RAM Upgrade for Dell Dimension E310

chris0276

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Hello. I have a Dell Dimension E310 (Win XP, 512MB, 140GB HDD, Pentium 2.8ghz). My stock RAM is 512MB @ 533mhz. I want to upgrade to 1GB RAM @ 800mhz. Will the RAM speed be an issue or should I just use 533mhz RAM stick? 1GB @ 800mhz is the only RAM that dell.com has that is compatible with my system.
 
It will be an issue. How big of an issue is unknown. The RAM with higher clock speed will work at 533 MHz, but sometimes it causes other problems.
 
You could use 800 MHz, but you should use 533 MHz.

In an ideal situation 800 MHz would work at the lowest clock speed, i.e., 533 MHz, and you might get lucky and not notice any issue, but I would not risk it.
 
You could use 800 MHz, but you should use 533 MHz.

In an ideal situation 800 MHz would work at the lowest clock speed, i.e., 533 MHz, and you might get lucky and not notice any issue, but I would not risk it.

I thought the higher speed would mean better performance. Dell.com shows that a 1GB RAM @ 800mhz is the only RAM compatible with my system. It doesn't say anything about having issues or problems. Why would they suggest that RAM stick? Even the Dell guy I chatted with said it would boost performance.
 
If Dell says it will support 1 gig sticks @ 800Mhz then use the 800Mhz.
But be forewarned DDR2 ram is getting to cost more then DDR3.
 
If Dell says it will support 1 gig sticks @ 800Mhz then use the 800Mhz.
But be forewarned DDR2 ram is getting to cost more then DDR3.

Thanks for the input. My computer is old from 2006, so DDR2 is probably all it can handle. Besides there are 1GB RAM sticks on ebay for $10 or so. Not bad.
 
I thought the higher speed would mean better performance. Dell.com shows that a 1GB RAM @ 800mhz is the only RAM compatible with my system. It doesn't say anything about having issues or problems. Why would they suggest that RAM stick? Even the Dell guy I chatted with said it would boost performance.
I re-read the thread and see that I probably have misunderstood what you meant.

I thought: you already have one 512 MB RAM stick at 533 MHz; you want to add another 1 GB RAM stick at 800 MHz. Now this would be a very bad idea.

But it seems like you want to replace the 512 MB RAM stick with the 1 GB RAM stick. If this is the case, by all means, go for it.

Sorry for the confusion.
 
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