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XPS 8300 - Ivy Bridge & RAM support
I have been searching, and searching for a forum, post, comment... anything that confirms what is the maximum RAM supported in a Dell XPS 8300 and also whether Ivy Bridge CPUs are supported or not.
I am yet to find anything conclusive (please share if you have), so, I have done the testing myself and can confirm the following:
- Ivy Bridge CPU support: No
- Maximum RAM: 32GB
I tested my XPS 8300 with an Intel Core i7-3770 Processor (8M Cache, up to 3.90 GHz) and the system would not POST. No beep codes; just wouldn't POST. I am running BIOS A06 so obviously this didn't help. I have read on this forum someone talking about an A07 BIOS that came shipped with their replacement XPS 8300 (0Y2MRG) motherboard. If anyone knows how to obtain this A07 BIOS I would love to get my hands on it to see whether it offers Ivy Bridge support.
In regard to RAM, I am currently running 32GB RAM without issue. I am using 4x G.Skill RipJawsX 8GB (1x8GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Memory Sticks (F3-10666CL9S-8GBXL). The BIOS and OS both report 32GB installed and everything is running smoothly.
I hope that someone benefits from my findings and I also hope someone out there has access to the A07 BIOS and is willing to share.
Scrotos
12 Posts
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April 16th, 2013 13:00
You already know this answer, but I'm sharing this as another data point and using a different brand for the memory.
Dell's maximum supported RAM for this system is 16 GB. However, it works fine with 32 GB of RAM. I used this memory kit in mine:
Corsair XMS3 32GB (4x8GB) DDR3 1333 MHz (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory (CMX32GX3M4A1333C9)
Probably other ones will work fine, too. The only caveat is that most Dells would have come with Windows 7 Home Premium installed and that will only allow access to 16 GB of RAM. You need to have Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate to access the full 32 GB of RAM. You can do the Windows Anytime Upgrade to buy Win7 Pro if you want to go that route, basically it magically makes your existing install into Win7 Pro so you don't have to reinstall anything.
If you put more than 16 GB in a Home Premium system, when you right-click on Computer and go to Properties, you'll see the memory listed as something like 32 GB (16 GB usable). So the OS will see it all, it just won't let you USE it all. Harsh, ya?
I had looked this question up and not gotten anything solid for an answer so I tried it myself and am posting about my success.
RoHe
10 Elder
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43.6K Posts
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February 16th, 2013 17:00
The chipset on the XPS 8300 motherboard is Sandy Bridge so it cannot support an Ivy Bridge CPU. Period, end of discussion.
This is mainly a user-to-user forum. Help is provided for free by both experienced and inexperienced members. It's up to you to decide what information is accurate / correct / useful or not.
bagerlk
8 Posts
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February 16th, 2013 18:00
Correct me if I am wrong but the XPS 8300's motherboard (0Y2MRG) has an Intel H67 chipset which supports some Ivy Bridge CPUs, including the i7-3770 as stated here - ark.intel.com/.../Intel-BD82H67-PCH
I believe in this case, the lack of support for the i7-3770 CPU is limited by DELL which is why I was hoping the as yet to be publically released A07 BIOS may enable support.
DELL-Chris M
Community Manager
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February 18th, 2013 14:00
bagerlk,
You should not rely on the retail Intel chipset specifications when discussing Dell OEM (original equipment manufacturer) hardware. The Ivy Bridge CPU will not be validated on the XPS 8300 with the Dell OEM H67 chipset. These are the only CPUs validated by Dell on this model:
(Sandy Bridge)
706FY i7-2600 3.40GHz
N6TKH i5-2500 3.30GHz
MHF7R i5-2400 3.10GHz
F6KN0 i5-2320 3.00GHz
YXR1F i5-2310 2.90GHz
RGMN8 i5-2300 2.80GHz
950R3 i3-2130 3.40GHz
972H5 i3-2120 3.30GHz
5MH9T i3-2100 3.10GHz
rdunnill
6 Professor
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8.8K Posts
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April 16th, 2013 21:00
The H67 chipset supports Ivy Bridge CPUs, but only with the appropriate BIOS. This was the case with the Foxconn H67S mini-ITX board, which required a BIOS update to function with Ivy Bridge CPUs.
The last BIOS update for the XPS 8300 is dated November 1, 2011, which implies no Ivy Bridge support either now or in the future.
JPM123ny
4 Posts
1
December 26th, 2015 13:00
Thanks I am running Windows 10 Pro and figured I would be able to run 32 GB and now shall go out and buy it .....if you get the A07 bios update please let me know.