Decided to up the memmory in my 2.5 year old dell dimension 4500 to 1gb from 512mb. Trouble is I have no idea what i need - all these different speeds and other numbers :S

I have 2 slots both occupied just now with what i think is ddr. I'd like as fast as possible. Help appreciated.

I'd take a look at crucial.com - they have a pretty good system selector & good prices/service. They also have decent explanations of what all the numbers mean.

-Zeke

I've just went to dell support and put my system in there under uogrades. They list 512 MB - DIMM 184-PIN - DDR - 266 MHz / PC2100 - 3.3 V - non-parity.

Does this mean I must stick with memory with these figures or can i go higher?

I'll check crucial.com, thanks.

Edit: Crucial says I need 2.5v but Dell states 3.3v. Who's correct?

Any ideas on the voltage thingy?

yes dell is expensive - i just went there to see what they recommend. I've found 2 x samsung ddr 512mb chips on ebay for £90 but am worried about this voltage issue.

Screengrabs from Crucial and Dell respectively...

A PITA I know but I recon your best bet is to Google on the part number for the RAM chips fitted to your current DIMM module and try to find a datasheet on them.

One of the really good things about Crucial is that if you buy using the memory chooser for a particular machine they guarantee that it will work. I use them for all my ram (except the stuff in mini-itx boxes where I stick with the stuff from mini-itx.com, because physical space can be a problem and I know their ram boards have been tested for size).

Err... I googled the specs of a Dimension 4500 and it states that the board only has 2 ram banks total. You said you have 2 slots populated giving 512 (256 *2) so that means if you want 1GB of memory you would need to buy two 512MB sticks. Hope you realized that!

If thats the case I wouldnt worry too much about the voltage issues. You are going to wind up buying a matched pair or RAM, so there wouldn't be a conflict.

Anyway, I find it hard to believe that the RAM you listed is actually 3.3v. DDR RAM's specification limits the voltage to 2.5. I can't even think of a RAM manufacturer (currently) whose sticks can take that voltage for long with out letting the smoke out. But like I said, I wouldnt worry about it.

Browsing name brand memory I found that PC2100 RAM is more expensive than PC3200 (by ~$10 a stick). Running PC3200 ram on a board that only supports PC2100 should be ok, but I can't guarantee it will work with your Dell.

Not wishing to hijack Phil's thread (but I am ). I've decided to stick 512MB in my iBook (bringing it to 768). I looked at crucial.com and found a 512MB SO-DIMM for £82. Looking at the specs I can get a similar Corsair module for £58. Now, I've never upgraded laptop memory before. I've stuck with Corsair for last few upgrades and I haven't had a failure yet. They both offer lifetime guarantees (for what they're worth) which would you guys go for?

Eh its all RAM.

Corsair isnt a bad company and makes pretty decent RAM, but I have had a stick of Corsair in he past (~5years) that failed for no apparent reason on my part. But I think Im an oddity. Dont hear about too many such problems.

Course stupid me didn't know they had a lifetime warranty. Figures.

Honestly, I would go with the Corsair considering the price difference. Can't offer any advice on the install though. Have never really tinkered much with lappys.

Sure it will play nice with the existing ram though? Even if it doesn't you will have more than you started with I guess.

Phil,
One other thought, check the version on you BIOS and then check the release notes on the most current BIOS offered by Dell to make sure that one of the intermediary revisions didn't change to support large amounts of RAM. I upgraded a Dell workstation a few years back that required a BIOS upgrade in order to take 1 GB. If you stick in the new RAM and it won't boot, a new BIOS might cure it. Dell's BIOS installs are painless, IIRC.

-Zeke

I had two pairs of desktop memory (I forget what exact type now) from Corsair fail on me out of the box. Pain in the ass. But they replaced them with no compunction whatsoever and everything's just fine now.