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Can RAM in Dell Inspiron 530 (originally 3 Gb RAM with Vista 32-bit), be upgraded to more than 4 Gb, when running Windows 7 64-bit?
I have a Dell Inspiron 530 with 3GB RAM, bought 4 years ago, with Windows Vista 32-bit.
Since then, I have upgraded PC to Windows 7 64 bit, and would like to upgrade RAM to 4 or 6GB.
Dell's website says that memory on Inspiron 530 is limited to 4Gb. Is this true with 64-bit Windows?
I thought that with 64-bit Windows you could upgrade with as much RAM as could be installed in the 4 memory slots, well over 4 Gb.
Can anyone clarify?
shesagordie
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February 19th, 2015 11:00
Panzano
Yes, it is the same motherboard, just a revised part number.
Best to open the case and check the label on the motherboard.
Here is a list of the part numbers of the same motherboard's different revisions
Dell Part Numbers: RY007 0RY007 CN-0RY007 G679R 0G679R CN-0G679R RN474 0RN474 CN-0RN474 K216C 0K216C CN-0K216C GN723 0GN723 CN-0GN723
Manufacturer's Model Number: G33M02
Bev.
shesagordie
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February 18th, 2015 12:00
Panzano
The Dell Inspiron 530 series has two variants of motherboards, both made by Foxconn and based on the G33 chipset..
The G33M02, supports up to Core 2 Duo processors and the DG33M03, supports up to Core 2 Quad processors.
Inspiron 530 systems sold with Pentium Dual-Core or Core 2 Duo processors can not be upgraded to Core 2 Quad processors without adding at least a 350W power supply and swapping motherboards to the DG33M03 motherboard.
The Foxconn G33m02 [Dell P/N ORY007] motherboard, supports a maximum of 4gb of DDR2 RAM, the 530 Mini Tower systems with a Foxconn G33m03 motherboard can support 8gb [4 x 2gb modules].
Dell 530s 'Slimline' systems have a Foxconn G33m02 motherboard, that only supports a maximum of 4gb [either4 x 1gb modules, or 2 x 2gb modules].
Bev.
Panzano
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February 19th, 2015 04:00
Hi Bev,
Thank you for your detailed response – it appears you know what you’re talking about!
I follow what you’re saying, but please would you confirm my understanding? :-
The Foxconn G33M02 motherboard – which I presume I have, as I have a Core 2 Duo processor, not Quad – has an memory capacity limit, imposed by unspecified hardware limitations, of 4 Gb (configured as 4x1 or 2x2 Gb DDR2 DIMMs).
I can think of two additional specific questions which would (I hope) clarify and confirm this;
1 Do you know of any way in which I can confirm the identity of my motherboard? Would it require visual inspection?
2 If this restriction is caused by a hardware limitation, would I be correct in concluding that the restriction would still apply whether the overlying OS is running in 32- or 64-bit mode? I know that 32-bit processing is limited to a 4 Gb address range (the PC when I bought it had Vista 32-bit installed), but that for 64-bit processing is very much higher. Please would you confirm? Can I not avoid this limitation without upgrading the motherboard?
Thank you very much for your kind assistance.
Regards
Sam
(My ID was adopted from a delightful village in Toscana, Italia, called Panzano-in-Chianti. Oh, the food, the wine and the sunshine!)
shesagordie
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February 19th, 2015 06:00
Panzano
I still have a Inspiron 530 MT purchased in 2007, that has the same G33m02 issue.
The motherboard has labels that list, both the Foxconn and Dell part numbers attached to it, also you could download and use CPU-Z:
http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html
The limitation is hardware related, the motherboards are manufactured differently, the G33m02 [Dell P/N ORY007] is a depopulated [cheaper] version of the motherboard that has only has 6 voltage regulator IC's, as opposed to the 11 voltage regulators on the G33m03 [Dell P/N 0FM586] motherboard.
Bev.
Panzano
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February 19th, 2015 09:00
Bev,
Thanks for your continued support - I very much appreciate it.
CPU-Z reported that the 'mainboard' model is '0K216C'. Does this correspond to any information you have?
'Foxconn' isn't mentioned anywhere in the report, but it does confirm the G33 chipset (Northbridge - Intel P35/G33/G31 rev. A2).
Also, the memory report is as I had seen earlier, from a different utility:
DIMM # 1
SMBus address 0x50
Memory type DDR2
Module format Regular UDIMM
Manufacturer (ID) Hyundai Electronics (AD000000000000000000)
Size 1024 MBytes
Max bandwidth PC2-5300 (333 MHz)
Part number HYMP112U64CP8-Y5
Serial number 00007179
Manufacturing date Week 14/Year 08
Number of banks 1
Data width 64 bits
Correction None
Nominal Voltage 1.80 Volts
EPP no
XMP no
AMP no
JEDEC timings table CL-tRCD-tRP-tRAS-tRC @ frequency
JEDEC #1 3.0-3-3-9-12 @ 200 MHz
JEDEC #2 4.0-4-4-12-16 @ 266 MHz
JEDEC #3 5.0-5-5-15-20 @ 333 MHz
There are 2 x 1 Gb Hyundai uDIMMs, and 2 x 512 Mb Nanya Technology uDIMMS, so swapping the 2 x half-gigs for 2 x 1 gigs would take me up to 4 gigs - simple!
It might be worthwhile doing some searches, to see if I can find a DG33M03 motherboard, and check that my PSU is big enough, or upgrade it. I will see what I can find.
Thank you so much for all your help - you've been very generous.
Regards
Sam
Panzano
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February 20th, 2015 02:00
Thanks again for your generous support in providing this information.
I will research the alternatives, to see if it will be worthwhile to upgrade my motherboard and PSU to allow me to add up to 8 Gb RAM - it may be more than I can afford, but I'll look into it, all the same.
As requested, I have marked your last post as providing the answer, and I thank you for all your help.
Regards
Sam (Panzano)