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Inspiron 1520 memory upgrade

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hoog78   11-13-2009 at 04:15:40 PM

I currently have 2 x 1gb of RAM and was thinking of upgrading. I have heard that you are not supposed to mix and match different amounts of RAM (ie. 1x1gb, 1x2gb). Does anyone know if there is a major problem or why you aren't supposed to mix and match?

Thanks in advance.

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buwish   11-13-2009 at 09:58:51 PM

It depends, but usually if you mix and match the system will not boot, especially if the memory is of a different brand. In the case of Dells, you'll have to order the memory from Dell, as they use a specific kind of memory, i.e. pc2-5300u. The best way to go would be 2x2GB. Remember, you'll need a 64 bit OS to utilize all 4GB.

------------------------------ -Kevin
Desktop: Q9400(stock,lapped,SpinTechQ)/Intel DP43TF/VTEK 4850(512)/8GB DDR2 800Mhz/X-Fi Titanium Pro/Liteon BD-ROM/Velociraptor/Windows 7 Pro 64-bit
Laptop: Toshiba Satellite (M305)/T6400/4GB DDR2 800Mhz/Windows 7 RC 64-bit (for now)
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Bronze Laptops badge frozenlead   11-13-2009 at 10:18:07 PM

I've only run into the case that mixing modules resulting in a non-booting machine twice in a very long history of notebooks. It's not advisable to do in high-performance systems for OC limits and matched timings, among other things, but it's just fine for the average joe.
To my knowledge, Dell does not use specific memory modules...I don't know where buwish got his information from. The "u" at the end of the memory type just means non-ECC, unbuffered, which is standard in the consumer market.

Message quoted 1 times
------------------------------ Sager NP5793 | T8100 2.1GHz | 4GB DDR2-667 | 8800mGTX 512MB | 320GB 5400rpm | 1920x1200 17", 24" | Win 7 x64
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Bronze Laptops badge lostandwandering   11-13-2009 at 10:29:08 PM

frozenlead wrote :

To my knowledge, Dell does not use specific memory modules...I don't know where buwish got his information from. The "u" at the end of the memory type just means non-ECC, unbuffered, which is standard in the consumer market.

 

I agree. I've replaced RAM on several Dell systems with kits from other manufacturers and they have all run fine. Unless this is something new Dell has started since the systems I upgraded were between 2-5 years old, it shouldn't be an issue.


Message edited by lostandwandering on 11-13-2009 at 10:29:32 PM
------------------------------ LAPTOP: Sager NP5760|T7200|2gb DDR2-667| 100gb 7200rpm HDD| 512mb 7950GTX|17'' WUXGA

Desktop: Core2 E7200 | Corsair 2gb DDR2-800 | Gigabyte EP35-DS3L | 250gb Seagate Barracuda | MSI GTX260 (192 SP) | Corsair VX550 | Antec 300 case
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