Upgrading ram in an older Dell

[CorCentral]

So my wife's aunt asks her to ask me if I could diagnose and fix her computer because it was very sluggish when opening/loading programs, etc. I figured it was spyware or a virus but to my surprise, the system was clean.

Dell Demension 2400
OS -- Win XP home
Cpu -- ?
Ram -- 128mb Pc2700/333 DDR CL2.5 (shame on you Dell!!)
Video -- onboard

Of the 4 review sites I checked out, it states that it comes w/256mb ram but when I opened the case, cleaned out the 1lb of dust and checked the ram, it was only 128mb.
I can now understand why the damn thing was so slow. You try opening PaintShop Pro with 128mb ram **LMAO**

Will I be able to toss the 128mb stick and easily replace it with a single 512mb of the same speed? Or will the mb not accept the larger stick? Or can I just add the 512mb stick along with the 128?

Thanks.

 

[Lemon law]

If you retain the 128 Mb stick---it should be moved to slot two rather than slot one---if you then get a better stick of 512mb ram capable of better timings with that system--it will still default down to the slower timings of the 128 MB stick---but its likely the MB processor timings are the bottlenecks---your only danger is going so cheap that the 512MB stick you buy actually drags down the timings of the 128 MB stick. But at the end of the day---just download CPU-z---or something like the everest home addition 2.2---both free utilities---and they will tell you exactly what you have for a CPU and ram---and get exactly what you have in the 128 MB stick for a sure match in ram.---by that I mean the same make and model---but a different capacity---in my case---I take corsair vs512MB400---but I could gets sticks of exactly that---in 128, 256, 512, and a gig---but also want to make sure I get cl2.5 and not 3. But I can't get any corsair stick---I can't use ecc memory for example.

And going from 128 MB to 640 MB will supercharge your aunt's system----for that matter--if money is tight---just adding a 256 MB stick would do wonders getting her to 384 MB. And for that matter, if you are a gambling man--buying used ram on ebay is another option---lots of dell memory out there. ---and I am assuming its at least a two memory slot MB--and you will see another exact same memory slot next to the one the ram is in.---or maybe three. But beware--some mobo's can accommodate two sticks of 168 pin ram--or two sticks of 184 pin ram. And if that is the case--you can't mix types.---but its a no brainer---go with the 184 pin ram like you have.---and go to start--accessories---system information to see your motherboard designation---and then go to the internet to download a manual likely in pdf format.

 

[John]

Dell? Dimension? 2400 Series service manual

Any non-ecc 184-pin 512MB DDR333 or DDR400 module will drop right in the 2400. While lower timings are always preferred it's not a necessity for this pc. Most local stores should have a decent deal on memory, and the slim chance you get a defective module the return will be painless.