Memory Selection for Dell Dimension 3000

Tips for Memory Upgrade for a Dell Dimension 3000. 

I just went through the process of upgrading the memory in our Dell Dimension 3000 Desktop (vintage 2005) . I recommend it - it has made an immediate difference to the boot up time and response time of the PC.  The upgrade was pretty straight forward but I can offer the following important suggestions - in particular see my point 8 on getting the right memory in the right slot: 

1. Check the maximum RAM that you PC holds - in the Dimension 3000's case it is 2 GB.  This is not always clear in Dell's documentation. I made a call to the Dell technical help desk to confirm. 

2. Check if you need to purchase 2 memory cards of the same size for the upgrade - this is usually recommended to maximize performance and is certainly the case in the Dell Dimension 3000's case - ie: I purchased 2 x 1 GB memory cards.

3. Ensure you are getting the right RAM memory by entering your service tag on the Dell site, using the auto detection feature to determine your PC model or if you use a re-seller being very specific on the PC and model. 

4. Consider a re-seller. As with others I had a good experience with Crucial (www.crucial.com) and their prices were 20-40% lower than Dell.  The memory arrived in a few days (not the 7-10 business days they stated for free shipping). One issue however, NO instructions however are supplied with the memory.

5. Read the instructions from your Dell manual on installing the memory. If you have lost your hard copy - then view or download the manuals from the Dell site.

6.  When looking at the cards it is not clear which way round they go in the slots - however, both the memory cards and slots have an off set indentation that you need to line up during installation - this ensures they are put in right way. Check for this before forcing it in. 

7. Pulling the old memory cards out and installing the new ones takes a reasonable amount of force.  When inserting the new memory cards (using the indentation to ensure they are facing the right way) ensure you are using enough force (without breaking anything) to fully insert or 'seat' them - in which case the small clips to the side should click into place or be easy to pull over.  It is easy to think they are in place - when in fact they are not properly inserted. 

8. IMPORTANT.  The two separate memory cards for the Dell Dimension 3000 need to be put in the two slots in a specific order. This is only briefly mentioned in the manual and in my experience was not at all clear from the memory cards  - ie: which memory goes in which slot.  Others may be able to suggest how to tell the which card goes in which slot - but they appear identical and  I got it wrong the first time -  so that when I put the PC cover back on and connected it fully - it would not boot. On trying to turn it on a low pitched noise could be heard for 5 seconds or so and then PC did nothing more and the screen was blank. If you get this sound - take the PC apart and swap the memory cards between slots.   This worked for me and the PC booted fine. 

9.  A screen on boot up will come up with a statement saying something like  "The memory has changed - press FI to continue or F2 for system set up" - select F1 and the memory should be automatically detected and the PC should boot fine.

Hope this helps.