dell dimension 3000 P4 2.8

[Ike0069]

I have a buddy that has the 3000 and wants to upgrade his RAM. He realizes that he can get it online somewhere much cheaper than ordering it thru Dell, but he's not sure what type or even the speed of the RAM he has. I do not have access to this machine and I'm not really familar with Dell's.
How can he tell which type/speed of RAM he has, and which brands are known to be compatible with Dell?

 

[stevty2889]

go to crucial.com, and look a their memory configurator. Just put in his model of dell where is asks, and it tells you what ram is compatible.

 

[Ike0069]

Originally posted by: stevty2889
go to crucial.com, and look a their memory configurator. Just put in his model of dell where is asks, and it tells you what ram is compatible.

Ok, I did that and it list pc3200 and pc2700. So apparently all 3000's have DDR RAM. At least I hope that's right.
How can he tell what his FSB is?

 

[fire400]

the dell website sez it all

if I am correct, the 3K models have DDR2 which are not backwards compatible with DDR1 unless both memory slots are included which is not the case with the 3K models of the Dimmensions.

I think it's DDR2 architecture at DDR400 speeds which could be upgraded to DDR4xx or even 5xx but I don't remember.

"the dell website sez it all"

 

[stevty2889]

Have him run CPUz, that will tell him what his FSB is, and what speed his current ram is.

 

[Googer]

Originally posted by: fire400
the dell website sez it all

if I am correct, the 3K models have DDR2 which are not backwards compatible with DDR1 unless both memory slots are included which is not the case with the 3K models of the Dimmensions.

I think it's DDR2 architecture at DDR400 speeds which could be upgraded to DDR4xx or even 5xx but I don't remember.

"the dell website sez it all"

The Intel 915 Chipset supports both DDR1 and DDR2.


Download CPU-z, it should tell you all that you need to know about his FSB, RAM, and CPU.
http://www.cpuid.com/

If in doubt just buy the fastest RAM you can find. It should underclock it's self.

 

[Ike0069]

CPU-z, why didn't I think of that? Doh!

Now, is there any particular brand of RAM that Dell seems to like over others, or any to specifically stay away from?

 

[Googer]

From my experience Dells seem to work well with Crucial, Corsair, and Kingston. Dell's in general work well with most ram makers, just do not buy any sort of extreme RAM like OCZ 2-2-2-5 sinc the DELL BIOS usualy ignores those timings and runs the RAM at 3-3-3-8. DDR400 Budget Ram is best for a Dell.

 

[Ike0069]

Thanks googer. I have found that Corsair VS seems to be some of the most compataible RAM out there.

Oh, does CPU-z tell whether it's DDR or DDR2?

 

[Googer]

Originally posted by: Ike0069
Thanks googer. I have found that Corsair VS seems to be some of the most compataible RAM out there.

Oh, does CPU-z tell whether it's DDR or DDR2?

You are welcome. Crucial Has the best compatability record on the market. I recommend Crucial for your Dell.