200pin or 144 pin laptop memory module?

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gramlab

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Want to add memory to a 512MB system. Have checked with a few sites and used the memory config on them (for inspiron 1501) but am confused as different types compatible cards are comming up. Do the number of pins etc make a difference. shop4memory seem the cheapest - 144pin, with no delivery charge but hard to get much info on the cards themselves on this site. Komplett give more info and are reasonable as well but their cards are 200pin??

Whats the difference if any??
 
Best to buy from somewhere like Kingston or Crucial or one of the other sites that offer a money back guarantee if the memory does not work or is incompatible. There are simply too many different variations out there and it's very easy to buy the wrong memory. Even memory which is physically compatible (e.g. right number of pins and form factor) and looks OK may not work (e.g. due to memory density issues etc.).
 
I have used these guys a couple of times and they have always come up with the goods. They have a moneyback guarenttee if the memory doesnt work in your machine. Dont know about the pin count i'm afraid.
 
gramlab said:
shop4memory seem the cheapest - 144pin, with no delivery charge but hard to get much info on the cards themselves on this site. Komplett give more info and are reasonable as well but their cards are 200pin??

Whats the difference if any??
Click to expand...
Well you can't mix and match 200 and 144 pin memory!
 
Have ordered from memoryc.com so will see what turns up.

Confusing when all the sites "guarentee" compatability but wont give a comprehensive specification.
 
gramlab said:
Want to add memory to a 512MB system. Have checked with a few sites and used the memory config on them (for inspiron 1501) but am confused as different types compatible cards are comming up. Do the number of pins etc make a difference. shop4memory seem the cheapest - 144pin, with no delivery charge but hard to get much info on the cards themselves on this site. Komplett give more info and are reasonable as well but their cards are 200pin??

Whats the difference if any??
Click to expand...

You need the correct number of pins. There are also other more subtle variants in specs e.g. parity which can make it very easy to order the wrong memory type (I know, I've done it).

You're better off using the memory configurators posted above.
 
There are even more subtle issues than the ones mentioned above - such as memory density and the related (I think!) issues of number of banks and ranks and it's very hard to find detailed technical info and ensure compatibility of arbitrary ostensibly compatible memory parts. Trust me - I too have been there and would always stick to a vendor with a compatibility or money back guarantee...!
 
Kompletts configurator gives a 200pin

Mem. config.com's configurator gives a 144 pin

Dell site gives no technical info on its modules!

Shopping with confidence:rolleyes:
 
Existing module was a 144 pin so everything OK.

Have a question though. 512MB card only increased RAM from 446 to 894.
Why 446 instead of 512 to begin with (assume its something to do with running the OS), and then why 894 instead of 958 when I added the extra 512 module???

Answers in non techy speak if possible:confused:
 
Do you actually mean 448MB initially with 512MB installed? If so then it most likely means that the video card uses "shared" memory and grabs 64MB of the system memory for its own use. The other figure doesn't really add up but I guess that with 1GB installed you are actually seeing either 64MB or 128MB less (i.e. 960MB or 896MB) because of shared video memory usage?
 
System check before adding module - 446MB (-66)

System check after adding 512 module - 894 (-130)

Working faster anyway so father is happier
 
Odd figures. I'd run something like [broken link removed] or [broken link removed] to check the details of memory allocation/usage and to see what might be used by the grapics card etc.
 
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