Calling all computer guys!!

[stprorolla49]

whats up guys..ive got an 866 mhz dell computer that my grandfather just replaced and i need a computer temporarily til i get my laptop in a few months for college.....it needs to be wiped out, a bit more ram, have XP installed, and install a wireless pci card....well ive got the XP disc from my uncle which is an extra, but for the life of me, i cant figure out what TYPE of memory i have!!! can anyone help me out?? it ust says 128mb ram on the actually memory stick in the tower, and in the specs in the manual from the comp it says "non-bcc" type memory....can anyone help me out as to how i can find out what i need?? its got 128 now, and im gonna get another 128 stick.....this computer is strictly for :SNSign: , AIM, and word docs...LOL.....please help thx

 

[1slow95]

It's probably PC133 ram. Is there only one module? And it should have two gaps along the bottom of the module where the pins are.

edit: pic of PC133 SDRAM

 

[timeless2]

Hey, there are a lot of techies that hang out here....just an FYI.

http://forums.stangnet.com/forumdisplay.php?f=62

 

[stprorolla49]

It's probably PC133 ram. Is there only one module? And it should have two gaps along the bottom of the module where the pins are.

edit: pic of PC133 SDRAM

howd i guess that you'd be teh first to reply....you never cease to amaze me man...lemme have a look and ill report back in a min:Word:

 

[stprorolla49]

mike your teh man.......not only is you car HOTTTTTTTTTT but u could prob build a computer from scratch....its PC-133 SDRAM 128mb....thanks a lot dude...one more thing....sint it tru that if you are gonna put more ram in, shouldnt it be the same denomination i.e. ive got a 128...shouldnt i get a 128 to match it??

 

[GreGTen]

Thats what I have always been told if you upgrade your suppose to get the same thing

 

[BlownFiveLiter]

Nope, you don't need the same thing. Not since EDO RAM, or RDRAM have you needed to run pairs of the same type. In my computer right now, I have 2x 512MB sticks and a 128MB stick, working perfectly fine.

 

[Zero Signal]

Watch out for some of that older proprietary stuff. I don't think the Dells had a problem with it, but alot of those motherboards' BIOS's won't let you run more than the factory installed ram.

 

[1slow95]

mike your teh man.......not only is you car HOTTTTTTTTTT but u could prob build a computer from scratch....its PC-133 SDRAM 128mb....thanks a lot dude...one more thing....sint it tru that if you are gonna put more ram in, shouldnt it be the same denomination i.e. ive got a 128...shouldnt i get a 128 to match it??

I've built several of them from scratch. I've actually been thinking about starting a small business building and selling comps, but I just can't compete with the $499 comps and there's not a big market for $1k+ comps right now.

With SDRAM, you should try to match the speed, PC133, but the sizes can be different.

Watch out for some of that older proprietary stuff. I don't think the Dells had a problem with it, but alot of those motherboards' BIOS's won't let you run more than the factory installed ram.

This is not true unless the comp was originally installed with the max amount of ram, however some old boards are very finicky about what type of RAM is installed. Usually this has to do with installing PC133 RAM on a board that only uses PC100 or PC66. Just about anything should work in your comp, but I do like to go with a decent name brand just in case, such as Crucial, Corsair, Mushkin, Kingston, or Viking. There's more good brands out, that's just all I can think of right now.

 

[1994Vib.RedGT]

Watch out for some of that older proprietary stuff. I don't think the Dells had a problem with it, but alot of those motherboards' BIOS's won't let you run more than the factory installed ram.

before I knew anything about computers we had a compaq presario, and in the BIOS setup you could seriously only change the time. I tried to install more RAM in it once because it only had 128MB and the computer wouldnt even turn on after I did it amnit: so I junked that **** and built my own, now im running an Athlon 64 and 1GB of ram!

 

[BlownFiveLiter]

Athlon XP 3000+, 1.12GB of Corsair PC3200 ram, 2x 80GB 7200 RPM Western Digital SATA HD's in RAID 0, ATI Radeon 9250 8x AGP vid card, Hyundai 17" LCD. Nothing special here, but building computers is pretty easy, it's basically just plug and go.