dell optiplex 7010 ram upgrade problem

Type	DDR3 synch dram non-ecc memory
Memory speed	1333/1600mhz
Memory connectors	four (MT, DT, SFF), two (USFF)
Memory capacities	2gb, 4gb, 6gb and 8gb
Minimum memory	2gb
Maximum memory	32gb on MT, DT, SFF 16gb on USFF
NOTE: 1600mhz memory will only perform as 1600mhz memory when 3rd generation (iVb) cpus are used. it will perform as 1333mhz memory if 2nd generation (snb) i3 2130, i3 2125, i3 2120, g860, g850 cpus are installed in the system. it will perform as 1066mhz memory if 2nd generation (snb) g640, g630, g540, g530, g460 cpus are installed in the system.

Memory

the Optiplex 7010 system supports up to 16 gb of memory in the mini-tower (MT), desktop (DT), small form factor (SFF) and ultra-small form factor (USFF) chassis with 64-bit operating system. the memory speed supported is 1333/1600mhz ddr3 memory.

however, 32-bit operating systems can only use maximum 4gb memory address space. certain components within the computer require address space in the 4gb range, any address space reserved for these components cannot be used by computer memory the amount of memory available to the operating system is less than 4gb.

what is ddr3 memory?

ddr3 continues the evolution in memory technology and provides several improvements to the existing ddr2 architecture. the primary benefit is an increase of the i/o bus to operate at 4 times the speed of the memory cell it contains. ddr3 also allows for chip capacities from 512 mb to 8 gb. this ability in effect allows for memory modules of up to 16 gb in size. 

CAUTION:
memory slots on system boards that support ddr3 are keyed to onlY accept ddr3 modules. ddr2 will not fit into a ddr3 slot and ddr3 will not fit into a ddr2 slot.

memory configuration

DDR memory can run in dual-channel mode, which allows the system to have twice the memory bandwidth using the same memory technology.

dual-channel configurations

to achieve dual-channel performance, the total memory in each channel must be the same. if the channels do not match or if the system has only one dimm installed, the system memory operates in single-channel mode or in dual channel asymmetrical mode. the system works normally in single-channel mode, but the user loses the benefit of increased memory throughput.

dual-channel mode is always present when both memory channels are populated. however, for optimum dual-channel performance, the size of the modules must match.

memory channels
channel a	channel b	BIOS says	performance
dimm	no dimm	single channel	single channel
dimm	same as channel a	dual channel interleaved	dual channel interleaved
dimm	same as channel a except speed	dual channel interleaved (in lowest dimm speed)	dual channel interleaved (in lowest dimm speed)
dimm	same as channel a except density	dual channel interleaved	dual channel interleaved
dimm	same as channel a except size	dual channel asymmetric	single channel
no dimm	dimm	single channel	single channel

basically, when both dimm connectors are populated, the system has optimum dual-channel performance unless channels a and b have different amounts of memory.

memory speeds

some confusion has been created due to the difference in the actual listings for speed ("mhz") and the way memory is described from a sales standpoint ("pc XXXXXX"). the listings below should resolve any confusion.

pc3-6400 = 800 mhz

pc3-8500 = 1066 mhz

pc3-10666 = 1333 mhz

pc3-12800 = 1600 mhz

troubleshooting

4gb memory barrier

the Windows® Xp release as well as 32-bit versions of Windows Vista can only use a maximum of 4 gb of address space. however, the amount of memory available to the operating system is less than 4 gb. certain components within the computer require memory address space in the 4 gb range. any memory address space reserved for these components cannot be used by the operating system

testing memory

the easiest way to check for memory problems is to run the Dell psa+ diagnostics which include a very robust memory test. if the system does not have psa+ diagnostics or they are not available, then the mpmemory test (included with the latest version of Dell 32-bit diagnostics) is the best testing method.

for intermittent problems, try swapping memory modules with another system and see if the problems continue. if no swap is available, then remove one memory module at a time to see if the problems continue. if you can isolate the problem to one module, then try testing the system repeatedly (using one of the tests mentioned above) with only the suspected problem memory module installed.