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    Mixing and matching RAM from M1530 and Dell Mini 9?

    Discussion in 'Dell' started by lateinningmagic, Feb 21, 2009.

  1. lateinningmagic

    lateinningmagic Notebook Consultant

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    Hi there, I have a M1530 with 4GB of RAM and (full specs below) and a Dell Mini 9 with 1GB of RAM and XP (Straight from Dell). Since the RAM in the 1530 is composed of two 2GB sticks, and the Mini only has room for one, I was thinking of swapping sticks to get a performance boost on the Mini and not lose much on the 1530.
    I'm currently running Vista 32bit on the 1530 so its not like I'm gonna be losing a whole GB of RAM. From what I've read the Ram the Dell Mini uses is the standard ones for a notebook, just at 533mhz not 667mhz.
    So is there any reason not to do it. Would there be any problems on the 1530 with dual-channel and whatnot? anybody have any experience with either laptop and performance based on their RAM?
     
  2. StratCat

    StratCat Notebook Evangelist

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    I'm not familiar with those specific notebooks, but can tell you this:

    - If the RAM in either machine will fit in the other, it is the same general type (eg. DDR2).
    - The same type of RAM will operate at the same voltage (no danger in overvolting).
    - Most motherboards will detect the installed RAM by SPD, and adjust their speed to match the speed of the lowest installed stick.

    So if they fit, you can safely swap w/o danger of any damage. The only issue to arise would be if one of the mobos wont adjust downward with a slower rated RAM stick installed. In this case, the machine will either not boot, or hang, but will be fine when you re-install it's original RAM.

    So it's definitely worth a try, IMHO.

    If you'd like to check out the type and timings of your RAM, I recommend CPU-Z

    Look under the 'Memory' and 'SPD' tabs.
     
  3. Commander Wolf

    Commander Wolf can i haz broadwell?

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    There won't be any problems with this swap. The M1530 and Mini 9 both use DDR2. While the M1530 can run memory up to 667MHz, the Mini 9 can only run memory up to 533MHz, but it's possible that Dell uses memory with a faster stock speed due to the wider availability of such parts in the Mini 9. In the worst case scenario, you will end up with an M1530 running 3GB at 533MHz, but there will be no perceptible performance loss between that and 667MHz, so it's really a non-issue.
     
  4. lateinningmagic

    lateinningmagic Notebook Consultant

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    Thanks to both of you. Will have to try this soon.