Brand New Dell 7737 Memory Upgrade Issues

Question

Hello Dell Community- I just bought a brand new Dell Inspiron 17' Model 7737. It came with 8GB of installed DDR3 PC3-12800 (1.6GHz) I do some pretty memory intensive applications (many times with multiple memory hungry programs at the same time) so i purchased (2) 8GB identical memory modules from PNY. (For a total of 16GB. Obviously I took the stock (2) 4GB modules out of the machine). The computer will not boot. I just get 2 loud beeps. I looked up the 'beep code' and it says that the computer doesnt recognize that there is memory installed. Now, I am an electrical engineer, so i know all about ESD and that is *not* the issue. For troubleshooting i did the following... 1) Took identical memory out of an MSI computer I have (exact same memory specifications) and installed it in the Dell ( 2, 8GB modules). Same problem. 2 loud beeps. I cant even 'F2' into the BIOS. 2) Took the PNY memory that i just bought and installed it into the MSI computer. No issues what so ever. So I know it is not a memory issue. 3) Just for kicks and giggles, i went out and bought 2 more Identical 8GB (16GB total) modules. Installed them in the Dell. ERROR. 2 beeps. No BIOS, no nothing. Installed the exact same memory into the MSI computer- works perfectly fine. 4) While the *NEW* memory i purchased (BOTH sets) were in the MSI, I ran memtest86 on the memory- again, just to rule out any sort of memory issue. Absolutely zero problems found. 5) Upgraded the BIOS on the DELL from A05 to A06 to rule out a BIOS recognition issue. Exact same problem still. The Dell is *NOT* running in UEFI mode (nor does it have to to recognice >8GB of RAM) This is for specific reasons regarding issues with partitions and the solid state drive. It is obviously a 64 Bit operating system, so should have no issue with addressing >8GB of memory. Any ideas as to why the computer will not recognize *ANY* memory installed >8GB?? This cant be a hardware (mobo) issue can it?? Dell doesnt limit the memory to only 8GB does it? (that would be VERY silly these days). This is driving me absolutely insane. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. Perhaps even a mailed steak dinner to you!! :) Thank you all in advance for any input. -Marc

ejn63 · Accepted Answer

It may be the Dell mainboard is less forgiving of sloppy RAM tolerances. The other thing I noticed is that Crucial specifies 1.35V RAM -- i.e., DDR3L, though it's not labeled as "L". Is the RAM you're trying to use 1.5V memory? That may be the problem.

ejn63 · Accepted Answer

DDR3 won't work.  You need DDR3L memory for the Haswell-based systems.

marcarotsky · Answer

Hello 'EJN' Thank you very much for your quick reply. I am aware of PNY's 'hit or miss' quality. What i am confused about is if the PNY memory worked in the MSI and also had no errors found with memtest, why wont it work in the DELL?? Im ready to pull my hair out (and i dont have much to spare, so this can be a problem! :emotion-11: ) ??? other ideas?

ejn63 · Answer

The system will take 16G of RAM.

PNY memory runs the gamut from decent down to floor sweeping quality as far as the chips go -- if you bought "Value"RAM, it may just be sloppily built.

Crucial guarantees compatibility:

http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=Inspiron%2017%20%287737%29&Cat=RAM

Dudeonthebayou · Answer

Dell motherboards are extremely picky about ram. If you can buy the ram from dell or crucial. I'm on my way to return 24 Gb of pny ram that gave a precision bsod. Picking up some corsair ram to see if it makes a difference.

superf · Answer

Same problem here! My 7737 had 6GB of RAM (hynix-DDR3-12800) and I tried to replace it with 2x4GB (Kingston 1333MHz). Result? Double beep and no boot. This is very annoying. I can't explain it either. The voltage is the same. Only the speed is different but this has nothing to do with it. There must be a solution to this. Not be able to upgrade my RAM is a serious problem DELL...

superf · Answer

DDR3 won't work. You need DDR3L memory for the Haswell-based systems.

Oh, I see. So what I'm looking for is DDR3L. From a quick search, I think that the difference between DDR3 and DDR3L is the voltage, am I right? DDR3 has 1,5V and DDR3L has 1,35 (or sometimes 1,25). So if I find a pair of DDR3 listed with 1,35V but not mentioned as DDR3L, is it safe to go for them? I'm asking because after a long search on the market I can find DDR3 with 1,35V but only few are mentioned exactly as DDR3L. So, is there enything else I should be looking for beside the voltage?

Thaks for your help, much appreciated!

ejn63 · Answer

While DDR3L is usually labeled as such, it isn't always. Yes, it's low voltage RAM -- a lot of DDR3 can downshift to the lower voltage, but not with the newer Haswell platform - it requires DDR3L only.

If you're looking for RAM guaranteed to work, Crucial is the best source - though others like Kingston offer model-certified RAM as well.

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