Dimension 4550. Upgrade to 2Gb

Hello,

Is there a way to add 2 Gb of RAM to a Dell Dimension 4550 and that
the system recognizes it? Would it be a matter of updating the BIOS?
Dell's site does have a BIOS update but it is optional and it does not
mention anything about RAM capabilities.

Thanks in advance

Tom Scales wrote:
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Christoper Muto [private.php?do=newpm&u=]
>> Posted At: Saturday, May 17, 2008 6:34 AM
>> Posted To: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell
>> Conversation: Dimension 4550. Upgrade to 2Gb
>> Subject: Re: Dimension 4550. Upgrade to 2Gb
>>
>> the dimension 4550 is limited to 1gb maximum ram, 2 x 512mb modules.
>>
>> "Mark" <> wrote in message
>> news:ebbfcd8a-6477-4567-8719-
>> ...
>>> Hello,
>>>
>>> Is there a way to add 2 Gb of RAM to a Dell Dimension 4550 and that
>>> the system recognizes it? Would it be a matter of updating the BIOS?
>>> Dell's site does have a BIOS update but it is optional and it does
>> not
>>> mention anything about RAM capabilities.
>>>
>>> Thanks in advance
>
> Oops, I forgot. It just has two slots, doesn't it.
>
> 1GB it is.
>
>

Yup...it was a true workhorse, but that was the deadend for me. After
about three years of faithful service I retired it to Florida for my dad
to surf the internet with. Still going strong!

Bob

To all,

I have a Dimension 4500 motherboard here. Like the 4550 board, it uses an
Intel 845-series chipset capable of addressing up to 2GB of system memory. (See
Intel specs and data sheets.)

I put the 4500 board on the test bench (for other purposes originally), plugged
in a pair of 1GB DDR modules and fired up the board. The latest A04 BIOS
recognizes the entire 2GB of memory and MEMTEST-86 sees the 2GB and runs just
fine.

Because the 4550 board is newer, I know of no reason why it, too, would not
handle 2GB of memory provided that the memory meets the specifications required
by the motherboard and the CPU front side bus. As is often the case, the
printed (or electronic web site) specifications from Dell may not ever have been
updated to reflect the latest in memory or CPU technology. I would imagine that
1GB DDR came available after Dell finalized the specs for the 4500 and 4550, and
that Dell never updated the specs.

I also have a 4400 board here (currently for sale on eBay with a shameless
plug). Before it goes away, I'll put the same 2GB of DDR into it to see what
happens... Ben Myers

On Sat, 17 May 2008 00:36:04 -0700 (PDT), Mark <> wrote:

>Hello,
>
>Is there a way to add 2 Gb of RAM to a Dell Dimension 4550 and that
>the system recognizes it? Would it be a matter of updating the BIOS?
>Dell's site does have a BIOS update but it is optional and it does not
>mention anything about RAM capabilities.
>
>Thanks in advance

> I also have a 4400 board here (currently for sale on eBay with a shameless
> plug). Before it goes away, I'll put the same 2GB of DDR into it to see what
> happens... Ben Myers

Thanks for the great piece of information Ben. It would be fantastic
if you could report whether your Dell motherboard accepted the 2Gb and
XP recognized them

Thanks in advance




On May 18, 10:23*am, Ben Myers <ben_myers_spam_me_...@charter.net>
wrote:
> To all,
>
> I have a Dimension 4500 motherboard here. * Like the 4550 board, it usesan
> Intel 845-series chipset capable of addressing up to 2GB of system memory.*(See
> Intel specs and data sheets.)
>
> I put the 4500 board on the test bench (for other purposes originally), plugged
> in a pair of 1GB DDR modules and fired up the board. *The latest A04 BIOS
> recognizes the entire 2GB of memory and MEMTEST-86 sees the 2GB and runs just
> fine.
>
> Because the 4550 board is newer, I know of no reason why it, too, would not
> handle 2GB of memory provided that the memory meets the specifications required
> by the motherboard and the CPU front side bus. * As is often the case, the
> printed (or electronic web site) specifications from Dell may not ever have been
> updated to reflect the latest in memory or CPU technology. *I would imagine that
> 1GB DDR came available after Dell finalized the specs for the 4500 and 4550, and
> that Dell never updated the specs.
>
>
> On Sat, 17 May 2008 00:36:04 -0700 (PDT), Mark <anonymous...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >Hello,
>
> >Is there a way to add 2 Gb of RAM to a Dell Dimension 4550 and that
> >the system recognizes it? Would it be a matter of updating the BIOS?
> >Dell's site does have a BIOS update but it is optional and it does not
> >mention anything about RAM capabilities.
>
> >Thanks in advance

On May 17, 2:36 am, Mark <anonymous...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hello,
>
> Is there a way to add 2 Gb of RAM to a Dell Dimension 4550 and that
> the system recognizes it? Would it be a matter of updating the BIOS?
> Dell's site does have a BIOS update but it is optional and it does not
> mention anything about RAM capabilities.
>
> Thanks in advance

Dell's Forum confirms Ben's concensus that the system will support
2X1Gb of ram.

http://www.dellcommunity.com/support...cending&page=3

p_z

On Aug 6, 7:25*pm, ne...@haughtmail-dot-com.no-spam.invalid (ndoren)
wrote:
> *> GUEST wrote:
>
> *> Hello,
> *>
> *> Is there a way to add 2 Gb of RAM to a Dell Dimension 4550 and that
> *> the system recognizes it? Would it be a matter of updating the
> BIOS?
> *> Dell's site does have a BIOS update but it is optional and it does
> not
> *> mention anything about RAM capabilities.
> *>
> *> Thanks in advance
>
> Your Dell 4550 ABSOLUTELY WILL accept two
> 1Gb memory sticks, for a total of 2Gb. *
>
> You do not need a BIOS update.
>
> When the PC was built, there weren't 1Gb memory DIMMS available, so
> the stated maximum capacity is 1Gb. *However, I have had 2Gb
> installed in my Dell 4550 for a year, and it's recognized by either
> Windows XP or Linux (I dual boot).
>
> Yet, this being said, you have to be careful. *You need to install
> what's known as "Low Density" memory, which consists of
> 128Mx64 bit chips on the DIMMS.
>
> So, you need to find: 184-pin DDR, Non-ECC, Non-Registered, LOW
> DENSITY PC-2700 RAM
>
> DId I remember to *say LOW DENSITY?

Thanks for the update!