Is this ram compatible with my motherboard?

[omer94]

hi guys, been a long time.

anyways, recently one of my computers broke down, its motherboard failed for some reason, but anyways i decided to buy a new one, that fits the same processor (p4 ht)

heres the mobo : http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NH788-Motherboard-Optiplex-GX280-SMT-Tower-XF954-Genuine-Dell-Original-K5146-/280799519773?pt=UK_Motherboards_CPUs&hash=item4160f4a41d#ht_3985wt_1037

it says on its specs (http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/opgx280/en/ug/specs02.htm) that it only takes memory speeds of 400&533 MHz... this confused me because im not sure what kinda of ram i can buy now, i know it has to be ddr2 but not sure what speed

my question is ,what speed does it have to be? and can you guys kindly recommend some ram to me,

i need at least 2GB if not more, but more importantly it needs to be pretty cheap (preferably from ebay or amazon)


ive looked at some like these:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Corsair-Memory-2x-1-GB-DDR2-RAM-/150731733475?pt=UK_Computing_ComputerComponents_MemoryRAM_JN&hash=item23184fb9e3#ht_500wt_1287

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Crucial-PC3-10600-Desktop-Upgrade-240-pin/dp/B001NA25VS/ref=sr_1_13?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1326635721&sr=1-13

but im hesitant to buy them since im not sure about the speed issue
thanks in advance guys

 

[jaquith]

The Dell OptiPlex GX280 uses DDR2 PC2-5300 (DDR2-667) 1GB/DIMM or 4X1GB according to Crucial, and according to Dell DDR2-400 & DDR2-533 MHz DDR2 SDRAM. When I see this disparity, I tend to go with the OEM (Dell).
Specifications - http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/opgx280/en/ug/specs02.htm

1. Crucial 2GB PC3-10600 DDR3 = Incompatible
2. Corsair XMS2 TWIN2X1024-6400C4 PC2-6400 = Should work

The reason I say should is because as much as I really like Corsair I'm not a fan of any of their XMS lines. Crucial's DDR2-667 also has the slower DDR2-533 and DDR2-400 'SPD' JEDEC information to run slower.

Therefore, if it was 'me' the safer choice is going to Crucial and use their listed compatible sets -> http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=OptiPlex%20GX280%20(Desktop%20and%20Mini-tower%20Models)&Cat=RAM

 

[omer94]

do you mind me asking, why is it that the first is incompatible, its just too fast or something?

 

[jaquith]

1. Crucial 2GB PC3-10600 DDR3 = Incompatible

It's DDR3 and not DDR2 RAM, they are mutually incompatible and in addition they have a different DIMM slot design. Placing DDR2 RAM in an DDR3 Slot or visa versa won't fit and will cause damage. Further, the Dell MOBO is limited to 1GB/stick density and even if the Crucial was DDR2 it's 2GB/stick.

 

[omer94]

oh my bad, i thought it was ddr2 for some reason. no worries,
lol im such a cheap skate are these compatible theyre defintely ddr2 but used
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2gb-DDR2-Desktop-Ram-/170764652806?pt=UK_Computer_Memory_RAM&hash=item27c25dd106#ht_500wt_1287

to make this simpler, do you have any good resources that explain ram speed and how it works, the basic 3 divisions i understand (ddr ddr2 and ddr3) but htne you have the speed and the buffered and unbuffered and all the other stuff

 

[jaquith]

The RAM you linked is PC2-5300 (non-ECC) DDR2-667 and they should work on paper. Meaning, 'I' get leery of eBay for PC parts if they work or not.