1024 mb kingston k, (2x512mb) cas 2.5@166mhz
external audio M-audio Audiophile USB
Netgear WG111v2 adapter (having issues)

Thanks for everything so far

Hi ubiquitously.



Look at the different 4500 models in the links tg1911 left you. Specificly the "expansion bus slots".
They are different in all three models. Pull the cover and look. Pay no attention to the Intel documentation in this case.

4500S: 2 PCI slots, no AGP slot = 2GB mem limit.
4500C: 1 PCI slot, 1 AGP slot = 1GB mem limit.
4500: 4 PCI slots, I AGP slot = 1GB mem limit.

Or, in short, the only model that supports 2GB memory is the one without an AGP slot (4500S).

That just goes to show you the more wrapped up I get in something the less competent I become. I can't believe I, or anyone else for that matter, didn't notice that.

Tons of Thanks to HitSquad , and you other guys for trying.

Well, since I'm stuck with my 1gig max, any of you guys know any cheap upgrades? I was planning on (getting a job, and then) saving up my money and getting a killer game machine. But if I could get this computer to handle most games on high settings then I would be perfectly happy.

Or are the bottlenecks from my mobo not worth it? (AGP, no PCI Xpress )

Pros/cons?