Computer RAM question

My Dell Inspiron 6400 notebook currently has 2 x 512MB DDR2-533 (or PC2-4200 depending on what you call it) RAM cards in it. According to Crucial, my setup will not support dual channel or ECC RAM. What I want to get is a set of 1GB x 2 DDR2-667 (PC2-5300) cards in there.

I’m wondering if I find a set with dual channel or ECC, if such cards would function on my comp (just without the ECC or dual channel) or just fail to work. I ask this because I saw a set of sticks online that were 1GB x 2 DDR2-667 (PC2-5300) dual channel, and I wondered if they would work in my comp.

Maybe I should just upgrade my Core Duo to a Core 2 Duo. Would that change the compatibility of the RAM?

In any case, I’m just looking to get the best 2GB setup for my XP home system at the moment. I plan on getting Pro from uh… a um reputable dealer…yeah that’s it. Perhaps Pro can utilize my new memory better.

Thanks for your reply in advance.

There’s absolutely nothing special about “dual channel” memory kits. They’re just a pair of ordinary RAM sticks. If you have the right sort of motherboard, you need a matched pair of sticks to get dual channel. You, on the other hand, don’t have to worry a bit. Just buy any non-ECC DDR2 RAM and you’ll be fine.

RAM compatibility is primarily determined by the motherboard, so upgrading your CPU (if it’s even possible) won’t change anything.

I don’t believe there is any difference in the way XP Home or XP Pro use the available memory – that is entirely a hardware issue.

You need to check compatibility with your motherboard

If your current sticks are PC2-4200 then your motherboard will not necessarily support PC2-5300.

But looking at the dell website you’re probably ok:

RAM upgrades for Inspiron 6400

Unless there’s a significant monetary savings with the 667 MHz memory, you most likely won’t see any benefit there, either. You can generally put memory with a faster clock-speed into a system, but the system board determines the speed at which the RAM is accessed. Since you have 533 MHz RAM in there now, I’d say that’s likely the clock-speed you’ll be running at.

Besides…I’m pretty certain that no human being can tell the difference between 533 and 667 MHz RAM access! :slight_smile:

Even if it will run 667MHz at it’s rated speed, the 533MHz stick will limit the clockspeed to 533MHz.