Memory upgrade

[Brian Sheridan]

I am considering upgrading my Dell Dimension 4300 PC by purchasing additional memory. I presently have 512 MB (2 x 256) installed. I want to purchase qty 2, 512 MB to replace the 512 MB total I presently have as I have no empty slots. I have looked at the following:

From Dell $79.99 each

From Crucial $ 56.99 each

From Buy.com (eMartBuy - Elixir brand) $11.00 each

I know and trust Crucial, bu what is going on here? Is it a case of "if it seems to good to be true, it usually is"? Has anyone had any experience with this brand?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Brian

[SuperSparks]

Crucial often tend towards the very expensive these days

What part of the world are you from Brian?

[photolady]

Actually, your Dell is already setup for the maximum memory (512) you can put in there. Check Dell's specs for that computer:

Dimension 4300

[Brian Sheridan]

Hi photolady and SuperSparks,

I guess it's "Caveat Emptor" all the time. When I contacted Dell Sales I was told I could install a total of 1 GB. After receiving the note from photolady, I checked again with Dell, but this time with technical support, and was told the maximum was 512 MB.

Thanks much to you both,

Brian

P.S. to SuperSparks, I'm from Montreal, Quebec, Canada

[Steve R Jones]

Might want to add where your from in your profile Can shorten it to just Canada.

[photolady]

You're welcome. And just to be precise, I went to crucial and they said maximum is 1024. But as you see on the Dell site and your specs on that computer say maximum is 512mb. I think what these memory calculators do is go by motherboard specs and those are not the same as Manufacturer specs. Some searches on Crucial after posting findings, will say on the left something about the maximum is different than from manufacturer of the computer's documentation.

Here is what it says:

Each memory slot can hold SDRAM, PC133 with a maximum of 512MB per slot.*

*Not to exceed manufacturer supported memory.

This is where they get you, if you don't read the whole page.

[Brian Sheridan]

photolady and Steve R Jones,

Thanks again photolady for that, I just checked Crucial and what you pointed out is there but I hadn't noticed it

Brian

P.S. Steve R Jones: Done, thanks for the suggestion

[photolady]

Again, you're welcome. And don't feel bad, most people don't see that message either. I just happened across at one time, it when checking for an HP.

[Brian Sheridan]

For future reference, I'm still wondering why there can be such a discrepancy in pricing, from $79.99 all the way down to $11.00!

Is this too good to be true, or is it unsafe to even consider?

Brian

[Steve R Jones]

Company's charge as much as they can get away with. aka the Law of Supply and Demand.

From Buy.com (eMartBuy - Elixir brand) $11.00 each

For some reason this sounds scary.....Maybe its used stuff.

[SuperSparks]

Avoid the very cheap memory like the plague, you are liable to have all kind of problems with it Having said that, shopping around for quality memory can often give big savings, and you can usually get it a lot cheaper than direct from Crucial.

Excellent brands of memory are Corsair, OCZ, Crucial and Kingston. You won't go wrong with any of them. I generally use Corsair myself.