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[SOLVED] RAM Upgrade

8K views 42 replies 5 participants last post by  oscer1 
#1 ·
I have a DEll Vostro 430. It has 2.99GB of RAM. What is the maximum RAM I can bring it up to and is there a specific type of cards or will any be suitable?
 
#2 ·
Re: RAM Upgrade

as far as I can see it will take 8GB RAM.

At the moment you say it has 2.99GB which will be 3GB in reality so your probably running 3 sticks. You would actually get better performance if you were running 2 sticks as they would be in dual channel but because you are running 3 sticks your running single channel.

FYI unless you are running a 64 bit version of windows then there is no point in running more than 4GB RAM because a 32 bit OS cannot see anymore than that.
 
#4 ·
Re: RAM Upgrade

Specs are:

intell(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU
650 @ 320GHz
3.19GHz, 2.99GB RAM
Physical Extension
OS: Windows XP Profesional
Version 2002
Service Pack 2002

I also have a Western Digital 1TB SATA hard drive which I had to get an adapter card to be able to enable it my previous machine, a Presario SR1303WM as the SATA connector in it's board was inactive It. came with an installation CD. Does the board on this machine have an active SATA port. If it does not, will it work if I install the card and software?
 
#6 ·
Re: RAM Upgrade

I'll take a look. So I'm planning to get these 2 4GB stix of RAM
8GB HyperX Genesis DDR3 1600 2x 4GB PC3-12800 240p Performance Desktop PC Memory
or these:
Ramaxel 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 PC3-12800U Desktop PC Memory RMR5040ED58E9W-1600
or these
8GB G.Skill Sniper 2X 4GB PC3-12800 DDR3 1600Mhz 240pin XMP Ready Desktop PC RAM
how do I find out if my Windows version is 64bit or 32. If it is 32, can I just get 2 2GB stix.
 
#8 · (Edited)
Re: RAM Upgrade

That is correct, so the best I can do for the RAM is 4GB correct? So, I will get 2X2GB sticks. The 1TB HDDR's file system is FAT32. How do I convert it to NTFS. Are the ports for the RAM on this machine 240 or 186 pin?
system info was under accessories.
OS Name Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Version 5.1.2600 Service Pack 3 Build 2600
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Name MARIAVOSTRO
System Manufacturer Dell Inc.
System Model Vostro 430
System Type X86-based PC
Processor x86 Family 6 Model 37 Stepping 2 GenuineIntel ~3191 Mhz
BIOS Version/Date Dell Inc. 2.0.1, 11/30/2009
SMBIOS Version 2.6
Windows Directory C:\WINDOWS
System Directory C:\WINDOWS\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume2
Locale United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "5.1.2600.5574 (xpsp_sp3_gdr.080402-1256)"
User Name
Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Total Physical Memory 4,096.00 MB
Available Physical Memory 2.18 GB
Total Virtual Memory 2.00 GB
Available Virtual Memory 1.96 GB
Page File Space 6.83 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys
 
#9 ·
#15 ·
Re: RAM Upgrade

Ok.
I have purchae the 4GB kit you suggested. When I install them, as you ma entioned my machine has 3 X 1GB stix , so there should be 3 slots, does it matter in which slots I install the new ones? I would logically think in 2 that are adjacent to each other but from top down or from bottom up or it won't make a difference?
 
#17 · (Edited)
Re: RAM Upgrade

Got it. Now on top of the tower of this machine, the sticker reaitds Windows 7.1 as the Os but it's actually running XP and the OS online compatibility check said the machine is compatible foran OS upgrade. Every so often that I turn it on the shield in the taskbar shows updates downloading. Why is this happening if support for XP has ended?
 
#19 ·
Re: RAM Upgrade

Should I place the new memory stix where the originals were?there area total of 4 slots . 2 black,where the original stix are, and 2 blue. I tried putting the new ones where the old ones were and got an ertor message. I put them in the other 2 slots by themselves and got the same error message. Only when I relpaced the old ones into their original slots aand added the new into the blue slots did my machine start and gave a message that the memory had been increased but when I looked in the system info it did not show. Also ,there are 2 open SATA ports on the MOBO, one black,one white to to bottom left of the memory. Does it matter which one I connect it to?
 
#20 ·
Re: RAM Upgrade

Take your other sticks out completley

your manual will tell you.

slots 1 & 3 would be the normal way which is the first slot nearest the cpu and then then a blank slot then put the stick in the 3rd slot.

read your manual it should tell you how it should be

I dont understand what you mean about the SATA ports SATA ports have nothing to do with RAM.
 
#21 ·
Re: RAM Upgrade

did you use crucial to get the correct RAM?

On oem systems like yours you can't just purchase any old RAM and put it in. For oem systems its always best to use crucial linked by Tyree and check the qvl list usually in the manual or on your systems website.

With normal systems that you build yourself the manuals always have a qvl list to make sure you get the correct RAM.
 
#29 ·
Re: RAM Upgrade

there are 2 open SATA ports on the MOBO, one black,one white to to bottom left of the memory. Does it matter which one I connect it to?
There should be a small screen printing on the motherboard near the SATA connectors indicating which is a SATA 1.0 and which is the SATA 2.0, the difference is the speed of throughput, the original being 1.5Gb/s and the version2 being 3Gb/s. Depending on what is connected to these the speed increase may not be noticeable, unless you are connecting an SSD.
 
#25 ·
Re: RAM Upgrade

You shouldn't have an issue with that Ram, as it i compatible with most boards with DDR3, you can look at the numbers on the old ram to see if it is the same or DDR2 (which it shouldn't be).
It may be possible that the Dell Motherboard is only capable of up to 1066MHz Ram.
 
#26 ·
Re: RAM Upgrade

What's the Service Code Number of your Dell? The 430 Vostro's I find have 4 RAM slots and accept DDR3 PC3-12800, DDR3 PC3-10600, DDR3 (non-ECC)
Maximum Memory: 16GB
 
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