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7 Posts
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68903
January 29th, 2009 16:00
Inspiron 518 Upgrades
I have an Inspiron 518 that I'd like to put more memory into. I need to know what the max that it can hold is. I know it's pc2-6400 and there is currently 3 GB in the box. I'd like to get a total of six in there if possible.
I also want to put in a Radeon HD 4850. Does anyone know of any issues with this... besides the PSU?
I know I have to upgrade my PSU from 300W to 450W+, will any ATX PSU fit in my Inspiron?
Any help is appreciated.
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blackie1491
12 Posts
1
February 11th, 2009 09:00
I can't tell you what motherboard you have.
If you key in the service tag that is mounted they will tell you when your unit was made. Mind came with 3 GB's of Ram and that reistered as 5.9 on my system. Remember if you are running Vista 32 Bit, it will only recognize 3.25-3.45GB of Ram. Vista 64 Bit will accept 8GB+.
As you have not said how many GB of Ram your system came with or what version of Windows you are running, no one here can assist you.
The manual states that the 518 will accept 4x2 GB for a max of 8 running Vista 64 Bit or 4 GB max for Vista 32 BIT and 32 Bit will only see just over 3 GB.
As for flashing BIOS 1.0.5, you will have to ask some one with more knowledge than I have.I researched the internet before I made my choice.
jsunww
7 Posts
1
February 11th, 2009 10:00
I'll be putting Vista 64bit on my system and then adding ram. It came with 3 GB. I'll try taking out the to 512 MB sticks and replacing them with 2 x 2 GB sticks.
My ship date was Oct, 2008.
jsunww
7 Posts
1
February 23rd, 2009 10:00
So I decided to just buy everything and put it in. I got a 650W PSU, Radeon 4850, 4 more GB of RAM... and everything works. I also installed Vista 64-bit and updated my bios to 1.0.5. My system is reporting 6GB of Ram and everything else is working great.
Roxbury Ranger
93 Posts
1
January 31st, 2009 13:00
I have the same PC and I've just upgraded the video card to a Radeon HD 4350 without any problems, but then that card doesn't require more than a 300 watt power supply.
If you want to upgrade the power supply, you should go here: http://www.pcpower.com/Dell/Inspiron/Inspiron-518.html.
Dell power supplies have proprietary connections, so you need to use one that is designed for Dell. The PC Power and Cooling power supply above is 500 watts, and should more than meet your needs.
According to the owner's manual, you can only install 4 GBs of RAM in the 518, but I saw one configured on Dell's site with 6 GBs recently. And, the manual itself is somewhat contradictory, saying that the machine can only take 4 GBs, but also saying that 2 GB modules can be put in the 4 slots. That would suggest 8 GBs to me. But, perhaps someone else with more knowledge of Dell's motherboards could clarify. I'd like to have a definitive answer on this myself.
blackie1491
12 Posts
1
February 10th, 2009 12:00
My 518 came with 64 bit Vista, 3 GB Ram, Quad Core 2 Q8200, BIOS 1.0.5. It was built Jan. 20/09.
I just installed 2x2GB of crucial ram, 1.8 volt, 6 case latency. I removed the matched 512MB's and installed, System accepted with no problem.
Total now 6GB's of Ram.
jsunww
7 Posts
1
February 11th, 2009 05:00
Is there a difference in the motherboard used back whenever my PC was built with the Q6600 and yours? I'm at bios version 1.0.3.
How do I go about flashing the bios?
By the way, I was successful in installing a 650W PSU and a Radeon 4850 vid card. Together they raised my Windows Experience score from 4.4 to 5.1. Everything is at 5.9 except for the memory, which is at 5.1.
blackie1491
12 Posts
1
February 23rd, 2009 11:00
I am glad to hear every thing is working great. What value is your system at now. CPU and Ram should both be 5.9, what is your Video Card at?
I have been playing with ATI Catalyst Suite 9.01 then 9.0203.. Catalyst Install Manager prints out a report that all is installed, Display driver is 8.582, but Performance Information says I am running Display Driver 8.513.1.1.
I can not enter Catalyst Control Center. I will play with it for a while.
Hanspuppa
799 Posts
1
February 23rd, 2009 12:00
Hello jsunww, I have the same rating as you. I have 8GBs of 800mhz memory that is rated at 5.5 while all the other components are rated at 5.9.
I believe this is because the CPU is rated at 1066 mhz and the memory is 800mhz. This is controlled by the BIOS and faster memory would still be downclocked to 800 mhz even if it is rated higher.
Just some thoughts.
jsunww
7 Posts
1
February 23rd, 2009 12:00
Everything is at 5.9 except my memory speed, which is at 5.5, which is what it was at before I added 4 more GB. I'll check which video driver I've got later and reply back... I just downloaded the latest CCC from AMD's/ATI's website.
Hanspuppa
799 Posts
1
February 23rd, 2009 12:00
Hello jsunww, HERE
<ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed from this post by Dell>
is a link to the manual for your system.
It appears there are no settings that can be made for any memory performance gains.
Usually, only the higher end Dell systems have this capability.
Hope this helps.
jsunww
7 Posts
1
February 23rd, 2009 12:00
I haven't played with the bios much. Is there a way to OC the memory?
jsunww
7 Posts
1
February 23rd, 2009 13:00
Thanks for the info. I'll play around with it a bit... but if it doesn't work, I won't be too dissappointed. My system now plays Crysis and FEAR 2 on medium settings and they both look fantastic. I'm not going to complain too much.
blackie1491
12 Posts
1
February 23rd, 2009 13:00
My Q8200 is 5.9
6GB Ram is 5.9
ATI 3450 is 4.1
Gaming is 4.2
HDrive is 5.9
BIOS is 1.0.5
I do not see why your RAM is not at 5.9.
Were the Ram you installed 1.8 volt and case latency 6?
Hanspuppa
799 Posts
0
February 23rd, 2009 15:00
Hello blackie1491, I presume the reason for this is the FSB of the two processors.
The BIOS reads the CPU FSB and adjust the CPU\DRAM ration accordingly.
Here are the specifications for the two processors.
=================================================
If you notice your processor runs at 1333 mhz and the Q6600 runs at 1066 mhz.
Hope this helps.
blackie1491
12 Posts
0
February 24th, 2009 11:00
I used the 9.2 download, clicked on uninstall. Then I did the 3 part 9.2 download. Every thing worked fine. There is a 4th part to come that apllies to the 2,000-3,000 and the 4,000 series of cards