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ADDING RAM

Started by LOVEMYPC , Jul 23 2012 12:45 AM

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11 replies to this topic

#1 LOVEMYPC

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Posted 23 July 2012 - 12:45 AM

HI,I have a pair of ram sticks coming in few days,right now a 512 stick installed on one of post it was suggested to remove slower speed stick,so what appears i may need to do is run PC with just the 2GB of ram only,does this sound reasonable way to go.
My PC is a DELL E-521 AMD64 WINXP,SP3

 

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#2 jhayz

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Posted 23 July 2012 - 01:14 AM

Your Dell E 521 has 4 slots and has a maximum support of 4 gig ram stick. See documentation. If you are concern of having one stick that is low on speed, and you just use this PC for basic purposes, I would install the extra RAM in any rate. However, its your preference to check if there would be a performance degrade when using the ram with low speed combine with the 2 sticks or not.

Tekken

#3 LOVEMYPC

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Posted 23 July 2012 - 02:53 AM

HI,I have the Speecy program on my desktop so when i get RAM installed i will check with and without all ram installed and what i get for results,but will the Speecy program actually give me a speed differential.

#4 Saurabh A

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Posted 23 July 2012 - 03:07 PM

Hi LOVEMYPC,

My name is Saurabh.

It is recommended that you kindly remove the currently installed memory stick (512MB) before installing the new pair of 2GB memory cards on the computer.
If the currently installed stick runs at a lower clock speed than the speeds of the ones that you have ordered now, that will negatively influence the performance of the new cards. Also for better performance, it is recommended that you install the cards in pairs. So, go with an even number of cards.

For optimum performance, kindly click the following link to flash the system BIOS with the current card, before installing the new ones: http://www.dell.com/support/drivers/us/en/19/DriverDetails/DriverFileFormats?DriverId=R164018&FileId=2731117833&productCode=dimension-e521&urlProductCode=False

Once BIOS is flashed, kindly restart the computer and then replace the older card with the new pair of cards.
(Imp - Please note that before you flash BIOS, kindly unplug all USB based external peripherals from the computer, except keyboard & mouse).

Thanks & Regards
Saurabh_A

Edited by Orange Blossom, 11 August 2012 - 06:51 AM.
Revealed links and removed spammy content. ~ OB

#5 jhayz

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Posted 23 July 2012 - 07:43 PM

Speccy will only identify your hardware and some system components but not the speed differential. I would not flash the BIOS as of this time as the fix and enhancement is only particular for the USB devices. It always depends on what applications you will run on your system in order to meet your desired speed performance. You have a maximum of 4 gig and half will be installed so you would still have an upgrade option.

Tekken

#6 LOVEMYPC

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Posted 24 July 2012 - 01:37 AM

HI,I have replaced ram on another PC that i did not have to flash BIOS,these PC'S have been known to take personally when you mess with their inside parts,the PC i replaced the ram i had to use different slots to
get ram to work right as when i put them in one way i did not get dual channel to work hopefully this will not happen with this DELL PC.

#7 jhayz

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Posted 25 July 2012 - 09:17 AM

It seems after looking further, your E 521 is on dual channel. So it should be in pair.

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#8 LOVEMYPC

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Posted 27 July 2012 - 06:19 PM

WELL I GOT MY 2GB OF RAM Speecy says there are 2GB of dual channel of ran installed.

#9 Saurabh A

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Posted 29 July 2012 - 06:30 AM

Hi LOVEMYPC,

I was just wandering about the combination of RAMs that you have used in the system.

Is it a pair of RAMs with 2GB each or is it a pair with 1GB each? Or is it just a single card of 2GB capacity? Also wanted to know if you are still using the 512MB RAM card as well? kindly also mention, whether or not, you flashed the system BIOS?

Your response would be highly appreciated.

Thanks & Regards
Saurabh_A

Edited by Orange Blossom, 11 August 2012 - 07:14 AM.
Removed spammy content. ~ OB

#10 LOVEMYPC

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Posted 29 July 2012 - 03:25 PM

HI, DELL-SaurabA,I put 2 single sticks of 1GB each in,research told me if i use the 512 stick it will slow down PC a bit so left it out.
No i did not flash BIOS as i was not how to do it and also several posters said it was not totally necessary
if you think it will help let me know how it is done this one of the little things i have not had a reason to do
as of yet.
Speecy program says i have dual channel memory now,if it will not slow PC i will put 512 MB stick back in,THANK'S

#11 hamluis

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Posted 31 July 2012 - 04:44 PM

To run in dual-channel mode...a system must have matched pairs. If you insert a different module in addition to having matched pairs...then the system will not run in dual-channel mode...even if you have 1 pair of dual-channel modules.

As to which is better for you...try it both ways and see if you can detect a difference. The added RAM capacity may be more advantageous than running in dual-channel mode with less RAM.

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#12 LOVEMYPC

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Posted 02 August 2012 - 12:40 PM

HI,hanluis,i did as you suggested and put the 512 stick back in and it showed single channel in both slots that were empty,but showed it had 2.50MB of ram which surprised me as i would have thought that it would have not showed all of the total ram.
I have noticed when PC is searching for site down on the bottom on task bar it goes thru the faster now and does not hang up.

Edited by LOVEMYPC, 02 August 2012 - 12:56 PM.

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