Upgrading Memory for Dell Inspiron 570

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SolarLune

SolarLune

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Mar 9, 2012
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Yo!

It's been a long time since I last posted in here. Happy to report that my graphics card that I got and installed has been chugging along well and good for a few years now. It's now pushing two screens, one at 1920x1080 and one at 1366x768. :)

Anyway, I have a question about upgrading RAM. You see, I'm a game developer, which means I often have a web browser, an IDE like IntelliJ IDEA or Eclipse, Blender (a 3D modeling program), a music player, and a couple of other things open at a time, and my computer frequently feels quite sluggish. I figure adding more memory and upgrading the CPU would be helpful to get around the slow feel of my computer.

Currently, my computer's got 4GB of 1066-MHz DDR3 DIMM RAM, apparently; I've yet to upgrade anything other than the graphics card, so it's got the "usual" specs so far. For specifics, the spec sheet can be gotten from Dell's website here.

I've seen the ultimate Dell Inspiron 570 upgrade guide, so I think I should be OK to get more RAM, but I can't really figure out which chips I should get. Ideally, I'd get them from Amazon as I have Prime, so it'd be free 2 day shipping, but it's rather difficult to understand exactly which stats matter and which chips I would actually be able to use. Any ideas?
 
Solution
D
It's okay, it's just kinda a waste of money, because you're paying for a higher speed than you're getting.


(Skip to the end for the quick version!)


Also, I was asking about the CPU because I wanted to know its max memory voltage, not its wattage. I wanted to know because if a RAM module has a higher voltage than the CPU allows, it may underclock it. I realized I derped later, though, for two reasons. One, your CPU is from AMD, and AMD processors tend to be less sensitive to this, and two, I found the exact same RAM that's in your system.


Succinctly, buy the 4GB kit here, it's the same RAM that's in your system right now...
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Ah, whoops. I had that in my original answer, but cut it out when I edited it after I saw that guide.

I currently have 2 2GB sticks of DDR3 DIMM RAM (I guess?). The OS is Windows 7 64-bit.

The upgrade guide I read said that the computer should be able to handle up to 16 GB of RAM with no problem (despite what the spec sheet says), So the plan was to buy 2 4GB sticks and add it to the current 2 2GB sticks and have 12 GB total of RAM.
 
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Ah, that's not Prime-enabled from Amazon, but that's the idea, I Think - 2 4GB chips. I guess a "kit" might be more cost effective?

My CPU is an And Athlon 2 X2. 3 Ghz if I remember correctly.
 
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Yes, yes, sorry, I forgot to say I was just using it for a reference. I'll try to find something cheaper! :)

BTW, could I please have more detailed info about your CPU? I want to find out its max voltage, just in case. Go to "My Computer" and then "system properties".
 
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Never mind! I managed to find the exact same RAM that's in your PC! The only problem is that 4GB 1066MHz sticks are very hard to find in a desktop form factor, and it's generally a bad idea to use RAM with mismatching clock speeds. Basically, if you want to have 12GB of RAM, you will have to throw out your current RAM. However, with the 4GB kit listed below, 8GB is possible. Is this OK with you?

http://www.amazon.com/Inspiron-Desktop-NON-ECC-PC3-8500--Tech/dp/B00VO4PEB6/ref=sr_1_17?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1445891632&sr=1-17&keywords=ram+1066+mhz+ddr3+dimm
 
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I thought that it's OK to use mismatched clock speeds for RAM, it's just that they'll clock down to the speed of the slowest chip?
----
Looking at the Inspiron Ultimate Upgrading Guide, I think my CPU is this:

F5HVR AMD Athlon X2 250 3.00 65 watt

So I think it consumes 65 watts. Without replacing the PSU, I think I might also be able to get away with upgrading to a 95 watt CPU, but I'm not sure. I'll have to check the guide some more, I think.
 
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It's okay, it's just kinda a waste of money, because you're paying for a higher speed than you're getting.


(Skip to the end for the quick version!)


Also, I was asking about the CPU because I wanted to know its max memory voltage, not its wattage. I wanted to know because if a RAM module has a higher voltage than the CPU allows, it may underclock it. I realized I derped later, though, for two reasons. One, your CPU is from AMD, and AMD processors tend to be less sensitive to this, and two, I found the exact same RAM that's in your system.


Succinctly, buy the 4GB kit here, it's the same RAM that's in your system right now: http://www.amazon.com/Inspiron-Desktop-NON-ECC-PC3-8500--Tech/dp/B00VO4PEB6/ref=sr_1_17?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1445891632&sr=1-17&keywords=ram+1066+mhz+ddr3+dimm
 
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Solution


Thanks for the help! That link is to 2 2GB sticks; I wanted to go for 8 GB (2 4GB sticks), so I went ahead and tried a purchase.

______

I ended up getting 2 4GB Kingston HyperX RAM sticks and a new AMD processor.

The RAM sticks are way faster than my current sticks are (I think), which is fine because they should just clock down to my knowledge, and I could use them for a future computer. I know it'd be best to keep to a single type of RAM rather than multiple kinds, but if it works, I'd think the amount of RAM is more important than performance. I think it should be fine if I keep them both to the same color sockets in my motherboard, so we'll see about that.

The CPU I don't really know too much about, but I think it should fit, so I'll see if it works.

No idea if this'll all work together, haha. Guess I'm a test dummy! I'll keep this post updated. I'll probably have to test everything with RAM and CPU benchmarking software to make sure it won't be too unstable.
 
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Is it okay if you could link to the RAM sticks and processor you bought? Just wanna check out some things.

I still think that buying something like Kingston HyperX in a situation like this is a waste of money, but I'm a bit of a miser, so...
 
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Sure! The RAM sticks I bought can be found here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00N8H06SI?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=od_aui_detailpages01

Yeah, the Kingstons were a tad more pricey, but the 2x2 kit would've only netted me 4 extra gigs of RAM, while the Kingston 4GB sticks give me 8 more total, which is cool. It took awhile to install them, as I felt like I was messing something up when I was looking at an unrelated video snag, haha. Still, it seems like it's all in there, everything seems to work fine, Windows reports all 12 GB being available, and my computer feels a lot more responsive, which is awesome.

_______

The CPU's here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009O7YU3S?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=od_aui_detailpages00

It hasn't come yet; I'm not sure if the CPU's gonna fit or if it'll be underpowered for my PSU. I seem to find conflicting information on whether my motherboard can support an AM3+ CPU (some sites say only AM3, while another says AM3+, so I don't really know).

Anyway, I'll have to remember to test my ram overnight with memtest or something, I guess! Thanks for your help so far.
 
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Although I'm very glad the RAM works, I'm afraid I may have bad news.

According to you, your current CPU is an AMD Athlon II X2 250, which is designed for the AM3 socket. The CPU you're ordering is AM3+, which is not backwards compatible. However, AM3 CPUs ARE forwards-compatible, which means your motherboard may be AM3+. If it's not too much trouble, is it okay if you could open up your computer and take a picture of your motherboard for me?

In the meantime, please do not try to upgrade the CPU.
 
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I know that the current CPU is an AM3 - I believe my motherboard might be AM3+ compatible, though (I read conflicting sources as to this fact online).

I thought it would be safe to at least try it since an AM3+ CPU has an extra pin, so it won't fit into a non-AM3+ slot, but maybe not?

Anyway, here's some pics of my motherboard. Lotsa dust in there (I live in a dusty area). :|

51gk34xUFiENsoEYr8CmO2pySKle_oRicoZKzeocYC4mkXzL05ksFObqEdO9KwJAEK4QUpuZNf_LUVFHEkqk_Qr71CbS0hqWLjmxmQ2HZdHMSNxqkqXBPrI9oRtLtulMWtmGcZcyRDnyZYWbICk8AL0G-NgNg93UzpHvShkG5QnbVs2hI0ZHiF5fS6Ozc79ZIuof1MiSxA3613tqb1LNdFpOIt5Xes5vU7sLhQ01lfIka3lYaYDbLh4ZpRnMnXlmsd9fmPqx2TY_SCw_K9trikkp7Opo-6zhKLQ8SM_ucASIYpTZNtc-1cP_YNmmka3XGt-wxzBJJnyyTutKEQVDZu1tQhLmmDpclrFl4URTCafPA2ABpqC6g5fOV_nnvAT9_GGI5ydu-aSjzaKcOgqbLRtqpQZrg35cCrIxZ1dOscvwYD87dpSzHs0oR1D2_6ZI20Ymzf1dDLd0Mcqz6tlbfODNP1BuHQ-vrdXk8hL2wtPk3tnif2yvs8rduIQw8pnpgByCDMEAFs18p6pFseVYoUaP_M4uaDne3nECCwFLWX0=w1803-h1014-no


G_WCMujk0-Vhx1HKw9EthBezMSQD4HiGFh8_5v2v0uxHZ4R-Ak-jrEe7cMjUK2y_XWLBbWJKlSuWeK9fsRV4hVs_ClwbWdXBJUL2g8x0mr1CL6m_OKQeiIfgfCmSItsfMZmJLeS7gp8SqBX-0CggCQUejFsiCOo0LJgVistjUyQxOHim-qTtz4GHAyqhZPFO4Kt94HiDbJxQ5tc7LS_LZ5Vb98iZUa7-a7mfjgYotd-I9CYqBfdg-DKsDX08tpqfBBvngFsDUwdpU2GzeNnAT3_SakHJ2JqD9YKLWVzX1O6m6Ety-0Un8W1OSTRbIVZEsbRiijmUxPy8_L8F5bZXAFYU9z4xkl1lRvp-BivQgnNwK-Qv3sd-1CHpOJCbgx1-s-7EzaBv_bw0n5GW-B4Wv8inv8E51hXpTVQrsdM0VUwGbJlbesJdCAK7YR8ncy4cDgQdmMxwlcyGc8l0YSJkvyj65s2SdYCUWfWJCPLBM5j15mQndvAJMDJMSdiWgklfm_2YQlHnusq4gb6v-eeVfnnHE3TWwRSPXf3wbWrJ2-U=w571-h1014-no


Let me know if you can't see them.

The code in that white box on the motherboard itself right under the fan says
"MA785R M/B
09146-1.
48.3BJ01.011
MADE IN CHINA".
 
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Thanks for typing the code, I couldn't read it properly. Anyways, bad news... the first line of text is the motherboard's serial number, and just as I suspected, it's an AM3 board. This means your new CPU is incompatible.
 
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Thanks for the info! Where did you find the information? I can't seem to pull up any definitive specs anywhere, just listings on stores and stuff. Marketplaces like Alibaba and DHGate have it listed as AM3+, but Amazon's listing had it as AM3, I think...?
 
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