Little Ram help

[jctwibell]

So I have a Dell C521 (old ik) but it has 4gbs of ram (4- 1GB sticks) Can I drop in 8Gbs? (4- 2GB sticks?) Or will the mobo not support it? Its a stock dell mobo.
Would love to have more than 4gbs....

 

[sharkbyte5150]

Unfortunately, according to specs, what you have is max for that PC.

Taken directly from manual for C521:
Memory
Type 533-MHz, 667-MHz, 800-MHz z (when available) DDR2 SDRAM
Memory connectors 4
Memory modules supported 256-MB, 512-MB, or 1-GB non-ECC
Minimum memory 256 MB
Maximum memory 4 GB

 

[jctwibell]

yeah I saw that, I was hoping that it wouldnt matter, kinda like my alienware area 51 m15x "supported max memory" was 4gb but I just dropped 8gb in and it worked!

was going to ask around though before I did it. anyone with a C521 or someone with a similer situation have positive results?

 

[sharkbyte5150]

So, specs didn't stop you before, why this time?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231207

Try that first, and if it works, get another.
There could be a limit for how much each slot can handle and if that's the case, the specs stand true.

Obviously, Alienware would be far more upgradeable and less proprietary than Dell.

 

[jctwibell]

Well someone else had already done it so idk ya know.

Wow $$ ddr2! Looks like thats the best price though. Thanks for the link

True, but also was told about the "how much each slot can handle" story as well. (on the Alienware.) But yeah, just was wondering if anyone else had success with this computer in adding a bit more ram....
Thanks for the help!

 

[sharkbyte5150]

The RAM at Newegg has same CAS latency so shouldn't do any damage, will either work and prove the specs wrong or you'll end with two obsolete sticks of RAM.
Good luck!

 

[jctwibell]

Thanks so much! One last question, heat spreaders, do they work? I mean, I’m sure they do but are they necessary?

 

[sharkbyte5150]

If you're running RAM at stock speed and your case has good flow, heat spreaders really add no function. Some people do OC their RAM by changing timings and clock speed and in that case it probably wouldn't hurt, but in general they're not needed.

 

[jctwibell]

Ok, so went ahead and grabbed 8gbs of http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231207

Popped em in last night, worked like a charm! Says I have 8gbs in system propertys and in CPUz! Thanks so much for all your help!

If anyone needs 4GBs of DDR2 RAM Im putting them up for sale on ebay, look me up, hennypennydeals. For $35. Free shipping. (4x1gb sticks.)

Thanks again!

 

[jctwibell]

Best answer selected by jctwibell.

 

[nikorr]

This topic has been closed by Nikorr