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December 13th, 2005 23:00

Ram upgrade for Dimension 8400

Ive got a Dimension 8400 that ive had for almost a year now and its got 2-256mb cards at 533mhz and Ive been getting some "Virtual Memory Minimun Too Low" errors at the bottom right of my screen and im wanting to upgrade to a gig but the dell ram is only selling 512 cards now and I need 2-256cards so where could I find a memory upgrade for my computer and also I do ALOT of gaming so I need the best.

4 Posts

December 14th, 2005 11:00

Go with Crucial or Corsair RAM. Both types of PC2-4200 work flawlessly in the Dimension 8400. I put two 2x256MB Corsair Value RAM sticks in about 6 months ago (to give me 1GB total), and they are perfectly compatible. Be careful with some of the cheaper brands, because Dell's are very finicky sometimes with memory (it's hit or miss . . . sometimes they will work, other times they won't).

Do NOT buy memory from Dell. They don't make it, and they charge a fortune for it. Buy from Newegg.com (for the Corsair RAM) or Crucial.com directly.

10 Elder

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43.6K Posts

December 14th, 2005 17:00

Virtual memory usually means hard drive space, not physical RAM memory. How much space is free on the HD? When was the last time you checked the HD for errors, defragged it, cleaned out all the junk, temp files and internet caches ??

When was the last time you scanned for viruses, spyware, trojans? Some of those can cause this type problem.

You may want to run a system file check too.
click start>run
type in: sfc /scannow
(space between sfc and /)
click ok

sfc will replace any damaged/missing XP system files. It may ask for your XP CD.

Ron

Message Edited by RoHe on 12-14-2005 11:22 AM

10 Elder

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43.6K Posts

December 14th, 2005 21:00

http://www.experts-exchange.com/Hardware/Q_21039217.html
Scroll down below the ads to see a discussion of this error message and some solutions.

And if you're still intent on buying more RAM, you may want to get it from Crucial because they'll guarantee it'll work in your system or they'll take it back.

Ron
Edit: As ususal, Denny types faster than I do. :)

Message Edited by RoHe on 12-14-2005 03:32 PM

82 Posts

December 14th, 2005 21:00

Ive got 60gb left on my hard drive and I dont think that is a problem.. I clean and defrag all my files and run virus scans but ive been looking at the ram on newegg.com and im still not for sure what I need, I think I need 2 more 256mb cards at 533mhz so couldnt anyone link me to a page where I could buy that?

18.8K Posts

December 14th, 2005 21:00

skatermay2,

See the offerings here.

16 Posts

December 15th, 2005 15:00

I 2nd the recommendation to go to crucial.com for memory. Their website is set up to tell you what memory will work in your computer.

82 Posts

December 15th, 2005 18:00

Ive been looking at crucial.com and it seems pretty easy but could anyone tell me if this would work because it seemed to be the better ram on crucial..
 

82 Posts

December 15th, 2005 19:00

I think that link above isnt right and I need the PC2 4200 ram which I think is the same 533mhz as mine.. here is the link

http://www.crucial.com/ballistix/store/MPartspecs.Asp?mtbpoid=1D6468ABA5CA7304&WSMD=Dimension+8400+Series&WSPN=CT392240

4 Posts

December 16th, 2005 14:00

This is the one you need for PC2-4200 533 MHz DDR2 RAM:

512 MB Crucial DDR2 PC2-4200 upgrade kit

Note that this is the 512 MB RAM upgrade kit, so you get two sticks of 256MB RAM to insert as pairs.

No need in going with the Ballistix RAM for the 8400.

Message Edited by Smoot on 12-16-2005 10:10 AM

Message Edited by Smoot on 12-16-2005 10:11 AM

17 Posts

April 28th, 2006 00:00

I have a Dimension 8400, Pent. 4 Processor 530 with HT Technology (3GHz, 800 FSB) that I bought in Sept. 2006.  I have been thinking about upgrading the RAM to 2GHz.  It currently has 1GHz made up of two Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 400MHz, both are plugged into the slots with the tan clips, while the two slots with the black clips are empty.  Is the pair of RAM chips at this NewEgg.com site the right one for my PC:  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820227059 ?

OCZ Value Series 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM Unbuffered DDR2 667 (PC2 5400) Dual Channel Kit System Memory  - are they compatible with mine?

 

Thanks for your input,

Orv67

10 Elder

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43.6K Posts

April 28th, 2006 00:00

Current RAM is 400 mHz, and the other looks like 667 mHz. So the new stuff will run at the slower speed.

Link to Crucials RAM for the 8400:
http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.asp?Mfr%2BProductline=Dell%2BDimension+%2F+Dimension+XPS&mfr=Dell&tabid=AM&model=Dimension+8400+Series&submit=Go

Ron

Message Edited by RoHe on 04-27-200606:23 PM

17 Posts

April 28th, 2006 01:00

Okey found that web page that you referred me to, has two 1GB choices in the 400MHz for the 8400. (http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.asp?Mfr%2BProductline=Dell%2BDimension+%2F+Dimension+XPS&mfr=Dell&tabid=AM&model=Dimension+8400+Series&submit=Go)  I can get either a kit with 2 x 512MB,  or for only $6 more a single 1GB chip.  Is my motherboard cabable of handling the 1GB chips, leaving a slot for explanding in the future?  Or is the 2x512MB chips just a better way to go?  I do a lot of online gaming, plus I frequently use Word Search 7, which can require an enormous amount of RAM, depending on how many books in the library you have open at a time.

 

Orv67

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43.6K Posts

April 28th, 2006 15:00

Because this is DDR2 memory, it's always best to install in matched pairs to take advantage of DDR2 technology.

Acceptable RAM specs from 8400 user manual:
Type: 400- and 533-MHz DDR2 unbuffered SDRAM
Memory capacities: 128-, 256-, 512-, or 1-GB non-ECC
Maximum memory: 4 GB NOTE: See "Addressing Memory With 4-GB Configurations" to verify the amount of memory available to the operating system.

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dim8400/SM/specs.htm#wp1052308

Ron

43 Posts

July 20th, 2011 08:00

Where can I buy chips of 4gb or 8gb at?

Thank you

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43.6K Posts

July 20th, 2011 12:00

That's what google is for!

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