carteriii Posted November 13, 2004 Share Posted November 13, 2004 I ordered VS1GBKIT400C3 from ZipZoomFly.com and have found that it does not appear to be compatible with my Dell Dimension 8300 and the memory which came with it. More specifically, the memory speed drops to 333MHz from 400MHz when the Corsair memory is added. Now, I will say that the package says this is just "VS1GBKIT400", but ZipZoomFly says that the lot number (0436127-0) indicates that it is the CAS3 memory. This leaves me in a less than desireable situation with unanswered questions. First, is Lot #0436127-0 truly CAS3 memory? If it is, then is Corsair memory actually compatible with my Dimension 8300 or not? I bought it based upon the recommendation of several threads here (http://www.houseofhelp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29297 for one), so I'm hoping the ZipZoomFly is incorrect about this lot truly being CAS3. Please give me your opinion on the situation. Do you have the ability to look at the lot number and tell me if this is CAS3? If it is, then does this mean Corsair memory isn't compatible? Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wired Posted November 13, 2004 Share Posted November 13, 2004 Have you tried running the Corsair memory by itself? It's not recommended to mix memory from different manufacturers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carteriii Posted November 13, 2004 Author Share Posted November 13, 2004 Yes, it runs at 400MHz by itself. I guess I was under the impression that I didn't have to throw away my existing memory in order to run Corsair memory. Is that really considered "compatible"? Do you have any more constructive suggestions? Can you tell me definitively whether or not Corsair memory is compatible with Dell memory in a Dell computer? If not the VS1GBKIT400, then perhaps some other? If the answer is "no", then wouldn't it be worth being more clear about this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CandyKid Posted November 13, 2004 Share Posted November 13, 2004 It's not that the memory isn't compatable, it's that you're using more modules than the chipset will support at DDR400. It's an automatic BIOS setting once you exceed the number of DDR modules supported at DDR400. The "compatability" that you speak of is never between module manufacturers, only between modules (or a set therein) and the chipset of a mainboard... Regardless, even if you used a different module pair from a different manufacturer, it'd still go to DDR333 when you used all the modules together. This, unfortunately, is a common shortcomming on economy mainboards. PLUR CK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carteriii Posted November 13, 2004 Author Share Posted November 13, 2004 I've been poking around the Dell support forum boards, and I'm finding a few threads that would disagree with the assertion that any additional modules will drop the speed. I agree that the Dell board/bios/<something> isn't what it should be, but I'm seeing plenty of posts that memory from a few other manufacturers can be added along with the memory from Dell and it will all run at 400MHz. I'd love to hear otherwise, but my current conclusion is that I should return the Corsair memory and buy some from Crucial or Kingston (or direct from Dell, though that's obviously more expensive). Anyone thinking of buying Corsair memory for their Dell should be prepared to sell or throw out the default memory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CandyKid Posted November 13, 2004 Share Posted November 13, 2004 Well... technically, it depends on how many banks the module has, depending on what particular mainboard is in that computer. Some will run four modules, but two must be single sided, some will only run 2 at DDR400, some will run four double-sided at DDR400. You might want to go into your BIOS and force it to go DDR400, but relax the latencies and see what happens. PLUR CK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wired Posted November 14, 2004 Share Posted November 14, 2004 dell bios can't do ANYTHING. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CandyKid Posted November 17, 2004 Share Posted November 17, 2004 ... Oh yeah... Any updates or has carterii gone by the wayside? PLUR CK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carteriii Posted November 17, 2004 Author Share Posted November 17, 2004 I'm still here, and unfortunately don't feel like I really have an answer. The Dell BIOS doesn't allow me to change anything, and the modules I have simply drop the speed. Posts on other boards pretty clearly state that I will not have this problem if I switch to another brand of memory like Crucial. I don't particularly want to do that because I prefer Corsair memory in general, I'll have to pay a restocking fee for my Corsair memory, and other brands of memory are simply more expensive. I've been hoping that someone else there at Corsair would have the magic answer and say, "Oh, sorry, just buy this other module or do X (other than change the BIOS, which I apparently cannot do on a my Dell) and you'll be fine. If that's not going to happen, I think the only conclusion is that buying Corsair memory was a mistake and that many other recommendations on this site were misleading at best. Bummer. Please do let me know if you or anyone else has specific advice which will help me out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees RAM GUY Posted November 17, 2004 Corsair Employees Share Posted November 17, 2004 VS1GBKIT400 is not the same as VS1GBKIT400C3; 400C3 strictly will run at CAS 3, while 400 have the capability to run at CAS2.5. Now if you are mixing our memory module with your DELL memory module, then it may not work, since I believe that the DELL memory module is running at CAS3, and simply VS512MB400 default CAS setting is 2.5. So please try to run the VS1GBKIT400 by itself and see what happen, I would also visit DELL website and see if they have any BIOS update, after making sure that you have the latest BIOS for your board, then please go in the BIOS and load optimal/setup default setting, and save and exit and see what the outcome is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carteriii Posted November 19, 2004 Author Share Posted November 19, 2004 Thanks. That is quite helpful. I'm going to return this and ask/demand to be given exactly the VS1GBKIT400C3 (since that is what I tried to order in the first place). Hopefully that will allow me to run at full speed in combination with the default memory from Dell (which does have the latest BIOS). I'll post a follow-up to let everyone know if it works. Thanks again. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wired Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 FYI, Dells are just picky as hell. I used to do Phone Tech Support for them, and the only reliable memory that would be compatible was Dell's unfortunately. People did get lucky with various manufacturers, but not enough to clearly state "go with company x". They've got some wierd policies when it comes to where they get their memory from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carteriii Posted December 7, 2004 Author Share Posted December 7, 2004 I'm back with great news. I returned the other memory that I received and got a package which explicitly says it's the VS1GBKIT400C3 (lot #0444036-0). This time it works perfectly at 400MHz!!! The net of all this is that ZipZoomFly sent me the other memory because it was "compatible" with CAS3, but it appears that the Dell BIOS requires that the memory only work at CAS3. I hope this information is valuable to someone else down the road. Thanks to everyone here for being patient with me. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CandyKid Posted December 7, 2004 Share Posted December 7, 2004 Good to know and Wired ain't lying, Dell's are picky! Have fun! PLUR CK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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