Will Dell E510 support 8gb ram w/ 64 bit o/s?

[dsteinke]

Hey Guys,

I have an E-510 and was thinking about moving over from Windows 7 x86 to Windows 7 x64. Dell.com says that my system has a max ram of 4gb, as do several other memory companies. The Crucial website, however, says it supports 8gb.

Are any of you running more than 4gb on an E510?

Thanks,

David

 

[AKM880]

If Dell saids it supports up to 4GB then it probably only supports up to 4GB. Why would you need 8GB.

 

[DerralVL]

Did you ever try this or get a response on using 8GB in the e510?

 

[rockyjohn]

Derra - both you and the originator seem to be getting little response. I suggest you either simply call Dell and ask or try the Dell user forum.

 

[itadakimasu]

if dell says 4gb is the max, i'd go w\ dells answer.

 

[spluper]

I have all 4 slots filled in my E510. Originally came with 1GB but decided to upgrade and got a great deal on 2 x 2Gb. After I upgraded I just left the old 2 x 512 Mb pieces in there ... 2 x 2Gb + 2 x 512Mb for a total of 5Gb. The bios definitely recognizes it. Have not upgraded yet to 64 bit OS so I can't say for sure that it works...but the BIOS handles it properly so I am assuming it will.

 

[itadakimasu]

if the bios recognizes it, than surely the OS will.

 

[techshui]

I second spluper's answer.

I have a Dell GX620/GX280, it's not the exact same motherboard, but it's nearly identical, and supports 8GB. Nonetheless, it'd be a good idea to update the BIOS to the latest release if you haven't done so already.

Just for reference, if you do decide to buy 4x 2GB modules, please post back here and let us know if it was recognized by your BIOS. It will help others with the same question.

EDIT: Rockyjohn's link (below) is an interesting article, and anyone planning to reinstall their OS just for more RAM should indeed consider whether it's ultimately worth it.

 

[rockyjohn]

Although before you spend a lot of money on more memory, you might want to read this THG article that states that very few programs can even take advantage of 3 GB of memory - even with multi-tasking.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/memory-module-upgrade,2264.html

 

[Arizona-Heat]

I have all 4 slots filled in my E510. Originally came with 1GB but decided to upgrade and got a great deal on 2 x 2Gb. After I upgraded I just left the old 2 x 512 Mb pieces in there ... 2 x 2Gb + 2 x 512Mb for a total of 5Gb. The bios definitely recognizes it. Have not upgraded yet to 64 bit OS so I can't say for sure that it works...but the BIOS handles it properly so I am assuming it will.

I just installed 64bit win7 with the 4gb I had in before, but it is saying it uses the same amount 3.25 gb, not looking good. I bought 8gb to go with the 64bit, but now I am afraid to open the new memory packages, installing them and find out it is still using 3.25 gb. Have you tried the 64bit os yet or heard of anyone else with a E510 using 8gb ram.

 

[Arizona-Heat]

Good news, I installed 8gb on E510 last night, and it does work. Bios shows all of it and it is in all of the computer specs. The bad news, for me anyway, is I messed up my 64bit Hardrive somehow while putting the memory in it, so I am unable to run 64bit right now. Working with Microsoft and hopefully I will get the 64bit going tomorrow. Don't listen to Dell. They told me I couldn't put a 500w power supply and a top of the line video card in, but I have done both.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

I had 8 gigs in my old e510 and vista ultimate 64bit!

 

[Arizona-Heat]

I am back from 4 day nightmare after installing 8gb ram and using 64bit Win7. I don't know why, but putting 8gb ram in with 64bit Win7, will not start windows! 😱 😱 It worked in 32bit fine, although it only used 3.25gb of ram, the same as it does in 64bit. I spent 4 days of hell messing with software and formatting hard drives, until Microsoft helped me figure out what was going wrong. What a waste of time and money trying to convert to 64bit, I bought 8 gigs of ram I can't use now, purchased both 32bit & 64bit OEM Win7. Also half of the applications I have don't work with 64bit. Oh well, I will chalk this one up as a painful learning experience. Hopefully Dell makes an update where everything works in 64bit, or if anyone knows how to make 8gb work, let me know, back to 32 bit for now.