Ram

Hello
I have a Dell Dimension 4600 xp sp3 with 768 mb of RAM. I went to critical.com and it suggested a 1 kb stick.
I have a 512 mb stick, and a 256 mb stick.
My daughter has an extra Samsung stck for Dell with 512 mb ram.
Can I put a 512 mb stick next to the other 512 mb stick or will that exceed mximum and not work?
Thank you

 

question i have is how many slots do you have two or four if you only have two it look like the max ram you could put in your computer is 4gigs of ram.
http://www.memoryx.net/dedi46me.html
best idea would be if you are going to get more ram make sure its the same kind.

hope this helps.

 

Well this depends on if the samsung memory is compatible with your system. Your system as listed will support up to 4gb of memory, it should be dual channel DDR SDRAM either rated PC2700 (333mhz) or PC3200 (400mhz) NON-ECC memory. I personally like matched sets of memory, meaning I dont mix 333mhz with 400mhz so I hope this helps you out.

 

Hello
Thanx for the help.
Below is what my machine lists for memory. Based upon this new information, do the previous posts you sent apply? Are the vital statistics you quoted printed on the stick itself so I can be sure of what I am putting in?

Memory

Architecture
Dual Channel DDR SDRAM

Memory connectors
four

Memory capacities
128-, 256-, 512-MB or 1-GB

Minimum memory
128 MB DDR SDRAM

Maximum memory
4 GB

Memory type
PC2700 (333-MHz) or PC3200 (400-MHz) DDR SDRAM (non-ECC)

 

What you need to do is take out your 256MB stick and replace it with the spare 512MB stick (assuming its DDR) ... then to ensure it is compatible with your MB and your other stick, download a bootable version of memtest, unzip it to a desktop folder, then burn the contents of the folder to a CD ... restart your computer with your CD in the drive and boot from the CD ... run the test and if it comes up with no errors your right.

 

It sounds a bit difficult for the average user like me but perhaps I'll give it a try + learn something.
Let me ask you, if I put in a stick that was not compatible, would the machine just not fuction or would damage occur?
Thank you

 

It would not work if you put the wrong chip in it.And plus it would probley not fit.

 

(assuming you have DDR) if you tried to insert anything but a DDR chip in, it would not fit, the differences in the breaks between chips are miniscule, so make sure you have the same type because they look almost exactly the same ... a moderate amount of force will be required to push the ram chips in ... however, get someone to help you if you're a beginner because even having the chips the wrong way round will cause them not to fit, and if you try to force them in you may do damage to the chip or the board ...

 

I understand and thank you for your help.