Dell Optiplex 790 SFF Ram Upgrade?

[omalley]

Hello, I have a Small Form Factor Optiplex 790 that has a i3-2120, 3GB of DDR3 @ 1333, and a 250GB HDD.

So, I'm wanting to turn this into a little mobile gaming PC and I already got a Zotac GTX 1050 ti low profile card in it and working. I'm going to also upgrade the i3 to a i7-2600, and the 250GB HDD to a Seagate Firecuda 2TB.

As for the ram, I'm wanting to max it out with 16GB but I'm not sure what ram will work with it exactly. I've seen a lot of post where people are having issues with some ram not working when all 4 dim slots are filled, while others have no issues. I know that it will only run at 1333MHz so their is no reason for me to buy anyrhing faster, but when browsing NewEgg, they have a few different types. I'm seeing PC3L 10600, PC3 8500, PC3 10666, PC3 10660, and PC3 10600. Which version is the correct version of 1333MHz to use?

Also if you know of any ram that is certified to work with it, then you can just link that too.

But yeah, either way, my main question is what ram will work in my machine without any issues and give me a max capacity of 16GB (4 × 4GB).

Thanks!

 

[clutchc]

I had turned my 790 SFF into a gamer too. Still had what it takes to game at 1080p/60hz. But to get to your question, any of them should work except for the PC3L. I would avoid that. That is a lower voltage version, I believe. I never had all 4 slots populated, however. But with 1333mhz you should be fine.

 

[william p]

Dells almost always require low density RAM. This is indicated by the x64 in the description at Crucial.com. They guarantee their kits to be compatible.
http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/compatible-upgrade-for//optiplex-790-small-form-factor

 

[clutchc]

Dells almost always require low density RAM. This is indicated by the x64 in the description at Crucial.com. They guarantee their kits to be compatible.
http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/compatible-upgrade-for//optiplex-790-small-form-factor

Is that a "Dell" thing, william p? I would have thought all Sandy Bridge platforms would handle high density RAM.

 

[william p]

It has been a Dell thing for a long time. DDR2 was like that and Optiplexes with DDR3 also. With the controller on the CPU it may be different. But Dell is often on the boards that set standards and adopt new standards early, but then don't switch to later revisions. I suppose this simplifies their inventory, and internal compatiblity. I always look at Crucial.com to see if they offer x64, or x128 modules. If I see x64 then the safe bet is low density. High density is often sold as AMD RAM which is much cheaper but hasn't worked in Dells in the past. The x128 modules require 1/2 as many chips to make so I think they would be offered if they would work. Since the BIOS is involved in counting and assigning memory at startup the BIOS needs to be able to read the address tables. Of course Dell BIOS has always been in it's own little world.