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Dell XPS 8500 - 4 x 4Gb DDR3 1600Mhz installed but BIOS only sees 2 of them
Hi All,
I'm in urgent need of some help. My company purchased a Dell XPS 8500 for some testing on a crucial project. It arrived with an installed memory config of 4 x 4Gb DIMMS - all same model and all DDR3 1600Mhz.
However the BIOS, and subsequently the 64bit Windows, only sees 8Gb in total. I've removed slots 2 and 4 and rebooted, all ok as 8Gb. I then swapped them with the other 2 to test, and also switched them about. All memory modules work. I've also removed CMOS battery and waited ages etc.
How on earth do I get this machine to recognise the installed memory of 16Gb, or does the machine have an issue, or the memory (despite testing)?
Grateful for urgent advice.
Thanks in advance
John
DELL-Senthil S
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November 22nd, 2013 02:00
Hi John,
Please update the BIOS using the link below and check if the issue persists.
http://dell.to/18cRuoI
Please let me know if this helps.
chudless
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November 22nd, 2013 02:00
Hi Senthil,
Thanks for the info. I've already done that (sorry, forgot to say) and it makes no difference.
John
speedstep
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November 22nd, 2013 06:00
Some Ram is not marked correctly, Some Ram is High Density. Some Ram is not Dual or Tri or Quad Channel Compatible.
http://www.crucial.com/upgrade/Dell-memory/XPS/XPS+8500-upgrades.html
This is why vendors like crucial will not RMA Ram that is not Verified to work based on specific model number and their ram configuration tool.
Memory Type: DDR3 PC3-12800, DDR3 (non-ECC)
Maximum Memory: 32GB
Slots: 4
.
chudless
25 Posts
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November 22nd, 2013 06:00
The memory came with the machine, so I actually don't know if it was installed by DELL or by the supplier. However on DELL's site against my asset tag it says it had 16Gb in it.
The memory is marked thus:
Make: NANYA
NT4GC64B8HG0NF-DI 1235.TW
4GB.2Rx8 pc3-1230u-11-1--b0.1600
MM129010XE.X5
Nothing else.
chudless
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November 22nd, 2013 07:00
http://www.memory4less.com/m4l_itemdetail.aspx?itemid=1463887717
Which is this:
Nanya 4GB PC3-12800 DDR3-1600MHz non-ECC Unbuffered CL11 240-Pin DIMM Dual Rank Memory Module Mfr P/N NT4GC64B8HG0NF-DI
All the DIMMS are the same mode - 4 x 4Gb.
Does this RAM not work properly on DELL XPS 8500's ???
chudless
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November 22nd, 2013 07:00
Wow, thanks for the very technical answer, much appreciated. So I guess it's back to my supplier to provide me with 4 x 4Gb correct modules, or 2 x 8Gb but RANK 4. Is that correct?
Thanks again.
speedstep
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November 22nd, 2013 07:00
If you install high-density memory on a motherboard that is not compatible with the module, it will not work or only recognize a portion of the memory.
Ranks are sub-units of a memory module which share the same address and data buses and are selected via CS (Chip Select) in low level addressing. For example, take a memory module with 8 chips on each side, with each chip having 8 bit wide data bus, then that module would have one rank for each side for a total of 2 ranks, if we define a rank to be 64 bits wide. That's why High density is not sufficent for some chipsets because the BUS is 128 bits wide. This is also why only 1/2 of each dimm is working when 4 are used. You need RANK 4 ram due to the width of the bus.
speedstep
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November 22nd, 2013 09:00
NON ECC, NON Registered, NON Buffered, Dual or Quad Channel Compatible DDR3, JEDEC Standard RAM. If you get it from crucial via their ram advisor it is Guaranteed to work in your Dell Model. Instead of getting 4 x 4 I would get 2 x 8 so that in the future you can just add 2 more.
If the supplier has heartburn over this you need a new supplier.
Crucial when using their ram configuration tool is guaranteed to work.
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