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Dell Inspiron 8600 RAM Upgrade

post #1 of 11
10/16/04 at 7:47am
Thread Starter 
I have been thinking on buying the Inspiron 8600, and have a few questions if somone could clear them out. I read in one of the posts that Dell usually charges way more for the RAM, so the effecient way to go would be to buy from newegg or somewhere, where it's supposed to be cheap. What I ve decided is to go with the Dell 512MB Stick and then buy another 512 MB DDR Kingston 200 pin Pc2700 from newegg to make it 1GB. But I am not sure if this is the correct module I would want. Also I ve heard that certain problems arise from having 2 different RAM modules of differnt vendors Intalled on a comp, and its always the best to use both of the same vendor. Will the Inspiron give me problems if I install the Kingston 512MB Module on the other slot not knowing what brand Dell uses by default? Does anyone now which brand of RAM Dell uses so i could pick the same ones from somwhere else as Dell sells them at an exorbitant price? Please help.
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post #2 of 11
10/16/04 at 8:10am
dell seems to switch, I've gotten Samsung Optiquest? or some weird brand. And some other weird ones.
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post #3 of 11
10/16/04 at 1:14pm
Thread Starter 
well so whats the solution, is it possible to put two different modules of different vendors? wont that give a problem?
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post #4 of 11
10/16/04 at 1:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by husaints
well so whats the solution, is it possible to put two different modules of different vendors? wont that give a problem?
Yes, and usually there is no problem. However compatibility issues can and do arise on occasion.

The Corsair and Kingmax PC2700 SODIMMS work like a champ though.
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post #5 of 11
10/16/04 at 1:19pm
Thread Starter 
well so if i add a kingmax or a corsair 512MB module with the one with which the dell laptop came in it wouldnt be a problem is that what u are saying?
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post #6 of 11
10/16/04 at 1:25pm
correct
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post #7 of 11
10/16/04 at 1:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by husaints
well so if i add a kingmax or a corsair 512MB module with the one with which the dell laptop came in it wouldnt be a problem is that what u are saying?

Most likely, it will not be a problem. Some memory will not work with some motherboards (in either PC's or Laptops), but in most cases, most memory that is rated at the specifications as the laptop will work just fine. This is one of the reasons why the bigger brands (Crucial, Kingston, Corsair) are better for some laptops, because they test their memory in almost all laptops, and have sticks that are guaranteed to work. I've heard that PNY memory with Samsung chips (one of the best memory chips) won't work with certain Dell laptops, while others with the same chips work fine. I bought a PNY however, which had Bravo chips, which is working without any problems.
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post #8 of 11
10/16/04 at 1:31pm
i just picked up a gig of kingmax off newegg for a total of 1.25 gigs. Made my notebook a whole new kind of fast. its awsome!

cheese
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post #9 of 11
11/2/04 at 8:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by cheese260
i just picked up a gig of kingmax off newegg for a total of 1.25 gigs. Made my notebook a whole new kind of fast. its awsome!

cheese
how much did that run you? i have an inspiron 8600 that i'm about to expand the ram on also. i opted for one 512mb chip from dell, since the ram was so expensive. ddr so-dimm 333mhz 2700 is the right kind, correct?

i'd like to get a gig for $200, but 512mb at $99 seems more realistic for needs (photo editing, photoshop)
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post #10 of 11
11/3/04 at 11:31am
By the way, I decided to upgrade from the 512 MB that I just got in my 8600 (2 sticks of 256) to 1GB (2 sticks of 512) after I realized it was hitting the (slow) hard drive like mad when I was multitasking.

(I'm used to a 3+GHZ HyperThreading P4 with 2 GB of dual channel ram and 300GB of SATA drives in a raid 0 array. hahah the notebook, while surprisingly fast, falls apart when stressing it out with multiple programs).

Anyway... I went out and purchased a stick of PNY 512MB PC2700 SODIMM (with Samsung chips). It didn't work. No way, no how it wouldn't work. I read on multiple forums (see even this thread) that the PNY sticks don't like to work in Dell laptops.

Sooo... I returned it and went to circuit city and purchased two 512MB Kingston sticks of the same spec. Not only did they work on the first try, they cost $80 each after rebate, which is a decent deal for Kingston RAM. Total cost for the Gig of RAM - $160, not counting the money I will get back for selling the old sticks on ebay (maybve $50.)
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post #11 of 11
11/3/04 at 12:13pm
I used a 512MB sodimm Kingston added on, see my signature.
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