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February 10th, 2017 13:00
XPS 8100 RAM Upgrade - Help!
Hi guys,
I recently about a DELL XPS 8100 and wanted to upgrade the RAM, the system supports up to 16GB DDR3 and I found a seller on eBay selling the following
http://www.kingston.com/us/memory/search/?partid=HX313C9FBK2/8 there were 4 x 4GB sticks but the seller could not confirm if the RAM was non-ECC. I emailed Kingston directly and they confirmed the RAM 'was' non-ECC' so I went ahead with the purchase.
It looked like a great deal, the RAM was pretty high spec and should have been great. I removed the 4 sticks and installed the new ones, when I powered up the PC it got stuck on the BIOS screen (DELL logo), I tried a few times, even when I tried to enter the BIOS using the F2 key the system remained locked.
I installed the old RAM and after fixing a checksum error by loading defaults, the system booted. I tried again by swapping the RAM but the results were the same.
The seller has agreed to take the RAM back and refund me, and I want to be 100% sure before I order any more memory, I'm currently looking at the following on eBay, would someone be kind enough to take a quick look to help confirm it will be compatible?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/222192742114
Kind regards,
George Wood
George Wood
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February 14th, 2017 05:00
Update: The new RAM arrived, 4x4GB Kingston, everything seems fine, I ran a benchmark and the RAM was slightly faster too!
I have somehow managed to lock myself out as a guest user, I tried a number of solutions to regain admin right but opted for a clean install (there is no end to my stupidity it seems).
Thanks again for your time and effort!
George Wood
RoHe
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February 14th, 2017 10:00
Glad to hear the new RAM works ok.
When you get finished with your clean install, make an image of the HDD on an external drive or DVDs, so the next time...
RoHe
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February 10th, 2017 16:00
That's always the risk of buying stuff on eBay.
Notice that the RAM you're looking at on eBay is marked "Seller refurbished". So who knows..? And nowhere does it say the 2 modules are a matched pair even if the specs are similar, so it may -or not- run as dual channel RAM.
If you want a guarantee that the RAM will work, get it from crucial. May cost more, but they guarantee it works in the system for which they recommended it or they take it back. Since your eBay link is for the UK site, I presume that's where you are so here's Crucial's UK site.
George Wood
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February 11th, 2017 02:00
Hi Ron,
Thanks for the words of wisdom, you make some excellent points as I hadn't even considered the RAM wouldn't be matched.
The rub is, I'm on such a tight budget (which is the main reason I'm upgrading a PC released in 2010).
I did check out the Crucial link you posted, I'm aware of their great reputation; frustratingly the XPS 8100 was not listed so I could not get a quote. TBH I have a feeling the 16GB RAM would cost more than the PC.
I have already asked the eBay seller for more info so I guess we'll see what they come back with.
Thanks again for taking the time and effort to reply to my post!
Kind regards,
George Wood
RoHe
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February 11th, 2017 17:00
That's because you didn't look in the right place. :emotion-4:
The XPS 8100 is actually a Studio XPS 8100, and you can find the compatible Crucial RAM here.
You didn't say how much RAM you have now, but why not keep 2 of the old ones and add 2 more? So if you have 4x2 GB now, you could keep 2x 2 GB and add 2x 4 GB to get 12 GB if the budget is tight.
Some of the less expensive Crucial RAM is out of stock, but 2x 4 GB DDR3L-1600 is ~60 Quid.
Keep in mind that if you mix new, faster RAM with old, slower RAM, all of it will run at the speed of the slower memory. But I doubt you'll notice...
George Wood
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February 13th, 2017 11:00
Hi Ron,
You're absolutely correct, I was looking under XPS and 'not' studio.
In the interim I contacted the eBay seller who have assured me they will supply 4x4 GB DIMMs all Kingston branded and matched, I guess we'll just have to see.
I'm going to be using the PC as a DAW and need as much RAM as possible for samples, the PC came with 6 GB (2x2 and 2x1 GB) so I can use none of it.
If it doesn't work out I will ha e to bite the bullet, with Crucial the PC cost £130, and it pains me to think about paying £120 for RAM.
Thanks again for your help and patience
Kind regards,
George Wood