Will this memory work?

Feb 25, 2009
69
0
0
I went to the crucial site to use their memory scanner, and came up with the following results in the attachment below. I found memory that is supported but wanted to get one that has two 8 gig sticks(8X2=16). They have them, but if you look near the mid- bottom of the picture i attached it says "a maximum of 8gb kit (4GBX2) per slot." Does this mean I can't put two 8gig sticks in there even if there's room?

memorytypedesktopramcomputerdell.jpg
 

dma0991

Platinum Member
Mar 17, 2011
2,723
2
0
Max capacity for RAM is about 24GB. Its triple channel so you will need a minimum of 3 sticks. As of now, it isn't configured like that as it is in a 2GBx4 arrangement. You could go by adding an additional 4GB in a 2GBx2 configuration or replace all of them in a 4GBx6 configuration. 4GBx6 is the maximum you can go. Unless you really need that much RAM, you shouldn't even bother adding more.
 

Coup27

Platinum Member
Jul 17, 2010
2,140
3
81
This is what I hate about OEMs. That passage of text is very poorly wrote and the setup manual for this machine also says something different.

What is the i7 part number of your CPU?
 
Feb 25, 2009
69
0
0
I can't turn the computer off now as I'm rendering, (If you mean the part number on the actual hardware) but here's the cpu info I got from SIW.

motherboardpics2cpu.jpg
 

Coup27

Platinum Member
Jul 17, 2010
2,140
3
81
My apologies. I did not see the CPU model number when I first looked at the screenshot. According to the Intel spec sheet the fastest memory your CPU officially supports is PC3-8500 DDR3-1066 (1066Mhz). This is also confirmed by the Dell setup manual for your machine. You can often run much faster RAM than the official specs on enthusiast boards but OEM's are a lot less forgiving. You most likely went with an OEM machine because stability and reliability are your #1 concerns so I would not buy RAM faster than 1066Mhz. Buying faster RAM should still work though as it should just slow down to 1066Mhz.

24GB is the limit and if you divide that by 6 you get 4GB DIMMs. The Dell manual does state it supports "capacities greater than 4GB" but that's a bit ambiguous - I would stick to 4GB.

So for optimal use and trouble-free operation you want a triple channel kits, 3x4GB 1066Mhz 1.5v inserted into the correct slots to maintain the tri-channel configuration but your current setup is 2x4GB and you could buy another 2x4GB kit and run two dual channels instead if you wanted to reuse this RAM.

Dell service manual

Dell setup manual

Both of these have information about your memory options.