RAM Upgrade Dell XPS 730

533Mhz memory running as DDR2 is 1066Mhz.

Check out the Crucial memory for your model   HERE   most of the techies on here recommend Crucial for non-Dell memory as it is guaranteed to work in Dell's.

Thanks for clearing that up Fireberd. I looked into the link you posted, as well as allowing crucial to scan my system although they didn't seem to have PC3 10600 DDR3 in anything but 1GB, I've had a quick look around here in Australia but haven't found anyone selling them, I'll keep looking. The crucial site had a lot of PC3 8500 suggestions though but as I stated earlier I'd like to move away from PC3 8500 and go with 8GB of PC3 10600 (4x2GB), so in essence I'm after 8GB of DDR3 1333Mhz (PC3 10600) on this machine. The only reason I mentioned Corsair is that they are easily available, pretty affordable and the Corsair RAM search stated that the ram I mentioned above had been tested on my motherboard, I just figured I'd ask on here as I've read a few people had issues installing new ram on these machines.

Has anyone got 8GB of 1333Mhz running on a Nvidia nForce 790i Ultra SLI board inside a Dell XPS?

Dell XPS 730
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 @ 2.66MHz
MB: Dell 0UU795 Nvidia nForce 790i Ultra SLI
RAM: Elpida PC3-8500U 4GB (2x2GB)
HDD's:  Samsung F3 1TB (System & Apps) - Samsung F1 500GB (Backup)
PSU: Dell 1KW
Audio: Internal: Creative SB X-Fi - External: Mackie Onyx 400F.
Monitor: Dell 2209WA 22" IPS 1680x1050
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit

Ok, just an update for those that might be looking to upgrade their ram on a Dell XPS 730. I looked pretty hard for some Crucial Ram here in Melbourne as suggested by Fireberd and pretty much came up empty handed. I decided to pick up some Corsair Ram instead. I ended up going with two kits of Corsair XMS3-PC3 10600 (TW3X4G1333C9A) giving me 8GB running at 1333MHz / 9.9.9.24. The Installation went fine without a problem, the XPS 730 picked up the new ram on first boot, it posted correctly and all is working properly.

Here's the link again for the particular ram I ended up going with. Corsair stated that these modules had been tested on the Nvidia nForce 790i ultra SLI board.

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=186_218_1125&products_id=14540

Thanks

Dell XPS 730
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 @ 2.66MHz
MB: Dell 0UU795 - Nvidia nForce 790i Ultra SLI
RAM: Corsair XMS3 - PC3-10600 8GB (4 X 2GB) - DDR3 1333MHz @ 9.9.9.24
HDD's:  Samsung F3 1TB (System & Apps) - Samsung F1 500GB (Backup)
PSU: Dell 1KW
Graphics Card: MSI GTX 560 Ti Twin Frozr II OC @ 880MHz/1024MHz GDDR5
Audio: Internal: Creative SB X-Fi - External: Mackie Onyx 400F.
Monitor: Dell 2209WA 22" IPS 1680x1050
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit

Hey Justin, I'm glad you found the info I posted helpful , that's what it's for :)

In regards to your question I personally would avoid mixing the RAM as you may run into probs, and it's also likely that the 1333MHz set you drop into your machine will be automatically down-clocked to match the existing RAM you've got, i.e. your new 1333MHz RAM will drop to 1066MHz, I'm not 100% on that but I'd assume that would be the case as any mixed RAM setups I have played with in the past have reverted all the modules to the lowest rated module/s installed. Maybe someone else could chime in with further info. But anyway, if you want stability I'd just drop in 2 sets of matched pairs where the clock ratings and timings are identical across all modules. Keep in mind the nForce 790i ultra SLI board has a max FSB of 1333MHz unless overclocked, hence why I chose those modules. Also keep in mind the most amount of RAM this board supports is 8GB and it doesn't support 4GB modules. So the set I ended going with was the best bang for buck I could find and the RAM I chose has been stable on this machine. But if you're running a 32bit OS and apps keep in mind that it will only address 4GB max (more like 3.5GB) even if you had 8GB installed, so only upgrade if you are using a 64bit OS and apps and are pushing the system i.e. video, audio and graphics work or anything else that uses heaps of RAM otherwise you may find it's not worth upgrading in the first place.

I don't know if you've ever swapped out RAM before, but if you haven't just remember to discharge yourself of any static electricity before handling any RAM, they can be really sensitive and damage easily, even if it's not immediately apparent. Also make sure you install the matched pairs correctly, i.e slots 1 & 3 are a pair (same colour) and slots 2 & 4 are a pair (same colour) slot 1 is the slot closest to your cpu. When installing your new ram, open the first set and install them in slot 1 & 3, then open the second set and install them in slot 2 & 4. Make sure they are all seated properly and all the clips are locked tight. You probably already know this so I apologise if that's the case, this info is only meant to help you or any others reading this if you haven't done a ram swap out before or are a little hazy on the details.

Also if you're in the market for a graphics card, check out the MSI GTX 560 Ti, PC Case Gear have it cheap as at the moment at $269 which is a steal if you ask me, I paid $299 for mine, lol, check out my specs for full details, I'm really happy with it, it's a directX 11 card and pretty powerful being factory overclocked to 880MHz, it runs really cool and is practically silent with the twin frozr II. Also it's not as huge as some cards around, it has a nice footprint and looks pretty slick sitting in the machine as well as allowing plenty of air flow around it. The HD 3870 x 2 I originally had in this machine was massive, and fairly hot and noisy as well, so I'm much happier now.

Hope it helps, good luck with the upgrades and post back if you need to :)

Tony

Dell XPS 730
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 @ 2.66MHz
MB: Dell 0UU795 - Nvidia nForce 790i Ultra SLI
RAM: Corsair XMS3 - PC3-10600 8GB (4 X 2GB) - DDR3 1333MHz @ 9.9.9.24
HDD's:  2 x Samsung F3 1TB (System & Apps / VST Instruments & Samples) - Samsung F1 500GB (Recording & Scratch) - Samsung F4 2TB (Backup & Storage)
PSU: Dell 1KW
Graphics Card: MSI GTX 560 Ti Twin Frozr II OC @ 880MHz/1024MB GDDR5 @ 4200MHz
Audio: Internal: Creative SB X-Fi - External: Mackie Onyx 400F.
Monitor: Dell 2209WA 22" IPS 1680x1050
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit

can i use 2x 4GB ram ??

What is a better ?? 4x2gb or 2x4gb ??

thank a lot