I've mentioned that I'm a huge ASUS, and Corsair fan. :-) I swear by both.
Corsair has a "memory finder" page. See the link below. Corsair has done the work to see what's compatible with common systems. Of course, they have Dell systems listed. That's what I used when getting memory for my XPS 8900.
Yes, DRAM is can be a huge pain for hardware designers. "Today", most hardware designers use pre-tested designs and pre-approved DRAMs and layouts. But, not all of us are so lucky. There are times when custom DRAM controllers are needed. And, someone has to do those designs that many other hardware engineers use. :-) So, the DRAM manufactures provide detailed hardware simulation models and accurate signal-integrity models.
I'm an Intel fan, not so much a fan of the DRAM manufactures. So, I look at it, and it's basically like this, that the Intel Chip sets have good tolerances. It's the DRAM chips that vary more in tolerances.
Also, the "faster" DRAM does *not* always work in a system that is not spec'd for it. The faster DRAM also "may take the data away quicker after the clock (one of the many hold time parameters)". So, in that case, it depends on if that specific DRAM holds the data a little longer (that fine and in spec), or that specific Intel memory controller is able to work with data not being held valid as long as the Intel spec requires.
Also, voltage, temperature, aging, all come into play in real life electronics and tolerances. So..., you can see why some people say "XYZ" works in _my_ system. But, that may *not* always be the case with everyone's system. And, it may work in 90% of the systems, and then those 10% are screwed. So, that's why *I* have different views on suggesting upgrades. *I* don't want those 10%, 20%, 70%, whatever, to be screwed.
I see the Corsair recommended memory as working for ??~99.99%?? of the people. So, maybe 1 out of 10,000 will be out of luck in trying the upgrade? My _guess_ is that Dell has between a 5-sigma and 6-sigma failure rate for their PC's and max memory upgrades.
DRAM and FLASH are two of my favorite hardware topics where I could go _massively in depth_ into all of the considerations and problems. But, I do engineering for a living, so no big surprise. :-)
I could do *books* on DRAM considerations. When I taught, I tried to keep it to a single class, and tell the students to do further reading.
So.... on a semi high-level (so light on details to be semi brief): The "DRAM speed specs" for modules are a joke. *Every* DRAM manufacturer has *different* specs for the same exact DRAM size/part. There are ~300+ specifications for each DRAM chip! :-O
It's not possible for a board manufacture to design and _guarantee_ that every DRAM module of a speed grade would work. The differences between the chip manufacturers are minor, but enough.
There are real life tolerances in electronic parts. So, DRAM (not to the motherboard's spec) may work in one system, but not in another. It may be because of the tolerance on that DRAM part, or that motherboard.
If you look at DYI motherboards, like ASUS, all good manufactures will list a "DRAM compatibility list". Using those parts means there's an ~99.9% chance that the DRAM will work. If someone choosing DRAM not on the list, it may work or it may not. Again, you have DRAM and motherboard tolerances that come into play.
I hope that explains enough why just swapping in DRAM modules of the same speed grade does not always work. It does get much more involved.
"There are ~300+ specifications for each DRAM chip! :-O" Holy ***
So, if I read this right, you're saying that the tolerances for this particular motherboard on both 320's may be higher/lower than most other brands of ram.
If this is true, what do you suggest I do? I was hoping to upgrade to 4gb. Should I see if I can find that exact same Hynix ram in a 2gb module? Or should I just stick with what's working?
Yeah I figured the batch of 320's I got might be funny. Thanks for the info speedstep, I guess my group must be super weird because they won't even post with 1 gig of PC2-5300 unless it's that certain type of ram. But as graystang said, the tolerances for this machines/ram just must be really weird. I think it might just be time to send these to the graveyard. :emotion-14:
graystang86
46 Posts
0
March 13th, 2016 23:00
I've mentioned that I'm a huge ASUS, and Corsair fan. :-) I swear by both.
Corsair has a "memory finder" page.
See the link below.
Corsair has done the work to see what's compatible with common systems. Of course, they have Dell systems listed.
That's what I used when getting memory for my XPS 8900.
http://www.corsair.com/en-us/memory-finder
Yes, DRAM is can be a huge pain for hardware designers. "Today", most hardware designers use pre-tested designs and pre-approved DRAMs and layouts. But, not all of us are so lucky. There are times when custom DRAM controllers are needed. And, someone has to do those designs that many other hardware engineers use. :-) So, the DRAM manufactures provide detailed hardware simulation models and accurate signal-integrity models.
I'm an Intel fan, not so much a fan of the DRAM manufactures. So, I look at it, and it's basically like this, that the Intel Chip sets have good tolerances. It's the DRAM chips that vary more in tolerances.
Also, the "faster" DRAM does *not* always work in a system that is not spec'd for it. The faster DRAM also "may take the data away quicker after the clock (one of the many hold time parameters)". So, in that case, it depends on if that specific DRAM holds the data a little longer (that fine and in spec), or that specific Intel memory controller is able to work with data not being held valid as long as the Intel spec requires.
Also, voltage, temperature, aging, all come into play in real life electronics and tolerances.
So..., you can see why some people say "XYZ" works in _my_ system. But, that may *not* always be the case with everyone's system. And, it may work in 90% of the systems, and then those 10% are screwed. So, that's why *I* have different views on suggesting upgrades.
*I* don't want those 10%, 20%, 70%, whatever, to be screwed.
I see the Corsair recommended memory as working for ??~99.99%?? of the people. So, maybe 1 out of 10,000 will be out of luck in trying the upgrade?
My _guess_ is that Dell has between a 5-sigma and 6-sigma failure rate for their PC's and max memory upgrades.
5-sigma failure rate: 0.023% (99.977% good)
6-sigma failure rate: 0.00034% (99.99966% good)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Sigma
speedstep
9 Legend
•
47K Posts
1
March 14th, 2016 05:00
Kingston ValueRAM 1 GB DDR2 667 MHz 240-PIN Memory Module (KVR667D2/1GR) does not work period.
DELL uses CRUCIAL.
HOWEVER
THE 320 IS Bugged. It will take 3 GIGS ram MAX.
Largest Dimm is 2 gigs but it will not support 2 of them at the same time.
You can put in 2 and a 512 or 2 and a 1GIG so 2.5 or 3 WORKS but 4 will not post.
DDR2 PC2-5300 • CL=5 • Unbuffered • NON-ECC • DDR2-667 • 1.8V • 256Meg x 64 •
http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/optiplex-320/CT917856
graystang86
46 Posts
0
March 13th, 2016 04:00
Ohhhh. :-)
DRAM and FLASH are two of my favorite hardware topics where I could go _massively in depth_ into all of the considerations and problems. But, I do engineering for a living, so no big surprise. :-)
I could do *books* on DRAM considerations. When I taught, I tried to keep it to a single class, and tell the students to do further reading.
So.... on a semi high-level (so light on details to be semi brief):
The "DRAM speed specs" for modules are a joke.
*Every* DRAM manufacturer has *different* specs for the same exact DRAM size/part. There are ~300+ specifications for each DRAM chip! :-O
It's not possible for a board manufacture to design and _guarantee_ that every DRAM module of a speed grade would work. The differences between the chip manufacturers are minor, but enough.
There are real life tolerances in electronic parts. So, DRAM (not to the motherboard's spec) may work in one system, but not in another. It may be because of the tolerance on that DRAM part, or that motherboard.
If you look at DYI motherboards, like ASUS, all good manufactures will list a "DRAM compatibility list". Using those parts means there's an ~99.9% chance that the DRAM will work. If someone choosing DRAM not on the list, it may work or it may not. Again, you have DRAM and motherboard tolerances that come into play.
I hope that explains enough why just swapping in DRAM modules of the same speed grade does not always work. It does get much more involved.
Good Luck!
JessiO89
3 Posts
0
March 13th, 2016 16:00
You seem incredibly versed in this area.
"There are ~300+ specifications for each DRAM chip! :-O" Holy ***
So, if I read this right, you're saying that the tolerances for this particular motherboard on both 320's may be higher/lower than most other brands of ram.
If this is true, what do you suggest I do? I was hoping to upgrade to 4gb. Should I see if I can find that exact same Hynix ram in a 2gb module? Or should I just stick with what's working?
Thank you.
JessiO89
3 Posts
0
March 14th, 2016 20:00
Yeah I figured the batch of 320's I got might be funny. Thanks for the info speedstep, I guess my group must be super weird because they won't even post with 1 gig of PC2-5300 unless it's that certain type of ram. But as graystang said, the tolerances for this machines/ram just must be really weird. I think it might just be time to send these to the graveyard. :emotion-14:
Thank you guys again!