Beware of Dell RAM

All of the contents of the system carry the system warranty via Dell and not the manufacturers' warranties. So additional memory indeed caries a 1,2 or 3 year warranty. However if you purchase Dell branded memory separate from the system it caries a lifetime warranty. Personally, I recommend buying minimum memory and then buying additional memory from Crucial.com which is less expensive and also has a lifetime warranty.

 

I don't know that this is such a huge issue.  Many people order their dell systems with minimum RAM in an attempt to save money anyway.  The RAM they do buy with the system is warrantied along with the rest of the system, and I think purchasing additional RAM from dell is still only covered by the system warranty - not sure.

In any event and under the old 'bathtub curve' failure theory, RAM does not often go bad, and when it does it will usually be early in ownership or late, very late, in the system's lifetime.

It's good for any buyer to be aware of warranty conditions and costs though.

It's probably cheaper to buy the PC without RAM and order from CRUCIAL.  Dell may install two 256MB modules if you ordered 512MB. 

F.

Unless the description states otherwise (and this is typically with notebook systems), Dell systems which are ordered with less than the maximum memory always have free memory slots for expansion. So if you order 512 MB on a 4600 or 8300 it will have two sticks of 256MB each and two empty slots. A 2400 will have a single stick of 512MB and a single free slot. (The 4600 and 8300 take memory in pairs for double the throughput.)

 

Fcurrie,

You should probably start this question in its own thread, rather than adding to an existing discussion.

In answer to your questions, it depends on the ram and your pc specifications.  When you repost the message, be sure to mention the front side bus (FSB) speed of your computer, the type of ram (PC3200? PC2700?) and the CL timing (CL=3, CL=2.5, or CL=2).

Hi, I would like to know if I will have difficulty putting in 512 megs of ram into my Dell 4600, the manufacturer of the ram is Kingston. I recieved the computer with 256 megs of ram, also could you tell me how the increase in ram will benefit me .

 

 

                                                                                                           

   Thanks in advance, F. Currie

 

                                                                                                          

 

 

 

As long as you make sure the RAM is intended for the 4600 you will be OK. Avoid their "value RAM" line, only by the top quality parts with lifetime guaranties. I always buy Micron memory from crucial.com because of its memory selector (and good prices).

Also, remember to buy as a pair of 256MB devices. They will insert easily into the two available slots in your system.

The benefit solely depends on how you use your computer. If you leave applications open all the time or have lots of background programs you will get major speedups. If you only browse the web or write Word documents, you probably won't see any effect at all. The best bet is after using your system for a while (without turning it off) bring up the Windows Task Manager (easiest done with the three-fingered Control-Shift-Escape) Go to the performance tab and look at the peak memory usage. If it is approaching 256k or exceeding it, then you certainly need the extra memory.

Talmy:

Thanks for your reply, not really being computer literate, I appreciate answers to my questions.

I have a Dell 4600 P4 @266Ghs, 333mgh

I bought the 512 megs of ram......on the box it says pc2700 CL2.5 184 pin

I gather that you cannot put this much memory into one slot, is that the reason you say to put two 256 in the open slots ? I did what you said re:go to the performance tab & the # was at 233mb with nothing open on the computer.

I would like to hear back from you as I have yet to open this 512 ram, & it can be returned.

                                                                                                               Thanks, F Currie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes you want to install in pairs, otherwise the memory will work at half speed and you will get a major performance hit (system will actually run slower with the new memory added!)

Thanks for the info, I'll change this for two 256 memory tomorrow