Dell inspiron 1720 memory upgrade

[lehighace06]

I'm looking to upgrade my wife's laptop memory. It is a Dell Inspiron 1720, currently has 2gb of ram. I would like to put in as much as possible, of the best quality memory I can get. From the homework I've done so far I thought i'd get the below linked memory kit. I am not sure, however, about compatibility because I do not know anything about the motherboard inside. I've read online that there is a cap on total memory, with some debate as to what the cap is (I've read 4, 6 and even 8, but I thought I'd stick to 4gb to be safe).

Please tell me if this selection would be compatible with this laptop, and if it is not, what makes it incompatible? Can you suggest a serviceable alternative?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226025

 

[PrvtChurch]

http://www.crucial.com/upgrade/compatible-memory-for/Dell/Inspiron%201720/list.html that should answer some questions.
What you want is DDR2 ram that is PC2-6400 or PC2-5300. you can only put up to 4 gigs in and it can only handle up to 2 gig per stick. that ram you linked is DDR3 and wont work.

 

[lehighace06]

damn... i was afraid of that, i was kinda hoping that ddr3 ram would be backward compatible to ddr2, and ditto for the ram speed, it looks like it's 540 MHz capped, so all the 1333 MHz stuff won't work even if being DDR3 didn't stop me.

 

[PrvtChurch]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148159&nm_mc=OTC-Froogle&cm_mmc=OTC-Froogle-_-Memory+%28Notebook+Memory%29-_-Crucial-_-20148159 a quick search turned this up.

 

[webpro2k02]

I do see some post where it is reported that Dell Inspiron 1720 Laptop has issues with PC2-6400 DDR2-800MHz SODIMM Memory? But I do see some retaliers listing 6400 800MHz and says... "This Dell laptop also supports PC2-6400 DDR2-800MHz SODIMM Memory. Your laptop may need a BIOS update to support the faster memory. Please check http://support.dell.com for latest BIOS update for your laptop model." But the site tech do report that it does work without issues...

http://www.memorystock.com/memory/DellInspiron1720.html