Dell Optiplex

Rufus42 · 05-24-2005, 04:46 PM

I recently received a Dell Optiplex GX110, it only had 128 MB of RAM so I tried putting in a new 256 stick but it did not accept it, I tried some old 128 sticks I had lying around and they did not work either. I know the RAM itself works because I tested it on other machines. I went to the Dell website and it said how much and what kind of RAM the machine takes but not any specific brand or what not that it used. Please help.

crazijoe · 05-25-2005, 07:29 AM

You may be trying to install High Density Memory. The Dell GX110 will not accept high density memory.

http://bugclub.org/eric/memory/sdram.html
http://www.1stchoicememory.com/page767.html

This is what Crucial shows
http://www.crucial.com/store/listpar...ries&submit=Go

Rufus42 · 05-25-2005, 11:08 AM

Thanks for the help!

~~Johnny Faster~~ · 05-25-2005, 02:09 PM

I've been playing with an OptiPlex GXi with only 96 Meg or RAM and did some research looking to increase the RAM if it was cheap enough. Couldn't find anything for less than about $30/128 meg. (I anyone knows where I can get a bunch of cheap old RAM, I'd appreciate it...)

Anyways, during the course of my research I learned a bit about Dell RAM.

First, it's OEM, which I don't really know what it means, but from what I gather it means you can only use certain types of RAM. (The stuff you buy on-line is more "generic" and therefore more flexible, I suppose.

ANywyas, I had to only look for that RAM which was specifically usable for the OptiPlex, which really limits your options. I got "leads" on the specific RAM by first going to the Dell web-site. It had a sort of search engine there (somewhere) that gave you an OEM code. I could then use that code to find RAM compatible for this ancient dinosaur.

Did you do that ? If not, you should. First go to Dell, find the search thing and find out what is compatible. Then find out if that is what you have.

Second, I also recall (it was last week sometime) another web-page that Dell put out (might be off it's web-site) were it gives installation specifications for it's various models. As I recall (you should verify this), you can mix various "sizes" of RAM (128 & 256) but WHERE you install it is important. Again (as I recall) they want the largest RAM first, the smaller RAM after that. There was a diagram showing the various possible combinations of various RAM sizes and how they should be installed on the MotherBoard.

It's possible that you have the right RAM in the wrong place. Do some intelligent cruising through the Internet (meaning avoid the crapware sites and the sites that allow the average monkey to post whatever they think, without having to register or anything) and you should find it no problem. I did it in about 15 minutes or so, and I think I stayed entirely on the Dell site until I felt like I knew enough to go shopping.

05-24-2005, 04:46 PM	#1 (permalink)
Rufus42 Registered User Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 8 OS: XP	Dell Optiplex I recently received a Dell Optiplex GX110, it only had 128 MB of RAM so I tried putting in a new 256 stick but it did not accept it, I tried some old 128 sticks I had lying around and they did not work either. I know the RAM itself works because I tested it on other machines. I went to the Dell website and it said how much and what kind of RAM the machine takes but not any specific brand or what not that it used. Please help.

05-25-2005, 07:29 AM	#2 (permalink)
crazijoe Registered User Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Omaha, The Center of the Universe Posts: 7,632 OS: WinXP, Win2K3 My System	You may be trying to install High Density Memory. The Dell GX110 will not accept high density memory. http://bugclub.org/eric/memory/sdram.html http://www.1stchoicememory.com/page767.html This is what Crucial shows http://www.crucial.com/store/listpar...ries&submit=Go __________________ Microsoft MCSA + Messaging, MVP, A+, Network+ http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b3...other/Help.jpg Do you want a real Republican? HDD diagnostic tools / HDD data recovery software

05-25-2005, 02:09 PM	#4 (permalink)
~~Johnny Faster~~ Register user Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 517 OS: WinXP	OptiPlexisaurus I've been playing with an OptiPlex GXi with only 96 Meg or RAM and did some research looking to increase the RAM if it was cheap enough. Couldn't find anything for less than about $30/128 meg. (I anyone knows where I can get a bunch of cheap old RAM, I'd appreciate it...) Anyways, during the course of my research I learned a bit about Dell RAM. First, it's OEM, which I don't really know what it means, but from what I gather it means you can only use certain types of RAM. (The stuff you buy on-line is more "generic" and therefore more flexible, I suppose. ANywyas, I had to only look for that RAM which was specifically usable for the OptiPlex, which really limits your options. I got "leads" on the specific RAM by first going to the Dell web-site. It had a sort of search engine there (somewhere) that gave you an OEM code. I could then use that code to find RAM compatible for this ancient dinosaur. Did you do that ? If not, you should. First go to Dell, find the search thing and find out what is compatible. Then find out if that is what you have. Second, I also recall (it was last week sometime) another web-page that Dell put out (might be off it's web-site) were it gives installation specifications for it's various models. As I recall (you should verify this), you can mix various "sizes" of RAM (128 & 256) but WHERE you install it is important. Again (as I recall) they want the largest RAM first, the smaller RAM after that. There was a diagram showing the various possible combinations of various RAM sizes and how they should be installed on the MotherBoard. It's possible that you have the right RAM in the wrong place. Do some intelligent cruising through the Internet (meaning avoid the crapware sites and the sites that allow the average monkey to post whatever they think, without having to register or anything) and you should find it no problem. I did it in about 15 minutes or so, and I think I stayed entirely on the Dell site until I felt like I knew enough to go shopping.

05-25-2005, 11:08 AM	#3 (permalink)
Rufus42 Registered User Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 8 OS: XP	Thanks for the help!