Memory Compatibility Question

[rbart]

My girlfriend has an old Dell Inspiron 5150 with 256mb or ram. According to Crucial's memory configurator, it should take 200 pin,ddr pc2700 sticks. I have a pair of 512 mb 200 pin, ddr2 pc4200 sticks left over from upgrading my laptop. Does anyone know if it would be ok to put these in her notebook? The best case scenario that I can think of is that they would work, but the clock speed would be ratcheted down to match what her machine can work with.

 

[lostandwandering]

The only thing I see is that the 512 is DDR2 and the 256 is only DDR. I'm not sure if that would cause problems or not though. You may be able to try it without hurting the laptop, but I'm not sure so don't go on my advice alone.

 

[rbart]

After doing a bit of digging, I'm starting to think that the ddr2 is not going to be compatible. On top of that, the AC adapter issue that seems to be really common with the 5150 has flared up again with the laptop. If it can't be repaired, the issue is going to be moot pretty soon anyway.

 

[killernotebooks]

That will NOT accept DDR2, if you put that in the voltage difference could fry the MB.
You could however get a quality DDR memory of higher bandwidth and it will automatically clock itself to the right frequency (in most cases).
Why would you do this?
Sometimes legacy components actually fetch a premium as they age. Weird, but where else you gonna get it?
So, DDR-2700 may actually be more expensive than a higher bandwidth RAM.

 

[rbart]

That's pretty much what I learned through my digging, with the exception of the smoldering silicon. The notebook is going back into the shop and my guess is that they're going to tell her that it's time to replace it. If that's the case, then the problem will be solved.

 

[killernotebooks]

Amen brother.
I love when problems are solved.