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Opti 9020 - type of RAM for upgrade
I'm looking to pick up a few surplused (and fairly inexpensive) 9020 (mini)towers to repurpose as test drivers and servers. A couple have i5-4570 processors, others have i7-4770. I have piles of (moderate speed - 1600 CAS 9) standard height 8GB DDR3 DIMMs, and plan to fill the systems out to 32GB. Will these work in those systems? I've seen comments (on the Dell site) that DDR3 works, others that DDR3L is required for 4th gen processors. Intel appears to say that the 4th gen mobile processors do require DDR3L, but that the desktop processors will work with either. So - what's the truth. Also, are there height limits on the DIMMs in these systems? (I don't have any of the systems to check yet, and won't bother if I can't upgrade with the RAM I have...).
Thanks for info!
JOcean
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December 19th, 2019 13:00
The official specs are below. And Crucial sells both DDR3 and DDR3L and guarantees both as compatible. That information here.
From Dell specs.
Table 2. MemoryFeature Specification
DELL-Cares
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December 19th, 2019 14:00
Hello otl123,
The page also states,"Below memory compatibility will be DDR3 unless stated otherwise. (example: DDR3L)".
Now there are a few machines that have DDR3L listed on the same page. I have checked on Intel's site for the i5 you mentioned and they support both DDR3-1333/1600, DDR3L-1333/1600 @ 1.5V, which means they are ideally running a DDR3L on a DDR3 socket.
I haven't been able to test one myself, so will stick to the DDR3 that is mentioned in the official spec sheet.
otl123
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December 19th, 2019 14:00
My concern is from this page, which appears to be official also, headed
Dell OptiPlex Memory Compatibility Guide
Article Summary: Guide to memory compatibility for currently shipping OptiPlex desktop systems.
and which says both:
and:
Note: DDR3 and DDR3L
DDR3 and DDR3L are socket compatible, however, It is NOT compatible with systems using 4th Generation Intel (Haswell) processors, which exclusively support 1.35V operation for memory.
I don't believe that last statement is true (for mobile Haswell, yes - but not (most?) desktop Haswell), but the statement is by Dell, on an Optiplex support page, and seems very sure of itself. So I figured I would doublecheck.
otl123
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December 19th, 2019 15:00
Sounds good. Thanks for the reply!
donm4599x
478 Posts
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December 19th, 2019 17:00
You should buy only dell branded memory. Or memory fully guaranteed to work in dell computers. Dell computers are special, and are extremely picky about memory!
Sometimes people have managed to get crucial brand memory to work. It is the main brand that our rock musicians recommend for folks that can't afford buying direct from Dell.
Blancherama
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June 3rd, 2020 07:00
I have a Dell Optiplex 9020 i7 with the original 16GB RAM installed.
I purchased another 16GB to go in and it did not work, but it did work by itself, so I went and bought another identical 16GB and that also did not work with 32GB in, only 16GB with any combination of pairs.
Does anyone have any ideas why this would not work?
The machine does support 32GB according to the website and this is what I am trying to achieve!